Twitch Streaming 101
Hello there Adventurer, so you want to start doing Live streams on Twitch do you? Well then, let me give you a hand!
What is Twitch?
Twitch is a free streaming platform for gamers and creators alike. The Twitch platform is made so that anyone can easily broadcast content live and interact with their audience. Twitch is geared more towards gaming however it has recently added new categories. For example, IRL or In Real Life lets streamers show off their daily activities outside of gaming. Painting, bodybuilding, and even dog walking can be streamed to viewers all around the world.
Why Should I Stream On Twitch?
Beside seeking fame and fortune Twitch can help you turn those lonesome gaming sessions into fun interactions. Building a community with new found friends who enjoy watching you trying to take on the big boss and getting your butt whipped. It can make for some good laughs and learning to do better next time. During my own streams in a survival based game called Subnautica. I often find myself getting spooked by the local wildlife often leading to me running for my life and laughing it off afterward with my viewers.
Becoming A Twitch Affiliate
Not only can you build a community of good friends but you can turn your Twitch streams into an extra income for yourself. Viewers can choose to donate to you and once you become a Twitch Affiliate your fans can help you out with Subs and Bits.
Subs allow your viewers to donate to you 5, 10 or 25 dollars in exchange for custom made emotes, special bot commands, and being able to skip ads on your stream.
Bits are small donations usually under $1. When used Bits use different emotes in chat and viewers can become cheerleaders.
To become a Twitch Affiliate, you have to reach 50 followers, stream on seven different days, 8 hours in total, and have an average viewing of 3 all within thirty days. I found that the best way to reach these goals is to support other streamers and building friendships with them. I made good friends with my fellow streamer Depriesticles who not only watches my streams but encourages his viewers to check out my streams and leave a follow.
If you are just starting out and you don’t have any streamer buddies then no worries. Stream co-op games and let your viewers join your game and play alongside you. I did this when I streamed Don’t Starve Together. I often had three to four people playing with me, and I even met a modder for the game whom I would, later on, stream his mods for Don’t Starve Together.
The holiday season is also a great time to join new viewers and followers by organizing a charity event. I hosted a charity event I called Streaming For Charity 2018. In the first two weeks, I raised $100 and now had around a dozen new followers. To make the end of the month awesome, I did a six-hour stream where I raised $105 for five different non-profits. This resulted in new viewers who had never seen my channel and new followers who still watch my streams to this day.
What Do I Need To Get Started?
The top five essentials of streaming you will need to get started are
- Microphone: A good quality mic so you can talk with your audience easily as no one wants to watch gameplay with no voice-over by the player. For my mic, I use a Blue Snowball which sounds excellent and costs around $50
- Camera: This is optional, but I highly recommend getting a camera to see off your reactions to different scenarios. I have a lower quality camera called a Kodak S100. I use it because I wanted to save money and my family already had it. My camera has a price tag of about $25
- Computer: You can use any type of computer that suits you and what you play, but I would recommend higher quality computers so that your streams can have better frame rates for your viewers. I use a custom-made computer made by Last Stop Computers which costs $2,000
- Broadcasting Software: Broadcasting Software lets you stream your game to twitch and depending on which one you use you can add different effects to your stream. For example, sound effects and animations that pop up when someone follows or donates to your channel. For my software, I use Streamlabs OBS as it offers many features to upgrade your stream and the best part is it is free!
- ChatBot: ChatBots act as moderators for your chat and can do commands for your viewers. I use Streamlabs Chatbot because it integrates excellently with Streamlabs Obs. I have my Chatbot act as a moderator for the chat, and I made a chat command that when anyone says !yomamma it replies with a Yo Mamma joke from a list of jokes I have. The chatbot costs nothing and only takes some of your time to get it set up.
My own streaming setup costs around $2,500. You can choose whatever setup fits you best. Just make sure to have fun with it, and you will do fine!
Links!
Here are the links to some of the items I use for my streaming setup.
StreamLabs OBS: https://streamlabs.com/slobs/d/6270426
StreamLabs ChatBot: https://streamlabs.com/chatbot
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