How To Become A Great Streamer in 2024

So you want to become a streamer? Great!

You are probably reading this text because you have just come across the thought of becoming a streamer. Streaming is a fantastic way of creating content and showing yourself to the whole world, being a source of entertainment. However, before you move forward with streaming, you should know a couple of things that will lead you to a steady road.

Getting discovered on main streaming platform like Twitch, YouTube is not easy as it used to be.

If you are hoping to make a name in the streaming community, and you want to gain more knowledge, and learn what it takes, follow through our guide, and you’ll be heading on the road to streaming in no time.

Contents

Getting Started with Streaming

Before you head on to pursue your streaming journey, there are a few things you must figure out to carve a clear path for yourself in the streaming world. You must focus on these aspects if you are planning on taking streaming seriously.

Setting Goals

First, you must set a goal for yourself that you will thrive to achieve. Setting a goal for yourself can build you motivation you are going to need. So, whether you are planning on becoming a pro streamer or pursuing it as a hobby, you must at least have set a goal in front of you which you have to achieve. That way, you can reach success. You must know how far you are going to go with streaming and what you expect from it. That way, you will enjoy streaming.

Picking Content

Though our Focus here would be mainly on gaming, even if your goal in streaming is not gaming, you should still know this. You must pick content for yourself. Whether you’re streaming gaming, sports, cooking, art, or live streaming as an influencer, you must specify your content.

For example, if you are planning on moving forward with streaming gameplays, it would be better for you to focus on a single game or maybe a game genre. That way, you will gain a specific type of audience that would love to watch you play.

However, if you jump back and forth between Genres such as racing and shooting, you will have difficulty building an audience as they will not know what to expect from you. Therefore, focusing on one genre or a similar style of play will benefit you a lot.

Finding A Niche

As we know, the streaming community has grown immensely in the past couple of years, and you will find hundreds of other streamers offering what you plan on offering.

Therefore, you must discover what you should do to make you stand out from the rest and attract your audience. Whether you want to give your streams a humorous touch and create an enjoyable environment, or you want to just on the competitive side, it is all up to you.

So discovering something unique and finding a Niche that might be different from other streamers will benefit you a lot and gather you a great audience as people love watching something distinctive when they see it these days.

Required Kit For Streaming

To start streaming, you must equip yourself with a suitable kit. This means you will have to make an investment to hook yourself up with the gear required for streaming. And as your channel grows and you gain more audience, you can upgrade your equipment to provide better and high-quality content to your users.

Here are some vital accessories you are going to need to start streaming.

Gaming Console or Computer

Well, it is sort of evident that you can’t start streaming unless you have a gaming platform to play it on. Your gaming platform can be a PC or a gaming console. You can play most games across multiple platforms; however, certain games are limited to specific platforms, so if you want to pursue streaming that game, you will have to make available the console that supports it.

The best recommended gaming platform is a PC. It offers the best performance and can be upgraded to a lethal gaming machine, allowing you to get the best performance out of your gaming, which will help attract many viewers. So, the first thing you will have to do is choose the best gaming platform for yourself.

Streaming PC

The next thing you might be needing for streaming is a whole PC for streaming purposes. Although gaming consoles such as PlayStation do offer streaming facilities, you will need a streaming PC if you want to make the best out of your streams. This will allow you to customize and edit your stream to a whole new level and unlock more facilities.

If you have a powerful gaming PC that can handle a load of gaming and streaming simultaneously, then you are probably good to go with a single setup.

However, if your gaming PC is not powerful enough and can not take too much load, or you are using a console for gaming, you must get your hands on a streaming PC to stream correctly. Your streaming PC does not have to be a very high-end PC, as average PCs can do the job.

Software For Streaming

Another thing you will need when you assemble your setup is streaming software that will allow you to integrate all your gaming visuals and data and stream it to an audience. Some of the most popular software used by streamers are the XSplit and Open Broadcasting System (OBS), which is favored more.

Open Broadcasting System (OBS) is the best software out there for streaming. It is entirely free and straightforward to use. After having your setup ready, you must familiarize yourself with your streaming software before you can start streaming. The streaming software will allow you to control your videos.

Capture Card

A capture card is a device that is used by gamers for streaming and recording on-screed gameplays. If you plan on streaming on your consoles through your PCs, then you will have to invest in a capture card. This can let you stream your console games on your PC while being able to control your stream through streaming software such as OBS.

There are loads of capture cards in the markets, each having its perks. You will have to choose a capture card that satisfies your needs. One of the best brands offering capture cards is Elgato which provides everything a capture card can.

Webcam and Microphone

If you want people to see your face and expressions and gameplay, you will need to get your hands on a webcam and a microphone. This can significantly improve your audience as lots of viewers find it very entertaining to see and listen to a streamer. So, if you are comfortable with coming live on your stream, you will definitely need a webcam.

Besides a webcam, you will also need a microphone to interact with your users and pass commentary on your gameplay that will grasp the users’ interest and create a more entertaining environment.

A microphone is more critical than a webcam as the webcam will only occupy a tiny corner of your stream. However, through the microphone, you will ultimately be able to make your stream more interesting by verbally attracting an audience.

Other Accessories

Although some things might not be vital for running your streams, they indeed will play a significant role in making your stream better and grabbing an audience. You can consider your lighting as a factor. Lighting can provide a beautiful touch to your stream, making it seem more aesthetic and professional.

Other than that, keeping a good background can also make your stream look much better. Having a creative setup will make you look like a good streamer and will attract lots of viewers.

Choosing a Platform To Stream On

Once you have set up your full streaming gear and are all ready to hit the web, you will have to choose a platform you will be operating on.

The most popular platforms for streaming are YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook. As these platforms are used by a significant number of viewers, streaming on them will automatically gather you an audience. Let us discuss each forum with its pros and cons.

YouTube

YouTube is, without a doubt, the largest and most popular platform for Videos. Although YouTube has not been used much for streaming in the past, it is definitely moving towards the streaming market.

The advantage YouTube offers is that it provides you with many tools, which content creators can use. YouTube is also the only platform available that can support 4K quality streaming. YouTube can also let you run your streaming channel and video channel together.

YouTube has a downside to it too. It has not been established purely as a streaming platform as streamers are more into Twitch. Finding content on YouTube can also be a little difficult, and you can not earn as much cash on YouTube as you can on Twitch.

Twitch

If anyone plans on becoming a streamer, the first platform that comes to their mind is Twitch. Every big streamer will use Twitch as their central platform for streaming. Twitch is perfect for streaming as it offers lots of benefits,

Some of the benefits are that Twitch is mainly made for streaming. Meaning you will gain an audience easier as they’ll be searching for streamers. In comparison with other platforms, Twitch has the highest active users, which makes them stand out. This will increase the chances of viewers stumbling across your profile.

You can also gain significant profits through Twitch, whether through subscriptions, bits, or donations. Twitch has been developed around gaming and offers high-quality content with up to 1080p and 60fps. Twitch also allows you to use it as a revenue stream and become an affiliate first and then partner.

The downsides to Twitch are that there are already some streamers who have a massive fanbase, so you will be having competitions against hundreds and thousands of other channels. Other than that, Twitch is only for streaming, meaning if you have a premade edited video, you will have to upload it to another platform which will require another fanbase.

Facebook

Facebook also offers excellent facilities for streaming, making it able for you to go live with just a few clicks. It is an ideal platform for publishing videos and doing live streams.

The upside to Facebook is that you can easily reach a tremendous amount of audience, along with your friends and family that follow you. One other great thing is that you will not be competing against many big fish, unlike Twitch. Therefore, it might be easier for you to catch an audience. Streaming through Facebook is very simple and easy, which is a plus point.

There are some downs to Facebook as well. The first thing is quality. Facebook offers you only 720p, which lots of streamers and viewers might not prefer.

Other than that, Facebook is not purposely built for streaming. Therefore not everyone with an account is going to show interest in streams. The money that comes with Facebook is also less compared to other platforms. Facebook might also be a little more aggressive compared to other platforms when it comes to copyright.

Building An Audience

Building an audience these days from scrap is going to take a lot of hard work and creativity. Therefore you will have to find various opportunities and offer something others cannot. As we know, some streamers have already made themselves a big audience. So competing with them and attracting their audience is going to take a lot. So you will have to do something extraordinary in order to make a name in the streaming world.

Challenges Faced By Streamers

Streamers can face lots of challenges at the start, which might dishearten them. But it is essential to stay focused and fight those challenges.

Sometimes you might face no viewers at all, and you will find yourself interacting with dead air. Or your audience might be so low that it does not even make a difference. But do not let this put you down, as everything will hopefully grow with time.
Sometimes the chat can go dry. This can put you in an awkward situation but remember to keep your calm and provide as much entertainment as possible.
Handling the big fish is a challenge as they attract all the viewers. Therefore you can produce something better to steal the audience.

Tips for Streamers

One of the main things to focus on when doing something is consistency. If you want to become a successful streamer, you must be consistent with what you do. You have to give it a proper amount of time and work hard. Only then will you be able to attract an audience. The more consistent you are, the more viewers you will slowly gain. You can check your stats to see how your audience is taking you content. That way, you can monitor your progress what attracts an audience.
Creativity is something extremely essential when becoming a streamer. If you have no creativity, your content will be below par. Start producing content different from others and do something creative with it as viewers love a new style.
Interaction with your audience is of paramount importance. If you interact with your viewers, you engage them with yourselves, giving life to your stream. No one would watch a silent guy in front of a screen. It would be best if you got the audience involved to grasp their interest. That is how you will attract permanent viewers.
As you get familiar with the streaming world, you will learn new tricks and techniques to get better and better at what you do. And the experience will be your most prominent teacher. Therefore, if you are worried or nervous in the beginning, chill. You will get the hang of it.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

How much money does a streamer make?

Answer: How much a streamer makes depends on which platform they are using. A successful streamer probably makes up to $4000 to $5000 per month or even more if they have a huf=ge fan following.

How do I become a successful streamer?

Answer: You will become a successful streamer by offering commitment, consistency, hard work, and creativity. You much have to learn and familiarize yourself with streaming. One more thing is that you have to offer something unique, which other streamers do not provide.

How do Twitch streamers get popular?

Answer: Although luck can matter a lot, hard work can beat it any day. Intense will, commitment, and consistency are what got all the big names in the streaming business that they have today. Good content, creativity, and excellent skills will lead you to glory.

Wrap-Up

With all, it is time to conclude our passage. Streaming is becoming very popular, and there are loads of people looking forward to making their name shine in the streaming community. This guide shows you what it takes to become a streamer.

We have discussed everything you need to know, including the gear you will require, which platform is the best, along with some tips and attributes essential for streaming.

If you are not gaining viewers at the start, do not give up on your hopes. If you are confident, your content can gather a great audience, be consistent and work hard. Hopefully, one day you name can be counted among some successful streamers.

Hopefully, now you would have figured out what it takes to become a streamer and all the challenges you must be ready to face.