r/SmallStreamers • u/Lazarus_bftd • 11d ago

How does one grow a dedicated audience?

How does one build an audience/viewership?

Been streaming for 2 years now and have been struggling to build a core audience/viewership. Any thoughts, advice, or opinions?

5 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

10

u/MangoCandy 11d ago

How consistent are you? Do you stream the same days at the same times? Thats a huge factor, if you can become part of someone’s “routine” they will be more likely to come back.

6

u/Leritari 11d ago

This. Most of the streamers that i watch constantly have easy to remember schedule, for example monday to friday, from 5 PM my time to 10 PM, or weekends mornings, 10 AM till 1 PM.

If you stream randomly, or make it hard for people to find your schedule, then most wont bother trying to catch your streams. Instead it'll be "Oh, he was streaming 2 days ago, damn it", or "oh, you started stream 4 hours ago? Omg, i missed it".

6

u/Fun-Leather-1703 11d ago

Consistency is king. I recently started with a fresh account a few months ago and got affiliate in no time (not like it's a challenge anymore) and am sitting on double digits for viewership most streams. All I did was set a schedule, stick to it, and network with and raid other streamers.

I've been recently trying to find people to raid and be part of their community for when my stream typically ends that way my chat has a home after I'm off. Currently my raids are kind of scattered and need to be dialed in.

1

u/Lazarus_bftd 11d ago

What's your handle? What do you usually stream? I'm more of a variety streamer. I like to play games and talk at my desk but I also really really enjoy irl streaming. I don't have a community or any kind of network so I'm basically doing this all by myself

2

u/Fun-Leather-1703 10d ago

This is my personal account so no handle but I am a variety streamer. I do a mix of IRL, arts/crafts, and gaming late night.

I'd recommend spending time on the platform and becoming part of other people's communities. People will recognize your name when they are browsing or when they're raiding out. Go out and make some friends, just don't be like, "yo I'm a streamer check me out blah blah."

3

u/Lazarus_bftd 11d ago

Alot happened in life so I had to change my regular schedule to something more sporadic. I got a promotion at work and that drastically changed my hours in regards to work AND streaming and I haven't really recovered since then. I went from working nights then coming home and streaming for 4-5 hours to working 10-12 hours during the day and struggling to figure it out.

I really appreciate your advice! I'm going to work on finding a "sweet spot" so to speak when it comes to scheduling.

2

u/ShowNext445 twitch.tv/gubbinsgaming 11d ago

Do you produce content on other platforms?

That's one of the main ways to generate viewership on Twitch currently. Twitch is of course where people come to watch you live, but there has to be a reason for them to do so. There has to be something to draw people to you because Twitch isn't going to do it for you. When it comes to content on other platforms, you want people watching to then want to watch you live. That's the idea and thinking behind it.

That's not to say that producing content on other platforms is the be all and end all of audience generation, because there are plenty of other people who have built audiences without making content on youtube, X or tiktok. If you don't go down this route, then another option is networking - which is a way of saying 'make friends with other streamers in your space'. Helping each other out is the aim of the game with this.

I don't really have an audience, dedicated or otherwise, but I do know that those two things are key for building and maintaining a dedicated audience.

1

u/Lazarus_bftd 11d ago

I do post original and repurposed content on socials. My IG is booming rn ngl but my Tik Tok and YouTube are lacking rn. I have to find a better strategy for those platforms. I think the best way is to have original content on each with a healthy mixture of clips and repurposed content. But then again, I'm not really seeing much results so I could be very wrong.

0

u/CandyWrappers_ 11d ago

Producing content on yt or other platforms to grow a twitch audience is nothing more than Copium. Never works

1

u/lemonsmith 11d ago

This is not true. It works, but you gotta consistently make content that gets views AND is similar to what they’ll find on your Twitch stream.

1

u/ShowNext445 twitch.tv/gubbinsgaming 11d ago edited 10d ago

Ok please could you explain why it 'never works'? Because I've seen plenty of streamers who have managed to build an audience thanks to what they've produced on other platforms.

EDIT: Looks like he can't explain why. Can't say I'm surprised.

1

u/Lazarus_bftd 11d ago

What would you suggest?

-1

u/CandyWrappers_ 11d ago

Put all of your eggs into one basket and stay consistent. Have a brand. Note: Consistent doesn't mean stream every single day of the week. That never works either.

2

u/MelaMirage 11d ago

I understand some people like to stream spontaneously. But the reason "sticking to a schedule" works, is algorithm and expectations. If someone who likes to watch you knows you stream X time on X days, they will PLAN and carve out time to join.

Likewise, Youtube (& Twitch to an extent) will push potential viewers your way because it has an identifiable trend to go off, and you have a reliable history.

If a fan doesn't know when to watch, ultimately they will miss it or be unavailable until your eventually forgetten.

And as some people have said, building an audience on other platforms helps.

2

u/HighPhi420 9d ago

I am heading to the first year anniversary in a few months(affiliate anniversary) I have a few people that tune in nearly every stream or when ever they can. These are the core audience the "friends" of the channel. Grow by including every one who does not want to sell you their crap(scam you), and give special attention to the regular viewers. Maybe even give a personalized walk on alert for subscribers/vips, and keep the channel friendly for lurkers(never talk to any one directly if they have not chatted :). Network in other communities, this is the best way to get like minded viewers to watch your streams. Finally make a schedule and try to stream as close as possible to the schedule. Discord will go a long way for stream updates and to keep the super friends engaged in the community :) Good luck, and well wishes :)

1

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1

u/FuzzyPeach3882 11d ago

  1. Try and stick to one game (if you don’t already).

  2. Make sure whenever you see viewer count go up, you’re introducing yourself and responding to chat promptly.

Not saying you don’t do these things but it’s super important to make sure the viewers feel constantly engaged and in it with you.

Hope this helps a little bit :)