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7 Tips for getting started as a streamer
While the idea of streaming can be an exciting prospect, getting your head around everything to actually get going can be a little overwhelming.
Having recently started streaming myself, I thought I’d run through key points on things to have locked down before going head-first into the streaming world.
**Little disclaimer here: I want to clarify that I don’t consider myself an “authority” on this or necessarily how to be the best at it- but having just started, I can identify what has been the most important/helpful for me, and wanted to share these finds with you!**
1 Don’t over invest
At least don’t feel that you have to- especially at first. Looking at professional streamers can make you feel like you need the best equipment in the world, but nobody really starts off like this. It’s not all the flash and perfect production that will keep people coming to your streams, especially if you’re new and building up a community, and it can be very expensive if you go the full mile to really kit our your stream. Just make sure you have the basics sorted and get a feel for streaming before you decide to splurge- you may well find that you spent money in places that weren’t necessary (or hey, you may not even like streaming- so don’t go overboard).
Stream audio is important, don't ignore it
© TechTesters
2 So, get your basics down
I’ve heard this time and time again and I stand by it - make sure you have good stream audio. It’s no fun listening to a stream with distracting background noise or distorted vocals, so sort that out first thing. You don’t have to buy a top-end microphone to get decent sound, especially if you can control your environment. Make use of noise-gates to block out loud keyboards and outside noise, control the echo in your room with a carpet, curtains, or foam, and elevate your microphone off your desk with a cheap stand or boom arm (or even use your headset microphone if its clear enough). Voicemeeter is a decent free software program that helped me reduce echo, and your streaming software can assist with noisegating. Secondly, make sure you have a webcam. Viewers prefer watching those with a facecam in most cases, so especially if you aren’t established, don’t skip this one. You don’t need a fancy green-screen background either- just make sure your environment is well-lit (lighting is so important in making camera shots look their best) and keep a decent background behind you- possibly one that shows off some cool stuff or has an interesting backdrop.
3 Make sure your spec can handle it
Streaming can take up quite a bit of resources and is fairly intensive, so you may want to review your specs before going live. If you’re planning on gaming AND streaming from the same PC, this is especially important. Make sure your CPU, GPU, and RAM are up to scratch- this will highly depend on what you’re playing, but do a little research around minimum requirements. Using your graphics card as an encoder can help lift some weight off of your CPU if you have the right card, so this is an option to consider. You could also use a dual-PC setup if you have this at your disposal (perhaps a spare laptop to handle streaming) or consider streaming console games via a capture card so your PC only handles the stream. It’s worth checking out AVerMedia or Elgato for a streaming solution to do this, unless you plan on streaming direct from your console (which isn’t entirely ideal).
4 Decide on your streaming software and platform
There are plenty of options for streaming software- OBS, Streamlabs OBS, and XSplit are some of the main ones (and there are paid and unpaid versions of each). Play around with each of them and see which you are most comfortable with, and which is most user-friendly FOR YOU. Everyone has their preference, though I’d recommend Streamlabs OBS for an easy all-in-one stream solution off the bat. Then there’s the platforms- Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming and Mixer are the main choices here. While you’re new, consider trying them all out to see which one is the best fit for you- while Twitch may be the biggest by a fair margin, you may find the others suit you better (and are less saturated).
5 Establish brand identity and figure out the games you’ll be playing
Who are you in the streaming world? While you won’t nail your identity 100% from the jump, you need to figure out what you have to offer in terms of your stream and what sort of audience you’ll be attracting. Are you the serious pro-gamer type who wants to show off their skills, or more the fun chatty type who plays casual games and interacts with their audience more? This will also affect the kind of games you play, so try to figure out that part as well (please, don’t change your game every stream- you will struggle to grow this way at first. The same goes for only playing the most popular games). [This won’t apply as much if you’re doing more IRL streams such as art, cooking, or just chatting!]
Stream overlays and images help with professionalism
© Behance
6 Professional appearance can help
Personally, first impressions mean a lot to me and much of that comes from the appearance of your channel and profile. Make sure you have a good profile picture and header (bonus points if you have a logo or brand design, this ties into your brand identity) and don’t leave fields blank either- let your viewers know more about you! Fill in your bio, attach those Twitch panels, and make sure your page is appealing. When it comes to stream overlays, such as your webcam borders and information such as followers and alerts, you may not want to spend money right off the bat and that’s okay- just make sure it looks good. There are free stream overlays and panels around (Streamlabs OBS has these built in, which is a real help for starting out), so make use of them. You’re creating an entertaining viewing experience, so make sure its pleasing for your viewers!
7 Promote yourself
There are a million others out there wanting to make it in streaming just like you, so don’t think the discovery page alone is going to get you an audience. Push your stream on all your social profiles- be active on Twitter, put it on your Instagram stories, share it to Facebook and possibly groups if you’re a part of any relevant ones- get your name out there! It can also help to cross-promote yourself with a YouTube channel for example, so there’s more opportunity for people to be exposed to your content. It’s a grind, but you need to work to get yourself noticed. It will definitely help you get a bit of a jump start.
There are plenty more tricks to succeeding at being a streamer, but these are some things that can give you that initial boost and get ahead of the curve from the jump. I hope they help you as much as they helped me!
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