How to become a streamer - A complete guide

If you are a passionate gamer, considering streaming your gaming period in your style is an excellent way to take an active role global gaming community. This way, you can connect to other gamers globally, build an audience, create a personality, and make friends.

There are several steps to achieving a global gaming community personality and making money as streamers on popular streaming platforms such as Twitch. Proceed with our complete guide on how to become a streamer.

How to become a streamer? (A COMPLETE Guide)

If you’ve wondered how to stream your gaming session, follow this ‘how-to guide’ to build a professional game streaming lifestyle and monetize your skill.

As easy as this may sound, choosing the best streaming platform is one of the primary factors you must consider in creating a streaming lifestyle.

Once you start streaming on a platform, switching to another is very difficult. Switching to another streaming platform implies that you’re starting again and losing your previous audience. Hence, before setting out into streaming on a platform, make an informed decision to avoid future blame.

Presently, there’re three major platforms you can stream your gaming session: Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook. Each of these platforms has its peculiarity, pros, and cons.

Twitch

Twitch is a live streaming platform for sharing content, entertainment, and interaction with an audience owned by Amazon. It’s currently the powerhouse for game streaming over the last decade, with over 2.5 million people watching on the platform.

You can stream any content on Twitch, but its significant streamers are gamers.

Pros:

Twitch is a live-streaming platform: This allows you to live stream any content of your choice. However, you can’t find any additional features except attributes that will improve the streaming experience and how you can maintain your streaming channel.

It’s the highest user-base streaming platform: Twitch has the highest number of active viewers, with over 2.5 million viewers at any time. People visit Twitch any time and find streamers to join their streams and even enter your channel.

Twitch provides multiple sources of income: As a Twitch streamer, the platform offers various ways to earn money. For example, you can make money through subs, donations, and bits. In addition, you can also earn more through partnership and affiliate programs on Twitch. As a beginner, joining the twitch affiliate program is easy.

High-quality streaming video: The Twitch platform offers 1080p, 60fps video quality. And they are constantly reviewing the quality of their streaming.

Cons:

You can only stream on Twitch: The Twitch platform doesn’t give room to upload premade content to your channel. Hence if you have premade gaming content or other content for your audience, you have to drive them to other platforms to engage them. So it’s always challenging to move such an audience to another platform.

Twitch has no algorithm to promote beginner streamers: Twitch algorithm tends to promote big channels, not beginners. Therefore, you have thousands of channels to compete with as a beginner.

YouTube

YouTube is the largest platform for obtaining free premade videos on different topics and niches, including live streaming. YouTube is only best for streaming events, meetings., and conferences, but now trying to cater to gamers’ needs.

Pros:

You can create a content creation brand aside from streaming: With the ability to stream on YouTube, you can upload premade videos on your channel to create a content brand. You can use the same Twitch channel for uploading premade content and live streams.

YouTube offers you the highest video quality: Of all the popular streaming platforms, only YouTube provides the ability to stream in 4K resolution. Although you need a high-performance computer to achieve this streaming resolution, it’s possible.

Cons:

Low profit for streamers: Although you can make money on YouTube as a streamer, the payment rate is considerably low and difficult to achieve compared to Twitch.

Navigation: On the audience’s end, it isn’t easy to navigate to find a new channel with specific content for the user. In addition, YouTube free version users encounter numerous ads during search or navigation.

Facebook

Facebook, a popular social media platform, also incorporates the ability to go live to give users an easy stream of their events and meetings around the globe. For example, if you have a Facebook profile, you can go live from your phone in a few seconds.

Pros:

Easy platform to gather audience: The enjoyable part of Facebook live streaming is that existing friends and fans on your account can quickly join your broadcast. Any time you go live. Friends, families, and fans automatically get a notification that you’re live.

Few competitors: Since Facebook is not primarily a streaming platform; hence, there’re few streamers on the platform. Therefore, you won’t be competing with too many larger streamers compared to other streaming-based platforms.

Easy navigation: Facebook makes it relatively easy to go live and start streaming. You can go live on the platform with a few clicks and no external video setups.

Cons

Low video quality: Facebook offers only 720p, 30fps video quality in its live streams. However, you can optimize your live streaming to 1080p by being a ‘gaming channel’ and improving other metrics.

Low earning opportunity: Making money on your gaming session on Facebook is low compared to other platforms.

Note: If you consider streaming your gaming session or any other content, it would be best to use Twitch as your streaming platform.

2. Invest in quality streaming gadgets

Getting the correct gadgets for your streaming session greatly influences your streaming quality.

Contrary to most beliefs, you don’t need to break your bank to buy gadgets to enhance your streaming quality as a beginner. As a beginner, you should start with essential but quality gadgets. The vital devices include a gaming platform (a good PC or game console), a good webcam, and a headset with microphone features.

Although, owning expensive and quality gears improves the quality of your stream and helps give a sense of being a successful streamer. Investing in such gadgets shouldn’t be your focus as a beginner.

It would help to consider getting more quality gadgets as you earn well as a streamer to improve your streams and attract partnerships and sponsorships.

Tip: Avoid distraction or noise from your streaming space to keep the audience focused on the session. Irrespective of the gadgets you use for your streaming, any form of distraction/noise to the audience is a turn-off.

3. Download all necessary streaming software

Streaming software provides a means to connect all your streaming gadgets to create an excellent streaming session.

You can use several computer programs online as a Twitch streamer to broadcast your gaming activities live. Open Broadcasting Software (OBS), XSplits, Wirecast, and Bebo are some software.

Each of these streaming software has its peculiarity and interface. For example, when choosing the broadcasting software, run the software for compatibility with your gaming PC or console. This act helps to know which is compatible with your device and which one you like best for use.

Also, ensure the software appropriately manages all the aspects of your game streaming (game playing, video, and audio coverage) before choosing it. Now add the Twitch key to the streaming software, and you can go live this way.

Tip: When you use the streaming software for the first time, you’ll have to specify your audio-visual device and adjust the settings you want to use for your streaming. Afterward, you can quickly go to your Twitch account and start streaming without setting the input.

4. Pick a niche or a game you want to play

Now that you’ve gotten all the essential gadgets and software you need for streaming, it’s also crucial you pick a particular niche or game you want to play as a gaming streamer.

As a beginner gaming streamer, it would be best to focus on low, competitive games with many fans on your channel. The Twitch gaming niche is extensive, with several big streamers on the platform before you.

For this reason, as a beginner, choose one or two low, competitive games with lots of fans. You can establish yourself and further grow into other games as you gain my viewers on your channel.

5. Stick to a streaming plan

Now that you can stream, make it an essential part of your streamer’s lifestyle to stream at a scheduled time. This way, your audience will know when to expect a streaming session the next time.

Successful streamers on Twitch follow a scheduled streaming plan, and their viewers meet them at the scheduled time. Keeping a streaming plan helps first-timers on your channel know the next time they can meet you.

It would be helpful to inform your streamers after every session the next time to meet. Also, consider posting scheduled times on your social media.

Note: Don’t go live at random times unless Twitch promotes your channel on its home page. That way, viewers can find you without you creating a streaming schedule.

How to become a Twitch Streamer

To begin your streamer’s lifestyle on Twitch, you must open a Twitch account. Here’s how to open a Twitch account for live streaming your gaming session.

For Computers:

Read the Twitch community guidelines for all misconduct, violations, and penalties.

Visit the Twitch official account on your desktop and click the ‘Sign Up‘ button at the top-right corner. A registration window pops up, and there you can register.

Enable the two-factor authentication. To start broadcasting your event on Twitch, you must enable your 2FA. Login to your account and find ‘Security settings to set up your 2FA.

For Mobile Device:

Depending on your device, download the mobile app from Google Playstore or App Store.

Launch the app and tap the ‘Sign-up’ button. You can only sign up with your email or phone number.

Click the ‘sign-up‘ button at the bottom of the registration form to submit.

Verify your email or phone number by providing the 6-digit code known as one-time-password sent to you.

Note: you can only enable the 2FA on a computer.

Frequently Asked Questions about Streaming

Do I need a dual PC to stream as a beginner?

Answer: As a beginner gaming streamer, you don’t necessarily need a dual PC to stream your sessions. However, as a professional streamer, you can get a second PC dedicated to encoding and the other for gaming.

How can I make money while streaming on Twitch?

Answer: As a Twitch, you can make money primarily from Twitch through subscriptions to your channel, Twitch bits, and Twitch affiliate programs. In addition, you make extra money through brand sponsorship, ad revenue, and your viewer’s donation.

How much can I make on Twitch?

An expert streamer makes between $3,000 and $5,000 per month by playing at least 40 hrs/wk. Average streamers make roughly $250 in ad revenue per 100 subscribers or $3.5 per 1,000 views. To start earning well on Twitch, you need to have 500 and more views as a beginner.

Conclusion

Streaming is a means of creating a personality in the global community. So as a gaming streamer beginner, follow these steps to create a high-quality stream for your audience. As a starter in streaming, explore several techniques to advance your streaming channel. Though scaling out in streaming is difficult, you can make a great channel through hard work.