Trying to get into streaming. Suggestions

NickRowler 2023-10-24 16:33:46 UTC #1

I have been dealing with a lot of stress and loneliness in my life and I really need human interaction.

I am trying to get back into streaming on Twitch. I don't have plans to make it big or anything, it's mostly just to help with my loneliness.

I need help on what to do with it or how to get people to watch. Like I would love to do a art request or art meme stuff with viewers but I don't know how to even promote that.

I am so socially awkward and all my social get no interaction, I don't really know what to do.

Here is the link

RedLenai 2023-10-24 20:46:45 UTC #2

Well.... Twitch is not a platform known for discoverability, it relies on your socials to bring people in.

So first of all, you'll have to work on your social platforms, be it checking how often you post, what content do you post, is it click-baity so people answer to it, you can actually start by posting challenges and acting excited about them or the people they come from. Asking people what do they think about the work (It can backfire), what they suggest to draw next, it can be as subtle as that without necessarily being a request call post, you can do memes and then invite people to join you while you make them.

A thing that matters at the time of keeping people in the stream is, well engaging to them. People that have a mic do better than those that type in the chatbox or use complements like OnStream Chat, if you can manage to buy a TTS (Text-To-Speech) plug-in. Then that helps things a bit better.

Streamers without mic or TTS don't tend to do extremely well in keeping viewers in their streams, since for some is a bother to have to watch in order to communicate, several prefer to have the stream in the background while they do other stuff.

Then another thing that matters are the visuals, having an avatar nowadays be it a PNGTuber or Vtuber has become kind of the norm if you don't use a camera. Besides having a nice layout that feels unique and not just the drawing program's capture from OBS.

This is something that I copypasted from the Go from 0 to Fulltime Content Creation Business plan (Free)

Twitch

Twitch is a livestreaming platform, so the advice given here will be different than all the other social medias. Streaming on Twitch will not help you grow, as Twitch as no discoverability on its own.

Posting Frequency

If you’re short on time, I would recommend actually skipping Twitch streaming and focusing on other social media platforms, or streaming a maximum of 2x a week for a max of 3 hours per stream to save time.

Content Tips

Add questions or fun jokes in the title to bait viewers to talk

The purpose of your Twitch streams should be to farm content for your other social medias. Otherwise, streaming on Twitch is a waste of time

Watch your VODs to see if there are any audio problems, as well as if you’re talking enough

This other advice from Sam Woodhall also gives more information onto the matter (This is originally from Twitter)

How to Grow on Twitch

Been wanting to make a small, bite size version of what I talk a lot about on stream for a while.
I decided to put together a series of infographics that summarise some of the best ways to grow on Twitch.
While this isn't everything I talk about, it's a good starting point.

There are even more resources from where these two came from at VTResources

Yet. If what you need is talking to somebody, well... there are Discord Servers for artists where they share their screen and talk, you can either activate your mic or talk through the no-mic channels. Still, like in the Sims. Chatting online doesn't increase the Social need the same way as engaging face-to-face to some people, so maybe trying some activities, courses or classes would benefit more or going to communal spaces or participating in artist meetings in your area, usually is people gathering in a Supermarket / Shopping Building, found a bunch of tables and draw while getting to know each other.

NickRowler 2023-10-24 20:56:44 UTC #3

Thank you for the feed back.

I do have a mic, the issue is no one shows up to talk to. So I don’t know if I should keep it on if no one is there.

I never had much luck with social media. I would love to ask my followers questions but I rarely get feedback.

I wish people where I live would set up social events. I would love to just go to the supermarket or whatever and just hang out with people. Or artist meet ups. That’s not really a thing where I live. Everyone tends to be very antisocial.

Again, I don’t really care about making money from Twitch. I just feel very hopeless and lonely.

RedLenai 2023-10-24 22:08:42 UTC #4

As I've mentioned, no one shows up because Twitch is not a platform for discovery, you're not going to be recommended to someone, you'll have to work harder on your social media, figure out what to do, how often to post, what things to do and such. Or well, as I've mentioned there are the Discord Servers like the Tapas or Webtoon one where people engage through CV which is the quickest option, since there is always someone in those channels.

And at no moment I was talking about making money, simply that views and engagement aren't born in Twitch, but social media and other platforms.

You could grab snips and bits from your VODs and cut them for reels, tiktok videos or shorts, many promote their twitch channels like that, be it on FB, IG, TW, and many more. Using hashtags, a link for people to see you live. But the thing about social media too is that you'll also have to engage to people, be it fellow creators, from here or the other artistic places you're in. Sometimes growth has to be mutual between two people.

I'm not a very social person and I'm at peace with my own loneliness since I was a kid, so I don't understand being hopeless. But sometimes you'll have to be proactive, be it talking to people, do small-chat, organize an event yourself that even if no one shows up at least you're out of home, going to more social places, join talks, or you can also swing by other people's streams and start engaging there, the thing is that if you only expect things to come your way, then... nothing is gonna happen. I don't know how you attempt to approach people, or how exactly everyone must be so antisocial, or if there are no activities nor anything of interest for anybody to be communal. So, I'm at lost of advice even.

There are some of the people in here that do stream from time to time, and there are some artists that make open mic through Discord while everyone draws in a shared canvas, don't know the website but it was used for one of Tapas's anniversaries I think. But yeah, it is also a matter of trying to gently push your way in. We're technically engaging right now and same while commenting on other people's threads.

I must mention that the IRL events I've talked about, none of them were on my own city, maybe a travel of 2-3 hours, sometimes 4 on just to go, then another 2-3 or even 4 to come back.
I honestly don't know where you are from, but it's a bit surprising there are no classes of any kind that one could attend, even if it's not your prefered interest. Or maybe a few cities away, well, not that I know if there is public transport or if it's free or accessible either.

NickRowler 2023-10-24 22:36:33 UTC #5

There aren't a lot of social events but there are classes. Unfortunately they are very expensive. I did take one once and most of the people there were either older than me or children, I have no idea what people my age are into where I live. I also currently can not afford those classes, even if I just interact with the boomers. I have been unemployed for awhile (thus the loneliness and hopelessness) so I have to be very careful about what I spend money on. Inflation has sort of doubled the cost of food where I live, I really want to move away but I can't afford it right now.

I lived here for 22 years. People are not very approachable. They tend to be unfriendly and antisocial. This isn't just a me thing, a lot of people who move to this area say the same thing. People tend to just keep to themselves. They don't really want to interact with you unless you can help them social climb to a better job.

TheLemmaLlama 2023-10-28 01:50:50 UTC #6

If it's about human interaction, you could perhaps schedule some game sessions for people in communities like this forum to join. I've been planning to make a thread where I announce I'm playing Gartic Phone at [time, including timezone] after I finish uni, but if you do it, I'll gladly hop in if the timezones match up :]

I find with games, it doesn't matter if you're socially awkward because you have something to do even if you don't know what to talk about or can't bring yourself to speak up. I guess drawing can fill that same purpose, which I guess is your intention with streaming. Those servers where you all draw together is probably better for that purpose, but they're also kind of a hit and miss and you can just end up spending the whole session in silence (which is fine if you're also using it for productivity, but the social aspect is hit or miss)

Like with games, the interaction is intrinsic, so you don't have to put in as much effort to actually interact. And something like Gartic Phone is great for learning about one another's sense of humour etc :]

NickRowler 2023-10-28 02:14:15 UTC #7

I think streaming with other people would be cool. I am planning to do some streams for my sister to watch, I guess if other people want to watch too they can.