So, you wanna be a Twitch superstar? Live large? Big house? Five cars? You’re in charge? Coming up in the world, don’t trust nobody? Errrm…. sorry the Cypress Hill took over for a second. But hey, that’s what happens when you’re trying to get beef up your Twitch game.

Assuming you haven’t been living under an Atari 2600, you’re probably familiar with streaming. If you’re familiar with streaming, you’ve probably heard of Twitch.

Now that the platform has taken off and streamers are making millions of dollars it can seem intimidating to get into the Twitch game, but does it have to be?

Getting Started as a Twitch Superstar

Twitch gets a lot of credit for bringing streaming to the forefront and expanding from pure gaming to a diverse lineup of entertainment. Now that Twitch-famous is a thing, everyone wants to ride the platform’s coattails like a magic carpet made of money.

Unfortunately, most folks aren’t going to see a profit without a business plan. If they aren’t growing their streams and brands as they imagined, they turn stagnant and eventually burn out.

The problem is that would-be superstars are only seeing the end goal of being famous, rather than the process of planning out a schedule and producing great content. Becoming a Twitch superstar is more than broadcasting. It’s about branding, planning, and audience interaction.

Pick Your Subject Brand

One of the most important things to consider when getting started is establishing your brand. Are you providing live competitive gameplay with a serious undertone or are you having fun and telling jokes? Either way, here’s the takeaway: It isn’t about being the most skilled player.

To establish yourself as a Twitch personality, you need to have a personality. Decide what you’re offering viewers and stick to it. You don’t have to be good to get an audience. If you’re especially bad at video games, you can make a career out of that. It just has to be entertaining.

The point is viewers need to know what to expect from your channel. If they can’t figure it out within a few seconds, they probably won’t stick around to find out. Choose your demographic and stick to it.

Recording Methods – The Cheap Route

Consistency is key. You need to pick a recording method, no matter what that is, and stick to it. There are a lot of different methods of recording and broadcasting; your choice can impact the type of content you are capable of producing.

For example, a cheap method of streaming is to use the camera attachment on a PS4 or Xbox. This allows you to get right into the action without worrying about recording software, microphones, and computing power on PC.

Using the PS4/Xbox method is as simple as having a camera, linking your Twitch and PS4/Xbox account, and enabling the broadcasting option.

Recording Methods – The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race Route

There’s no denying it: PCs are more powerful than consoles. If you want to be a Twitch superstar, you’ll need a powerful rig.

PC offers more options, especially video editing and quick chat response. Plus, it’s hard to escape the appeal of a triple screen set up. However, PC streamers will need to download recording software such as OBS (Open Broadcaster Software).

OBS is a free, open-source software tool that can be extremely useful for first-time streamers and YouTubers. While there are many different paid recording programs, they’re not necessary to launch your streaming career.

Figure out what you need to make your stream run optimally, and start building it slowly but surely. As time goes on, you’ll be able to determine which paid program you may want to purchase based on your needs.

Content

If you want to be a Twitch superstar, you need good content. After all, that’s why people are watching you in the first place.

Content should reflect your brand and be directed toward your targeted demographic. If your audience is primarily adults, you wouldn’t want to stream content aimed at children.

Before launch, be sure to research demographic trends. Younger viewers obviously make up the majority of the market. While it’s important to hone in on your chosen audience, it’s equally important to avoid alienating other demographics.

Easier said than done, but this wasn’t meant to be easy.

Audience Interaction

Time for some hard truth: The game doesn’t really matter, or at least it’s not as important as engaging your audience. Adapting to your audience is the most difficult part of the process, but also the most important because fans = income. Nobody is going to donate money to an unlikable jerk with a punchable face.

Understanding why your audience watches you and what entertains them is paramount to the overall longstanding success of the streamer. You are marketing a service, namely your personality. To do that you need to find out what your audiences likes and what turns them off.

Understanding the needs of your audience and their tastes in entertainment makes figuring out a marketing campaign that much easier. For example, do fans respond to contests and giveaway-type promotions or are they just there for the entertainment factor? That’s for you to figure out.

Consistency

Adding further fuel to the fire, you will want to ensure you’re consistent when it comes to providing content for your audience. Think about it like TV. Shows come on at a certain time of day on a scheduled lineup. You need to do the same.

Sporadically streaming will never get you the audience you want because you’ll only be visible to a tiny fraction of your viewer base. Having a consistent schedule tells fans that you are a reliable and consistent form of entertainment. All the more reason to subscribe.

Wrap Up – Keep Evolving as a Streamer

There are many paths to becoming the next Twitch superstar. Whether you provide engaging, competitive content or are great at interacting with your audience; there’s a niche for everything. The important thing is to evolve with your audience and keep the brand current.

It’s not easy for a streamer to change their business model. After all, that’s how they found success in the first place. However, it is important to remember that audiences change. You are at their mercy, and you need to follow their lead.

Becoming a superstar isn’t as easy as it was five years ago. There’s a lot more competition today as everyone wants a slice of that multi-million dollar pie. If you want to be successful, you need to feel the vibe and act upon it.

Hopefully, these tips will help launch your channel and set you on the path of a Twitch superstar!