Disclaimer

Everything shared within this book is intended for informational purposes only. All information
within this book is based on personal experiences and represents opinions of the authors or
other people (i.e., interviewed creators, advisors).

Nothing in this book is supported or endorsed by Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, or any other
streaming platform.

Authors, Streamlabs, or any related entity assume no responsibility for any actions taken based
on strategies offered in this book.

By reading any of these materials, you agree that the authors, as well as Streamlabs, are not
responsible for the success or failure of your venture.
Prelude 3

Chapter 1: Who Are You? 6

Chapter 2: Setup 11

Chapter 3: Mobile Streaming 23

Chapter 4: Branding Yourself 30

Chapter 5: How to Grow 37

Chapter 6: Equipment 46

Chapter 7: Build a Community 54

Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 63

Chapter 9: Advice From The Pros 75

Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 81

Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 99

Chapter 12: Health 108

Chapter 13: Mindset 113

Chapter 14: Making It! 122

Chapter 15: Summary 127

Helpful Resources 135

Prelude 3
 Prelude 4

Prelude

This course is not a silver bullet

Live streaming has grown year over year. If you are reading this - you know the stats and the
context. You see the opportunity and you want to grow. Few other opportunities allow you to
have a fun, remote, and even lucrative “job” such as being a professional live streamer. It may
seem daunting, and while it will take a massive amount of effort, resilience, and consistency is
very possible to make a sustainable living by being a live streamer.



Before jumping in, let’s clear up a few things:

1.This book is not a silver bullet

• There are no guarantees. There are no proven shortcuts that will get you 10K CCV overnight.
The only truth is that most worthwhile things are not easy.

• The path forward will be challenging. There are many talented creators out there. There are
many people who had a head start in the space and grew a strong community via hard work.
There are thousands of creators competing for our attention each day and there is a finite
amount of leisure time in a day (zero-sum game). To build a community, build a following, and
grow as a creator, you must offer enough value to the audience to stand out among others.

• Is this book going to offer a proven tactic, even if it’s hard? Will this book offer a guaranteed
path to success? No. Can you get faster towards your goals by thoughtfully processing concepts
and strategies in this book and applying positive attitude, passion, and hard work to put these
strategies in practice? Yes! We have seen it first hand, streamers going from <100 ccv to being
the next mega star on Twitch, Youtube, and Facebook.

2. Everyone Is Unique, Create Your Own Path

There’s a saying about how you can tell somebody how to do something, but until they actually do
it themselves, they won’t fully understand all that is involved. This rings true with live streaming.
 Prelude 5

The best advice is to just start poking around and over time, you will learn, grow, and optimize
yourself.

Additionally, you don’t need to be afraid to change things up if something isn’t working. This
space is all about adaptability and being able to carve your own path

These may seem pretty obvious, but when you get into the nitty gritty of live streaming, you
will likely better understand what we mean by this. Ultimately, the decision and willingness to
take action is on you.

3. The Purpose of This Course

If you’re here, it’s because you’re wanting to either start live streaming or become a better live
streamer. No matter which stage you are at, we believe that you will find useful information and
tips in here to help you grow as a content creator.

A few things that we hope to instill throughout the course

Motivation: Understand your why, then lean into it. Write it down and look at it everyday.
Whether your goal is to make extra income, take it full time, or just having fun; think about
what it is that motivates you to do this
Focus: Get started is the most important part, however staying focused on your goal and
concentrating on how to get there are equally as important
Authenticity: There are millions of people out there, but only one of you. Own that and live
your truth. If you are trying to be something you’re not, it will be evident. People want to see
the raw and true you.

Who are we and why listen to us?

• We are passionate about the creator space. We are former and current partnered Streamers.
We are Streamlabs employees. We are avid gamers, streamers, and industry professionals.

• We want to see growth. Growth comes from overcoming obstacles. Growth comes from more
creators providing more entertainment. Growth comes from diversity. Growth comes from

community building. Growth comes from you.

• We believe in you and in the creator space and we want to see it grow. 



Now let’s do this!

Who Are You? 6

 Chapter 1: Who Are You? 7

Chapter 1: 

Who Are You?
So you’re a fan of Twitch, you have a game or talent that you want to share with the world, and
you’ve decided it’s high time you put two and two together. You’ve finally decided to take the
plunge and become a Twitch streamer.

But there’s an abundance of Twitch categories to choose from—how do you know which one to
hone in on, and which games to focus on if you want to find success on the platform?

The secret to success on Twitch is partly knowing which categories are the most popular, but it’s
also partly knowing what it is about you that will draw an audience.

As a new Twitch streamer, before you spend too much time choosing a category and planning
content, it’s important to establish why you want to start streaming in the first place and what
you hope to get out of it.

With these questions in mind, you can then ask yourself: What kind of streamer do you want to
be?

How to choose a Twitch category as a new streamer

Ultimately, you have to do what suits you and your interests best.

We’re going to go through some of the most common, popular, and successful categories for
streamers on Twitch. You might find a category or type of streamer that fits you in this list, or you
might realize that you want to do a mix of a few different things, or that you want something
different entirely.

There are no right or wrong answers—as long as it works for you, you’re on the right path.

To guide your thinking, we can break Twitch categories down into two main sections: Video
Games and Other Content.

Here are some popular Twitch streamer categories to inspire your new streaming venture:
 Chapter 1: Who Are You? 8

Video Games
You Know What You Like: The Single-Game Streamer

If you want to stream your favorite game

exclusively, you’ll certainly be able to find an
audience who loves that game as much as
you do.

You’ll want to be able to

Offer interesting thoughts or analysis on

the gam
Have knowledge of the community that
comes with the game
Know inside tips on game mechanics
Establish yourself as a go-to perspective
for other fans of the game

You don’t necessarily need to be an amazing talent in your game of choice (although it certainly
wouldn’t hurt) but you will want to be an expert.

2. Eclectic and Flexible: The Variety Streamer

This might be the best label for new

streamers who are still wondering what
exactly they should focus on in their Twitch
streams.

Variety streamers do a little bit of

everything—or, if not everything, then several
different games that they cycle between. You
can be broad in what you bring to the table.

For example, if you’re interested in indie games, you can stream new releases as they come out
and have a conversation with your viewers about

Tons of different game studio

Every genre that piques your interes
Your favorite game design styles

If a big part of what draws you to streaming on Twitch is forming a strong community with your
viewers who have broadly similar interests, this could be the path for you.
 Chapter 1: Who Are You? 9

3. Poggers: The Pro Streamer

If you’re extremely skilled in a specific game,

this is a great option. This might not be
available to everyone—you don’t have to be
amazing at video games to be successful on
Twitch!—but if you do happen to be
particularly impressive, people will want to
watch you play.

The game can be complex, or it can be incredibly simple. Think of the incredibly popular Among
Us streamers.

If you can become great at a game everyone loves to play, they’ll want to join you. Folks will
surely stick around to watch you reach new heights.

4. Gift of Gab: The Just Chatting Streamer

Streamers in the “Just Chatting” category are

becoming more and more popular. As
community hosts, they themselves bring the
personality and entertainment that pulls their
audience in.

A “Just Chatting” Twitch stream can become

just about anything, including but not limited
to

Streaming funny video

Karaoke sessio
Community buildin
Co-workin
Cooking

As long as you don’t mind all eyes on you, this

type of streaming can be a great opportunity
to talk with new folks.

5. Organized Chit-Chat: The Host Streamer

One level above IRL streamers, if you want to have a show or podcast, you can stream it live on
Twitch.
 Chapter 1: Who Are You? 10

If you’re eager to share your opinions and engage with guests from your audience on a favorite
topic, this could be a great option for you.

The possibilities here are vast. Any topic that interests you enough to talk about for hours is
ready to be transformed into a podcast.

When going into this niche, it’s important to know what you like and why. You’ll need to establish
your show with a clear vision in order to capture an audience.

6. In the Studio: The Art Streamer

If you have an artistic talent or skill that you’d

like to share, you can pull in a cozy, artistic
audience to come join you. Various types of
art to stream on Twitch include:

Paintin
Illustratin
Sculptin
Knitting and crochetin
Digital art

Just like gaming streamers, art streamers

should be passionate about what they do and
excited to engage with others about it.

Similar to the above categories, you can approach streaming art on Twitch from a few different
angles. You can stream several different types of creative projects and pull in an audience with
your personality. Or, you can focus in on one type of art and establish yourself as an expert.

Bottom line, if you’re an artist who loves to chat about their work in progress and who wants to
gain visibility for their work by sharing it with folks online, this could be a great avenue.

Find your calling

While these are a few of the most popular streaming categories on Twitch, there are many
others.

Twitch is home to dozens of communities of different sizes. There will be someone out there
who shares your interest in the content you choose to stream. As long as you follow your own
true interests, you’re setting up a channel that deserves success.
Setup 11
 Chapter 2: Setup 12

Chapter 2:
Setup
Of course, there are multiple platforms to choose
from, and it may feel a bit overwhelming to get started.
We suggest getting to know each platform before
committing to one. Firstly, if you have an established
community on a certain platform, it's best to start
there. Start by creating a multistream to establish
which platform gets more engagement and views.

Which platform is right for you is a personal choice, and there is no right or wrong answer. An
advantage of live streaming is that you are not restricted to one platform. We'll review the big
players like Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube.

Platform Options Overview

Twitch

Twitch is a continuously growing platform for live streams of every variety with topics that may
include gaming, music, talk shows, sports, travel and outdoors, "just chatting," food and drink, or
special events. This guide teaches how to stream using the free Streamlabs OBS software.

Facebook Live

While you may stream directly from your PC or mobile device to Facebook, we also review the
specifics of scheduling live streams and how to livestream games on Facebook.

YouTube

Of course, streaming to YouTube is a popular option for many live streamers, especially gaming.
YouTube allows mobile, webcam, or encoder live streaming options. We get into the details on
streaming with the encoder option through Streamlabs OBS.
 Chapter 2: Setup 13

Multistreaming Options

If you want to stream across all Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube, Streamlabs offers a
Multistream for a monthly or annual fee. This could help you grow your audience faster.

Create a Twitch account

Before you start creating content, reference the community guidelines to avoid any content that
could potentially get your account on Twitch and Streamlabs suspended.

1. Create an accoun
Simply click the “sign up” button and fill out the appropriate information.

2. Enable two-factor authenticatio

Before you can start broadcasting you’ll need to enable 2FA. Navigate to security settings,
and enable 2FA.

Download Streamlabs OBS

Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube allow you to use the free live streaming
software like Streamlabs OBS. Download and install it on your desktop
computer.
Launch Streamlabs OB
Sign in by clicking on your preferred platform name and sign in using
the same login

Streaming Settings - General Set Up

If your computer hardware cannot handle the high streaming settings, you may experience
performance issues while you are live streaming. Streamlabs OBS helps solve this issue for new
streamers with the Auto Optimize feature. Like it sounds, it optimizes your settings based on
your internet speed along with your computer hardware. Find this setting in your Streamlabs OBS
software under Settings > General. If you are more comfortable with the technical aspect, adjust
the settings as you see fit to provide the best live streaming quality.

Streaming Quality and Resolution

Quality, high-resolution live streaming is essential to building your audience and will impact
Streamlabs OBS performance. Doubling your pixels from 720p to 1080p will use more computer
resources but will produce a better stream.
 Chapter 2: Setup 14

In Streamlabs OBS, adjust your resolution by selecting Video from the side panel in the
setting window
Leave the base (canvas) the same as your computer's standard resolution
Lower the output (scaled) resolution to reduce the impact of your hardware performance to
1280x720 for an optimum balance of both performance and quality.

Choosing your Encoder

There are software (x264) and hardware (NVENC) encoders. To encode videos on your CPU, use
the software encoder. But the advantage of a hardware encoder like NVENC is it is a dedicated
encoder in the GPU. This difference is crucial with live game streaming. So if you are concerned
about game performance, this is your better option. If your video card is NVIDIA, then we
recommend streaming with NVENC.

CPU Usage Settings

Your CPU usage preset is under Settings > Output. There are several usage presets under x264
(how fast the CPU encodes your videos). The default settings are "Very Fast," delivering an ideal
balance of performance and quality. Keep in mind, NVENC includes these presets: low-latency,
optimal performance, and max quality. Experiment with these presets, but we suggest starting
with the "Quality" preset and adjusting as you see the quality and your hardware performance.

Dynamic Bitrate

The Dynamic Bitrate feature allows Streamlabs OBS to adjust your bitrate from your network
performance automatically. By making these adjustments as needed, it prevents your video from
dropping frames.
 Chapter 2: Setup 15

Of course, you still may experience dropped

frames if your computer or internet cannot
handle the set bitrates, but this improves your
streaming stability and minimizes latency.

Enable Dynamic Bitrate from Settings, then

select the Advanced section. At the bottom of
this window, check the box that says,
"Dynamically change bitrate when dropping
frames while streaming." Alternatively,
suppose you want to adjust the bitrate
manually. In that case, you can uncheck the
automatic feature and add Twitch's suggested
bitrate settings for the resolution and fps
you're aiming to stream:

1080p 60fps 1080p 30fps

Resolution: 1920x1080
Resolution: 1920x1080

Bitrate: 6000 kbps

Bitrate: 4500 kbps

Rate Control: CBR

Rate Control: CBR

Framerate: 60 or 50 fps
Framerate: 25 or 30 fps

Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds

Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds

Preset: Quality
Preset: Quality

B-frames: 2 B-frames: 2

720p 60fps 720p 30fps

Resolution: 1280x720
Resolution: 1280x720

Bitrate: 4500 kbps

Bitrate: 3000 kbps

Rate Control: CBR

Rate Control: CBR

Framerate: 60 or 50 fps
Framerate: 25 or 30 fps

Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds

Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds

Preset: Quality
Preset: Quality

B-frames: 2 B-frames: 2
 Chapter 2: Setup 16

Please remember, everybody’s setup is going to be different so make sure to play around with the
settings yourself to find out what works best for you.

Widgets and Alerts

Live streaming is about engagement and interaction with your viewers. Enabling the live stream
alert widget gives you the chance to connect with your audience and interact directly with your
viewers in real-time. With unique on-screen alerts, it's your best opportunity to create a great first
(and lasting) impression.

Add an Alert Box widget under the Sources section of Streamlabs OBS.

Now, viewers will see as subscribers join, follow, etc.

 Chapter 2: Setup 17

Besides the default alert, Streamlabs offers Alert Box Themes to create a fun, colorful alert that
matches your branding.

You can also customize your widgets manually from the Streamlabs dashboard by selecting the
Alert Box option in the left sidebar.
 Chapter 2: Setup 18

General Settings
Within Streamlabs General Settings, you can customize all alert types. These will vary based on
which platform you are on. For example, Twitch will display options for Followers, Subscriptions,
Hosts, and Bits. You can also edit alert delays, mod approvals, profanity filters, and more.

Explore other widget options by watching the top widgets video from Streamlabs.

Brand
It’s super important to have a consistent theme going with your brand. Having consistent colors,
aesthetic, logo, and fonts all go a very long way in creating a brand for yourself and helping your
audience remember you.

Some ways you can optimize this would be

Social Medi
Graphic Overlay
Twitch Panel
Branded Alerts

Streamlabs provides a ton of tools to help you create your unique brand
Theme Library, which has over 250 overlays from top designers like Nerd or Die, Visuals By
Impulse, OWN3D, and mor
Panel Maker, which allows you to create your color coordinated Twitch Panel
Logo Maker, which gives you complete access to dozens of premade logos, as well as
hundreds of logo components to create your own from scratch
 Chapter 2: Setup 19

How to Setup Twitch Channel

Now that you have the basics of your Streamlabs OBS setup for Twitch, it is time to customize
your Twitch channel. From either your desktop or mobile, add your profile photo and bio. There
are several options to customize from your desktop computer like:
Profile photo & bio (less than 300 characters
Channel banner (recommend size 1200x480px in GIF, JPG, or PNG format under 10mb
Profile accent colo
Video player banner (your offline image: 1080x720 in GIF, JPG, or PNG format under 10mb
Channel trailer (less than 60 seconds
Social media link
Stream schedule (Twitch recommends choosing a start time and end time, specific day, plus
a category
Channel panels (sections may include about you and other information that may include
sponsors or related content
Additional options for partners and affiliates

Donations
How to Set Up Donations on Twitch

Donations are an excellent way for live streamers to monetize their content. To get started
accepting donations or "tips," there are two methods to create a tip page.
When you initially logged into Streamlabs, it likely asked for your PayPal email address.
If you need to revisit this step, log into your Streamlabs OBS software. Navigate to Settings,
then Donation Settings, and select Methods. From here, choose a payment processor like
PayPal. From here you can finalize your donation options.

If you are not a US-based streamer, you can update the donation currency. In addition, you can
also set a minimum donation amount or a recommended amount.
 Chapter 2: Setup 20

Live Streaming with Facebook

Facebook offers various ways to go live, including going live to your profile, a
public or private group, a business page, or an event.

To get started with live streaming on Facebook, choose how you want to
stream, then follow these steps
Click the Live button (from the post section).
Add your description. Facebook allows tagging, location check-ins, and
adding a feeling or activity to your live stream.
Click Start Live Video.
When done, click Finish.

Facebook App

With the Facebook app, you need to find your business page, group, profile, or event within the
app where you want to live stream first. Then, you follow the steps as usual.

Creator Studio app

The Creator Studio app uses a pen and paper icon (from the Home or Posts tab) instead of going
directly to a post.

Your Computer Browser

Just like the Facebook app, select either your personal profile, a business page, group, or event to
start your live stream and follow the steps outlined above.

Your Computer with Streamlabs OBS

Connect your Facebook account like with Twitch or YouTube by selecting the Facebook option
with you set up Streamlabs OBS.

How to Schedule Lives Streams on Facebook

Instead of going live immediately, you may want to schedule a live stream. After selecting Live
Video, choose the Schedule Live Video Event option in the left column. Then add an event name,
date, and time plus the privacy setting for the live event.

Click Next, then Upload Cover Photo or Choose Illustration. If you opt not to add a photo, it will
use your cover photo. Click Create Event.

These steps automatically create two posts: an announcement (published immediately to

wherever you scheduled the event) and a live video post that publishes when the event goes live.
 Chapter 2: Setup 21

How to Live Stream Games on Facebook

Before you start streaming games on Facebook, create a Facebook Gaming Creator page. Next,
log in to Streamlabs OBS with your Facebook account.
Select your Facebook Gaming Pag
It's correctly connected when you see the Go Live button.
In the pop-up window, add your game category, title, description, and select your page.
Click Confirm & Go Live.

Live Streaming on YouTube

If you want to live stream on YouTube, log into your YouTube account. Make
sure you have 90 days free of any live streaming restrictions with YouTube,
and you must verify your channel. If you opt for streaming without an
encoder like Streamlabs, you may be eligible to stream via mobile. However,
if you want to stream directly from your mobile, YouTube requires you to
have over 1,000 YouTube subscribers (or using the Streamlabs mobile app.)

How to Do Live Streaming on YouTube (From PC)

Typically, streams want to know how to stream on YouTube from a PC. After you enable live
streaming on YouTube
Connect your YouTube account by signing into Streamlabs OBS with your YouTube login
details. Choose the Start Fresh option if you have not set up YouTube live streaming with any
other encoders
Set up your mic and webcam (they will be automatically found if connected to your
computer)
Personalize the experience by adding a theme, then click Go Live when you are ready.

Live Streaming on YouTube on Mobile

Using the Streamlabs mobile app opens the door for you to stream live to YouTube from your
mobile device. Install the Streamlabs for Android or iOS, log in with your YouTube login, and
choose whether you are streaming your screen or IRL. Use Editor Mode to customize your
stream, then click Go Live.

How to Find YouTube Stream Key

After you click the Go Live button, you will find your YouTube Stream key under the Stream
Settings section. Like the stream key for Twitch, your YouTube stream key is unique and
 Chapter 2: Setup 22

confidential but necessary for encoders like Streamlabs. This special code tells the software
where to send your live stream and allows YouTube to receive it.

How to Stream on YouTube From PC

Lastly, you may also stream from YouTube directly. After logging into your YouTube account from
your browser, click on the Create icon, then Go Live. From here, either schedule your stream or
choose Right now. If you do not want to use Streamlabs, choose the Built-in webcam option. To
use Streamlabs, select the Streaming software option. Next, customize your stream information,
following the prompts. Finally, click End Broadcast when finished.



Now you know how to set up your streaming software for the best experience for both you and
your viewers as you build your live streaming audience. As your live streaming experience grows,
you may consider adding more widgets, stream across multiple platforms, or more. Live
streaming may be a passion project or a thriving career, but now you know the steps to get
started on Twitch, Facebook, or YouTube. 

So enjoy your live streaming experience!
Mobile Streaming 23
 Chapter 3: Mobile Streaming 24

Chapter 3: 

Mobile Streaming
If you don’t have a machine capable of running livestreaming software, if you prefer to play
mobile games, or if you want to broadcast yourself IRL (in real life), then mobile streaming is a
great option. Like Streamlabs OBS for mobile, streaming apps turn your phone into a
broadcasting tool and you can setup your stream in much the same way you would if you were
using desktop software.

Here at Streamlabs, we’ve built free apps for iOS and Android that allow you to do just that,
compatible with Streamlabs widgets like Alertbox, Chatbox, The Jar, and much more. In this
section, we’ll dive deep into how to get started streaming on mobile, how to stream mobile
games, and how to go live with your camera for IRL streams.

Getting Started
There are a few options available for mobile streaming. If, for example, you’d like to stream
directly to Twitch, you can do so via the Twitch mobile app. However, with limited customization
options and no ability to stream to other platforms, we recommend using the free Streamlabs
mobile app. Available here on iOS and here on Android.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, login with your platform of choice. If you’re already a
Streamlabs user, it will be tied to the same account. Now the fun begins. The first thing you’ll
notice is the option to ‘Stream yourself’ or ‘Stream your games.’ If you’re looking to go live IRL,
feel free to skip the next section on mobile gaming.
 Chapter 3: Mobile Streaming 25

Mobile Gaming
There is no shortage of mobile games available, but like any game, some are more suitable for
streaming than others. And, like all streaming, it’s more about your personality than it is about the
game itself. That said, here are some of the most popular games on Twitch as of this writing. Be
forewarned, this list is bound to change often
PUBG Mobil
Garena Free Fir
Minecraf
Call of Duty Mobil
Clash Royal
Clash of Clans

Battle royale and real-time strategy games continue to be popular for mobile streaming, so if
you’re just getting started, consider downloading one and giving it a try.

With a game in hand, open the Streamlabs mobile app to get started. If it’s your first time in the
app, select ‘Stream my games’ from the onboarding menu. On Android, this will automatically
add an alert box and screen capture source to your layout. On iOS, you’ll still see the camera, but
fret not, we’ll get there shortly.

If you want to go live right away, you’re free to do so by clicking ‘GO LIVE’ at the bottom of the
screen and selecting your platform of choice. However, if you want to use the app to its full
potential, open the editor by selecting Menu > Editor.

You’ll be brought to a screen that looks similar to this one, where you can drag and drop
elements and customize exactly what you want viewers to see.
 Chapter 3: Mobile Streaming 26

There is also much more to the app than the Alert box and Event list (though those are popular
for good reasons). You can upload your own images to add to the screen (if you have a logo, this
is a good option), you can add stream labels, and, if you’re a Streamlabs Prime member, you can
add professionally designed mobile-only themes. To add elements to your screen, click ‘Layers’
in the top right-hand corner and browse through what’s available.

Each theme comes with a border around the outside of your stream, a themed alert that
matches, as well as a themed event list widget. You don’t have to use everything included in the
themes, however. If you want your own alert box but you like the look of one border, you’re free to
just add the border individually.

On the Streamlabs mobile Android app, you also have the option to add both a camera and
screen source. That means you can capture what’s on your screen (i.e. your game), and you can
broadcast your camera at the same time. Streamlabs is the only app that offers this kind of
functionality, giving you the best opportunity possible to emulate desktop streamers. You can
also select your audio source, an internal microphone, external microphone, or combination of
the two. But be forewarned, not every game supports in-game audio for streaming.

On iOS, unfortunately the operating system doesn’t allow for the same kind of flexibility, but
you’re still able to share your screen directly from the mobile app. Customize the editor to heart’s
desire, and when you’re ready, exit the menu to the main preview screen.

Also included in Streamlabs Prime is the ability to multistream on mobile. When you click ‘GO
LIVE’, Prime members can select multiple platforms from the dropdown menu, and their stream
will automatically broadcast to the various platforms simultaneously.
 Chapter 3: Mobile Streaming 27

Once you’re live, simply switch apps to the game you installed earlier and get started playing!
Remember, it’s not all about the gameplay, it’s about you. Make sure you’re talking about what’s
going through your head, interacting with the games, and most importantly, interacting with your
fans!

IRL Streaming
Streaming your camera, commonly referred to as IRL
streaming, has exploded in popularity over the last few years.
This doesn’t just apply to Twitch’s ‘Just Chatting’ category, it’s
across all platforms like YouTube and Facebook. The live
streaming industry has grown immensely, and so too has the
appetite for non-gaming live content.

Whether you’re a musician, a travel vlogger, livestreaming a

podcast or streaming yourself shopping, the mobile app is a
great way to connect with your audience.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, select ‘Stream yourself’

from the onboarding options. This will automatically set you
up with a default alert box and add a camera source to your
stream. Most users like to stream their camera in portrait
mode, but bear in mind that platforms like YouTube only
intake landscape video, so you’ll appear on stream with black
bars on either side of your camera.
 Chapter 3: Mobile Streaming 28

Since you’re not sharing your screen, you never need to leave the Streamlabs app. Either by
selecting ‘Event List’ in the bar at the bottom, or by swiping right, you can view recent events on
your channel. Additionally, by selecting ‘Chat’ you can read messages and respond to questions,
all from inside the app.

Of course, if you would like to add themes, custom alerts, and other widgets, you absolutely can.
Open the menu and click ‘Advanced’ where you can organize and iterate on your stream settings
with fine detail. Bitrate, frames per second, audio settings, you name it. The Streamlabs mobile
app is a powerful tool for beginners and seasoned professionals alike.

Rewards
With the latest versions of the Streamlabs mobile apps, you’re also rewarded the more you
stream! In the menu, you’ll find a tab titled ‘Rewards.’

The more you use the app and the more tasks you complete, the more points you earn. Examples
of tasks could include simply going live to a certain platform, connecting multiple accounts to
the primary one you logged in with, getting viewers on your stream, and streaming consistently.
Once you’ve accumulated some points, head to the ‘Redeem’ tab.
 Chapter 3: Mobile Streaming 29

Here, you’ll be able to cash in those hard in points for amazing rewards like free multistream
time, disconnect protection time, themes from the Streamlabs mobile theme store, and even
Streamlabs Prime discounts.

In Conclusion
Mobile streaming poised for immense growth over the next decade. As phones and network
connections continue to improve, mobile games get even more innovative, and new streaming
trends emerge in the industry, mobile is a fantastic tool to add to any streamer’s repertoire. Even
if you intend to be a primarily desktop, gaming-focused streamer, the beauty of mobile streaming
is your ability to connect with fans from anywhere, not just behind a desk. The emergence of
‘Just Chatting’ as a dominant category on Twitch speaks volumes to the thirst viewers have for
authentic, live interactions with their favourite creators.

The Streamlabs mobile app, available on iOS and Android, provides some functionality of
Streamlabs OBS directly from your smartphone. It allows you to setup in seconds, use
Streamlabs widgets like event list and alert box, view and interact with chat, and allows you to
play games or go live with your camera. Whether you have an iPhone, iPad, or any Android
device, mobile streaming has never been easier.
Branding Yourself 30
 Chapter 4: Branding Yourself 31

Chapter 4: 

Branding Yourself
If you want to succeed with Twitch you need to have your unique style, personality, and

communicative skills. However, before you start streaming, your brand should already be in place

or at least in motion. You don’t have to have everything 100% perfect from the jump, but you’ll

want to have the basics. A strong brand will make your name recognizable to your followers and

sponsors, and it is a representation of the style and content you’re offering. When you think of

the top streamers on Twitch, you think of Ninja, Dr. Disrespect, Pokimane, and so on. These

streamers are memorable because they have nailed the branding piece! Their name, logo,

design, panels, persona, style, and content all are relatively consistent.

In this article, we will go through some Twitch branding ideas that can make your stream unique,

pretty, and evolve over time.

Let’s dig in.

Getting Started

You’ve set up your twitch channel and you feel pretty confident about your content. The next step

is to learn how to brand yourself on Twitch. Your brand is the first thing people will notice on the

platform, and if done right, it will make an impression on your audience and future sponsors.

So, give some serious thought to what makes you and your stream unique. Remember,

everything matters. From the way you speak, to the way you dress; your behavior will make you

stand out in the crowd.

 Chapter 4: Branding Yourself 32

The next step in the process of your brand creation is to determine your long-term goals. It

doesn’t matter if you want to create a small group of fans or want to get into a Twitch

partnership. If you’ve determined your goals, you will have a clear notion of what your stream will

be about and how you’ll connect with others.

Who Are You?

When creating a stream, you have to determine what kind of presence you want to create.

If you’re going to be yourself, then you should make a list of values, beliefs, and strengths you

care about. Your streams should be a reflection of who you are. You’re not just a streamer, but a

person. What do you and your brand represent?

Also, you can be someone you’re not, and let’s face it, it can be a lot of fun. You can create a

character from your imagination to provoke strong reactions from your viewers. Some good

examples of this are Kitboga and Dr. Disrespect.

Brand Identity

Without brand identity, you will never survive on Twitch. First, start with your logo and determine

what font and colors you are going to use. You can use awesome tools like Streamlabs Logo

Maker to leverage pre-made logos or create one from scratch using thousands of symbols and

components. Remember, it’s not just about the small icon in the corner of your screen. You

should experiment with everything Streamlabs offers including overlays, animations, alerts, etc.

Consistency is the key to your brand’s success. Once you’ve chosen your logo style, use it

everywhere. Your consistency will without a doubt show your professionalism and credibility.

Also, never hesitate to take advice from experienced streamers. When it comes to Twitch

branding ideas, experienced streamers are the best source of knowledge. You can connect with

them in their chat, Twitter, Discord, etc.

 Chapter 4: Branding Yourself 33

Choose Your Name Carefully

It may sound obvious, but your name on Twitch can have an impact on your brand’s success. The

best way to go is to create something simple. Something that mirrors your personality, and most

importantly, isn’t already taken. Think of something short and sweet that is easy to remember

like: Ninja, Trainwrecks, TeePee, etc.

Give some serious thought into whether you want to be known by your real name, cool nickname,

or initials. Make sure it’s something you’re comfortable with because you will have to use it

everywhere. Although you can change it now and then, this isn’t advised. Remember, consistency

is king!

Graphics

The number of people that disregard the importance of graphics on twitch is incredible. Your

graphics are the first thing viewers are going to notice on your channel. So, make sure to invest

time in your channel’s graphics because we all know how much first impressions matter.

If you’re a beginner, you can mess up your graphics very easily. So, here are some guidelines for

branding your graphics.

Make sure that your graphics are consistent an all the other social media platforms, Youtube,

Instagram, etc. This way, your followers will know they’re looking at something made by you,

without even reading your name.

Seek Help

If you don’t have any experience in art design and graphics, there is no shame in seeking

professional help. Sure, we all want to save money. But if you hire a professional to create your

graphics, your brand will momentarily make an impression on other brands and sponsors. There

are also very affordable options. Streamlabs has a variety of tools to help you for $19/month

like Logo Maker, Theme Library, Intro Maker, Alert Library, etc.
 Chapter 4: Branding Yourself 34

Although the graphics you use are extremely important, your Twitch brand is much more than

that. It is a combination of many things including your personality. This is where professional

designers come in. They can implement your personality into graphics like nobody else.

So, if you hire a professional, sit down and talk about yourself. What kind of a person are you?

Are you more retro or futuristic? Do you want sleek or playful aesthetic? Let them get to know

you, and they will do their magic.

Sound Branding

One of the ways to build your personal brand on Twitch is to implement ‘’sound branding’’. This

term is used when a streamer uses a certain sound when he gets a donation, subscriber,

follower, etc. You can use the same sound for each one, and when your stream is over, the sound

clip will stay chiseled into your viewer’s minds.

This tactic is successful because it creates triggers in the minds of your viewers. A trigger is a

point at which somebody is helped to remember something from seeing or hearing a very

surprising thing than what they are helped to remember. You can choose from a variety of

custom sounds with Streamlabs Alert Box Sound Library

 Chapter 4: Branding Yourself 35

Storytelling

We all know that all great brands have a great story to tell. Well, why shouldn’t you?

Storytelling is what makes your streams unique, and sparks emotions that keep the audience

hooked on your content.

You can use countless details from your background. Tell stories about your childhood, talk

about your hobbies, and anything that will make you memorable.

Social Media

Once you’ve done all the hard work, then it’s time to advertise yourself on social media platforms.

Social media is the best way to stay connected with your fans when you’re not streaming. This

doesn’t mean you need to spam people, but it’s a way of informing your fans about your future

broadcasts.

When it comes to streamers, Twitter is still the best way to go. Still, you should also be active on

Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Merchandise

Now that you know how to build your brand,

it’s time to make some money. Well, the

answer is easy‒merchandise

Although your followers support you, they

would also like to get something tangible in

addition to the shoutout when they make a

donation. This is where merchandise comes

in handy. Let your fans promote your brand

through stickers, posters, cups, badges,

T-shirts, and anything you can think of.

The next step is to find a place where you can

sell you products. Streamlabs Merch is super

simple to use, no upfront cost to buy the

inventory, and alerts are automatically

integrated so when someone makes a merch

purchase, it will pop up on screen!

 Chapter 4: Branding Yourself 36

Collaborate With Other Streamers and Friends

Collaboration is one of the key aspects of a successful brand. Try to

reach out to other streamers and ask them to collaborate with you.

If there’s some sort of chemistry, work together to build both of

your brands. Exchange innovative ideas, but also listen carefully to

their suggestions.

Also, analyze your chat and search for constructive criticism. But

this doesn’t mean you should take every bad comment seriously.

You should consider your follower’s comments on how to improve

your stream.

In Conclusion, Streaming Is Hard Work

To be honest, no one can really tell you how to brand yourself on Twitch. In fact, most streamers

may end up never making it. However, there is always that small group of individuals that push

through the daily grind and end up making top-dollar, because they had a dream and never gave

up.
How to Grow 37
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 38

Chapter 5: 

How to Grow
One of the most significant factors in success on Twitch is consistency. You want to be around
as much as possible, interacting with your community and creating an audience for yourself.
Read on to learn more about how to grow your brand and audience on Twitch, Youtube, and
Facebook.

Pay Attention To Analytics

How are people watching your channel? Do they watch the whole stream, or just click over to
watch a few minutes? How long do you need to keep people watching before they start to drop
off?

Look at your analytics and figure out why people are staying or leaving. Then, figure out what you
can do to get people to stay.

You can find these analytics in a few different places. Check out end-of-stream reports or the
analytics dashboard on Streamlabs.com. Toggle to advanced view to look at more advanced
stats. There are also public tracking sites like SullyGnome.com or TwitchTracker.com that can
help see how you’re doing next to other streamers, and you can also set benchmarks.

Try experimenting! Try different types of content, different camera angles, different games, etc.
All of those other things can help you to figure out what works and what doesn't. Looking at your
data and analytics can give you a lot of insight into what your audience wants and doesn’t want.
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 39

Ten Tips For Growth

1. Find Your Niche

First, you’ve got to find a niche that’s not already popular. Don’t try to copy a streamer that’s
already popular. There are too many people out there to compete with. You will have to be
creative and also authentic. Don’t decide on a persona that isn’t who you are because it will take
too much work to be someone you’re not constantly.

To find your niche, you’re going to have to look at the top streamers and see what’s missing.
What’s the same? Where are they lacking? There’s a lot of room for creativity, so don’t get
discouraged.
2. Build a Brand
You’ll need a distinctive name and logo to get started. If you can afford it, hire a designer to make
you a logo. It might be expensive upfront, but it’s an investment that will pay off over time.
Alternatively, Streamlabs has an excellent logo maker that allows you to use a pre-selected
library of symbols and icons to create a unique logo in less than 10 minutes.

You’ll need to decide what your brand stands for and what you’re going to do to differentiate
yourself. Are you going to be a comedy streamer? A hardcore gamer? A teacher? A streamer for
a cause? A combination of these?

This is where your research about the top streamers will come in handy. If you’re a comedy
streamer, you’ll need to find your niche. Are you going to be a more PG comedy streamer or a
streamer that makes more mature jokes? Are you going to be streaming games or IRL
streaming?

If you’re a hardcore gamer, you need to decide what kind of games you’re going to play and how
you’ll play them. Are you going to do speed runs? Are you going to be a “let’s play” streamer or a
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 40

“walkthrough” streamer?

Do some research about what type of streamer you are, and then get to work on your brand’s
logo. You’ll want to make attractive overlays for your stream and have the proper setup for your
brand.

3. Branch Out To More Platforms

Twitch is the central hub for streaming, but competing platforms are quickly becoming more
popular. When it comes to gaining momentum, you’ll find that branching out to more outlets will
increase the number of people you can reach.

Using the Streamlabs Multistream feature, you can broadcast your stream to multiple platforms
simultaneously. This means more viewers on your stream, which ultimately increases your
chances of monetization.

Consider broadcasting your stream to other rising mediums, such as YouTube Live, Facebook
Live, YouTube Gaming, and TikTok. While not as popular as Twitch, these streaming platforms
are gaining momentum and can help you grow. Furthermore, platforms with fewer streamers
may help you gain more attention.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

Most people are afraid to fail, but streamers have got to be different. They love the idea of trying
out new things and being creative, so if you’re worried about failing, you’re not going to grow. If
you’re wondering how to get more followers on twitch, you have to be willing to change what
you’re doing to attract new viewers.

Don’t just play your game; find a way to engage your viewers. Build a community so that they’re
just as invested in your success as you are. The only way to build a community is to be creative
and try new things.
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 41

5. Collaborate
It is good practice to not look at collaboration with others as a means to an end, but more like a
practice of building genuine and authentic relationships. Collaboration is an opportunity to share
your stream and community with others and can help you connect with streamers who have
similar interests and audiences.

When you work with others, you’ll increase the number of viewers that can potentially find your
stream. The more people who see your stream, the higher chance you have of gaining
monetization.

Broadcasting with others is also an opportunity to build a team of streamers to collaborate and
grow together. Group up with other streamers and community members who have
complementary skills, such as one who’s great at editing and another who’s great at being social
and keeping audiences engaged. Learning from each other is a fulfilling way to both build
relationships and improve your stream.

There are many communities you can join that are centered around streaming collaboration. You
can find them on Twitch, Discord, Reddit, Facebook, and other social media. Remember that
quality is better than quantity, so be selective and only join the groups that genuinely appeal to
you, rather than joining many and attempting to manage all of them.

6. Try to Reach Affiliate

Wondering how many followers it takes to reach affiliate level on twitch? There is a bit more to it
than that. According to Twitch, to be eligible for Affiliate, you have to
Have at least 50 followers
Have an average of three (or more) simultaneous viewers over 30 days
Have at least 500 total minutes (8 hours and 20 minutes) of stream time within the last 30
days
Have broadcasted at least seven different days within the last 30 days.
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 42

The most important thing to remember is that your stream will not hit right off the bat. It will take
time to get there, but that’s ok. Remember, it took Ninja a long time to get to where he is today.

To help speed things along, try to get involved in the community as much as possible. Interact
with your followers, friends, and other streamers. Be genuine, and you’ll be fine.

Another tip is to get a good group of friends to come onto your stream with you. This will help
boost your audience, and it will also make you feel more comfortable and less nervous. Try to
keep your friends on the channel as much as possible.

7. Stream the Game Your Best At

Now that you’ve found your niche, brand and made some goals, you need to choose a game.

Streaming is heavily reliant on how many people are streaming the game you are playing, so this
is a massive part of the success of your stream. If you already have a large enough audience,
you can branch out and play any game you want. If not, you’ll have to stick to a game that has a
large audience.

It's a great idea to play a game that you're good at. It's much more rewarding and will keep you
motivated to develop your skills. Just because you’re good at a game doesn’t mean it will
automatically have an audience, but it’s a great start.

People like to watch people be good at things. Remember not only to stream the game but also
make a point to have an entertaining stream! If you’re not a professional gamer, try to be funny
and engaging!

8. Engage Your Audience

You can’t have a stream without an audience, so first, you’ve got to build one! One way to build an
audience is through other social media. Find suitable hashtags, and engage with those posts and
threads. Provide others will valuable feedback/support, and they will likely appreciate it.

If you make a good impression, they may follow you back. You can even build your own hashtag
for your stream. Something unique to you and your stream that others can search for and follow
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 43

your stream.

Try to get your stream on Twitch’s main page to get many unique viewers, which can be achieved
by making a lot of quality content with an impressive stream and a unique appearance.

Once you have your audience, a great way to keep them from leaving your stream is to talk to
them while you play. This is called talking to the “chat,” and you’ll need to get good at it. Like
most things, practice makes perfect.

First, you’ll need a good microphone. There are a lot of great microphones out there that are
inexpensive. You can get a good one for around $30.

Next, you’ll need to talk to your audience. Don’t be afraid to get personal, but don’t make it about
you. Your viewers want to know about you, but more importantly, they want to know you care
about them. This is the number one mistake new streamers make. They are selling their channel,
not themselves or their content. If you want to build a following, you’ve got to start by being a
natural person.

Then, set up a Discord channel, where you can chat with the community and build relationships.
Don’t worry; it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just be yourself and answer questions from your fans.
You can also post a link to your stream on Twitter and Reddit.

9. Make Sure You’ve Got Your Basics Covered

Streaming is very different from the traditional way of making a video, and you’ll have to learn
how to do it. Luckily, you don’t need expensive equipment to get started, and you can know how
to do it on your own. It’s easier than it seems.

Here are some basics:


A. Software — You can start using a free service like Streamlabs OBS. Streamlabs is very
user-friendly and has many features, such as the multistream feature mentioned in section 3.
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 44

B. Hardware — You don’t need a lot of hardware to start streaming. All you need is a good
computer and a decent internet connection. If you’re playing more graphic intensive games, you
will need a great graphics card and a powerful processor. This is because streaming and playing
games can be pretty stressful for your computer.

C. Cameras — You can use either a webcam or a capture card. It doesn’t matter which you use,
as long as it’s good. Make sure your camera isn’t blurry, and consider your lighting.

D. Lighting — Lighting is the most crucial thing in your camera setup. Make sure your camera can
see your face well. Watch some successful streamers and check out how they’ve set up their
lighting.

E. Microphone — Don’t skimp on the microphone, it’s an essential piece of equipment, and it will
make or break you! You don’t need to go all out and buy a $300 microphone, but you certainly will
want a good enough microphone that your audience can understand you.

F. Editing Software — You don’t need any editing software to start, but as your channel becomes
more popular, you’re going to need some serious editing software to cut the time spent on your
videos down. This tip is mainly for those who use YouTube, but editing software is excellent for
uploading videos of your streams, too. There are great tools for this, such as Crossclip.com

G. Setup — You might need to tweak your setup, so it’s important to know that there is much
room for creativity here. Check out other streamer’s channels for inspiration.

10. Give Away Freebies

Streamers do giveaways for a few reasons. The first is to keep viewers watching, and the second
is to give viewers a reason to come back.

If you start with a great giveaway, you are much more likely to gain followers. If you are giving
away freebies, think about your niche and what you could give to benefit your viewers. 



Try to give away something that would be helpful for what they are trying to do. For example, if
you’re a streamer of sports tips and tricks, try giving away sports equipment. If you’re a makeup
 Chapter 5: How to Grow 45

artist, try giving away makeup. If you’re a streamer trying to help people with their businesses, try
giving away office supplies or things like that. 



These giveaways help you build your brand, build your audience, and give people a reason to
come back. Gifting can be a powerful tool, and it should not be overlooked. Streamlabs offers a
unique giveaway tool through their merch feature, which allows you to giveaway some of your
merch while engaging your viewers in chat.

11. Just Start!

Once you’ve got your channel set up and you’re ready to go, you’ll want to start with a couple of
test runs and make sure that everything works the way you want it to.

Make sure your audio is clear, your video is working, and the lighting is good. Also, make sure you
have fun with it. The whole point of streaming is having fun and making a name for yourself by
being a personality.

Conclusion
This guide is meant to teach you how to get followers on twitch fast. To grow big on Twitch, you
need to network yourself and put a lot of effort into developing your persona and brand. Follow
these ten tips to help get your stream started! Remember to constantly check your data and
analytics to find ways to improve your stream and videos.
Equipment 46
 Chapter 6: Equipment 47

Chapter 6: 

Equipment
Whether you want to game, host a show, or stream IRL, you’re going to need to invest in the
proper gear. Remember, these will be the tools of your trade. These tools are what enable you to
transport all of the people tuning into your stream, straight into your world. Examples of this gear
include your smartphone, computer, hardware and streaming software.

When it comes to choosing what you need, not all gear is created equal. Some gear will allow you
to create a better streaming experience than others.

Before we delve deep into the topic, let's make a few things clear first. There's a common
misconception going on in the streaming world that you need to spend a fortune on expensive
equipment at the earliest stage of your streaming journey. A lot of us started our streaming
journey with a standard setup. And we continued upgrading to better gear (for example
higher-quality gaming computers, better peripherals, and more robust streaming applications) as
our following grew. But that does not mean that you should start off with the cheapest items you
can find. If you have the money and want to take this seriously, invest in a great setup from the
start.

One more caveat. If you're more of a content creator than a gamer, not everything mentioned in
this section will apply to you. So feel free to skip ahead when that’s the case.

So without further ado, let's get started.

Hardware/accessories
PC

Streaming or gaming PC configuration is much more complex that what’s in this course, however
we will do our best to share some of the basics. YouTube and several Internet sources have lots
of advice on them. Your budget and ultimate goals will play the highest role in what type of PC
build you will need. The 3 most important things you should consider when comparing PCs are
CPU, RAM, and GPU. Let's start with CPU.
 Chapter 6: Equipment 48

CPU

The computer processing unit, also called the CPU, is a critical element of hardware that is
responsible for fulfilling each action input.

Ensuring there is a good balance between the CPU and the GPU is one of the important
decisions you need to make when choosing both units. You don't want to buy a GPU where the
CPU won’t support its processing speed. This will likely create a poor gaming and streaming
experience for you and your audience.

Your CPU is one of the most important components of your PC and impacts other parts of your
PC. It's critical to take your time when deciding on this, as it will impact how you can upgrade
your PC in the future.

GPU

Every user needs to consider the Graphics Processing Units before purchasing a PC. GPU is
responsible for your graphics and encode the stream so that it is possible to broadcast it to
Twitch and other platforms. Therefore, you’ll need to invest in a high power GPU to stream your
favorite game.

Furthermore, GPUs are updated very frequently, almost every year. The updates are a major
upgrade to its functionality and it’s typical to have a GPU update up to three times before the CPU
and RAM will need a replaced as well.

To experience optimal performance from your PC, it's important to ensure that your PC has the
right RAM. RAM in the simplest of terms is how your computer multitasks like how many
windows and programs are open at a single time.

For example, having your game running, streaming software, web browser, and all the other
applications running in the background use up your RAM. We recommend at least 16GB as the
standard for most popular game titles.

If you want to set yourself up to not have to upgrade again in the future, we recommend maybe
stepping up to a 32G RAM. Once you have high end RAM, you likely won’t need to upgrade it for
a while.

Consoles

If you choose not to stream on PC, consoles like PlayStation and Xbox feature tools that allow
direct streaming. The intuitive, out-of-the-box aspect of consoles makes it easy to use, especially
for beginners. However, the downside here is that you’ll likely be bound by limited customization
with regards to stream layout, graphics, etc.
 Chapter 6: Equipment 49

Monitor

When looking into which monitor to purchase, it’s critical to look at the refresh rate. It doesn’t
matter so much the size of the resolution or the physical size of the monitor. Refresh rate should
be the top priority when analyzing monitors.

Refresh rates are mainly available in three gradients, each with its price thresholds and is
ultimately up to you which to go with.

Some streamers care more about the brand and aesthetic. While these factors are important to
your satisfaction, you need more than those to experience a seamless gaming experience. At the
end of the day, it comes down to your preference and how you balance all the aspects.

Keyboard

Candidly, mechanical keyboards tend to be a preferred option in the streaming space. Why?
First, it’s better at registering your keystrokes, which means that the chances of missing the
intended keys decrease. Also, it's the more durable choice and your most utilized keys like AWSD
will stay in good shape longer.

Lastly, you’ll need to choose between wired or wireless keyboards. Wired keyboards are a
generally cheaper option, and you're free from the battery dying off. However, wireless keyboards
make your setup look cleaner.



Here are two of the best mechanical keyboards around:

Logitech G915

Logitech G815
 Chapter 6: Equipment 50

Mouse

A gamer’s mouse is better for streaming in general. They’re reliable and feel better in your hand.

We recommend a wired mouse, mainly for its price advantage, but also because of the software
that allows you to fully customize your mouse settings. Be sure to adjust your mouse settings,
especially the DPI after purchasing your mouse. 



Here are two of the best gaming mice on the market:

Logitech G502

Logitech G Pro X Superlight

Mouse Pad

While mouse pads might not be top of mind, you’ll want to make sure you get one that will make
your life easier while streaming. Typically, an oversized mousepad with high quality fabrics and
ergonomically designed will provide you with the best experience.

Here are our picks for mouse pads:

Logitech G840 XL Gaming Mousepad

Razer Gigantus V2

Headset

Two important factors to consider when choosing your headset are comfort and whether it's
wired/wireless. This is all relative to personal preference, and the best way to shop for a headset
would be to look at online reviews.
 Chapter 6: Equipment 51

Some recommended headsets:

Logitech G Pro Wireless Logitech G733 Lightspeed 


Sony MDR7506
Gaming Headset Wireless Gaming Headset

Microphone

USB microphones are the preferred choice for most content creators. Their ability to record great
audio quality and overall usability is super easy, making it the obvious choice.

Audio is a very important part of streaming because you’ll probably participate in conversations
with other streamers, listening to cues in gameplay, Discord groups, or general conversation with
your audience. Bad audio is a dealbreaker and viewers will be quick to leave if it’s unbearable to
listen to. Your community will only stay if you have good audio.

Here are some items you might want to pick up:

MAONO AU-100

Blue Yeti X Blue Snowball Blue Yeti Nano
Lavalier Microphone

Camera

Using a low quality camera is like showing up to an interview in pajamas. There are few, if any,
streamers that can get away with having a low quality camera. If you want to look the part, you
need to invest in a decent camera. You don’t need to go all out here, but something mid-range
will do the trick

Most desktop PCs or monitors do not come with a built-in webcam and even if they do, the
quality is always on the lower end. A minimum of 720p 60fps video quality is the standard for a
streaming webcam.
 Chapter 6: Equipment 52

Remember that bitrate, connection quality, and internet speed also determine the image quality.

Some great webcams:

Logitech Streamcam Logitech C922

Software
If hardware are the bricks, then software is the mortar to bring it all together. Without the right
software, there’s no magic.

An incredible streaming software provides all the necessary tools to improve your live stream
experience while also providing necessary customization options. OBS Studio and Streamlabs
OBS are the most popular streaming softwares around.
Both OBS Studio and Streamlabs OBS support PC and Mac O
If you will need tech support, Streamlabs is likely the better optio
Be sure that your software supports custom RTMP streaming, as well as multistreaming to
maximize your reach
There are plenty of free and paid options for software

Streaming Settings
Selecting the right live streaming settings is paramount to a top-quality strean. Bitrate and video
quality are typically the most critical factors to keep in mind when making live streaming.

Video Quality

Video quality is another critical part of streaming. You need to concentrate the most on frame
rate and resolution. Resolution is the actual video size appearing on the screen. It is measured in
pixels. Videos are the sequential appearance of several images measured in the frame. The
reason you might see FPS (frames per second) is because video is a bunch of still images
sequenced together. For example, if the frame rate is 60fps, that means there are 60 images per
second. The more frames, the cleaner the video output will be.
 Chapter 6: Equipment 53

Bitrate / Internet Speed

Bitrate measures the data sent during a live stream. The higher your bitrate, the more it will use
up your internet bandwidth. It’s typically recommended to have a video bitrate 20% lower than
your upload speed. This is the best way to keep your stream stable. Regardless, you’ll want to
test everything prior to going live to ensure it’s all working properly.

Every platform has its unique specs and we suggest you check out a few settings
recommendations:

Twitch YouTube Facebook

Build a Community 54
 Chapter 7: Build a Community 55

Chapter 7:

Build a Community
Every successful streamer builds their community, and that takes time. You can’t expect to raise
an army in a day! And as a streamer, you will need your community to be organized. The viewers,
mods, and other streamers will have questions to ask, suggestions to make, and lots of things to
say. To build a community, you will need to know many things, from chat organization,
moderation, bots, and more. Let’s dive in and take a look at where you should begin with your
streaming platform.

1. Chat
PogChamp! Let’s go! One of the very first things you want to do to lay down the foundation for
your stream is to engage your chat. While you’re streaming, you want to be paying attention to
your viewers and your chat.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes! A lot of people who watch Twitch streams are invested in
the content itself. People who play certain types of games watch streamers who play those
games, so talk about the game with them! Ask frequent questions to your viewers.

Let them know that you care about the content and the people watching it.

Think about what your viewers want to know and what type of personality you want to portray on
 Chapter 7: Build a Community 56

your stream. You want to create a community that is welcoming to newcomers. You want to
appeal to your viewers in such a way that they feel as if they are part of a group.

Tip: Let your viewers know that you care about your channel by putting up links to your social
media, such as your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. Social media is a great way to
connect with your viewers and vice versa. Your viewers can help you grow your channel by
sharing your streams with their friends, which will help you gain followers.

Engaging your chat is the foundation for your stream, and it will help you grow your channel, but
that’s not all you need to start building a community.

1a. Chatbots

Chatbots are a great way to help you interact with your viewers. They have a variety of uses and
can be customized to fit your needs. Some of the most common benefits for them include
Moderating cha
Answering general FAQ
Providing links to your other social media page
Providing links to your stream donation pages

There are plenty of different chatbots to choose from, but Twitch has its chatbot that is free for
streamers to use. If Twitch’s bot doesn’t cut it for you, Streamlabs has some nifty ones.

2. Be Inventive and Talk 1:1

It’s great to ask your viewers questions about their day, but it’s wise to ask them things that will
fully engage them.

Things like “what’s the craziest thing you’ve done?” or “what was the last thing you ate?” are
great because they let people engage with the content while also being able to talk about
 Chapter 7: Build a Community 57

themselves. This is great! People love talking about themselves!

Stirring up debate is another fun practice for new streamers who want their chat to start piping
up.

Tip: Use your viewer’s names! There is something about direct communication that we lack
online over text, and speaking names out loud somehow connects us differently. It makes it feel
more personal and genuine when you talk to your viewers and address them by their screen
name.

The point is, you want to build a relationship with your viewers. The better you get to know them,
the more you’ll get to know what they like and what they don’t like. What would they like to see
more of? You’ll know by asking! The best way to build a relationship with your viewers is to
interact with them and treat them like friends.

The 1:1 tactic works! You can see this is frequently used by streamers who acknowledge
donations, subscriptions, follows, etc. Talking to someone 1:1 and addressing them is critical for
getting them to stick around, especially in the early stages of your community building.

Tip: Play music. It’s a mistake to have your stream silent when you’re not talking. If you’re not
playing a game with active audio, you should have music playing in the background. Why?
Because music makes a difference when it comes to engaging your audience! Music boosts the
mood and the overall quality of your stream. Plus, it fills any silence on your stream that might
lead to your viewers becoming bored.

3. Unique Works
If you’re a Twitch streamer, you’ve likely watched Twitch streams. Do you have a favorite? What is
it that makes that particular stream work? Some streamers are funny, some streamers are
professionally good at the game they are playing, and some streamers are just very attractive!

Finding your niche is important, but so is developing the framework for your stream community.
You can cultivate your audience’s interests by customizing your Twitch stream’s overlay, buttons,
and emotes. Furthermore, do the same with your Discord channel. Make it personal and unique
to you, but don’t be afraid to mimic some of the similar tactics that popular streamers have.

4. Build a Schedule
One of the most important things you can do is to make a schedule for your stream. Your
followers will know when they can expect to find you online. It will also give you a sense of
structure and balance for your streams, which will help you focus on the task at hand.

As a rule of thumb, aim for 2-3 hours of streaming per day, with at least a one-hour break in
 Chapter 7: Build a Community 58

between. You will be more productive, and your audience will be able to enjoy your content more.

Your mental health is essential, so don’t overdo it. If you’re not into streaming every day, that’s
fine. Take a break from it! You don’t have to stream every day to be successful.

5. Have a Giveaway
The best way to grow your followers is to offer something in return for their support. Of course,
you can provide a simple shoutout or maybe custom emotes, but a more effective way is to have
a giveaway.

People love free stuff. They also love to compete! Plus, the anticipation may have them checking
your stream more often to find out if they've won. You can give away free games or in-game
items to attract new followers if you’re just starting. But if you have a decent following already,
you can try to offer more valuable prizes.

Check out some of these giveaway ideas:

Games. Newer and more popular games are great ways to get your viewers interested. Make
sure the game you're thinking of giving away might appeal to your audience
Discord Perks. Have a discord channel? Offer special roles! It's a great way to get your
audience to view your discord, too
T-shirts. It’s a simple idea, but it's also a great way to get your name out there
Consoles. If your channel is focused on the gaming community, consider offering a
PlayStation, Xbox, or gaming PC
A trip. If you have enough followers, you can plan a trip to another country, including a meet
and greet with your streamers.
 Chapter 7: Build a Community 59

6. Create Content
Don’t underestimate the power of social media content. Having more than just a stream will
make you more widespread so that you can reach more people. Here are a few examples of
content creation that you can do to boost your stream’s community
Discord. This one is first because it’s the most obvious. Create a discord and engage with
your users there as often as you can. This will allow you to create relationships with your
users, and your users will also be creating relationships with each other, making it more likely
that they will return

YouTube. Uploading your streams is a great idea, but creating YouTube videos that people
can only view there is an even better idea. Need some ideas? Create funny gag reels,
compilations of hilarious moments on your stream, or reaction videos

Blogs. Ever had a blog? They aren’t as popular as they used to be, but having your blog can
generate some attention, even while you’re offline. If your stream is an art stream, having a
blog about your process is an excellent way to get viewers. Or, if you have a gaming stream,
your blog can be about your personal life.

7. Network with Other Streamers

It may feel like you’re hanging out with the competition, but when you hang out with other
streamers, you’re benefiting from it.

First, by hanging out with other streamers, you’re building relationships with those who already
know their stuff. They can give you more inside tips on the world of streaming. They can also be
your sounding board for any questions you have. It’s like a networking event without the tedious
 Chapter 7: Build a Community 60

business talk.

Second, you're boosting your viewers. If you stream together, your viewers will likely check both
streamers out! You’re double the audience and reach viewers that you might not have reached
before.

It’s always more fun to play games with friends, and it’s no different when streaming. You can
crank up your viewers by doing a game night with friends or family. This can be done over
multiple channels or on a single stream channel. If you stream with friends, you’ll have a built-in
audience. Plus, you’ll have a lot of fun together. You can't beat productivity mixed with fun
moments.

8. Do More Behind the Scenes

For every hour you stream, try to be doing at least 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes work on your
stream.

Sorry to say, but putting in hundreds of hours of streaming won't be enough. You’ll be needing to
work at making your stream a success constantly. Though sometimes it may look like streamers
become famous out of blind luck, but there is all of this work, plus more.

But what should you be doing? Working on everything from networking to upping your stream
overlay. Constant research is vital to stay on top of the game, and you can’t skimp when you want
to succeed.

9. Set Goals
Don't give up. It takes a lot of work to be a successful streamer, but if you don't give up and
constantly work hard, you will eventually get there.
 Chapter 7: Build a Community 61

If you are constantly putting in work but don't see the progress you're looking for, ask yourself
why. What are you missing? That would be a good time to stop and look around at other
successful streamers and see what their stream has that yours lacks.

Take a moment to fill out some milestones and make sure they are healthy and realistic. How
can you accomplish them? What resources do you need? Make sure the milestones are
measurable and that you can quickly check in on your progress. Once you have that, you can
develop an action plan to achieve them.

Here is an example of a realistic milestone chart. The fourth month was left empty. What would
you do next?

I want to have
Thirty followers
Month One Stream four days a week
Stream at least 30 minutes a day.

This month, I will focus on: The design of my stream overlay.

I want to have
Sixty followers.
Month Two Stream five days a week
Stream at least 1 hour a day.

This month, I will focus on: Developing my persona within my niche.

I want to have
Ninety followers
Month Three Stream five days a week
Stream at least 2 hours per day.

This month, I will focus on: Networking with other streamers.

I want to have:

Month Four _______ followers.

Stream ______ days a week.

 Chapter 7: Build a Community 62

Conclusion
Building your community is not going to be a piece of cake. You’re going to need to develop a lot
of your stream into higher quality content and branch out into other social media such as
YouTube, Discord, and other platforms that would fit your niche. Studying success will boost your
creative thinking as well as give you points of reference to refer to. You should constantly be
thinking about improving your stream to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.
Remember to give your regular viewers extra love and treat your community more like a group of
friends than a hierarchy you sit at the top of. 



Good luck!
Gaming Tips 63
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 64

Chapter 8: 

Gaming Tips
Here's a fact that shows exactly how popular video gaming is right now. A full two-thirds of
Americans – about 227 million people – play online games, and this proportion has been rising
for some time.

If you're an experienced, seasoned gamer, it may not seem like many new players are joining the
community, but the numbers show that they are. At first, we all start out as new players
(newbies), and that's OK – as long as we don't stay in the newbie stage for too long.

The goal is to learn how to get good at video games fast and catch up to the competition. That's
what we're going to go over in this guide to leveling up your gameplay in the most popular
genres!

Besides, there are aspects to how to be a better gamer that is harder to pin down than others,
like game dynamics and the nuances of different genres.

Even within game franchises, substantial differences can exist between titles. Add PC game
mods to the mix, and it's easy to see how the gaming landscape can get confusing.

But we'll try our best to keep the advice as practical as we can without getting too deep in the
weeds and flood you with too much information at once. The idea is to learn the basics of all
games to improve gaming skills overall.

In the end, the tips and tricks you learn here will teach you how to get better at gaming faster
than you think.

First-person shooters

“Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”

– Marine Corp. General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis (Ret.)

FPS detractors and haters like to downplay shooting games as simplistic, but the depth of FPS
strategy and tactics belies their complaints. That's why this chapter will be more copious than
the rest because there are simply more nuances to the genre.

If there's one thing we can say about modern first-person shooters (FPS), it's this: the game
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 65

action moves faster than newbies can handle.



Really, that's the fun of FPS games – the thrill of battle and the agony of defeat when you
could've made better choices during a match.

Split seconds and millimeters count in FPS games, but think about it from this perspective too.

How can you hope to compete against gamers that have more experience, more skill, and are
more adept at squashing newbies than you are?

The answer is to know the fundamentals and practice, enjoying the learning process along the
way.

So, to start out, we'll go over basic defensive concepts.

Defense

Cliché alert! Offense may win the game, but defense

wins championships. You may have heard that
phrase applied to professional sports, yet it also
coincides with FPS gaming.

Defense is so critical that we felt we had to lead off

our FPS chapter with the fundamentals.

So, a simple strategy for better defense includes

tactics like
Constant movemen
Studying the multiplayer map
Class selection

Constant movement

Of all tips we'll discuss in this guide, movement is by far the most critical to survival.

Stay on the move, or die – period! Those are your two choices.

If you remain stationary – even taking a brief pause to aim slowly – you're easy pickings for an
aggressive player, playing out of control and charging around the map without discipline.

Bob and weave. Shuck and jive.

Run in zig zag patterns. Jump around when taking fire from an unknown location.

Do anything to make yourself a more difficult target to kill, and never stand still for more than a
brief moment to gather your thoughts!
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 66

Studying the multiplayer maps

Depending on the game, there may be significant differences between single player maps and
multiplayer maps.

Knowing common hiding spots and perches will give you the advantage of situational
awareness, also known as game sense.

Honestly, nothing should surprise you when playing an FPS match. Notice boxes, walls, places to
hide, and memorize the layouts of buildings to know how to position yourself during a firefight.

* TIP – If you want to learn how to get good at games, go into practice mode and take laps around
each map until you know every wall, crevice, and sniper hideout.

Class selection

Never choose a class that doesn't match how you intend to play.

It's also not a good idea to get too creative with customization because the game developers
spent an incredible amount of time designing set classes, so use them accordingly.

If you pick a support character, don't charge out into the open like The Punisher himself.
Likewise, if you pick an assault class, don't play timidly and wait for the enemy to come to you.

Now, we move on to the fun part that most gamers focus all of their FPS training on - running,
gunning, and taking down the enemy in a blaze of glory.

Offense

Most guides on how to play video games better begin with attacking and shooting, and it makes
sense because these games are, in fact, shooting games.
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 67

But our advice started out with defense to provide crucial context on how and why certain
offensive tactics work well versus an unaware, hapless enemy.

So, the essentials of FPS offensive strategy include

Weaponry selectio
Aiming techniqu
Efficient shooting

Weaponry selection

Every FPS is different, but generally, weaponry selection encompasses the following choices
Pistols – intended for close-range combat and as a last resort when out of amm
Sub-machine guns – Great for tactical assaults on buildings but not meant for mid-range or
long-range shootin
Rifles – Best overall because they're versatile and pack a punch, yet they're not ideal for
close-range engagement
Shotguns – Close-range specialty, heavy firepowe
Sniper rifles – Have the advantage of range and firepower but require more talent to use wel
Explosives and rockets – Great way to take out aggressive players with poor situational
awarenes
Devices – Each are specific to the game (e.g., tactical drones)

* TIP - Improve aim by practicing with a pistol. This technique is a great drill for warming up or
improving in-game accuracy!

Aiming technique

In some games, aiming down your gun sight is required for accuracy, but in others, it won't be
much of a concern.

Still, other aiming fundamentals include

Recoil and climb – Certain weapons will be harder to control than other
Bullet spread and drop – Often depends on how far away a target is and the firepowe
Firepower - (cliché alert!) Size matters

Efficient shooting

Now, we come to the best part – pulling the trigger!

Based on the above fundamentals, you have to practice efficient shooting to earn a respectable
kill-death ratio.
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 68

Indeed, the essentials of shooting include things like

Trigger discipline – The art of not shooting your team mates in the bac
Reloading – Know how many rounds you have at all times, and you'll never be caught off
guar
Marksmanship - The culmination of everything because when you fire with accuracy and
discipline, you're playing like a true marksmanship.

Common FPS strategies

Now, we put it all together and apply everything we learned to an actual match that's bustling
with action.

We can't stress enough how every FPS is different, but we'll do our best to outline common FPS
strategies.

Single-shot caller

Without a doubt, confusion during battle is a problem for many. Thus, some pro squads do well
by naming a single “shot caller” that calls out tactical information, so there's no superfluous
communication.

Set Plays

This straggly is an alternative to shot-calling, and pros deploy it often. The idea is to make
tactical adjustments based on how your enemy responds to the action. Indeed, your enemy
always gets a vote on the battlefield.
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 69

Pre-shooting/leading

Shoot where your enemy will be, not where he appears in the moment, but why?

While it's not as big of a concern as it used to be, server latency can still effect shooting
accuracy. That's why you may have to shoot slightly ahead of an enemy to record a hit.

Camping

Camping is a valid strategy if deployed in certain instances, but generally, FPS gamers
considered it poor taste. Yet, you'll see pros doing plenty of camping from time to time,
especially snipers.

So, taking out a camping player is a skill you must develop to be a better gamer.

Solo sniping

Sniping is more than a weapon class; its a talent and takes a certain kind of gamer to play with
the “one shot, one kill” philosophy. Either way, a good sniper is worth his weight in gold because
they can influence the flow of the game like no other.

Lurking

Slow and steady wins the race, right? That's why lurking is the art of judicious, but not lazy and
slow, tactical positioning; nor is it playing the hero and running into the fray alone. In fact, a good
lurker needs to have an incredibly high situational awareness and game sense to play this way.

Stacking

Is it ever a good idea to try to clear a building room-to-room on your own? No, it isn't! So rather
than waste your time, wait for two other team mates to meet you before “kicking” the door. The
idea is that everyone charges in together and doesn't stop until the building is clear.

That's the gist of how to get better at video games with FPS elements.

Multiplayer online battle arenas

“Jack of all trades, master of none.”

– Robert Greene

Multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA) relate closely to FPS games, but the difference is the
expanse of the map and the number of players in the server at one time.

If you want to learn how to be a better PC gamer, improving your MOBA skills is a must.
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 70

To this day, games like League of Legends and DOTA 2 epitomize the genre, and they each boast
a massive amount of loyal followers.

The good news is that the MOBA community can be more accommodating for newbies than the
FPS genre, which is extremely competitive by its very nature.

Specialization

It's OK to specialize in one type of online game. After all, the jack of all trades is master of none!

Some gamers have divided opinions on this piece of advice, but we'll take the stance that it's OK
to start small, get good at something, and expand your skillset from there.

In MOBA games, taking the time to understand characters' movements, special abilities, and how
they can influence the game will give you an edge.

You'll become a specialist, instead of a newbie generalist, and this experience should increase
your win rate substantially.

Without a doubt, many famous streamers are specialists and true masters of their craft – and
their followers come to watch them again and again because of it.

Chaining abilities

Everything you do should be deliberate in MOBA games.

You should know the outcome you desire before making a move, and it's OK if it doesn't result in
a kill. Still, there should be a plan ahead of time.

For instance, spamming your abilities every time they finish cooling down isn't how to be good at
video games with a massive number of players fighting at once.

Instead, chaining your abilities to have a max impact and to deal max damage is the better way
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 71

to go in a MOBA!

Likewise, if you can coordinate your abilities and your teammate's abilities into one combo,
you're much more likely to secure a victory when the match stands at a turning point.

Grouping

It's awfully tempting to play the hero and go for the highlight play or try to steal all the kills from
your team mates.

There's a time and a place for showboating but not during a tightly contested match.

Generally, you want to group together in MOBA games because the other team doesn't need to
be that talented to win a 2-on-1 if you're caught by yourself. Enemies can easily pick you off one
by one, especially if you can't pinpoint their location.

Honestly, that's precisely the situation you'll be in if you're always playing the hero role, trying to
dominate the entire server alone.

Now, we'll move on to mobile real-time strategy games, which also boast massive global
communities.

Mobile real-time strategy games

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

– Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Sometimes called farming games, mobile real-time strategy games rank among the most
popular on the planet for a number of reasons.

Mainly, mobile gaming caters to a larger community than other genres, which may or may not
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 72

have global reach.

PC games will never go out of style, but there's a different element to RTS games: in-depth social
interaction.

That's not to say other gamers who prefer other genres don't talk to each other. The difference is
that the social aspects of mobile RTS may a greater influence over the flow of the game than
attacking and warfare.

In short, if you're looking for a game with constant fighting, maybe the RTS genre isn't for you.
But if you want a get-away from the energy of PC gaming and consoling gaming, playing a
farming game might be what you're missing.

That said, here's what we recommend to be good at video games with RTS elements.

Economy

In the RTS genre, your economic development is everything because it's how you'll unlock more
powerful units, buildings, and maybe character abilities too.

RTS games usually entail gathering/farming/mining at least three different resources, and you
use those resources to upgrade your base and make units too.

Typically, these games have a medieval setting, but some work well within the space sci-fi genre.

Nevertheless, the best way to grow an economy is the same in any RTS game: never stop
building and never stop gathering resources!

The time element in these types of games is primary, and that's the whole fun!s

Without the RTS style, it would be harder – if not completely impossible – to coordinate players
from different continents who live in vastly different time zones.

Indeed, the main diffuclt for newbies in the RTS genre is how to grow fastest without being killed
by an experienced player active in another time zone.

* TIP – Gathering/mining may not be the fastest way to collect resources. Ask your clan mates
what works best in the game!

Yet, curiously, the RTS genre doesn't lend itself too well to the traditional concept of warfare in
video games – and that's why we love them so much!

Warfare

What's frustrating for many players about RTS games is the fact that overly aggressive warfare is
detrimental to the game, especially if there are cross-server events that demand teamwork.

The truth about these games is that players spend an incredible amount of money to reach the
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 73

top and stay there. Honestly, some players spend thousands of dollars over the course of their
play to stay on top of the leaderboard, if not more.

But do the paid players succeed by constantly attacking everyone? No, they don't! Starting out,
they put in the work and grow strong before waging warfare and only fight when it's absolutely
necessary.

Still, you don't necessarily have to spend a single penny to enjoy an RTS game. Many of the top
titles offer free in-game goodies to at least try to level the playing field.

What's fascinating about the RTS genre is how closely the gameplay coincides with real-life
political, cultural, and social aspects.

For some, the entire fun of playing an RTS is avoiding war because in an RTS-style game, war is
hell.

It's tempting to partake in conflict, strife, and drama, but that's not the best way to grow strong in
RTS.

In fact, attacking too soon and too often is a sign of weakness and poor strategic thinking.

* TIP – Don't hurry to attack players until you have a reason to do so after joining a big clan.

Social aspects
When a game has a social element, you can't play it without taking into consideration how your
actions will affect your teammates.

Unfortunately, it's common for players in this genre to develop deep, deep emotional
attachments to the game, especially the attack units they spend days producing.

Honestly, arguments between team mates or petty bickering in chat amongst brash players can
 Chapter 8: Gaming Tips 74

have ripple effects throughout the whole server. This situation may seem counter-intuitive, but
it's a fact.

Just like in real life, there's a political and social dimension to the game that can't be ignored.

If you play like a lone wolf and try to grow on your own, you won't survive – period!

You need your teammates to help you learn the game, navigate the politics, and build the
friendships you'll need when there is a fight on your hands.

The main risk is that you could begin to make the gameplay life your daily life rather than a
retreat for the daily grind.

But if you keep in mind the social/political side of the equation, you'll keep the game in
perspective and get much more enjoyment from playing it.

Ultimately, follow these tips and fundamental strategies, and you'll level up your gameplay faster
and learn how to get better at video games overall.
Advice From The Pros 75
 Chapter 9: Advice From The Pros 76

Chapter 9: 

Advice From The Pros
Who is better placed to advise on how to succeed in the streaming world than those who have
struggled, persisted, and overcome obstacles to make it to the highest level and retained their
spot? The pros.

We talked to a wide range of industry experts on the top of their game right now and picked their
brains on what it takes to be a successful streamer. After spending an excruciating number of
hours sitting through numerous live streams, we were able to narrow down the common themes
and identify patterns to success.

Compiled here are the major points, creating a definitive guide to maximize your chances of
actualizing your dreams regardless of the odds. Hopefully, after going through it, it'll put you in
the driving spot of your streaming career.

Without further ado, the following tips from professional streamers should get you started.

Give You Audience What They Want

It’s important to be self-aware about the kind of content you are creating and what the viewers
want from you. When you put yourself in the shoes of a content consumer, they are primarily
looking to be entertained. They want to think, laugh, learn and grow with you. To keep them
hooked, you need to constantly meet their expectations so that they keep coming back.

Whatever your niche is, whether it’s giving hot political takes on the trending topics, or your
mechanical gameplay skills, the entertainment aspect of your stream is always going to be the
key deciding factor that will determine your viewers’ count. Pandering to your audience up to a
certain degree is a necessity that you have to indulge in.

Be Present
When streaming, it can’t be emphasized enough how important it is for you to appear lively and
energetic. Be alert and responsive. Stay focused on what you are saying and how you are
projecting yourself. Employ gestures and show expressions while talking to the camera or
playing a game, it shows that you are engaged in what you are doing.
 Chapter 9: Advice From The Pros 77

A lot of this comes with confidence, something that you will develop over time. Doing certain
things like fixing your posture and sitting upright, keeping your arms open while talking, and
smiling at the camera will set you on the right path.

Sometimes it can feel awkward putting up a show when you have a low view count or no
viewers. It may seem tempting to slump and laze around, but you never know when someone will
switch to your stream, which might lead to a domino effect with other viewers joining them as
well if they enjoyed your vibe. The best opportunity in life sometimes comes unannounced, and
when that happens, you want to be on top of things.

Be Positive
It is easy to get discouraged by the struggles that come with being a streamer. Sometimes you
have to grind numerous days staying up on stream for hours on end with single-digit viewer
count, and other times you might feel your growth is stagnated and the entire route of success is
behind you. It’s only human to feel like you are losing motivation and question your ability to
improve. You can only get out of this rut by staying positive.

In the streaming world, you might often go through a period where you have more bad days than
good ones. If you keep your chin up, you will figure out ways to overcome these challenges.
Having a positive attitude also helps you not let random hate comments in the chat or elsewhere
in social media affect you.

Be Yourself
To build a strong long-term audience for your content, you have to stay authentic; otherwise, you
can’t sustain yourself. Be interesting to your viewers, but also do not forget to bring your true self
to the stream. It’s hard to deliver a consistent content line when you are putting a facade, and it
will wear you down in no time. It’s also a disservice to the community you are building.
 Chapter 9: Advice From The Pros 78

The relationship between a streamer and their audience is that of trust, not lies. Showing genuine
parts of your personality—whether it’s your quirky taste in music or your goofy sense of
humor—will help your audience relate to you, which in turn will help you create a strong
community. Staying true to yourself both on and off-stream will do wonders for your mental
health as well.

Engage With Your Chat

It takes so much effort to build an audience for
yourself and when that happens, you want to
engage with them. Your audience is your biggest
companion and ally in your streaming journey,
and knowing how to talk to your chat is an
important skill to learn. Ask them questions and
answer the questions they have for you.
Two-way communication between you and your
chat will personalize their interaction and make
their viewing experience much better.
It helps to build a habit of interacting with people if you are shy. It will surely not happen
overnight, but slowly, you will start to get a hang of it, which will immensely help your streaming
career. Remember, just like you, your audience is also giving their time of the day to you,
acknowledging them is the foundation of building a healthy relationship with your viewers.

Respect Your Opponent

When playing against an opponent, it’s normal to get invested and caught up in your emotions,
especially if you are a competitive person. However, you have to stay aware of your surroundings
as well and make sure that you won’t say something that you’d regret in the future. Trash talk is
part of the friendly banter, and it needs to stay just that; friendly and harmless fun. Being
constantly aware of your surroundings while playing a sport might be hard at first, but when you
practice good habits, it will come naturally, and feel way easier after some time.

Streaming games is not about being the best at them; it’s about having fun while being respectful
to others and showing consideration for their time. You are building your brand, and you don’t
want to say or do something that smears your image and becomes an impediment to your
growth.

In the words of a famous philosopher, Seneca, — “When there is a human being, there is an
opportunity for kindness.”
 Chapter 9: Advice From The Pros 79

It’s important to respect the people and their craft who are doing the same thing as you and are
part of the same industry. Respecting your fellow streamer is not just general human decency,
but it will also help you network better and form connections.

Streaming is not just limited to you and your audience; it has various aspects to it, and often it
requires you to involve and interact with the streaming community at large. If you want to make
the best out of it, respecting them and their efforts will take you a long way. Be on the lookout for
opportunities to make friends while building your brand. Try not to be a source of frustration or
negativity that only makes people less likely to interact with you. Act in a way that your future self
and your community would be proud of.

Be Punctual
If you want more regular viewers on your
streams, it can’t be emphasized enough how
necessary it is to pick a schedule that works for
you and follow through with it religiously.
Honoring your commitment and respecting your
viewer’s time plays a key role in making the most
out of what you have got. In the online world,
even a delay of a few seconds feels like a
decade, and the last thing you want is to keep
your viewers waiting. Sometimes starting your
stream even half an hour late can cost you a lot
of viewers who might have been waiting for you
thirty minutes ago.
 Chapter 9: Advice From The Pros 80

If you say you will stream from 1-5 pm, respect your words. If you need to prepare for your
stream before it, have it done before 1 pm. It is also important that you show up on time to host a
guest on your stream or play with your teammates. Stalling your viewers or your teammates
might feel like not that big of a deal, but all of these little things add up to shape your image as a
person. By not showing up on time, you are signaling people that streaming is not a priority for
you. If you are not taking this seriously, there is no reason for your viewers to take you seriously
either.

Express Gratitude
That is it. We can all do with more genuine thank you in our life, especially to the people
supporting us and have our back in our highs and lows. Thank people for donations, follows,
subscriptions, or even watching your content. You are not a streamer if it weren’t for the viewers.

Don’t let entitlement overtake your gratitude. Just simply saying a thank you will help you stay
grounded. Sometimes, even displaying a message on the screen to express your gratitude is
enough every time you get donated or subscribed to.
Monetizing Your Content 81
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 82

Chapter 10: 

Monetizing Your Content

The streaming industry is only getting bigger. In fact, we watched 12 billion more hours of
content across Twitch, Facebook Gaming, and YouTube Gaming in 2020 compared to 2019.
Whether your live stream is supported through tipping, merchandising, or sponsorships, such a
massive increase in viewers means it is more possible now than ever to build a business with
your content.

For many people, building a career from live streaming is the goal. It takes an enormous amount
of time and a deep commitment to creating engaging content. It is possible to get there, but
you’ll need some help along the way. Remember, live streaming should be something you do for
the love of it before anything else. You won’t become famous overnight, and that is okay.
Whether you want to turn this into a career, or you do it just for fun, enabling a tip page on
Streamlabs can help you along the way. In this blog, we’ll talk about how to set up donations on
Twitch and customize your tip page settings. Let’s get started.

Create a Streamlabs Tip Page

Setting up a Streamlabs tip page is one of the easiest ways to start earning an income from
streaming. We work with various payment processors, including PayPal, giving you more ways to
monetize your channel than anyone else in the industry. Most importantly, setting up a tip page is
entirely free. What’s more, we will never take a cut of the money you receive. Setting up your tip
page only takes a few seconds, so let’s dive into it.

If you are logging into Streamlabs.com for the first time, the onboarding process will ask you to
add your Paypal email address or other support payment processor. Once you finish that step,
your tip page is ready to go; this is the fastest way to set up your donation page, but if you’ve
already logged in or skipped the onboarding, you can also set up your tip page from the settings.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 83

To do that:

1. Log in to the dashboard on 2. Click on Donation Settings > Methods and

Streamlabs.com. Click on ‘Settings’ in the choose your preferred Payment Processor.
lower left-hand corner.

3. Go through the necessary steps to connect After your account is connected, your tip page
your account. will be available at
Streamlabs.com/USERNAME

Manage Tip Page Settings

You can manage a range of tip page settings from the Streamlabs dashboard. Not based in the
US? Choose which currency you’d like donations to appear in. Set the minimum amount required
to donate, and even adjust the recommended amount that appears for a user when they visit
your tip page.

Edit the message that appears on your page when users visit, adjust profanity filters to block out
offensive words, and even customize the image that appears as your donation page header.

Visit the dashboard to view all of the tip page settings.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 84

Adding Tip Page Link

Depending on the platform you choose, the process to add a link to your tip page is going to be
different. Both YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming only allow you to copy and paste a link to
your Tip Page in your page description or about section. Twitch takes it one step further and
gives you the option to add customized panels.

Add a Twitch Tip Panel

In the upper-right corner, click your profile 2. Select Channel from the drop-down menu.
icon.

3. Click the About section on the next screen. 4. Toggle the Edit Panels option in the top left
section of the screen.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 85

5. Scroll down and click the box with a large 6. Now you can add a title to your panel, the
plus sign in it and then click “Add a Text or link to your Streamlabs Tip Page, a
Image Panel”. Description, and an image.

Need an Image?
We’ve recently rolled out a new feature giving streamers the ability to add professionally
designed panels from a selection of over 50 different templates.

Visit our Panel Maker page on the Streamlabs Dashboard to start designing your own panels
today.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 86

Subscriptions
Unlike tips or donations, subscriptions provide you with a more reliable source of income. If you
want to become a full-time streamer, you’ll need this supplemental revenue to assist you along
the way.

In this section, we will be discussing how you can monetize your live stream through
subscriptions. We’ll specifically discuss the benefits and differences between Twitch
subscriptions, YouTube Channel Memberships, and Facebook Fan Subscriptions. We will also
discuss how to persuade your viewers to invest in your content and what benefits you can
provide to convince them to stay subscribed.

Subscriptions at a Glance
Twitch Subscriptions YouTube Channel Membership Facebook Fan Subscription

. , . , 24.99 Starting at 4.99, with the ability .

Cost

$4 99 $9 99 $ $4 99

to customize price points

50% 30% As of August 2020 and for

Commission

the next year, Facebook will

not be taking any fees from
Fan Subscriptions.

Twitch streamers 30,000 subscribers; 
 10,000 followers or 250+

must be either a Gaming channels must have at Return Viewers and one of
Requirements

Twitch Affiliate or a least 1,000

the following in the last 60
Twitch Partner.
days:

Member of YouTube Partner

Visit our guide for tips Program - 50,000 Post Engagements

to help you become

- 180,000 watch minutes
an affiliate
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 87

Twitch Subscriber Benefits

There are a few “built-in” perks, but many streamers add a few bonus ones for those who support
them monetarily. These are as follows
Ad-Free Viewing – As a subscriber, Twitch will not force you to watch ads before you start
watching a stream (with limited exceptions).
Sub-Badges – Custom badges are unlocked when you subscribe to a streamer. Badges are
displayed next to a viewer's name when they participate in the channel's chat. Streamers can
customize badges, and viewers will generally receive new badges the longer they stay
subscribed. You start with the 1-month badge and get new badges for three months, six
months, etc
Emotes – Once a streamer reaches affiliate status, custom emotes become available. It is a
fantastic way to reinforce your branding as a streamer because viewers can use them across
all Twitch channels. The number of subscribers a streamer has dictates the number of
emotes a streamer can have
Sub-Only Chat/Streams – Occasionally, a streamer will host a sub-only stream. Hosting a
stream for your most dedicated viewers is a great way to encourage viewers to sub. During
these streams, only subscribers can view the broadcast. Streamers can also set their chat to
"subscribers only."

Facebook Fan Subscription Benefits

Exclusive content - Publish posts, videos, and other content exclusively to your most loyal
supporters. Exclusive content generally includes:
Supporter-only polls or Q&As: give supporters more ways to engage and interact with you
Behind-the-scenes: Give viewers a look at the production and day to day activity of your live
stream.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 88

Exclusive live videos: Private live videos can provide an opportunity to answer questions and
gain feedback from your community
Discounts: Provide discount codes for merch, events, or other products through supporter
only messages or posts.

In addition to these benefits, you can also provide supporters with

Recognition with shout outs in public posts
Early access to your content with supporter-only Premieres or Watch Parties that later go
public.

YouTube Channel Membership Benefits

Different perks are available based on the various membership levels available. Streamers can
offer multiple membership levels, which all have different prices. Remember, perks build on each
other. The highest-priced membership levels will have access to the perks offered at lower-priced
levels.
Members-only Community posts - Use the community tab to share content only with
members. You can also share Community posts with members at specific levels
Members-only video - Set videos that can only be seen by your members. Anyone can find a
members-only video, but only members at the right level(s) can watch it
Members-only live streams - Share a live stream exclusively with your members. Members
will be notified when you post a link to the live stream with a members-only post in
Community
Members-only live chat - Make the chat members-only during public live streams. Everyone
can still view the live stream, but only members will be able to post chats
Custom channel badges - Members will stand out in live chat, comments, and the Community
tab via exclusive members-only badges
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 89

Custom emoji - Members will gain access to one or more exclusive custom emoji that can be
sent via YouTube in video comments. It can also be sent in any of your live chats.

How to Convince Viewers to subscribe

Setting unique perks for viewers is a great way to convince others to invest in your content.
These will vary from channel to channel, but some of the most common perks include
Exclusive Chatroom on Discord – Many streamers create exclusive discord servers for their
subscribers and members.
Play with Viewers – some streamers set aside days where they play games with their
subscribers
Competitions/Giveaways – Streamers can create special contests or giveaways for their
subscribers. These are their way of giving back to their supportive community.
Custom Subscriber Alerts – Create unique alerts that only play when someone subscribes to
your channel. Streamlabs makes setting up alerts easy, so be sure to read our guide to learn
how to start creating unique alerts.

Products and Services

For most content creators, tips and subscriptions offer the most direct way for viewers to
support them. However, there are a myriad of other ways to add supplemental income as a
content creator. Ask yourself, "why should my viewers support me?" The answer: because of the
value you demonstrate to your audience. For some creators, being incredibly skilled at a game or
having a unique and entertaining personality is enough. But it helps to show value in other ways.
This article presents other products and services you can use to earn extra revenue than just tips
and subscriptions alone.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 90

Open a Merch Store

Adding a merch store to your streaming profile can increase your revenue and significantly help
you succeed as a streamer. It allows your fans to purchase custom apparel and showcase your
brand in real-life. Streamlabs Merch store feature is one of the easiest ways to set up an online
storefront. Set up only takes minutes, and it's entirely free to sell t-shirts, mugs, and hoodies.
Streamlabs handles printing, packing, and ships all over the world.

Looking for more ways to maximize sales with your merch store? You can read our blog to learn
five proven strategies to sell more merchandise online.

Amazon Blacksmith

If you stream on Twitch, your viewers may be interested in the gear you use. With Amazon
Blacksmith, you can make a list of the products you like and share them with your community.
When someone purchases a product from the list, you'll earn some revenue. Amazon Blacksmith
is a Twitch extension that you can download and is available as Panel, Component, or Overlay.
Twitch Partners and Affiliates get higher commission rates for particular products purchased via
Amazon Blacksmith links. Click here to see the exclusive promotional rates for Partners and
Affiliates.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 91

Create Exclusive Content

If you are the type of creator with an established community, you may want to consider creating
exclusive content. One of the easiest ways to do that is through Patreon.

Patreon is a paid membership platform for content creators of all kinds. Patreon allows you to
customize the benefits your community members receive. The most common perks include
exclusive live-streamed content, exclusive forums for community members to talk to each other,
community messaging for creators to chat with their audience, gated video content, and more.

You can also completely customize the content you offer depending on what your audience
wants from you.

Create More Content

Between newsletters, blogs, vlogs, YouTube videos, clips, and highlights, you can create a ton of
content. Each new video or piece of writing is a way to get you in front of your community
members and keep you top of mind. The more content you make, the more your audience will
want to support you. Don't be afraid to plug your tip page. Creating content takes time and effort.
Your audience will be more likely to lend a supporting hand if you can demonstrate that to them.

Advertisements
Running ads can be very lucrative for your channel. Depending on the platform you stream on,
you will need to meet specific requirements before you are allowed to advertise. However, it's a
fantastic way for your audience to support you without having to spend any money out of their
own pocket.

In this article, we discuss the specific platform requirements you will need to meet to run ads.
We will also discuss the benefits and disadvantages of running ads and general best practices
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 92

you should be aware of before monetizing your channel through advertisements.

Twitch Advertising Requirements

Twitch recently made several significant changes to its advertising policy. One of the most
significant changes they made was allowing affiliate streamers to earn ad revenue. To become a
Twitch affiliate, you must first reach the following achievements
Reach 50 Followers
Stream for 8 hours
Stream on 7 different days
Have an average of 3 viewers.

Please note, you must complete all affiliate requirements within 30 calendar days.

Types of Twitch Ads

There are three main types of advertisements you can run as a Twitch Affiliate or Partner
Pre-Roll Ads: These are ads that play when a viewer first clicks on a stream.
Mid-Roll Ads: Running mid-roll ads is entirely up to you. It is important to note that it is
possible to enable ad-free viewing for your subscribers as an added benefit. If you are
concerned that running a mid-roll ad will deter non-subscribers from watching your stream,
you can also enable picture-in-picture ads
Picture-in-Picture: These ads can run in conjunction with your mid-roll ads. If you're
streaming to a gaming category, viewers will still be able to see your stream with
Picture-by-Picture, even during an ad.

Streamers on Twitch can also disable pre-roll ads for incoming viewers by regularly running ad
breaks. Studies from Twitch suggest that viewers are more likely to stick around during an
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 93

ad-break than a pre-roll. So you may want to consider running an ad break every so often to get
new viewers into your channel and invested in your content early. 



To disable pre-roll ads for ten minutes, you will need to run a 30-second ad break. When you run a
60-second ad break, pre-roll ads will be disabled for the next 20 minutes. And an ad break that's
90 seconds or longer will disable pre-roll ads for the next 30 minutes.

YouTube Advertising Requirements

To earn money on YouTube, you’ll need to apply for and be accepted into the YouTube Partner
Program. To be eligible to join the YouTube Partner Program, you will need to meet the following
requirements
Follow all the YouTube monetization policies
Live in a country or region where the YouTube Partner Program is available
Have more than 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months
Have more than 1,000 subscribers
Have a linked AdSense account.

Each feature has its own set of eligibility requirements on top of subscriber and view count
requirements. To earn revenue from advertisements, creators must specifically be at least 18
years old or have a legal guardian older than 18 years of age who can handle your payments via
AdSense. Creators must also create content that meets YouTube’s advertiser-friendly content
guidelines.

You can learn more about YouTube’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines here.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 94

Types of YouTube Ads

Video ad format Description Platform

Skippable video ads Skippable video ads allow Desktop, mobile devices,
viewers to skip ads after 5 TV, and game consoles
seconds.

Non-skippable video ads Non-skippable video ads must be Desktop, mobile devices,
watched before a video can be TV, and game consoles
viewed.

Bumper ads Short, non-skippable video ads of Desktop, mobile devices,

up to 6 seconds that must be TV, and game consoles
watched before a video can be
viewed. Bumper ads are turned
on when skippable or
non-skippable ads are turned on.

Overlay ads Overlay image or text ads that Desktop only

can appear on the lower 20%
portion of a video.

Facebook Advertising Requirements

To start earning money on Facebook through in-stream ads you must qualify.To qualify for
in-stream ads, you must
Pass and remain compliant with Partner Monetization Policies
Publish from a Page (not a profile) with at least 10,000 followers
Generate at least 30,000 1-minute views on videos that are at least 3 minutes long in the last
60 days
Be at least 18 years old
Live in an in-stream ads eligible country.

There are three types of ad placements that can be inserted into your content: pre-roll, mid-roll,
and image ads.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 95

Best Practices, Strategies and Do’s and Don’ts

At the start of the stream, it may be beneficial to keep ad breaks to a minimum to gain
momentum. You may find that playing ads during a natural break in your gameplay will lead to
higher audience retention when you get back. Try to play ads whenever you go to do something
like using the restroom or go eat food.

Be sure to let your audience know you will run ads. Announcing when you will have an ad coming
prepares the audience and will make for a more seamless experience during your broadcast
without disrupting the content on the screen.

The frequency at which you run ads is also important. It will change depending on each creator,
how many viewers they etc, but in general it is good practice to run ads at an hourly interval to
reduce the chance of viewers clicking away from your stream. Additionally, if you stream on
Twitch, running these mid-roll ads regularly means new viewers coming into your stream will not
be met with a pre-roll ad.

You can also easily bind ad-rolling keys to your stream deck to seamlessly transition to an ad
when you are ready.

In general, we recommend not using pre-rolls. We suggest letting new viewers get familiar with
your content first and leave them with good first impressions. Try to avoid playing ads when you
are in the middle of an exciting moment in your content. This disrupts the flow of your content
and may prevent a potential new community member from following or subscribing.

Lastly, don’t forget to take your audience’s feedback into account. If you don’t see them
responding well to the number of ads you are playing, then reduce it. At the end of the day,
running ads can help you make a bit of extra money. Even if you don’t have thousands of viewers,
every little bit helps. However, you should take into account whether or not ads are hurting your
viewership. It’s up to you to decide when and how you run ads, but you’ll need to consider the
cost/benefits and how your audience reacts.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 96

Sponsorships
Sponsorships are critical when it comes to growing your live stream. They provide an additional
income source without having to rely on your community's tips and can lead to more
opportunities further down the line. Obtaining sponsorships may seem like a daunting task. But
with the right mindset and the right tools, you'll soon become a sponsored streamer in no time.

If you’re not sure where to start, Streamlabs makes it simple. We have partnered with
Powerspike and Athlane to give our streamers access to a variety of paid sponsorship
opportunities. To start applying for sponsorships, visit the Streamlabs App Store. Click on the
“Sponsorships'' category, and install the respective applications. You can learn more about using
both Powerspike and Athlane by visiting our blog.

Read More
Athlane: Get Access to Top Sponsorship Opportunities from Leading Brand
Powerspike is Live in the Streamlabs App Store

Now that you know how easy it is to apply for sponsors, here are five tips to help build your
relationship with companies and grow your channel via sponsorships.

Start Small
For new broadcasters, smaller sponsorships are an excellent opportunity to build up your
credibility and experience. Before you start working with larger sponsors, it's important to
understand what it takes to have a successful campaign, the expectations sponsors will have,
and how to navigate the entire process. The earlier you start gaining experience, even if it's a
small sponsorship, the better prepared you will be to work with the bigger guys.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 97

It's vital to demonstrate that you've worked with sponsorships before, and you can display a level
of professionalism to potential sponsors.

Build Your Brand

Social media is king. Start building your online presence. The #1 person that should be
authentically selling yourself is you, and the easiest way to do that is via Twitter. There are many
social media platforms to choose from, but we recommend starting with Twitter because that is
most popular in the creator and gaming space. Start communicating with the world about your
stream. Promote your social channels when you stream. Plug your handles when you are live.
Include links in your about section. Social media can amplify your reach when you go live and
gives your community a place to interact with you.

When it comes to sponsors, you must demonstrate your value. Follower numbers are one thing,
but engagement is equally important. How can you increase engagement? Talk, ask questions,
try to reply to everyone in your chat. Use tools to encourage audience interaction. Streamlabs
Cloudbot comes with tons of features like minigames, loyalty points, giveaways, and other
features that keep viewers entertained.
 Chapter 10: Monetizing Your Content 98

Collaborate, Build Relationships, Network

Collaborations help creators grow, reach new audiences, learn something new, meet new people,
and connect with others.

Reach out directly via Twitter or Discord and build a relationship. Ask each other for advice,
strategies, or support. Play together or stream together. Raid and host each other. Do Instagram
takeovers or social media collaborations. Ultimately, you can support each other, and you can
create something new.

You can also go to conferences to meet people. While there is a higher cost here, there are few
better ways to start a relationship than meeting people face to face.

Networking is a fantastic way to learn about additional sponsorship opportunities and keeps you
top of mind for potential brand activations.

Find something you Genuinely Care About

Find a sponsorship that fits you and your brand. If you focus your channel on health and
wellness, don't promote something that may compromise your beliefs or passions. Your
community wants to hear about the products you like. Choosing sponsorships that you are
passionate about means showing your viewers brands you genuinely believe in. Help establish
and keep the credibility you've gained with your audience by promoting brands you stand by.

Take Chances
Lastly, don't be afraid to reach out to companies you care about, but do your research. Are they
the type of brand that already works with streamers? What kind of streamers do they work with?
Is your community the target audience they want to reach? Set yourself up for success by
knowing what brands are looking for and then demonstrating why you are the right streamer to
meet their goal.
Managing Your Business 99
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 100

Chapter 11: 

Managing Your Business
Live-streaming is a great way to entertain. It’s also lucrative once you’ve mastered it. It’s a great
way to do what you love while generating a substantial amount of cash.

Like all businesses, successful streamers must pay taxes. If you’re starting out on your
streaming journey, you might be wondering what types of taxes you’ll be asked to pay.

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), live-streaming is a taxable business once you
meet certain income levels. We’ll be discussing deductions and engage in a thorough breakdown
regarding how much tax you’ll be paying based on your streaming income.

The materials provided are for informational purposes only. They should not be replaced as tax,
legal, or accounting counsel. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your taxes, seek a
professional tax advisor.

What is Taxable Revenue?

Taxable revenue includes revenue earned from advertisements, donations/tips, sponsorships,
and payments from the streaming platform you’re using.
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 101

Distinguishing Between a Business and a Hobby

Are you a career streamer, or a hobby streamer? This will impact the amount of taxes you’ll be
paying, and your eligibility for tax deductions.

The IRS defines a hobby as something which one participates not for profit, such as activities
done mainly for sport, recreation, and pleasure. The IRS takes different factors into account
when determining if a streamer is a hobbyist or a career streamer.

The following factors come directly from the IRS’s webpage on distinguishing between a
business and a hobby
Whether you carry on the activity in a business-like manner and maintain complete and
accurate books and records
Whether you have personal motives in carrying on the activity
Whether the time and effort you put into the activity indicate that you intend to make it
profitable
Whether you depend on income from the activity for your livelihood
Whether losses are due to circumstances beyond your control (or are expected in the startup
phase of your type of business)
Whether you or your advisors have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a
successful business
Whether you were successful in making a profit in similar activities in the past
Whether the activity makes a profit in some years and how much profit it makes
Whether you can expect to make a future profit from the appreciation of the assets used in
the activity.

You may find more information on this topic in sections 1.183-2(b) of the Federal Tax
Regulations.
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 102

Hobby Streaming Taxes

All revenue earned from streaming must be taxed, even if you are categorized as a hobby
streamer.

If you earn less than $600, you still need to file your earnings on the taxable earnings section of
form 1040 (line 21 labeled “other taxable earnings.”)

If you earn more than $600, the streaming platform will send you the 1099 Miscellaneous
income form. Note that a hobby streamer’s income is not subject to self-employment tax,
instead, it is subjected to income tax.

Despite considering yourself as a hobby streamer, you’ll still be required to pay taxes on your
earnings.

If you are required to file a federal tax return, you’ll be required to file an equivalent state return as
well. If you are required to file a state return, and you do not do so, you could be subject to
penalties.

Career Streamer Taxes

If you’re a career streamer, the IRS considers you self-employed. This means that you are both
the employee and employer of your live-streaming business.

This means that you’ll be paying both self-employment taxes and income taxes. This is different
from hobby streamers, who are only required to pay income taxes.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%, and it consists of two parts: 12.4% for social security and
2.9% for Medicare.

The income tax rate depends on your income level and filing status.

If you’re just starting out, you may not be earning enough to benefit from the tax deductions and
credits to which you’re entitled. But as you increase your income, you’ll want to take advantage of
tax breaks to help offset the cost of running your business.

As a career streamer, you are considered an employer and employee. This means you’ll be
paying twice the tax rate, which equals the aforementioned 15.3%.

Income tax, on the other hand, is not based on a certain percentage. Instead, it’s based on the
total accumulated earnings in a year minus expenses, exemptions, and deductions. In simpler
terms, your income tax is based on what you earn.

That said, your income tax rate is not the only thing that matters. You also have to consider all
the other tax-related expenses you have to pay, such as self-employment tax.
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 103

Under the Self-Employment Contributions Act, employees contribute to their Social Security and
Medicare funds. However, self-employed individuals are responsible for these contributions
themselves.

As a self-employed individual, you also have to pay the equivalent of unemployment insurance,
which is referred to as the “unemployment tax.”

Since you are considered both an employer and employee, it is up to you to pay your share of the
taxes. While this may seem daunting at first, it doesn’t have to be. Keep in mind that these taxes
can be offset with tax deductions and credits, which can significantly reduce the amount you
have to pay.

Federal Taxes for Streamers

Filing your taxes as a Twitch streamer is serious business. A lot of people don't realize this, but if
you're making money on Twitch, you're considered to be self-employed. That means it's your
responsibility to track your own income and expenses.

Deductions
Your deductions come from your total earnings before you determine taxable earnings. You can
use the Schedule SE to determine your taxable earnings.

Once you've figured out your taxable earnings, you can begin calculating your taxes. Schedule C
(Form 1040) is where you will begin to file your taxable income.

What's great about Schedule C (Form 1040) is that it allows you to write off your business
expenses. You can see some tax deductions you can write off as a Twitch streamer further
down.
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 104

Other Important Tax Documents

In addition to Schedule C (Form 1040), you'll also fill out a W-9 form, which is an official form that
documents your business information. If you're a partner on Twitch, you'll also fill out the
W-8BEN form, which is mandatory for Twitch partners.

Make sure you keep all of these forms safe. You'll need them when it comes time to file your
taxes.

The Stair-Step Method

The stair-step method is a way of calculating the taxes you owe depending on the amount of
money you've made. It's simple, straightforward, and a great way to ensure you don't underpay or
overpay. Earning $100,000 does not mean you pay 24% tax on all $100,000; the tax rate may vary.

The stair-step method is calculated by taking your taxable income and dividing it into four equal
groups, then determining what your tax is for each group. This is your tax bracket.

For example, let's assume you are a Twitch streamer, and you made $50,000 in the year 2016.
Using the stair-step method, you will take $50,000 and divide it into four equal groups; the first
group would be $12,500. Your tax for the first group would be 10%. Next, you would take $12,500
and divide it into four equal groups; the second group would be $3,125. Your tax for the second
group would be 15%.

The third group is the same as the first: $12,500 divided into four equal groups: the tax for the
third group would be 10%. The fourth and final group is $12,500. This group has a different tax
rate than the first three groups. The tax rate for this group is 25%.

The total tax for this example would be 10% + 15% + 25% + 25% = 70% divided by four = 17.5%
tax rate.
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 105

This table shows how you would file your taxes in the year 2020.

Tax Rates Single Married Filing Jointly Head of Household

10% $0-$9,875 $0-19,750 $0-$14,100
12% $9,876-$40,125 $19,751 - $80,250 $14,101 - $53,700
22% $40,126-$85,525 $80,251 - $171,050 $53,701 - $85,500
24% $85,526 - $163,300 $171,051 - $326,600 $85,501 - $163,300
32% $163,301 - $207,350 $326,601 - $414,700 $163,301 - $207,350
35% $207,351 - $518,400 $414,701 - $622,050 $207,351 - $518,400
37% $518,401 + $622,051 + $518,401 +

Note: The income tax brackets change yearly. 


This means that your tax brackets next year are subject to change.

State Taxes for Career Streamers

Taxes vary from state to state, and the income thresholds that trigger higher tax rates are
different for each state. Tax rates are also different between single and married filers, so always
double-check your state's specific rules. Taxes also change year to year.

Tax Deductions for Career Streamers

In 2018, the IRS suspended the ability to deduct the items related to hobby activities. This means
that any new equipment that is used for gaming cannot be deducted, as they are not considered
part of the business. Your taxes will still vary on how much you’ll be making, but there will be no
deductions based on your setup.

Tax deductions can make a significant difference, especially for those who are in a lower tax
bracket. Here are some of the tax deductions that a career streamer can take advantage of
Streaming Equipment — any equipment used for live-streaming such as a mouse, camera,
microphone, keyboards, monitor, CPU, and other types of equipment related to streaming is
deductible. Upgrading the equipment can also be deducted. This does not include games
Internet Connection — Since live-streaming requires you to use the internet, the IRS allows a
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 106

partial deduction based on a portion of the internet bill, since one might not use it solely for 

streaming
Commissioned Services — Fees paid for artists, video editors, and other charges to assist or
help the stream can be deducted
Charitable Donations — As of 2020, IRS has allowed streamers to claim up to $300 of
donations without the need for taxing them. This tends to be of great use for channels that
run charity streams.

Forms for Streaming Taxes

The following forms are used for paying taxes on your streaming business. Taxes on streaming
revenue will be paid in quarterly installments on a 1040-es if you pay more than 1k in Federal
taxes each year
Tax Schedule SE — If you have a net self-employment income of $400 or more, you need to fill
out this form. It is used to calculate your self-employment tax and is due April 15th. This form
is used to make estimated quarterly tax payments
Form 1099-MISC — If you received at least $600, you should receive a 1099-MISC. You will
need this form to complete your tax return
Form 1040 — Use this form to figure out your total taxable income for the year. You will use
this to complete your 1040-ES and 1040
Schedule SE — Use this schedule to calculate your self-employment tax and fill out your
1040-ES
Form 1040 Schedule C — Use this form to figure out your taxable income if you are
self-employed.
 Chapter 11: Managing Your Business 107

An Important Note Regarding Streaming Taxes

The materials provided here are for informational purposes only. They should not be replaced as
tax, legal, or accounting counsel. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your taxes,
seek a professional tax advisor.
Health 108
 Chapter 12: Health 109

Chapter 12: 

Health
Streamers are required to spend hours on end sitting in front of a TV or computer screen. They
have to keep their eye on what's happening on the screen while interacting with chatters via text
or voice chat.

This process can easily lead to mental fatigue and physical strain if not appropriately monitored.
Just like any other job, there are ways you can take care of your psychological and physical
health so that you're able to do your best at streaming without putting yourself at risk for
long-term injury or illness due to overworking yourself too much. We'll go over some of those
ways and how you can implement them.

Physical Health For Streamers

When you're a streamer, you're essentially sitting for the entire stream. Recent studies show that
being stationary for longer than 6 hours a day has the same adverse health effects such as being
overweight.

Professional streamers have shared many tips throughout the years regarding physical health
when gaming. You should implement these tips into your lifestyle if you spend at least 5 hours
streaming per day.
 Chapter 12: Health 110

Take a break - every hour or two, you should get up from your station and walk around for at least
a few minutes. This increases your blood flow and reduces the amount of inactivity you have
during the day. You may even want to take short and light jogs around your house or apartment
for just 5-10 seconds every couple of hours.

Mind Your Posture - Your gaming position is very important when streaming. Sitting up straight
or even standing up throughout the entirety of your stream will help reduce muscle strains and
prevent injuries. Sitting down is great, but make sure you keep your back and knees straight
instead of slouching over while streaming.

Get Active - If you want to exercise in between streams, visiting the gym is a great way to do so.
If the gym isn't your ideal place, there are many other ways to get the heart pumping, like yoga,
biking, Lifting, etc. These can all reduce the risk of you becoming overworked or injured from
sitting down for too long on stream.

Eat Healthy - Our next piece of advice to keep your physical health in check is to eat healthy!
Eating junk food while streaming will put your body at risk due to a spike in sugar and other
weight issues, so always eat well. Maintain a healthy weight by eating the right foods and
exercising regularly.

Hydrate - Another important thing about your health to keep in mind is hydration. To stay
hydrated, you must drink lots of water throughout the day; however, this doesn't mean you should
over-hydrate yourself and have to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes. Your goal should always
be to maintain an even level of water that won't lead to issues in the future.

How to Reduce Screen Time?

As mentioned above, streaming for several hours a day can cause your eyesight to diminish over
time. There are many solutions to this problem that professional streamers use

Break away from the Scree

Anti-Glare Blue Light Blocking Glasse
Calibrate your Monitor Setting
 Chapter 12: Health 111

Getting away from the screen can be difficult when you're trying to make a living from streaming
and have a schedule that doesn't allow you to go anywhere in between. However, the solution is
simple enough and requires no extra expenses. If you're streaming for several hours at a time, it's
very important to step back from your computer every once in a while and stretch your legs.

Mental Health For Streamers

While physical health is essential, mental fatigue can be just as important for streamers.
Streaming can be a lonely job when you're trying to entertain hundreds of viewers by yourself.
Certainly, interaction with other streamers and your viewers is a good thing because it makes
everything more fun; however, if you're not careful, interacting too much on social media can lead
to negativity.

Stress can lead to anxiety which can eventually result in burnout if you don't take care of your
mental health. The most important part of dealing with stress is taking breaks and practice
breathing.

What are the Causes of Stress For Streamers?

Having hundreds, thousands or millions of people watching, commenting, and judging your every
move can be extremely stressful. Adversely, if you have no one watching your stream, that can be
stressful and create anxiety as well. If you're someone who takes criticism to heart and can't
stand even the smallest negative comment, this job may not be for you.

Also, Not getting enough sleep or substance abuse such as alcohol or drugs that may make you
depressed and anxious can also impact your overall wellbeing.

How to protect your mental health?

The most important thing about protecting your mental health is pacing yourself and balancing
real life with streaming life. Making time for yourself while still keeping viewers entertained is
very difficult, but it's also the most important thing that streamers can do to keep themselves
sane.

Learn how to Take a Break - Again, Taking breaks is important for preventing physical and mental
fatigue or injuries, but it's also essential for protecting your mental health. It's easy to get lost in
the stream life where you forget about everything else, but that can be dangerous if left
unattended. Taking regular breaks will help you relax and get back to your normal self. If you're
closing down your stream for the night, take a walk outside with a friend if possible.

Make Time for Friends - Streaming is a very isolating job, and it's easy to lose touch with your
friends when you're focusing most of your time on entertaining hundreds, thousands, or even
 Chapter 12: Health 112

millions of people. However, making time for your friends in real life will help prevent loneliness,
and sustaining friendships while streaming will make it easier to interact with other streamers.

Set Rules and Boundaries - While it's

important to interact with your viewers as
much as possible, setting boundaries for
yourself will prevent you from overdoing it.
Keeping things professional and not
disclosing too much personal information
about yourself or the people around you is
crucial in protecting your mental health.

Accept That The Internet Can Be Mean-

People on the internet feel more confident
voicing negative opinions because they hide
behind a keyboard. Hence, it's very easy to get
depressed or feel anxious if you're too
sensitive. Even though it can be very upsetting,
accepting that the internet is mean will help
you keep your mental health in check.

Stay Physically Active - Even if you're stuck in

front of a screen for hours at a time, it's still
imperative to stay physically active, especially
if your job requires a lot of sitting down.
Regular exercise and healthy meals will help
prevent mental health problems like anxiety.

Recap
When you're a professional streamer, both your mental and physical health are at risk. If you don't
take care of your body and mind, you could face serious problems such as anxiety, depression, or
cardiac problems.

The best solution we can give you is to create a schedule.

Broadly speaking, you should have these six elements in your program:

1) Healthy Food and Lots of Water

2) Rest and Sleep

4) Exercise/Movement

5) Breathing and Meditation

6) Personal and Family Time

Mindset 113
 Chapter 13: Mindset 114

Chapter 13: 

Mindset
While this might seem obvious when you’re getting started, having the right mindset is the most
important aspect of becoming a successful streamer. And many people fail, not because
becoming a professional YouTube or Twitch streamer is hard — but because they approach the
challenge in the wrong way.

And yes, anyone can Google how to set a follower goal on Twitch, or what camera is the best for
their budget. But if you’re going to succeed in the long run, you’ll need to instill yourself with a
couple of extremely important traits — and put yourself in the right mindset.

Discipline
Many people lose time in overly complex and long planning — up until the point where it seems
like it’s all too much, and your channel will never get off the ground. The term for this is “analysis
paralysis”, where you overanalyze and talk yourself out of doing something because your doubt
and fear overcome you.

So, you need to have something practical right away — something that will pump you up for
further work. Don’t hesitate — do something today, heck, even in the next hour. And it doesn’t
have to be perfect, and it doesn’t have to be huge. Just something small that will get you on the
right track towards your goals. This could be as little as setting up a social media page on a
platform that you didn’t before, or something as easy as updating your Twitch bio.
 Chapter 13: Mindset 115

At the end of the day (or rather, in the beginning), the only way to go forward is to take massive

action. If you don’t take massive action, you’ll continue to stay in the same position you’re in

now.

The Internet is absolutely littered with people who have started streaming projects and given up

after a week or two. This is where the importance of discipline comes in. You don’t win by doing

something one time; you win by being disciplined and productive. It’s countless actions repeated

over and over until the point where they become habit.

If you want to get to that first 100 CCV or get partnered, you’re going to need to be consistently

productive — and that takes discipline. Continuous action is what gets you going, and keeps you

at it. You need a long-term, multi-month plan filled with all kinds of subtasks that you’ll work on

every single day.

Remember — a lack of discipline is what separates people with potential that couldn’t make it

from the successful ones at the top. There’s a famous quote by Kevin Garnett, former NBA

Hall-of-Famer: “Hard work beats Talent, when Talent doesn’t work hard.”

And while you’ll see plenty of tips on how to set goals on Twitch and how to reach them, you

need to understand this first — there’s no real shortcut if you want to succeed. It takes hard work,

and hard work takes discipline. It’s as simple as that.

Also, that discipline needs to come from within — this isn’t school or a 9 to 5 job where someone

will watch over you and force you to be productive— it’s all on you. If you’re not disciplined, you

can only hold yourself accountable, and if you succeed, you reap all of the rewards.

You’re the only person that can control your actions and your mind. If you want to be happy,

successful, and disciplined, you have to make a conscious choice to do all of the things that lead

to that — and no one can do that but you. 



So take a moment to pause, think this through, and decide you really want it.
 Chapter 13: Mindset 116

You do?

Great — because now you can really commit to this and become more disciplined. In time, this
will be your primary source of willpower.

And if you’re ready to set out on this journey, remember — you need to start today.

There are no excuses and no acceptable distractions. It’s hard to break the pattern of choosing
to watch your favorite streamer today, or just play a game, rather than checking off a task from
your list to becoming a streamer.

This is especially important early on because you need to establish yourself as the person who’s
in charge — leave no possibility of procrastination. You need to start doing things for your
success here and now.

With the right mindset, even someone who’s not the best gamer or the most extroverted person
can succeed as a creator and a streamer — all it takes is hard work and discipline, and you’ll
quickly get into a growth-oriented mindset.

Once you’re focused on growth, you’ll stop being satisfied and settling for what you have — and
you’ll become more certain in your ability to become bigger and better.

Are you afraid of revealing your face on your stream — understandable, but you need to do it right
away. You don’t have the right contacts in the world of streaming, but you’ve got everything else
needed for a collaboration? Go out there, join a discord or other kinds of online communities.
Take the leap, you won’t regret it.

Every issue is solvable, and no obstacle is insurmountable. Don’t allow for fear of failure or the
unknown to block your discipline and hinder you on the way to success. Fear is just another sign
that you’re growing and stepping out into the unknown — and you need to learn how to face it.

Enjoy Your Success

When you start out to do something big, it’s obvious that the way forward will be filled with
failures and obstacles. That’s only natural — but it’s also why you need to learn to recognize and
enjoy success; celebrate your wins and give yourself credit when credit is due.

And remember — even the smallest win is a stepping stone towards your bigger goals. Even if it
seems silly, celebrate the tiny wins, and you’ll become more pumped up for the stuff you need to
do tomorrow.

So, you’ve landed your first follower — or you’ve joined a new team and got the first win with
them. Maybe you’ve started analyzing your stream or the game in a more productive way?

All of these are successes, so recognize them as such.

 Chapter 13: Mindset 117

And when we say “celebration,” we don’t mean taking the day off for every little thing you
accomplish. Celebrating means acknowledging your progress — taking a few minutes to stop
and “smell the roses” and reflect on what you’ve achieved is important for maintaining morale.

Then – get right back to the grind.

Nothing happens overnight

When you take a look at history, you will realize one important fact — nothing happens overnight.
And that’s true for both successes and failures. When you scratch beneath the surface, you will
find underlying causes and trends that led to both.

If you look up the statistics of your favorite streamers, you’ll remember an important fact — they
didn’t start with a million followers, and they certainly didn’t get there overnight. If they could
make it, there’s no reason why you can’t.

That’s why we’re going back to another recurring theme of the proper streamer mindset — facing
obstacles and pain head-on. Remember, if something feels challenging, it’s probably good for
you.

When you work out, you need to put stress on your muscle to make it grow — and any other skill
is the same. If you’re in your comfort zone, you’re not going forward. When something feels easy,
you need to remember that success doesn’t feel easy. If it was, everyone would be at the top.

You need to evolve as a content creator — instead of trying to sidestep challenges and obstacles,
you have to seek them out. That’s why it’s important to do the things you’re afraid of first.
Experiment with stuff, see what happens.

When you choose what you’re going to do, find the harder thing and do it first. That way, you’ll
always grow, and you’ll always keep learning and stay ahead of the curve.
 Chapter 13: Mindset 118

Own your failures

While celebrating your successes is important, there’s always the other side of the coin — and
that means holding yourself accountable for all of the failures.

Remember, you’re the only person making all of the calls when it comes to streaming; no one can
push you to go further than yourself, and no one else can hold you back either. You have total
control over your actions, attitude, and your mindset.

That’s why it’s essential to properly process any failures and actually learn from them. Trust us,
patting yourself on the back and shrugging off responsibility is the worst path forward — or
rather, it isn’t a path forward at all, because you’ll always stay in the same place.

You won’t be learning from your failures. If you’re late for scheduled streams and your followers
go elsewhere — it’s not their fault, it’s yours. And sure, your bus may have been late from school
or work, or you had car trouble, or the Internet was breaking up.

The easiest thing to do is to say that this stuff isn’t your fault — and that’s precisely why you
shouldn’t do it. If you don’t hold yourself accountable, you won’t learn your lessons for next time.
Maybe you need a better Internet provider, a faster connection, or you need to leave earlier to
ensure you won’t be late.

All of this is stuff you learn from experience — and everyone’s personal experiences and
obstacles are different. The things that will stand between you and your goals are not necessarily
the same problems other people may have. And the more you accept your fault for not
overcoming the obstacles, the more you’ll learn from them.

Remember — you need to meet your obstacles head-on to achieve growth. That’s especially true
if you’re failing.
 Chapter 13: Mindset 119

Problems don’t matter once you solve them

When you’re faced with a couple of problems simultaneously, it’s easy to become overwhelmed
and on the verge of giving up. You need to avoid that by putting yourself in the right
problem-solving mindset.

If you’re faced with an issue that seems unsolvable, that’s just a solution you haven’t discovered
yet — but it’s there. And it won’t always be apparent, and it won’t come to you right away.
However, if you put yourself in the mindset we’ve talked about so far and apply those principles:
you will come up with a solution eventually and move on.

This means staying calm and confident in the face of any issue — and if there’s one thing you’ll
need as a budding streamer, it’s patience and resolve.

Truth is essential
The biggest lies people tell are those they tell to themselves. After all, it’s the easy route — and
you know what we’ve said about easy routes.

Instead, you need to embrace truth as the ultimate value in your streaming. It’s essential, and it
means growth and freedom. And in this context, truth means being honest about yourself, your
skills, and your shortcomings. That’s the only way you’ll be able to systematically analyze and
improve your broadcast.

If people are bouncing away quickly after joining — why is that happening? What’s stopping you
from growing? Why is your viewership filled with “tourist viewers” instead of a loyal, real
audience? How can you move forward from this?

The answers to all of these questions are things we know deep down — and we can discover
them if we’re not afraid to have an honest “look in the mirror.” That’s why truth is so essential — it
tells us what’s wrong, so we know what to focus on.
 Chapter 13: Mindset 120

Of course, being objective is no easy business. For most people, it’s practically impossible,
because they’re unable to defeat their biggest enemy — their ego.

And before you say that you don’t have an ego, let us stop you right there: you do. Everyone does,
it’s just basic human nature.

Also, our egos tend to grow bigger when we start standing out of the fold in any particular craft
or skill; especially when it’s stuff like streaming, where it all depends on you. As we’ve talked
about above, all of your successes and failures are exclusively your own — and as you become
successful, controlling your ego will become more difficult precisely because of the successes.

It’s something of a vicious circle, though — if you can’t control your ego, chances are you won’t
become successful in the first place. You just won’t have it in you to do some hard introspection
and figure out what’s holding you back.

Maybe your commentary isn’t as engaging as you believed — or you’re just not as good at FPS
games as you convinced yourself that you were? Stuff like that isn’t easy to acknowledge, as it’s
what pushed you to become a streamer in the first place — but once you break with your false
convictions, you’ll truly be able to move forward. And get better.

Dealing with the opinions of others

At first, it can be debilitating to think of others seeing you as uninteresting. It’s a crippling fear for
all streamers when they start out — and that’s why it’s important to form a healthy attitude
towards the opinions of others.

Obviously, you want to be popular — if you didn’t have that need, you wouldn’t be into streaming
in the first place. And that’s why shrugging off the ridicule of others isn’t easy — it seems like it’s
invalidating your entire skillset.

However, that fear just holds you back — and you need to shut it down. A Roman philosopher put
it nicely two thousand years before the Internet and streaming were even invented: “we suffer
more often in imagination than we suffer in reality”.

In other words, don’t overthink how others see you. Over time, this mindset will give you a lot of
confidence — ironically enough, making you more popular among others. Generally in life, it’s a
good idea not to worry about things you can’t control — and what other people think is definitely
on that list.

The honest truth of it is — other people aren’t actually thinking about you all that much. If you’re
worried about your friends thinking your zero-viewer stream is ridiculous and making fun of you
for it, just remember this — they’re not actually thinking about it.

Whenever you think your teammates will give you a hard time for practicing more than ranking up
 Chapter 13: Mindset 121

— remember that they’ll be thanking you in a few weeks when your KDA improves. Whatever
people think at any given time — just keep in mind that they’ll respect you when you make
progress down the line, and focus on that.

Accept that doing things wrong is a natural part of any process — if we weren’t bad at something
in the first place, there wouldn’t be any room for improvement. And realizing exactly what you
need to improve while putting your ego aside is the best way to go forward. That’s what we mean
by accepting truth — it’s the truth about yourself.

And while you shouldn’t be devastated by what other people think — you shouldn’t go overboard
and just disregard everyone’s opinion either. That’s not truthfulness, that’s just a rampant ego.

Not caring when someone makes fun of you or your stream is fine — but when someone
challenges your opinion on it with constructive criticism, you should embrace it instead of
shrugging it aside. Don't be afraid to be curious and ask questions even when someone is
criticizing you.

In fact, this is one of your best opportunities to avoid tunnel vision and get an objective look at
your streaming — ultimately, this will help you grow into a more confident and better content
creator. Approach each conversation about your work with an open mind, and there’s no telling
what you might learn by talking about it with all kinds of people. From your PC build to your
stream’s theme — listen to the community, and try to extract some value from their interest in
your work.

Keep this in mind — only work will help you progress, and only doing nothing will set you back.
Every other failure is temporary, and only a learning opportunity so you can succeed in the future.
That’s why you need to treat everything you do as an experiment from which you’re learning
something.

Try another greeting at the start of your videos — or another hero, streaming software, or even
another game. Anything to shake up the status quo once you feel like you’re not progressing. And
then document those changes and see which ones have resulted in growth.

If you stick with it, keep trying, success isn’t just possible — it’s inevitable.
Making It! 122
 Chapter 14: Making It! 123

Chapter 14: 

Making It!
If you asked the child version of yourself back then what they wanted to be when they grew up,
most would respond with more traditional jobs, such as a doctor or a firefighter. Nowadays, it’s
not so uncommon to hear about more and more people becoming full time content creators,
specifically live streamers.

What Is Life Like as a Successful Streamer?

Firstly, it’s important to define what “success” means to you. For some, success means paying
your bills and being passionate about what you do to earn a living wage. For others, success is
an expensive car, home, glitz and glam. And for the rest, it’s somewhere in between those.
Because there is such a wide spectrum, we will try our best to share some real numbers and
different cases.

How Much Do Twitch Streamers Make?

Twitch streamers can earn money several different ways. Typically, it’s
Subscription
Tips/Donation
Sponsor
Merch
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Subscriptions typically start at $4.99, with the highest tier at $24.99. So for all intents and
purposes, let’s say a streamer has 100,000 followers, and let’s say 1% of those are paying
subscribers at the lowest subscription tier ($4.99). That’s $4,999 per month! Not too shabby.
This is just an example and these numbers can fluctuate, some will have more or less than 1% of
their followers subscribe, and some will have higher or lower churn (the amount of subscribers
that cancel their subscriptions).

Now, let’s talk about tips/donations. Using quick math, let’s say that same streamer in the
example above with 100,000 followers receives $3 donations from 1% of their followers roughly
each month. That’s an additional $3,000 per month in donations on top of the $4,999
subscription revenue. So, no we’re at roughly $7,999 per month!

Somebody with 100,000 followers will likely have some sponsors as well that want to get their
brand in front of this audience through the streamer talking and posting about it. There’s a few
way sponsors can pay you. One is directly through Twitch running ads during your stream,
however it’s not exactly publicly clear on how Twitch calculates this. The other way is through
more traditional sponsorships like perhaps an energy drink company wants you to have a banner
on-stream, or a hardware company wants you to wear their headset on stream with an affiliate
link in your chat. These all vary but in most cases range from a few thousand dollars to tens of
thousands per month.

Misconceptions About Becoming a Successful Streamer

It is a myth that streaming is easy money, especially in the year 2021. The “free lunch” for
streaming, according to those familiar with the field, has already passed, and competition
becomes fiercer by the day. In order to succeed, all top streamers need to risk and sacrifice time,
money, and effort in order to get to where they are today.
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MYTH: You Can Immediately Earn Enough Money via

Streaming
This has already been covered in the previous section, but it is still worth repeating, as many see
streaming as an easy way to earn money. In truth, it takes just as much, if not more, effort than
any other job to keep a stream ongoing and make it profitable.

More often than not, other streamers have a day job or two that they rely on while they build up
their channel. It is not uncommon to see people streaming at certain hours of the day, since that
is all the time they can spare for it. Besides this, top streamers usually rely on other means to
create a cumulative income, rather than just relying solely on Twitch.

MYTH: The Viewers Will Come to You

In January 2021, Twitch had a total of almost 10 million active channels; its highest peak yet.
How will you make sure that your one channel is clicked on by viewers amidst everyone else’s?

It is thus unfortunately common that for many channels out there, they would stream for hours
on end, only for there to be no viewers, maybe one or two along the way. Even then, however,
these viewers do not translate into followers, which are integral to a channel’s success.

In response to this, streamers are no stranger to advertising and promoting their own channel.
Here are some of the common ways that they do this

Upload finished streams — One would notice that the majority of streamers would also have
a YouTube channel. While Twitch allows its viewers to rewatch old streams, it still stands that
YouTube is the more commonly visited website. Top streamers also tend to edit their videos
to showcase only highlights, making it easier for others to watch without having to sit through
hours of what could be considered as filler. There’s super easy tools to help with this like
Crossclip
Create social media accounts — The top three would be Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Each platform has particular strengths and weaknesses, but top streamers would be present
in either two or all three of these sites. Twitter is especially notable since it makes it easy for
streamers to notify their fans when they would stream next
Provide a space for followers — So many streamers have dedicated servers on Discord to
allow their fans to chat with one another. It also makes it possible for streamers to interact
with their fans even if they are not on camera, allowing them to foster a stronger connection
to followers.

Top streamers have shared that when they were starting their channels, they would often ask
friends and family to join their live-streaming to have a viewer count. Even then, it might take
months before a follower count breaks a hundred. Some others never reach that number.
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Conclusion

As the video gaming world continues to expand, streaming will also only grow with it. Despite the

difficulties of making it big, remember that for many of these streamers, they did not start this

because they wanted to make money out of it. Streaming, for them, is a way to share their

passion with others. It revolves around community building more than anything else.


For any streamer, the number one rule when trying this path is to have fun with it. Your enjoyment

of what you are doing comes first, and everything else is just icing on the cake.
Summary 127
 Chapter 15: Summary 128

Chapter 15: 

Summary
Disclaimer
The compiled content of this book is derived from the opinions, experiences, and insights of
those in the streaming industry. Thus, by reading this, you agree that neither Streamlabs nor any
related entity is liable for the success or failure of your venture. Nothing here has been endorsed
by any streaming platform, company, or other entities.

1. Find the “Why” Behind Your Desire as a Creator

While it is perfectly fine to stream as a hobby, if you want to pursue it as a career, you really need
to reflect on it. Why do you want to create, and do so continuously in the foreseeable future?
Make sure to write this down someplace where you can easily read it when you need a reminder.

2. Have a Step-by-Step Process Towards Your Goal

Make sure that your goal is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based),
and highly consider placing smaller goals that lead to your main one. You should write this one
down too, preferably in the same place as your answer to the “why” question mentioned
previously.
 Chapter 15: Summary 129

3. Don’t Wait, Start Now

If you keep putting it off, you won’t be able to achieve your dream of being a creator. Reevaluate
what’s stopping you and focus on doing, not on dreaming.

4. Use the Tools You Have and Don’t Be Afraid to Make

Changes
By tools, we mean the statistics and data that you produce when you stream. Notice that on
some particular days you’re getting plenty of views, while on others not getting much at all?
Reflect on what you think caught your viewers’ attention and what could be driving them away.
Make the necessary changes to ensure your success.

5. Be Kind and Be Proactive With Collaborations And Gifts

There’s a lot of hate in the world, so be a beacon by being kind and genuine to your followers.
Top streamer Valkyrae also advises that you should be sharing communities with other
streamers or other fans. Overall, if you are being good to others, the favor will certainly be
returned one way or another.

6. Events and Conferences May Be Good Opportunities,

But Are Costly
Consider your budget as usually these gatherings require some form of payment, and if they
don’t give you what you want, then it would be considered wasteful. Think carefully on the return
of investment, and remember that there are always other ways to grow your audience.
 Chapter 15: Summary 130

7. Invest in Your Set-Up, Especially if You’re Gaming

The worst thing that could happen in the middle of your stream is your computer shutting down
because it couldn’t handle the game. It’s recommended to get large and/or multiple monitors
that optimize refresh rate. As for the PC, take note of how much GPU and RAM it has. It might be
in need of an upgrade.

8. Check How You Look on Camera

It might be tempting to just stream and not care about how you look on camera, but while you
don’t have to put on makeup, good lighting and a clear view of your face are essential. Your
energy and personality shine better if you can keep a good eye level to your viewers.

9. Use Streamlabs Obs to Streamline Your Set-Up

With Streamlabs OBS, you can set up alerts and get a chatbot online to moderate your chat, since
any viewer that comes in can be a troll. Besides this, consider setting up on multiple platforms,
including mobile, to reach as many people as possible with your stream.

Get Streamlabs — go live in minutes!

Download Streamlabs for free!
 Chapter 15: Summary 131

10. Create Strong Branding Through Aesthetics

Professional streamers have invested in graphics and overlays, so you should as well.
Remember also that what you decide to be your stream name, title, and the like would be what
you carry with you to success, so make sure to think hard on it. As they always say, first
impressions last.

11. Streaming Is About Building a Community

It is not an understatement to say that the community is everything to a streamer. Thus, you
should always pay attention to the chat box and acknowledge as many as you can, especially
those that financially support you. Engagement is key, changing a casual viewer to a regular
follower. However, also take note that some do prefer lurking, so be mindful of how you engage.

12. If You’re Gaming, Game to Win

No one wants to watch bad plays and losses all the time, even if they are played for humor. If you
are playing casually and want to improve, consider checking out these tips, depending on your
genre
FPS: Frame rates are vital, especially when every movement counts. Consider playing in
practice mode if you aren’t too confident in ranked matches
MOBA: Make sure to specialize in multiple characters, but pick one distinct character your
audience would remember you for. Always play as a team, and use your abilities wisely
RTS: The economy is your friend here, and if you have money to spare, use it wisely. Since
this is real time, timing your attacks is integral to success.
 Chapter 15: Summary 132

13. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Since this career entails long hours sitting down, it is imperative to keep yourself fit and healthy.
You can craft goals in the same way that you do with your creator ones, and don’t forget the
essentials such as drinking enough water, eating a balanced diet, and sleeping enough hours. At
the same time, recognize that negativity and toxicity are going to be a given, so make sure to
keep your mental health healthy too!

14. Advice From Pro Streamers: Respect Is Key

Top streamer Crendor advises fellow streamers to have a positive attitude, which extends to your
viewers, collaborators, and fellow players and other streamers. He also talks about making sure
you be yourself, but uniquely yourself, rather than trying to parrot what other people are doing.
You want people to talk about you positively, not negatively.

15. Consistency and Discipline Are Vital

While breaks are important, you have to be careful not to become lazy or too stagnant. Skipping
a day may eventually lead to skipping an entire week if you’re not careful, so you have to make
sure to keep your priorities in check.

16. Don’t Overextend, Celebrate the Little

Accomplishments
Remember that step-by-step goal list? Treat yourself to a little something when you reach one of
them, for you have already taken one step further than others in the same path as you. Keep your
pace gradual, and you will be sure to make it in the end.
 Chapter 15: Summary 133

17. Embrace Constructive Criticism

Seek it out when you feel ready for it, though sometimes the needed truth will come at you when

you don’t expect it. Nonetheless, take it as a blessing and use it as a means to steel yourself and

learn from it. Open-mindedness is key to growth.

18. All Related Action, No Matter How Small, Leads to

Progress

Try your best to avoid putting things off and do what needs to be done for the success of your

goals. Even if it appears scary or intimidating, little steps forward are still better than standing

still.

19. Reach Out to Other Forms of Income

Streaming is just one aspect where you can earn from. Remember when we talked about how

streaming is all about a community? That also means that this community will support you

through donations, merchandise; the possibilities are limitless. As you become more popular, you

will be able to utilize more ways to earn. Be careful of those that might exploit you, and make

sure to think ahead for the long-term rather than the short-term. Your viewers and supporters

have your back!

 Chapter 15: Summary 134

We appreciate you investing the time to learn more about the live streaming space 

and hope that you’ve learned a lot! 



If you have any questions, you can always reach out to us at [email protected]

Your Biggest Cheerleader

Streamlabs
 Helpful Resources 135

Helpful Resources
1. Pipeline.gg 2. SullyGnome.com 3. SocialBlade.com
Expert-led guidance, Twitch statistics and Social Blade is great for
content, and tools to help analytics finding stats and analytics
you become a successful for Youtube, Instagram,
streamer TikTok, Facebook, and more

4. Restream.io 5. Streamaid.tv 6. FairlyOddStreamers

Useful live streaming Great list of tools and Everything from graphics,
tools and resources Twitch extensions for spornsors, extensions,
streamers with podcasts, celebrity
instructions streamers and more

7. Reddit 8. NerdOrDie 9. StreamerGuides.com

Find just about anything Great resource for variety Excellent guides for all
live streaming related of graphics. NerdOrDie is streaming platforms
straight from streamers also in the Streamlabs
themselves App Store
 Helpful Resources 136

10. OBS 11. Pretzel 12. Crossclip

OBS is open-source Pretzel is a great tool for Convert your Twitch clips
software and has some copyright free music that into TikTok videos,
great resources to help you can use while Instagram reels &
start streaming to Twitch streaming YouTube shorts with ease!

13. Xsplit 14. Vimeo 15. Dacast

Another great streaming Vimeo provides great If your content is business
software which has a ton resources for live or education based, Dacast
of resources for live streaming as well as might be a good streaming
streaming virtual events tool to check out

16. YouTube 17. StreamScheme 18. Willow

If you plan to live stream If you’re past the beginner The all-in-one link in bio
on YouTube, you might stage of streaming and tool. Drive traffic from
check out their full set of want to learn more Instagram, Twitter or
resources here advanced tips, check out Facebook with just one URL