I'm sure many of you who are interested in Twitch streaming have also visited the Twitch subreddit before. It seems that every week there are new posts asking how to build a following, gain popularity and just general thoughts on becoming successful on Twitch.tv.
What I typically see are a lot of people saying things like:
- “Don't do it for money, just have fun with it.”
- “Don't expect anything, it's hard to become a top streamer.”
- “I just do this part-time so I don't really care if I make any money.”
- “Too many people start twitch for the wrong reasons. Just do what makes you happy.”
These sorts of statements are extremely common. Now don't get me wrong, Twitch is a hard platform to break in to these days but is by no means impossible. I can guarantee you that there is no limit on the amount of people who can become successful. This is simply no shortage of success.
But there is too much “average” thinking going on in this community and I'll tell you why. Everyone wants to justify why they aren't successful. Because they haven't made it, it's likely that you won't either. They are trying to make themselves feel better for their lack of success.
This happens in all walks of life. People tell you to find balance, take it easy, don't become obsessed about anything. But that is exactly the kind of talk that holds them back. I can assure you that doing what the majority does will likely leave you with the same results the majority gets.
The key here is to ignore any advice on Reddit and other communities filled with “average” thinkers. Imagine you were in a private forum with the top 25 streamers on Twitch. What you do you think their advice would be to a novice streamer? I can guarantee you it would be entirely different that what is found in a forum full of “average” streamers.
Now please don't take offence to this. It's not meant to be hurtful to anyone. I completely understand that not everyone has a lot of time to devote and that there are people who in fact only care about Twitch streaming as a hobby.
But what about you? Is it your dream to be a godly streamer? Might it be your purpose in life to be a world-famous streamer? If it is then you need to start thinking completely differently.
You need to avoid average thinkers like the plague. If you spend all day on the Twitch subreddit hoping for some nugget of success truth you aren't likely to find it. Why? Because the successful streamers aren't there. Where are they? They are streaming and taking massive action towards their goals and dreams.
Let's stop for a moment. What is your goal? What are your dreams? What is your purpose?
Is it to be a Twitch partner? Is it to be a great entertainer? Is it to make a living as a live streamer?
Currently about 1% of people are close to achieving these goals. Why is it only 1%? When I told you there is no shortage of success. The reason is that there is a shortage on people actually doing what it takes to reach their goals and often times they are setting their goals so low because they live in an echo chamber of average thinkers.
Stop trying to increase your followers by 10 and start trying to increase it by 1000.
Stop trying to earn a few bucks and start trying to make $100000 a year on twitch.
Stop trying to sell a single affiliate product and make your stream so good you get 3 sponsors.
You need to set way higher goals so that you are successful no matter what. Don't fall for the trap of being realistic. That is a mistake that 99% of people make and it leads to poor results.
Once your goals are set high enough you will then realize that you have not been taking nearly enough action to achieve even the basic goals. The two most common mistakes are not setting goals high enough and underestimating what it really takes to achieve a goal. That leads to average amounts of effort and then the resistance hits and you start doubting yourself.
What would happen if you made it your goal to be partner and make a living on twitch and every day you woke up to that goal and went to sleep with it in your mind. You thought of nothing else. This is what would happen:
- you would become obsessed with improving yourself as an entertainer, a producer and social engager
- you would spend less time browsing and consuming and more time creating
- you would take 10x the amount of action as other people take so you get 10x the results
- you would start “producing” a stream that has immense entertainment value rather than just logging on and see what happens
- you would start doing the networking that you dread doing because you know getting those hosts and referrals is so critical to growth
- you would present yourself at your best every single time you stream because the outcome would matter to you
Remember Twitch is just a video platform about gaming, it's up to you what production you broadcast. You set the schedule, you set the quality, you set the entertainment, you set the energy, you set the bar, you set the guests, you set the music, you set the games, you set the experience. Twitch does none of that. So I guess what you have to realize is that you are in control of your destiny.
Everyone wants to blame something else. Everyone wants to make up an excuse as to why they haven't reached the level of success they truly desire. It's Twitch's fault, it's camgirls stealing viewers, it's my equipment…
The real reason is that their actions do not match the level of success they desire. This post is going to sting for some people. It's a real wakeup call. Good. Let it be the spark that ignites your fire, your determination.
They always say “Don't get into twitch for the money, do it because you are passionate.” They are partly right. If you aren't passionate about gaming, live stream entertainment and the Twitch industry as a whole you won't ever have the energy to keep the fire going. You will quit. You will give up. But if you do have the passion and begin to realize that the money is there (it just takes a helluva lot of work), then by all means go for the glory.
Expect nothing less of yourself than Twitch partnership in the next 8 months. Expect nothing less of yourself than a highly monetizable stream that attracts thousands of viewers and thousands of dollars. It is all possible, there are hundreds of examples out there. All you need to do is replicate what they did. Did they get lucky? Maybe. But you know what they say, “the harder I worked, the luckier I got.” People never see what really goes on behind the scenes. They never see the countless hours spent on perfecting a craft or developing a product. They only see the tips and subs ringing in and call it “lucky”.
Your twitch stream is your product. You need to work on it. You need to love it and think it is so damn good that you have no problem telling people how great it is. You want to be able to say, “You won't want to miss an episode!” If you can't sell yourself your own stream then don't expect to be able to sell others on it. Too many people think they can fire up OBS and the viewers will just come in.
No, a successful stream takes production planning, careful thought about viewership and demographics, a powerful brand, high quality visuals and audio. Become a producer, not a just a streamer. Think big! Take massive action! Set your goals 10x as high! Don't listen to people who have not had the success you want, they don't have the answer for you.
Step out of average thinking and become the Live Stream Producer on Twitch you truly want to be. If you want the money that's great, I support a monetization strategy from the get go, just make sure you are taking the actions necessary to drive the viewership to a level where it becomes easy to make money. You will never get there if it's just a past-time or hobby. You need to decide today why it is you stream at all and if its because you dream big then you need to go big!
Start now. Take an action you know will drive viewership. And then don't ever stop. Remember this phrase and you will get there – “Do only that which must be done.”
Stay live,
Lake
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