how to become a streamer

How to become a renowned streamer

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a famous singer or an actor… or a streamer? Have you ever imagined that people would come up to you and ask to take a photo or give an autograph? Of course you did… all of us did, at least in childhood.

There is no sense in saying that it is very hard to become famous, and way more difficult to retain it. It is obvious that such professions require lots of hard work, charisma, hard work, erudition, talent, imagination, and, of course, hard work. But today we won't talk about the difficulty of becoming a media person… We'll talk about methods.

Many dream about meeting stars in the street and many want to be like them, but they don't even have an idea on how to become a media person.

We, at DeStream, are experts in streaming, so today we are going to give you a couple of tips on how to become a popular streamer.

Let's get to business right away. There are 6 points that need to be considered — 3 main and 3 secondary:

The main points that we consider important cover your personal motivation, the equipment you use and your time management.

Complementing the aforementioned points, we go deeper into your stage image and self-branding, as well as networking and collaborations.

Motivation and Self-Analysis

Self-criticism and realism in views are very useful skills, especially if you are going to choose (or change) your future profession.

Before buying proper software, starting your first broadcast, and even before signing up on Twitch, YouTube, etc. ask yourself a question: "Do I really want to be a streamer?"

Of course, many skills will develop with time… You will become more relaxed, calm, you will be better guided in what and when to say, where and how to joke. But there are some things that must be determined at the very beginning of your way.

Are you ready to spend 5–8 hours daily on streaming; 5–6 days a week; with minimum holidays?

I think one should really love to be a media-character to do so.

Do you really want to lose a very substantial part of your personal space?

Sometimes this one is a much more important question than the others. Being a media person means being open to the audience. Less privacy, less pleasant loneliness, less peace, and so on. Such pace of life can burn you out very quickly, so it is necessary to be very ambitious and have a desire to become popular.

Are you ready to face the fact that your mistakes can cause the hatred of your audience?

All of us have heard cases when celebrities did things after which people began to hate them. And every time looking at something like that you may think: "Oh, what an idiot… If I were in his/her place, I would never do such a stupid thing." So, good luck being in his/her shoes! You'll need it.

Remember, honest answers to such questions are crucial for your future career. The remaining conclusions are up to you, as we proceed to the next point.

Equipment

Nowadays there is a ruthless competition among streamers. From playing skills and the number of followers to microphone quality — they compete in everything. This means that in terms of equipment it's better if it's modern, expensive and fancy.

However, for beginner streamers, there is one "but". We don't recommend you to spend enormous amounts of money on a full set of cool equipment to start streaming. There are 4 things that you need to provide a good quality stream:

Camera
Microphone
Computer hardware
Internet connection

We will not go into tedious details and talk about different models and price categories. There will be a separate article on this subject.

The only thing we recommend is to not worry too much about the first two points. You don't need a super-expensive camera or a microphone to start streaming. It is fine as long as you can be seen and your sound is clear. Proper video and audio quality is enough.

However, the last two points are worth considering. The computer must be powerful enough to provide a good FPS with a streaming program turned on, and the internet connection must be good enough for you not to worry about lags and disconnects.

Schedule

The next important point is the schedule. Unlike the previous paragraphs, everything is relative here. It depends on whether you go full-time streaming or not.

If you're planning to dive deep and go full-time, then you will need to make a schedule convenient for you and the viewer.

Let's suppose you've decided to stream 6 hours a day — 3 hours during the day and 3 hours at night. In this case, it is necessary to choose the right time to start a broadcast. Streaming at 6 or 7 p.m. is not recommended, because at that time people return home from work,from school or universities and popular content-creators with thousands of followers go online. You will simply get lost amongst them. It is always better for a newcomer to start streaming early in the morning or late at night — you will get less views, but it is still better than zero.

The next thing about the schedule is your compliance with it. In other words, the discipline. Whether it is 5–6 days weekly, 6–8 hours daily… you must stick to your schedule in any case (especially at the beginning of your career.)

Remember, nobody likes streamers with an unpredictable broadcasting schedule.

It would be different if you decide to stream just 1–2 hours a day, 2–3 days a week. The most important thing to consider is your game choice.

Our advice is simple — don't play super-popular games if you are not streaming full-time. In this case, Call of Duty, PUBG, Fortnite, Minecraft, CS:GO are not for you. Try playing old games, indie-games, underrated ones (if you think so), or games with small, but consolidated fanbase (like EUIV, Civilization series, etc.) In short, choose something more rare, and the chances of success will increase significantly.

And finally, do not forget about discipline. It is important in all cases.

So, we are done with the main points. Without them, everything else becomes useless. Now, let's move on to the secondary ones.

Stage image

The obvious advantage of the streamer's profession, in addition to money and popularity, is the endless space for imagination. Streaming is a real field of experimentation for those who have at least once dreamed of becoming an actor.

You may be the most ordinary person in the universe, but here, on the screens of computers and smartphones, you can become anyone. And if we add some acting skills, after a few years of regular broadcasts, you can take your chances in Hollywood.

There are no specific rules and recommendations for the stage image, it all depends on a content creator and his/her level of charisma and imagination.

However, it should be noted that a good image can be a key success factor — it can cause a boom in the number of subscribers since the very beginning of your career. And don't forget, that the fanbase of streamers with a bright (and not always pleasant) stage image is much more loyal.

Networking and collaborations

Like in almost every professional field, streaming is a business, and in business, one of the most important points is communication and networking.

There is a principle tested by time and by many people, saying that if you can't do something, you should find someone who can do it. The same goes for followers on Twitch, YouTube and so on. If you don't have enough subscribers, then find a more popular colleague and tell him/her to help you. And don't underestimate the power of collaborative streams. They do magic sometimes — you fall asleep as a newcomer with 10 subscribers, and in the morning you wake up with a thousand.

There are a lot of events where content creators (and not only) can gain connections. Such events, like Gamescom, E3, etc. are held annually and attract huge numbers of visitors.

However, it's not always possible to be one of these visitors. In addition, popular streamers most likely won't agree to do a collaboration with you, and the more popular the streamer, the more insignificant is the chance that he will agree to conduct a joint stream with someone unknown.

If you don't have the opportunity to visit, for example, E3, online communities are always at your service. Facebook, Reddit, Discord and so on, there are a lot of groups on these social networks, where people gather according to their interests. And streaming is not an exception. In these groups you can find dozens of people who want to establish a collaborative stream.

This approach helps you not only to "share subscribers", but also to delve deeper into the streamer's profession of learning the art of team-work. Anyway, two heads are better than one.

Self-branding

Every brand starts from a name. There are no specific rules in naming your channel, but the most important thing is that it has to be memorable. For example, you can try to use short nicknames starting with TV, CS (means counter-strike), HD, etc. at the end. You can even use your permanent nickname for online-games, if you have it, of course.

The next part of self-branding is social media. Every world-famous social network must have its own mission for a streamer.

Facebook — generally helps to find collaborators.

Importance Level: Low

Younger generations don't visit Facebook as often as, for example, 5–7 years ago.

Instagram — helps you to brand yourself. Works as an extremely useful tool for influencing the public. Highlight clips, real-life clips, photos, etc. you can post everything there. Color-correction, lights, clothing, decorations, style — everything can become an element of branding.

Importance Level: Extreme.
Instagram is your best friend.

Discord — doesn't work as an audience-attractor, but acts as an audience-keeper. Discord groups are a perfect way to provide communication with subscribers. In addition, your followers can establish contacts with each other through these groups. Who knows, maybe one day you will all become one harmonious and friendly community.

Importance Level: Very high

YouTube — having a YouTube channel is also crucial. It works in two ways.

First way: networking. You can send your highlights or funny moments to relevant channels and attract additional audiences from the video platform where more than 2 billion accounts are registered.

Second way: your own channel. You need to do the same as in the first option, but with your own hands. Having your own YouTube channel also gives more customization options and can become a foundation for a giant 5+ million subscriber channel.

Importance: Very high

Additional development tips

You shouldn't greet loudly every person who joins your stream — it infuriates, believe me.
It is better for the overlay to be as light as possible. There is no need in oversaturating the overlay with different menus and widgets.
Interact with your viewers as much as possible. Simply, be attentive to the chat. This is easy to do at first, but when the number of subscribers starts to grow, it will get a lot harder.
Do not make decisions that you will soon regret. Enter the world of streaming gradually. Don't be like those crazy guys who quickly quit their jobs and immediately indulge in streaming.
Don't beg your viewers for donations. You're a content creator, not a beggar.
Stay motivated and visualize the bright future of your channel.The vast majority of well-known streamers came to popularity through long and hard work.
Just do it. If you have the desire to become a streamer — just sit and click play. Just like in any job, there comes the saying "you will not know until you try."

Well, this is it. Today we tried to figure out how to become a popular streamer. Of course, there are still a lot of tips to be discussed in frames of streamer's profession.

And finally, let me remind you that we are DeStream — an emotional donation platform providing new experiences and eliminating borders between viewers and content creators.

We blur the boundaries between the screen life and reality, and If you're an online content creator or wish to become one, we have great tools to ease your job and help you become unique and attractive. For more information visit our website: www.destream.net