Jordan Soma first stream

Dear Influencers: How to Prepare for Your First Stream

Jordan Tayer General Manager, NA

Hey folks! If you’re an aspiring streamer, this one’s for you. In last year’s Twitch Holiday Spectacular, Twitch revealed it had at least 15 million users visiting the platform every day. They also announced that the number of Twitch Partners and Affiliates generating revenue has grown over 86% from 2017 to 2018. With more and more gamers broadcasting their video game content in the space, how do you know what rules of thumb to follow when preparing for your first stream?

At Matchmade, we work closely with both advertisers and influencers. Since we made it our mission to make influencer marketing great, easy, and transparent for everyone involved, I’m sharing with you the 5 rules I followed when I prepared for my first stream.

 

  1. Having a solid internet connection

This may be obvious, but it’s still sometimes overlooked: in order to have a decent to good quality broadcast, you really need an upload speed of at least 4 or 5 Mpbs. It’s even recommended to have 10+ for a 720p broadcast. Another important factor to consider is hard-lining your PC, and steering clear of wireless connections so your connection doesn’t drop mid-way through your stream.

Remember, the higher the upload speed the better! Yes, download matters too but make sure your upload speeds are solid!

 

  1. Checking your microphone and audio quality

While a webcam isn’t necessary (as there’s plenty of successful streamers who never use cams), finding a solid way to speak to your audience absolutely is. For example, if your microphone sounds bad, you end up sounding bad. And, if you sound bad, no one then wants to watch you. Out of all the streaming equipments you need to invest in, spending a bit more money on a decent microphone will be worth it to keep a fun conversation, dialogue, or commentary going without any problems.

“If viewers waltz into your channel and see you quietly sitting there, minding your own business, they’ll also quietly… leave.”

 

  1. Continuing to talk and engage with audience

… even if no one’s there. It may sound weird to speak to 0 people in your chat room but even just explaining what you’re doing to yourself out loud is enough to keep a random stream-browser to stick around. Look at it this way — if viewers waltz into your channel and see you quietly sitting there, minding your own business, they’ll also quietly… leave.

 

  1. Inviting a few gamer friends to watch

If you want some support during your first stream or just to make the whole experience less nerve-wracking, inviting some of your gaming friends to watch could do the trick. That’s what I did, and it made me feel like I was playing with my friends any other day.

 

  1. Streaming the game you have the most fun with

At least to me, skill doesn’t matter that much in the long run. When you’re having fun (even if it’s in a game you’re not good at), it typically translates into better content — in comparison to when you’re having a less exciting time in a game you’re good at. So, at the end of the day, stream what you want, and make sure you enjoy yourself because, if you’re not, your viewers will notice.

 

That’s it, broadcasters — happy streaming! On a side note, we support Twitch campaigns on our intelligent influencer marketing platform. Learn more about it in the short introduction below:

 

For more advice on influencer marketing, take a look at these following posts: