Introducing you to Swiftor and Sevadus, Twitch Streamers with over 1 million and 435K followers. In this exclusive interview, they share with us what they’ve learned from their journey as Twitch influencers, and advice on creating sponsored content.
Meet Swiftor:
1 Million Followers on Twitch
2.6 Million Subscribers on YouTube
When did you start streaming?
I started streaming in early 2008 on Justin.tv before they spun off their gaming section as Twitch. Yeah, I’m old! There was a lot less competition back then since the technical hurdles for streaming games were so much higher. However, the audience was also much smaller as many people didn’t know (where) games were streamed live.
What was the biggest challenge you had when you first started?
Keeping the conversation going with the audience was my biggest challenge. One of the reasons I started streaming was to get better at being social and interacting with people. And, streaming really made a difference for me! Otherwise, since I started streaming really early on, there were other technical challenges like getting a stream to look and sound good — but I was lucky to have friends that helped.
“Don’t give up. It’s easy to get discouraged but like they say, every overnight success takes 10 years.”
Which games do you stream on Twitch?
I stream a lot of Call of Duty, GTA, PUBG, Fortnite, and a ton of game shows (Monopoly, Deal or No Deal, Jackbox party games, etc). Any game that gives my community and I some creative control is an opportunity to do some really cool stuff like joke competitions or viewer tournaments. At the end of the day, my channel thrives on community interaction both in game and audience.
You also have a YouTube channel, why the multichannel approach?
I’ve been uploading YouTube content for as long as I’ve been streaming. I initially started uploading clips to YouTube to help promote my live streaming channel. But, over the years, it became its own great place to post the best chunks of my streaming content, and reach audiences that prefer video on demand or just don’t want to leave YouTube for entertainment. It’s a great symbiotic relationship where you can introduce your live viewership to your YouTube channel and vice versa. It’s also a nice way to diversify revenue streams if momentum slows down on one of the platforms.
Do you make sponsored content?
Absolutely – when the sponsored content is a right fit for the brand, my community, and myself.
Can you provide 3-5 points of advice for companies that want to sponsor a streamer, like yourself, to promote their product?
Reach is absolutely important, but it’s worth skimming our content/social media feeds to get a feel of the tone of the creator to see if we are a good fit.
Creators know their audience the best. So, whenever it is possible, let us help craft the message you want us to deliver because using our own language is what keeps our content genuine, and, most importantly, how we meet your goals.
Sometimes, it can’t be helped, but the earlier you talk to us about wanting to work together, the better we can execute your campaigns. For instance, every sponsorship is a reflection of what I endorse so I want to put forward my best in each opportunity and taking a breather in between lets me do that.
What’s the number 1 advice you would give to a new streamer that’s just starting out?
Don’t give up. It’s easy to get discouraged but like they say, every overnight success takes 10 years. Never stop fine tuning yourself and your content. No one ever gives up on something that’s really important to them, so neither should you. Ahem.. that might be more than one piece of advice.
What’s the hottest game right now (outside of Fortnite)?
There are so many great games out there (and Fortnite is still killing it of course) right now but Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterpiece.
Meet Sevadus:
435k Followers on Twitch
51K Subscribers on YouTube
When did you start streaming?
I began streaming on Xfire in 2007, then Justin.tv in 2009, and finally moved over to Twitch when it was created in 2011.
What was the biggest challenge you had when you first started?
My biggest challenge was taking a break. I managed to become very hooked on broadcasting right from the beginning. So, finding broadcasting/life/work balance became the first real hurdle I had to overcome when I first started.
“Streamers are better when they aren’t scripted so let them engage with their communities in the ways they know best”
Which games do you stream on Twitch?
Right now, NONE! After almost 11 years of streaming video games, I became bored of it and wanted to “keep learning.” Now, I stream content I call “Deep Dives,” where I start by learning a complex topic from scratch and become an “almost expert” on the topic by the time I’m done streaming. For example, I’ve been diving into “Stock Market Investing” for around a month now so another month or two before I finally become an “almost expert” at it.
You also have a YouTube channel, why the multichannel approach?
I don’t actively update my YouTube channel anymore because of time constraints (there are only 24 hours in a day). As the CEO of N3RDFUSION, I am giving my company priority over creating my own content.
Do you make sponsored content?
I used to create sponsored content on my own and now I am the CEO of a company that creates enormous amount of sponsored content. Not only is it fun and engaging, but it is also very rewarding for broadcasters.
Can you provide 3-5 points of advice for companies that want to sponsor a streamer, like yourself, to promote their product?
Be transparent about your advertising goals
Streamers are better when they aren’t scripted so let them engage with their communities in the ways they know best
Interact with the broadcaster as much as possible. This especially applies to smaller companies that are trying to sponsor influencers because engaging with the broadcaster through chat during the sponsorship really helps you become part of the community and gives a ‘human’ element to the company side of the sponsorship.
What’s the number 1 advice you would give to a new streamer that’s just starting out?
Be consistent. Be consistent. Be consistent. If you set a schedule that says you will broadcast every Friday at 7pm, do broadcast every single Friday at 7pm. Don’t be late and don’t cancel. Consistency is what drives growth.
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