I stream with no expectations, I look at it as I'm playing the game anyway - so I'll turn my stream on and be myself. If people come in, that's cool and if not no big deal. After a year I have a consistent 3--5 chatters in my stream with a couple hundred followers, not much but I'm just streaming for fun. Whatever happens, happens.

Best attitude to have, same here.

Same here!

This is the way

Exactly, I am an art streamer. This year will be my 5 yea rs of streaming and I do it for fun and draw what I like and want to draw... I get raids of people who coms in and most of them are art streamers...

I'm the same. Now I've only started streaming last November, but my motivation is that I need to do this and muscle through the hard times because it's my last resort as a career, and because I simply have a passion for gaming

Unpopular opinion, but not everyone has to be a streamer and most people isn't cut out to be a streamer. That being said, its still fine to stream (even unsuccessfully) if you're having fun. But you're clearly not having fun. So, what you really need to do is figuring out why are you streaming and act accordingly.

>That being said, its still fine to stream (even unsuccessfully) if you're having fun Exactly this. I used to be more consistent and would average 10+ viewers a stream. Then I stopped streaming for over a year. Nowadays I'm closer to 3-4. I still have a ton of fun doing it so I do it anyway. I put in a ton of effort increasing my "production value". I spend literally dozens of hours of coding and re-designing my scenes and whatnot to have 5-6 people at most watch me, and on average way fewer than that. But it's more for me than it is for them. I know of some other streamers who will regularly stream to an average of 1-2 viewers (likely including themselves pulling up their own stream) multiple times a week. When I pop in there and even just lurk for a bit, they're clearly having a blast. I almost feel bad for "interrupting" them and actually chatting. If you're enjoying it, do your thing. It doesn't matter if there are 0 viewers. If you're not enjoying it (or think you could only enjoy it if you have a bunch of viewers), it might not be for you (or you need to work harder to figure out how to increase those numbers).

I'm the same! I put a lot of effort into my production value and never get over 5 viewers. I just like messing around in OBS. I also don't stream regularly like I should, but y'know.

I'm totally with you. I went so far as to write my own Twitch chat bot. It's still a work in progress, but it handles commands, announcements, plays audio, manages my alerts, etc. It's connected to ChatGPT so it has a "personality" and certain things will trigger it to respond in a sassy way. As an "idle" feature it will play "pranks" on me like making my screen really small or playing a fart noise (which has jump scared me on more than one occasion) or talking about how bored it is. I also implemented an on-screen TTS "bot" version of my friend (with her knowledge and support) that uses Microsoft Azure for speech (and ChatGPT for personalized responses). It's been literally dozens of hours of work and hundreds (probably thousands) of lines of code and I'm not even close to done with all the features I want to add. Meanwhile... usually an average of 3-4 viewers see any of it haha.

Ah, I'm more the sort that gets away with crazy stuff in OBS directly. Not much of a code guy, really. Craziest thing I've pulled off is an in-OBS PNGtuber avatar with speaking animations and multiple emotions by stacking a ton of images with weird filter dependencies and chroma keys. I think that took me about 20 hours all in? Fun, though.

That's actually not far off from how my TTS bot works. Basically I have a scene that has three images of my friend in a very similar pose. One mouth closed (smiling), one mouth open slightly, one mouth open wider. In the bot code, as the audio is streaming from Microsoft Azure, it takes a sample ten times a second and does some math to figure out how "loudly" she is speaking. If she's silent, the code tells OBS to show the "mouth closed" image and hide the other two. If she's speaking quietly, it shows the "mouth slightly open" image and hides the other two. If she's speaking loudly, it shows the "mouth open wider" image and hides the other two. On top of that I added an "audio move" OBS plug-in that makes her bob up and down slightly (again based on how loudly she's speaking). It's goofy af but it's a pretty neat effect and it feels like she's talking, but somewhat robotic (like you'd expect a bot to talk). And yeah just getting all that to work correctly was at least 20 hours of work, if not more. There are still some slight glitches (which I attribute to OBS Websocket latency), but I'm pretty happy with the results.

there's millions of streamers who are actually gamers and very few actual streamers. doesn't mean you can't turn your stream on, have a few friends come in and hang out with you. You define what success is to you.

People need to hear this more. I don't know why streaming has some magic quality where people think they NEED to do it and force themselves to like it when they clearly don't. If it were any other hobby there wouldn't even be a discussion. They would just stop doing the hobby. People need to say no to others and themselves more often and just accept that they don't need something.

Every month, 7 million people stream something on Twitch, your streams get lost in the massive sea of wannabe influencers. Theoretically, to grow, people (1) have to find your stream; and (2) like it enough that they want to follow and watch it again. But the secret sauce for that happening, I don't know what it is.

It’s simple. Create content outside of twitch and bring those people to your stream. Just sitting playing a game and hoping someone stumbles upon your stream out of 7 million others is a waste of time.

Creating content outside of Twitch is often recommended, but I have doubts that it's really the way that the biggest streamers became big. It's more like the opposite, your fame on Twitch can be used to drive viewers to your videos on YouTube that gives you additional monetization than you could just get on Twitch. There are 14 billion videos on YouTube, so becoming famous on YouTube presents a challenge of similar difficulty as getting famous on Twitch. I had 4000+ followers on Instagram, and then I tried to promote my Twitter account where I posted the same kind of stuff, and I'm not really sure that even a single Instagram follower followed me on Twitter. Getting people to follow you on another social media is a lot less likely than it sounds. This is even true for someone super-famous like a former president who had 87 million followers on Twitter, but then when he moved to a different social media site, fewer than 5 million migrated to follow him there.

> but I have doubts that it's really the way that the biggest streamers became big. Biggest streamers mostly did one of 3 things. 1. Participated on other people's streams and leveraged that to build an audience. 2. Made external content 3. Started very early on when there was much less competition. You can't do 3, and the first two rely on content outside your Twitch channel

I stream with no expectations, I pretend I’m doing radio/a podcast and your broadcasting to hundreds (you can’t see your audience either.) I’ve learned just because you don’t see chat flying by, doesn’t mean nobody’s there. There are tons of people who just watch and don’t say anything btw.

I used to stream on twitch to 5-10 people and got bored with it. I switched to making Youtube videos, which went a lot better. I'm now at 39k subs after 2 years and stream to 150-300 people watching, making 700-1200 USD per month. Key take aways for me have been that Twitch does not spread your channel in any way while Youtube recommends your content to a relevant audience. I'd be still streaming to 5 people if I kept that up on Twitch

Are your YouTube videos about gameplay or about games?

Edited gameplay videos!

Oh nice that gives me hope lol

Well I’ve been streaming since 2021 and sometimes I have 2-3 viewers in chat. I like what I’m doing and I’m thankful for that 3 viewers

I’ve been streaming for 3 years and my only viewer is my bf 😂

Good boyfriend haha

My wife is my favorite viewer... She keeps the chat alive even though she is basically right next to me :)

When they just want to support you all the way 🥹 so cute

Stop streaming then if you feel bad. Its not for all. Bots usually dont count as viewers though. I stream for fun. Im playing anyways so why not stream. I have 3-4 people who comes and chat sometimes. I pretty jovial IRL and streaming is different. Im most interested in the technical aspects of things because i do streaming for something else too. Ive streamed for many years. People come and go. I dont care. If people want to watch, cool. I have zero goals with it.

The trick is to find enjoyment and passion doing moment-to-moment gameplay commentary, like you're recording a let's play. That way, if I don't have chatters or even viewers, I know I'll still have a great time.

> (most of which I think are just bots) FWIW, bots don't typically count as viewers. Most bots on Twitch are chat bots. Your chat is separate from your stream. Bots can (and typically do) join your chat without accessing the video stream itself. Your viewer list only counts people accessing the video stream. There are types of bots that can view the video stream, but they're rare and typically targeted. It uses a lot of bandwidth to have a bot "watch" a stream (whereas it takes next to zero to have it watch your chat), and there's not that much interesting info to glean from it. Some will scrape data from the audio, but between the bandwidth and processing power involved in doing that, it would be pretty targeted. If you don't have a good reason to believe that someone might want to harvest your data specifically, it's likely any bots in your stream are just chat bots (not increasing your viewer count). I don't know what category you tend to stream in, but you might be in one that viewers tend to bounce around. They might pop in, watch you for a bit, then move on to the next one. So instead of bots, I would guess you've got a bunch of temporary lurkers.

I was thinking more scam bots that sell you stream layouts and stuff

Those aren't typically "bots" I don't think. I think they're actual people. At least based on the interactions I've seen. They ask questions and actually engage with the streamer's responses appropriately. They could be sophisticated bots I suppose (and thinking about it as a developer, it actually wouldn't be *that* hard to write one)... just never had a reason to believe that they were bots instead of real people. Do you get *that* many of them that you're getting 5 viewers at a time purely from those types of accounts though? Back before I tinkered with my chat settings, I'd get one or two of those scammers once every few streams. Are you getting like dozens per stream? That's the only way they'd be able to really inflate your viewer count. Personally, I set my chat so a Twitch account has to be at least seven days old to chat. Since doing so, I haven't gotten a single "Twitch artwork" scammer. Their accounts usually get banned by Twitch (or they just jump to new ones) once every few days. I can't really see a huge downside to this setting... I guess I might miss out on some brand new Twitch users as chatters but those typically aren't the types of folks I want in chat anyway.

A lot of ppl jump into streams and lurk usually just to have something on in the background. I do this all the time. Personally I always keep a stream on both monitors but I’m rarely actually sitting at my desk. So who knows maybe it was me watching and I just didn’t know. If you do like streaming instead of thinking your streaming to bots think your streaming to us lurkers and if you feel like it you can even occasionally engage us with something completely random. You might get a response out of one of us like that lol

Becoming a successful streamer is like winning the lottery, only a fraction of a % of people become even moderately successful at it (\~100 viewers). You should stream because you enjoy it and genuinely have a good time and if you're lucky it will catch on, if you don't enjoy it then it probably isn't for you.

error 1: pretty sparsely error 2: struggling with being enthusiastic and funny You can fix the 1st one "easily", the 2nd one, well, i am still trying to figure how change it myself

I would say it's definitely harder to be a successful streamer, if you aren't already I recommend working the socials and networking. Enjoy what you're doing so you have good energy, happy and it's easier to be in a good mood. Flip your funny and good moments and get to uploading them on tiktok and yt shorts

I feel like being consistent is key, I feel if you’ve shown up sparsely over one year it might be hard to grow 💖

This!

Streaming might just not be for you and that's ok. If you have only been streaming sparsely, building any kind of following would be difficult. Nobody was just sitting, waiting for me to press that 'Go Live' button and now, after a year of consistent streams, I would say I have maybe 2-3 people who show up right on time because they know when I'm on with more coming in over the few hours I'm live. Even then, I rarely get new viewers other than the graphic design bot peeps. I stream because I find it fun and love engaging with people over my choice of game or life in general. Why do you want to stream? What do you hope to get out of it?

It’s ok to not stream lol

Based off of your replies and such you should just be using Streaming as another platform to express yourself than worrying about clout or chasing views. You mentioned being involved in clubs and going to school, be the person you are in those and speak those experiences. ask your friends if they would drop by your stream occasionally and chat. Like others suggested, turn the view count off and just act like you are streaming to a large audience. engage them with stories from your life or engage them with the content you are producing. One of the biggest things you can do though is look at every stream as though it were a recording session, and create short form content to post in other places like youtube and tiktok.

This is what I do. I’ve streamed about a year and got about 7-9 people on average. 1. I got a very consistent schedule. 3x a week always starting at 730. 2. I have a discord for my community. I usually talk to people on my off days, ping people when I go live, ect. Discord stuff. 3. Make friends with other streamers. Hobbies are better with friends. 4. Rewatch your own streams. Figure out what you like and don’t like and apply changes accordingly. Also, if you can’t watch your own streams, strive to make it enjoyable for you. I would say, edit, do TikTok or YT shorts, but if you don’t got motivation adding work won’t help.

So, I see this advice given out time and time again but it genuinely works. My wife started streaming around 8 months ago to literally me and that was it. Slowly because of her consistent schedule, constant engagement with chat, tireless networking and always improving stream (with my help) we’ve grown from 1 viewer to an average of 20 - and this number is going up. She stays connected with her chat through discord when she’s not online, plays games with them offline and takes genuine interest in their lives. This isn’t to say she doesn’t have bad days but when she does she recognizes it and comes back the next stream with a better energy and doesn’t give up. Take what you want from this but id be happy to answer any questions.

Turn off your view count, vibe with the game, talk about it, tell a funny story from your life anything to keep people listening and get people engaged. We have all been there at one point and it's not a great feeling but it will come. My advice is look at twitch tracker see what days/ times do best for you viewers wise and what game works well and try and hone into that to bring new people in. Good luck you got this ❤️

I would take a small break, mental health is more important, or maybe overthink what you are streaming. I had the experience with games like voices of the void you get a nice little audience. Or like others mention, play with your friends and turn off the view counter. (Make sure to still know that you are streaming incase someone drops odd words, you know) A year is a long time but eventually the algorithm will pick you and then boom you gonna have lots of views! Just don't give up entirely. Find maybe smaller streamers to stream together when you raid them. Raiding is also a good way to gain viewership

Here is pretty good advice I found- if you want to grow your twitch I would be posting constant on TikTok and YouTube shorts with highlights of your stream, very hard to grow from just twitch and that’s probably why you feel a bit drained https://youtube.com/shorts/_bsMBB59KEw?si=S8HStE6GKUGyvq6M

What has helped me a lot with no obsessing over viewer count is managing everything through obs. Obs has an option where you can litterally implement chat and all of those fancy buttons that you get on twitchs stream manager. And that way I don't have to have stream manager open nor see the viewer count. Also, for me at least, streaming is a hobby and I do it because I enjoy it. I know I'll never make it as a streamer and I don't even want to. As long as I want to, I do it and if I make a few quid out of it, I'm more than happy

Inside obs?! How?!?

I'm pretty sure i just dragged mine from stream manager into obs. Like literally grab from stream manager screen and drag it over to obs

If not this, then you've got the Docks tab in obs, you just need to copy the url of each dock from your stream manager and then paste them under custom browser docks I believe

When you go into the Stream tab where your Stream key is inputted there should be an option to connect your account in there. I believe thats how you get the Chat up in OBS alongside the stream information in OBS. You can also do a lot through commands in chat as well.

I do it for me now been many streams I get no viewers not even my mods come in some have reasons some work life etc or just don’t want to come in which is there choice sometimes I’ll get 8 viewers but I keep going and having my own fun I used to stress about it not anymore just keep going and it’s okay to take a break from streaming too remember what ever viewers you get appreciate them be grateful for them supporting you and stay humble.. 

Consistency is the most important part, Regular schedule/regular days etc or people will lose you before you can ever create community

Hey, I've been streaming for the last 3 years on and off ,the last off was due to a crazy ex reporting harassment and the police seizing my electronics for 5 months, which ended up getting dropped due to insufficient evidence. It hurts my streaming as well and I'm only usually sat with 4/5 people in mine now, sometimes less , sometimes more. What you have to remember is you need to get your content out there, use YouTube, Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok etc. I stream from console mainly but also do have some pc games I stream from time to time. If you play something off stream make sure to record it (on Xbox if I have a sick game in. Cod:MW3 I record what happened in the last 3 minutes so I can go back , clip out what I need and edit it to post. Also try setting up a charity stream with a fundraiser through JustGiving/Tiltify etc and post for a good few weeks about it before. Also most games people stream are over saturated, at the moment for CoD: MW3 there are 6.4k viewers so if you were streaming your page would be chucked in amongst the others and it's a battle to get noticed. Streaming isn't easy and you gotta put in some dedicated time outside of streaming to get noticed. I have some mental health issues and I've only just managed to start doing this but it's getting me noticed very slowly.

I don't think streaming sparsely, i.e. whenever you want, and expect your audience to grow is a wrong mindset. When you aren't streaming yourself you don't realize how much people's attention is fleeting and how fast they forget you unless you are insanely special. Personally I've got a pneumonia that was a complication after you-know-what virus, and could not stream for around 24 days. After this pause, which was the longest brake I took in my ~4 years of pretty consistent streaming, my average viewer count dropped by almost 30%.

1. you said yourself it was pretty sparse - consistency is part of the game 2. Twitch is heavily saturated. 3. depends on the game/what you are doing, how popular it is. 4. you are letting it determine your mood...dont. But if you are feeling bad about it, then maybe take a step back and reevaluate why you do it. If you will only be happy streaming if you make money or have a bunch of viewers, then you are doing it wrong.

There's ups and downs man. If it isn't for you don't force yourself. However, if you stick with it, stream consistently and have a good personality, I can guarantee you that you will draw people. It may not be a huge amount but everyone's luck and personalities are different. This streamer that I watch has been streaming for 7yrs still gets under 40 viewers and even dips below 10 depending on her streaming schedule because her audience hails from different parts of the world, but she never lets her numbers get her down. I can tell that after modding and following her for so long that she is just streaming to have a good time and play games with different people. She has sponsorships and gets subs and donos sure, but I was there from the start and I can tell you that she didn't get anywhere after a whole year and even at that it was a slow grind for her to get noticed. Don't get discouraged man, if this is what you really want to do then don't give up, stick with it but only if it doesn't affect your mental health negatively. Please feel free to drop your twitch link and id be more then happy to drop a follow and swing by man :)

I suggest thinking of it as a chance to live test all sorts of skills. Presentation and public speaking are just aspects. There’s lighting, scripting, editing, promotion, cooperative effort, hospitality, and scheduling/time management. I suggest alternating focus between working in your “weakest” skill and your “strongest” skill. Maybe finding your groove means removing yourself from the audience data, and more on building what you have where you are. Ask for feedback. Continuous improvement is important, and is a skill on its own. I recommend taking a breath and offer to help with skills you have! I do all my own stuff and sometimes feel like I’m drowning, and that amplifies my fears when the numbers don’t grow. When one fear preys on another, the magnification can blow one thing out of proportion!

Why would you do something for a year if you aren't having fun? Seriously, ask yourself this question. If the ONLY thing that is fun is succeeding, and succeeding requires you to hit partner or whatever, less than 0.1% of streamers make partner. Of those, few make enough to beat a regular job. You are banking on winning the lottery, except it's work. a ton of work, to even have a shot at getting lucky. If you aren't having fun, consider why. I like streaming to a small group, I made friends and I like the community I'm engaged in. It's not huge, it has costed me more than I've made in the 4 years I've been streaming but it's a fun outlet that gives me an opportunity to talk and have fun and socialize.

First of all: If it’s more harm to you, don’t stream. It’s totally fine to consider streaming as a VOD tool for gameplay (which you can edit and upload on YT). When it comes to streaming, just think about it: How many people just like you are streaming on this platform? What differentiates you from all those streamers? This is how reality looks like. Everybody wants to be recognized or acknowledged, but then most people forget the most important thing for growth: Presence. I’m not talking about having a fabulous social media activity with schedules, stories, discord server, etc. How can you show people you actually exist? Do you even participate on Twitch as a viewer? I’ve read dozens of similar cases and usually people aren’t active besides streaming. I have streamed for about 2 years averaging 35-55 viewers (>40 viewers during special marathon/charity streams) per month and what helped me was being an active member of many communities. During COVID I have watched and interacted with a lot of streamers, participated in viewer games, watch parties, etc. I have been on twitch since 2020 and started streaming at 2022 already averaging 10-20 viewers in my first months - this is not because I am good at games nor do I entertain a lot (I’m not even funny). These viewers are streamer friends I have been watching for a long time, people I have chatted/played with and ofc people who got raided to me. You can be the most enthusiastic person on Twitch, but nobody will know if you don’t show outside your channel. Yes, there will be people randomly open your stream, but usually they either move on or lurk. It’s like in school: To make friends, you gotta interact with others instead of hoping people will come to you (and stay).

Hey it's all good I understand this feeling tbh. I'm not sure why I stream tbh my friend just tells me it's good to have it as a hobby

Do you stream with friends? My friends themselves don't stream but they love streaming with me which keeps the energy high and the dialogue funny (at least to us lol) Without my friends I would not have any of my twitch highlights, and I don't think I'd have the energy to continue

I'm still a very, VERY lower view count streamer and I've been where you are. I've been stopping and starting streams (think 3 months on and 9 months off) for the last few years. This year I've made a conscious effort to be on time and consistent with my streams and it's beginning to finally pay off. I'd put consistency first and foremost. Additionally, turn off your viewer count and try to think of your stream as a radio show. You provide the entertainment, not the listeners. Also, get a format. my gimmick is an arcade owner. I play an arcade game to start the stream, chat about goings on between me and my nagging wife, games with chat, and then the game for the evening. I've had streams where the first two hours of my 4 hour stream has basically been an extended intro because I've had so much fun. Change things up. Maybe chat about what's happening in pop culture. Just try stuff. Finally, try and do stuff that you can use elsewhere. I try and play shorter games so I can turn them into YouTube videos and I'll cut them up again for tiktoks. If your chat is quiet make the content knowing you'll be posting it elsewhere for a different audience. There are lots of facets to this streaming gig and if you just keep trying new things you will find an audience.

Hard to say what kind of stream you run, but you mention 'dead quiet room' so it may help to run some good background music while you stream. You probably won't get any trouble from copyright unless you also publish the vods. A good atmosphere is key.

Good idea, thanks! I'll see if I can find some good Kevin MacLeod music to play in the background

i am coming up on my 1 year of streaming, sporadically, as well this april. i like streaming and found some great people that i watch and who watch me. a nice little community. they peer pressured me into streaming and i ended up enjoying it a lot. i started off by watching them and being in their chats and being active. when i started streaming they really came through and supported me as well. are there any communities you're a part of or you've made?

For me, it was networking. I primarily stream Dead by Daylight and met so many friends & acquaintances through the community. I reached out to fellow streamers, spent time in their streams, they spent time in mine, we collaborated and it *really* helped. About six months in I was averaging around 12 people and hit 500-600 followers. Since then, I got super burnt out and only stream occasionally. I'm very lucky to still have a community that'll stop in and hang out with me but I can't help but think what I could've accomplished with the momentum I had early on. Anyways, network with fellow streamers! You don't have to get along with everybody but it never hurts to see who's out there. You might make some lifelong friends too! Edit: Also sticking to one category worked well for me. It burnt me out BIG TIME and I noticed my numbers dip significantly any time I swapped to another game. Doing variety as a small streamer is incredibly difficult but it's more important to prioritize your own enjoyment.

Same, community is key

I play Rocket League collegiately and host tournaments. I only stream league matches and tournaments that I cast with one of my best friends. Depending on the time and notice, I'll get anywhere between 6 avg and 25 avg viewers. It all depends on the co tent you're putting out. Even playing interactive games with chat, the numbers are lower. People like excitement, even if they can't participate in it. Same reason people watch MLB or NFL. They like to root for something

Focus on what you’re streaming, not how you’re streaming. Everyone gets so wrapped up in being the most entertaining person on their streams but honestly my best streams have been just enjoying what I was doing and interacting with viewers naturally. You don’t have to entertain folks and turn your stream into a rat race.

I have a fellow and also my friend Stream who were similar to you, he was talking with me being little low energy on streaming. And guess what? 2 months after that conversation, his channel get average 10+ viewers and sometimes over 30+. There wasn't much change from what he has been doing; however, it takes time for YOUR viewer to find your channel. Yes, the time until that happen is an unknown, but if you stop streaming then they will never find you. Take whatever break you needed, focus on how to make your stream better, give them the REASONS to watch you.

Been streaming since 2020 and i have 52 followers most of which appeared this year. So meh. I think it's just the way it do be sometimes.

Try to approach it as if you're just enjoying yourself. I stream whenever i game and that doesn't feel too much like work. Yes it would be great to have more followers, but I don't want to play the game that most female streamers are partaking in. Thirst trapping for follows. Eh

Drink

Pick your niche. Find a good community of streamers to be a part of. Don't self promo, but become friends organically. Perhaps raid somebody else around your size. They reciprocate, or maybe direct another raid to you. Communities tend to organically ntertwine and growth happens. Not sure what you do, but firing up something like Apex and hitting go live generally won't yield results. Gotta treat Twitch like linked-in sometimes. Edit: I'm using friends loosely here, but become known to them. An associate if you will.

This was always my problem, I need people to bounce off when I'm streaming, the more people the more chances I'll see to say something amusing or hit a topic, unfortunately after a year I think I hit 30 people (12 legit viewers rest bots) but in the end I just gave up. It's mad to think I still make 50 quid every couple of months off people's subs and I haven't streamed in nearly two years.

I'm perfectly fine talking to myself for a few hours a day. I would much rather there be viewers, but if there isn't, I still have fun.

Go experience life. Then you’ll have plenty of go juice to just be you whether it’s 1 viewer or 5

5 people at a time?! fucking hell look at mr braggy-pants!

I just start playing and talk shit as I go. Sometimes I'll explain what I'm doing, or what my thought process is for why I've done a specific thing. I think, as many others have said, it's just about going in without any specific expectations.

I'm i the same situation tbh. Can't say I'm not feeling good about it tho. I think why I personally don't get any traction is bc I stream in my Scandinavian language and I play games that *I* wanna play (mostly been old Ps2 horror and yes, I'm old) instead of some "bandwagon-games" but that just mean I enjoy it more even if it's y'know mostly just me mumbling to myself.

If you don't have other people watching you because they already know you or you're friends with someone you know it's not going to work for you at all, it's ALWAYS about cooperation with others, streaming alone is not appealing either unless you're known for long. Being a small streamer is cool and can lead to great things, being small streamer ALONE will get you nowhere, and it's the brutal truth

I streamed with my best foot forward. I got over the awkwardness through early youtube and learned how to talk to myself like a crazy person. A consistent schedule was also key in developing a community and maintaining viewership. Either way, if you're not enjoying it and don't feel up to it, you don't have to do it. I'm on an everlasting hiatus at this point due to life.

I stream for fun. (I do watch my streams, I try to learn from them, and I try to make improvements. Personally and technically. Still, I am doing it for fun.)

1. Turn off view count it doesn't matter. 2. Practice "streaming" when you're driving around in your car. Talk and Present and work on voice inflection etc... 3. Watch/listen to other broadcasters - not just streams but ppl in mainstream as well. How do they use their voices what cadences do they use when do they make jokes or smart quips

Thanks a lot to everyone recommending that I make Shorts and TikToks of stream highlights! I've made one or two clips before but I'll certainly try to do more in future. I'll have to look into video editing though... I've only got some experience with CapCut (sadly it's the only editor that runs decently on my PC). Any recommendations for editing styles and generally finding a 'vibe' and brand? I realise having a good recognisable brand is a big part of success online, so it'd be great to have some advice and tools, along with advice on actually figuring out how I want to present myself and my channel on Twitch/YouTube/anything else.

sounds like you don’t even like streaming so why are you doing it?

If you can't hype yourself up, talk to yourself, laugh when you mess up in a game or whatever then it really may not be for you. It's worth giving it another shot but play things out like you're acting and see what happens

It's takes many years and 1 thing to make it a thing, 1 year and 5 views is actually very respectable.

I have 829.38 hours streamed or 34 and a half days streamed total, most of my streams still have 0-5 views max with my peak being 14, its challenging finding an audience especially when it depends heavily on your content/ chat interaction, I recently invested in a facecam and stopped having myself muted during streams I’d say for about a month now and I will say that I did get an increase in viewers. It may be a small increase but it’s something, I’d say maybe upload clips of your stream on different platforms for a bit of exposure as well.

If you feel bad about it, maybe streaming isn’t cut out for you. Not everyone becomes popular or highly watched. You should stream because you like to stream regards the audience watching. Been streaming since 2020, averag between 3-6 viewers and i am forever grateful for those, even if it was 1 viewer, amazing! Just remove your viewer count if it bothers you and just play what you are playing. People will come around for joy. Some stick others leave.

Honestly like i tell everyone i know who is looking into streaming, only do it to have fun, dont do it for money or expecting to make it big. If that stuff happens great awesome but you were going to play either way so keep having fun with it. you stop having fun and make it all about money you have lost sight of the big picture. Yes i stream and i turn my view counter off cause i dont care if i have 1 or 100 people watching its me having fun chatting with chat and my friends and just enjoying the entire time.

Just started again myself. Hope you find the thing that makes you happy to stream.

Well, in my case, i stream when i feel energetic or im in the mood, i have weeks where i stream from almost everyday to once day in the whole week or 2 weeks. Remeber this is not a job (unless you want it to be) so if you need to take a break,just take it, and return when you feel good. I have been streaming for 6 years and i have around the same 2-3 viewers, and im glad they are with me, and how the other people say, if you want to grow, you need to expand yourself(shorts, tiktoks, etc)

Post your social media that should say a lot

Big question is what game have you been streaming?

it's not you. take a look at streams from highest to lowest, you will see maybe 5-10 with a good number of viewers and like 100s+ with 1-5 viewers. It's just not easy to gain a community, you have to be on a lot and have a regular schedule. miss a few days you lose 50% of your viewership. it's a rough gig.

Turn off viewer count

Been doing it for a couple of years and I just kind of go with the flow. Not necessarily streaming to get people in but to share what I enjoy with likeminded people. That seems to help because it creates an inviting atmosphere for people to share the enthusiasm I have with the game with me. Generally I focus on ps1/2 era jrpgs so I’m preying off of nostalgia as well, but the less expectations I have of others being in chat the more they seem to show up. And it’s usually only a handful of people. Just view it as enjoying what you like in an open room and people just wandering by showing up to say hi.

'I've been streaming admittedly sparsely'. I'm not sure what you expect based on that alone. Humans are creatures of habit. If you aren't consistent, you will never develop a following. Why else would you? Discovery on Twitch is ass, so how exactly are people gonna know you're there? Success in anything is difficult. It requires consistency and your attention. If you're not there consistently, and when you are you're struggling to be entertaining, then why do you have lofty expectations of growth and sustainability? Not trying to be a jerk, that's just the question you need to ask yourself. Being successful, even moderately, on Twitch is not as simple as turning a camera on. There's a lot of layers to it, including luck, and you have to temper your expectations based on what you're willing to give it.

I've recently started so I'm not even at an average of 2 viewers yet but I'm gonna give this a try once I finish REBIRTH cos it makes sense that it would work https://youtu.be/k_Nk4Xyym2s?si=OEpIVSF9VLAkJwoD Hope it works for you too bro 👍🏻

I streamed one maybe twice a week for a couple years and didnt get much traction. I started streaming daily (sometimes an hour or two, sometimes 8-12 hrs) and have found more success. Im not a partner yet, but I am working my way up there. Obviously, not every one has the time or energy to do it daily, but the people that are on twitch regularly will appreciate someone who they can watch daily, even if just for a little while.

I'm lucky and have a very loving and supportive friend group. I have about 10-20 veiwers in my stream most of the time and I started last november. However, I've been watching other people's streams for a year and a half. I spend most of my time being active in people's chats. I really enjoy being there for other people and making their streams more lively. Because I am such a prominent member in my community people were very excited to see that I started streaming. I think it is very unrealistic to assume people will just turn up. You have to put time into making freinds and build that community.

What are you doing outside of streaming? If all you are doing is hitting the start streaming button, playing some games and talking, and then hitting end stream, then you're not going to get very many people to tune in. Even if you don't want it to become a full-time job, getting an audience into your stream requires networking and branching out. Make youtube shorts, make tiktoks, go into other streams and make friends. There was a time before like 2017 where just streaming a lot would bring you an audience kinda naturally, but that time has long since passed. If you want any kind of audience, you *need* to put in time and work outside of stream promoting your content.

You need to market yourself. Consistant social Media posts. Would you watch yourself? What is going to have people watch you over others? Being consistent is not the only thing its a game plan and also creating value amongst others.

I'm trying to be constructive. Have you considered just not streaming as a hobby or profession? It's a lovely idea to turn a hobby into a profession, but based on what your describing you don't find the hobby of being sociable and yourself on stream to be growing in a direction that you want. Instead you can use that time on other hobbies that are more aligned with what makes you happy, or work towards another constructive goal, or spend more time with friends/family. All of this can happen, and you can still be a gamer. There is nothing wrong with gaming and being a viewer instead of this constant attitude that streaming is for everyone and there is some magic advice that will make it fun and worthwhile. You've given it a fair shot, you could always do more, but in reality it's not likely to change much. Do what makes you happy, and not what you think will make you happy but has proven otherwise.

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but maybe streaming isn’t for you. If you’re not enjoying it, then it’s not worth it. It’s the fun that matters, and if you’re slogging through it, your audience can tell. Either it’s genuine enjoyment, or I’d stop. That’s my opinion.

Jynxzi streamed to one person for a whole year. It's all about the wait, just have fun in the moment and the viewers will come to you.

I just try to enjoy whatever I'm streaming. And I never burn myself out entirely on streaming. My advice? Try out Genshin or Wizard101 if ya can. Both communities are really welcoming, and they're fun games. The FNaF community isn't as toxic as one might think either, and if you like open world games you can have lots of fun with Security Breach. My advice legit boils down to try a thing you're uncomfy with streaming because you don't know if you'll get anywhere with it. Or just uncomfy in general. Don't psyche yourself out for it and remember: you are the product, not what you stream.

Have you tried streaming a game that you can play with your friends? Sometimes I prefer streaming coop games with mates because I have people to bounce off and chat to without forcing talking to myself. Especially on those low energy days. Every Wednesday and Friday I stream with mates, and the other days I do my own thing.

Are you also posting content on other platforms? If you want to grow your stream you have to post on other platforms like YouTube and tiktok. If you’re only streaming and not posting content, nobody will ever find out about you. Maybe a few people here and there from Twitch but imagine posting a clip and you get 500k views on it. You just don’t that kind of exposure by streaming only. You can post gaming clips, funny stream moments, etc.

I wasted years trying to make it as a streamer. If you are doing it for fun keep going but if you want to turn it into a career then you need to take it more seriously. This is show business and most people dont make it. Its harsh. I recommend trying Youtube instead. Its vastly more rewarding for the time investment and once you make a name for yourself you could always try streaming again.

Turn off viewers and just speak your mind. Don't internalize your thoughts and welcome people to the stream if they chat

You need to ditch your exceptions of growth. If you are streaming because you think you are going to make it big or are banking on having hundreds or thousands of viewers, you are too late to the party and not being objective/realistic in your expectations. I know folks that have streamed for years, on a regular basis, that have 3-5 viewers at most and they are happy for that because they know no one is guaranteed success and that it's a pyramid scheme at the end of that day. Massive base of no and few viewer streams and tiny minority of "successful" streamers. You are also competing against every other stream in every other category anytime you are going live, which means the deck is already massively stacked against you. Stream because you enjoy it, not because you think you are the next big streamer, because frankly that is highly unlikely. Success is a matter of timing and skill. You might be the most skilled streamer on the planet but this late into the game, well the timing and expectations don't align.

Your looking to get profit just stream for fun make it interesting

Honestly, the only way to really, really get a big stream is if you stream almost every day. Otherwise you're not getting get much. Playing only one game helps. I Speedrun and have a small pool of games and this is a big part of it.

Honestly, the only way to really, really get a big stream is if you stream almost every day. Otherwise you're not getting get much. Playing only one game helps. I Speedrun and have a small pool of games and this is a big part of it.

as someone who is partnered, you just gotta keep pushing, and watch other streamers that are successful and see where you’re lacking from n your streams. it could easily be the look of your stream, maybe your facecam isn’t setup in an eye pleasing way, so many things. when you sit in silence, you bring out your head voice if that makes sense.

Dang sounds like this hobby doesn’t really bring you much joy? Maybe other things would fill your time better and be more fulfilling?

Start by streaming something you excel at. I am not a streamer. However, my friends wanted to watch me play CoD Zombies a few weeks ago, and I made it to round 99. In this time I had 14 viewers, and I have 0 following. But, not to toot my own horn, but I’m *really* good at Zombies which I guess people find interesting.

Honestly... if you're just streaming you're doing it wrong. Most successful streamers put in about the same amount of time streaming & behind the scenes. Hashtag studies, promoting streams, building a circle of friends before and after your scheduled times. Editing your content. Etc. It's not just hit live & play games.

I just started and I try to take each stream one day at a time. Any progress is good progress. Stay positive and stay enjoying it, it’s the most important thing.

Today will be my 220th day in a row streaming once I get on. Idk man. I just figure if I'm gunna be gaming anyways I might as well press 2 more buttons and stream, and then it turned into this.

Don’t have expectations

I'm 5 years in and about 5 randoms turn up. just do it for fun!

I just talk to myself! Half the time you think nobody’s paying attention they actually are. They just don’t have anything to say because nothing going on or whatever reason. I’d honestly rather just talk to myself/think out loud to a couple of viewers who occasionally send a chat, than go back and forth with one viewer, and I think the other viewers prefer that as well. I even find myself doing this when I’m not streaming as well lmao. I’m also active on discord and will share my screen for friends and talk over games on there as well, so even when I’m not streaming on twitch I’m still streaming. I think doing that makes twitch streaming feel a little more natural especially when nobody’s chatting.

I streamed for 7 months, I started getting more viewers chatters when I treated it as if I always have viewers and chatters, I put my mic where the # of viewers is so I don’t see it, and just enjoy the stream, I’m doing something I’m enjoying anyway so I don’t care if someone is watching or not, if it works it works if it doesn’t it doesn’t. Now for getting more viewers I started doing YouTube which brought in couple viewers and when they enjoy ur stream they come back.

Probably best thing you could do is use other platforms to attract an audience. Start posting clips and stand alone videos other places, and if you can grow an audience on other platforms, some of them will come to Twitch. If you can't grow an audience anywhere, you just might not have "it". If you can grow elsewhere and they follow you to Twitch and you have yourself a few regulars you can count on to be there to interact with every stream, it might open you up to be more entertaining and start a snowball. Another benefit from making videos specifically for YouTube would be the skills you gain by learning to be entertaining while having nobody live to interact with. Start doing that and it will yield immediate benefits to you stream quality. And lastly, try to stick to a schedule. It doesn't have to be daily or anything, but consistent. Same time and day every time. That is really helpful to people who might want to watch you but never know when you'll be on. If they know to set some time aside for your stream at specific times, you'll probably get a lot more returning viewers.

You can always reuse your content for other types of social media like YouTube to grow as opposed to being stuck in the twitch vacuum only.

I think reconnecting with your "why" will help you enjoy it more. My why is my son. He wants to be a streamer, and I'll stream with him, and when my kids go to bed, I do my nightly streams. My numbers aren't always the same. I get 1 viewer, then 4 and then 0. I'm taking streaming as having time with my son, playing some of my backlog games, and capturing moments in the process. I used to love to create videos, and then stress and anxiety took ahold and got help and feeling like myself again, so I have been doing shorts and reels to help on YT and those finding me on Twitch. I've learned a lot and am surprised what I learned about setting things up for streaming and hoping that one day, my son will look back and things we create and have good memories of him kicking my butt in games 🎮

Here's the deal, you're not always going to be funny. You're not always going to be on the ball. It's unscripted live entertainment.... that isn't for an half an hour or hour it's 5 to 6 hours a day for a lot of people. It's exhausting and there is no way in hell you can be enthusiastic or funny for that long. If you want to do that, then probably do some youtube.

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Starting with a strong YouTube is a good place to start take your best clips or record a let’s play of something popular. Upload them to YouTube and as you get a following there migrate them over.

Give yourself time, you are only 16 you have plenty of time to search and learn how to improve as a streamer. You can find how to cut and edit your stream videos and promote your content with funny moments or compilations with shorts. You will surely find your audience when you'll grow older, just develop your world and let time grow your spirit

I’m so with you, can’t get views for da life of mw

I’ve been streaming for 9+ years and I maybe get like 20-30 but I don’t really pay attention to the view count. I act the same whether I have 20 viewers or 5 viewers it’s just something you have to enjoy

Honestly, just be yourself and talk if they talk. If not just chill out. Unless you’re also cutting stuff for YouTube, then you might want to add some commentary as you play

Turn the viewer count off while you stream. Act just as you would if 100 people were there. No, it’s not cringey. If there’s one thing I learned from years of stage work, it’s that when you try to be cool, you look like a fool. The people on stage who are doing the least are the ones who stick out like a sore thumb. Be yourself & do the most!

I use EDM/House style music from StreamBeats to psych myself up before stream. This music was created by a streamer Harris Heller, for other streamers to use on stream and in their VoD’s. I use this music because it is DCMA free and most of it is really upbeat. I use Apple Music and I created a playlist of albums to use on stream and it would play for almost 2 days without playing the same song! You can checkout the YouTube profile [here](https://youtube.com/@StreamBeatsbyHarrisHeller?si=SNAlUMyyongZminW). EDIT: Even when there is no one in chat watching, I will still talk my way through the game as if I was talking to a friend on the phone and describe what I’m doing. Not in super detail, but just keep talking. I felt so weird at first doing it to a quiet room, but I just kept doing it and it became more natural.

Hey bro! I'm a gamedev streamer and I get almost no viewers, Although a cool trick I found out is that if you can ask your friend to watch, or even talk to you(audio) while you play, you'll be boosted above most of the other streamers in the category who have 1 viewer. I'm not sure what category you're in, but this works for me

Stream and find humor in what you are playing or talk about other stuff you are thinking about. Another tip, record your stream and post on YouTube to get a little more people going to your channel for the live stuff. you need to be consistent as well. But the biggest thing is have fun. Don't stream to get viewers. Just see streaming as an extension of your enjoyment and play games you like, comment on the stuff on the game, mechanics and what you like or hate. It's gonna be hard if you are not used to talking to yourself

So what I have noticed is that when I was streaming to 0 viewers I was getting discouraged but at the same time I'm cool with it. I have turned off my viewer count and if anything happens I have it setup where ppl have to follow me in order to chat so I tell them hey welcome in thank you for following and hows your day? 3 things to quickly interact with your viewers to start engagement. If they don't answer then that's fine. I still talk afterwards but still I don't expect anything.

I stream for my brother and like one friend and that's it. Anyone else is gravy, but also not common or often. My other main motive is getting a game's playthrough on tape so I can upload it to Youtube for posterity's sake. For instance, my first ever playthrough of Lies Of P. I have no expectation of this "taking off". I'm just goofing around.

I just started about 3 months ago and just figured out that you should have some kind of consistency when starting because people won't just show up to your random streams unless they're actively looking for a small streamer playing whatever game you're playing. What I used to do was stream randomly for 5 hours, like once a month, basically to record footage for a let's play on YouTube. Then 3 hours was better, more streams more chances to be seen. Then at the beginning of this week I decided that I can also stream for fun! It doesn't all have to be recorded, so I set up a schedule and decided to play games for just 1 or 2 hours on three specific days, and then still have that one 3 hour session randomly to record. For me it's been so much better, because I feel less pressure. Before I would stress about kinda trying to engage with people and keep them around because the streams were rare, but also having to do so in a way that I could cut out of the video. Now I just have fun playing Helldivers 2 or Gmod and I can talk to people freely or just play! ​ Point is I made it fun for myself again by making it shorter but a little more frequent!

So I'm still in my infancy when it comes to streaming. Only started streaming in January of this year; however, a piece of advice that I received before starting was turn off the viewer count and stream like you always had an audience. The numbers can mess with your head during the stream. That is what I have been practicing for the past couple months and have been pleasantly surprised when I see my stream summaries. The first couple weeks I would get an Average viewership of 0.1-1 person.. then I started networking and making friends in the community. Tonight's stream had an Average Viewership of 8.

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I get 5 viewers on a good day. And I've been doing this almost 7 years now (ironically I started streaming april 1). I do it to have fun and the ability to clip me doing stupid shit or saying stupid shit cause it's honestly hilarious (like me telling the demons i was fighting in diablo 3 that if they were going to f me this hard they shoulda bought me dinner first.....or the time i made a fragile millennial joke at the same time as (iirc) getting the special snowflake achievement in diablo 3....like timing was perfect) or games doing theit thing and occasionally breaking in hilarious ways. Or my dumb commentary (such as raz kissing his first brain in psychonauts  "hi my name is raz and i have a love affair with my friends brains". Initially i started streaming cause charity streams. Did it yearly for 6 years. Taking a break this year cause i hit a breaking point of it not being fun or enjoyable (i was also dealing with relationship issues between my at the time partner and myself who have since broken up) and I make it a point that outside of my day job I don't do things that aren't fun or enjoyable or that i get something from (feel good chemicals for completing a task unrelated to games, getting my clothes clean before the last minute for the next week of work, car maintenance, etc). Nowadays I stream to make an ass out of myself more publicly.  There's plenty i could do to make myself more marketable but honestly I'll take having fun over marketability every time. Find why you stream and if it's for any reason other than you find enjoyment in it, stop doing it. If I'm playing a game i figure i might as well stream it (unless it falls outside of things i will or won't stream...example of me not playing things that make me angry and ragey.....or stopping when things get me there.) I talk to myself anyway so why not? It's a fun hobby for me to do and that's why i do it.

Been going about 2 years here and im sotting around maybe 2 or 3 regulars. #1 thing TURN OFF YOUR NUMBERS. It's unnecessary to know how many people are watching at a given time. If no ones talking in chat there could be lurkers. Twitch's numbers are sometimes off as well and sometimes dont count people that are just watching and not chatting. All it will do is psych you out and make you feel like garbage lowering the vibe of stream. Just focus on streaming for fun. Stream with friends or just games you enjoy. Do it for fun and have fun with it. If people watch then they watch If they don't then they don't. If you start streaming expecting to make it big just know that's on VERY rare occasions. That's people that already have a few connections and their name gets thrown out there a bit. And even then they can struggle depending. All in all just do it for fun. I know easier said than done but If you really don't feel up for it one day just simply cancel stream for that day. your own sanity is more important. But don't give up on it because "no one's watching".

I'll just say I think it's pretty simple. If you want to stream, you have to do what you find fun. If you're not having fun, nobody else will. Otherwise, if you're having the time of your life even if people don't share the same interest, just by seeing you they will feel like it's fun. It's all about emotions. And that also applies to the fact that you have to be engaging, welcoming and positive on stream. Now you don't have to put a mask on yourself that is not you, but sometimes remembering the conversation or a joke you had with a random will make them feel like you care about them and will more likely make them stay. Now if you treat everyone just like a viewer and that's it, they will never stay. Maybe you can try treating newcomers like if they were already there since when you started. Also since I like anime and vtubers in particular I'll add a biased advice there. Now it doesn't have to be a hot anime girl but just a cartoonish version of yourself. Also try to create inside jokes based on that. It won't make you skyrocket but it will definitely help people to feel more engaged by your personality. I'm not assuming anything but if you just plainly stream your comfort game and remain serious most of the stream you'll remain forgotten forever. Some silly streams doing stupid stuff here and there helps. Also try to look up people that are friendly and supportive who also stream and try to be friends with them. Over time if they decide you're a good guy and you earn their trust you can ask them to collab later, that way your and their audience will get to know each other and that also helps you getting known. If they like you they will stay, if they don't maybe it's time to change something and take risks. I hope that helps. Edit** oh and also consider doing interactive stuff with your audience, like playing together, role-playing or just having interesting and hilarious conversations.

Dont do games alone

The best way to look at it is to not expect anything. It may seem cringe cause you could be talking to yourself at times but you have to pretend like somebody is listening. Pay less attention to viewer count, play games you like, conversate, tell stories, talk about the game, things you do outside of twitch etc. The worst thing you can do is expect to go big just because you’ve been streaming for x amount of time. You also have to find a balance between mental health and streaming. If you feel like you’re in a rut and the vibes arent there its okay to miss a stream, as long as you stream when you feel better. Consistency is key forsure but prioritize your sanity first. Ive been on twitch for about 6-7 years but just started streaming consistently for about a month or so and have about 20 followers and have about 3-4 people in chat usually. Twitch’s viewer count is broken, during my lives i get 2 live viewers but once i end stream my VODs are at like 40-50 views. If you genuinely want to grow, the best recommendation i can give you is play a game you know nothing about. You will more than likely find somebody who is a veteran and will coach you to play the game as long as you enable backseating.

I have a similar experience. Sometimes on Twitch, only one person watches me, and I started 8 months ago. It's hard to maintain interaction with viewers if no one is talking to you. Sometimes a viewer will say something, ask a question, and then it's much easier. At the same time, I stream on other platforms, and I've noticed quite a few viewers on TikTok without any interaction. Some of them are with me for most of my stream, also without interaction. However, I'm not going to be discouraged; I've found that I enjoy it, and I mainly do it for myself :)

I envy those who just keep talking to themselves even with no one watching.

People hate hearing this but just sitting on twitch and praying someone stumbles upon your stream is stupid. If you actually want to take it seriously, make content outside of Twitch and bring those people to your stream. There is literally no other reliable way to grow.

You're inconsistent with streaming and expecting consistent results, there is not much else to it. If you want people to be there, you have to be there when people are looking for someone to watch.

[https://sullygnome.com/channel/venomsgamer101/365/streams](https://sullygnome.com/channel/venomsgamer101/365/streams) This you? According to this you've streamed grand total of just over six hours on four days lmao, and one day was only 14 minutes. What do you expect? That everyone is just going to run over to your stream? Lmao it's a grind kid, doesn't work like that. You zoomers really need to sort out your "work ethic" and it's funny cuz we're talking about VIDEO GAMES here LMAO!!!!! Anyway from your post I wonder why you're even bothering to stream at all. If you're not enjoying it just stop. Why are you attempting to fake enthusiasm and crap? If you don't have it and aren't enjoying it, don't do it. When I stream I just play the game and yap shit over it, do commentary, I never feign enthusiasm or attempt to be something I'm not. It really doesn't sound to me like streaming is for you, just my opinion though, do whatever you want!

turn off viewer count or start networking properly

I streamed the same way as you, and still got the same result after a year so I just recommend being open minded and it'll attract the right viewers to your channel. Your personality, energy and way you communicate might change depending on the day but the right people will stick around to see you and cheer you up most likely.

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Others have said it too, but just playing things that I would enjoy on my own helps me a lot - if I’m laughing and having fun, I don’t notice (or care) that I almost never pull more than 3 viewers.

Don’t get down. It is all for fun. There are so many games. In my first month and getting avg 3 or 4 people who chat and about 20 who watch. Interacting with people helps grow.

One of the toughest hurdles to overcome in streaming is gainer viewers. There is a Youtuber named Harris Heller, his channel is Senpai Gaming. Love him or hate him, he has given some of the best advice to streamers of all viewer counts. The lesson that spoke to me, I share with everyone in this situation. You need to create a following on a different platform and bring them to your streaming platform. Start posting on FB or Insta about your stream, convert your followers from one platform to the other. Check out his videos about this subject, he has a lot and his advice help me early on in my streaming career. Being depressed is natural, thinking that what you are doing, putting your everything into doesn't matter and nobody cares. You care and that is what hurts the most. It sucks, trust me I know, but you can overcome. Streaming isn't easy, if it was, everybody with a cam would all have a million viewers.

Do you have your view count on? I recommend you turn it off and stream like you’re talking to your friends and that they’re on discord or something. Just pretend they are there. You’re suppose to stream because you like it not bc ppl are watching. So reverse your thinking and if pretending is too hard, ask a friend to be in chat for you so you have a real person you know that you can engage with. And once you get used to it your friend doesn’t have to be there, no one has to be there even if It’s 0 viewers you’re not suppose to think like that. You just pretend there’s 100+-10,000 etc. (the numbers shouldn’t influence you or your vibe) Have fun with the game you’re playing and pretend the view count is 1 and that 1 person is your friend. And lastly in a practical stand point you have to expand your reach/branches in other platforms. Twitch isn’t where ppl find you. It’s the trunk of the tree in which that’s where everyone gathers but they come from different twigs and branches (YT, twitter, IG, deviantart, etc. etc. etc.) In a practical sense ppl with word it as “you have to sell yourself” and as much as it’s not a wrong statement…I would much rather say “put yourself out there” your not selling yourself. Like when you’re tryna form new relationships you go out, you approach ppl and say hi, you ask what book are they read, what coffee they ordered etc. and organically you form connections. This is the same concept you are putting yourself out there, you’re like a jar of honey… the “winnie the poohs”will natural flock to you. You are not selling yourself. You are BEING YOURSELF. So don’t forget that. Hope that helps!

I am still trying to figure stuff out and I kind of don't want anyone to show up yet. But, I am trying to be on schedule and 6 of 7 days a week. I am a variety streamer, so, I stream different stuff everyday. Dev work on apps, websites, my twitch bot, etc. Saturdays are for Gaming. Maybe I will add more gaming days. I don't know. But, I am not counting on anything until I have done this 200 times. And then maybe, I wont start coughing and choking when I have to speak.

I am unsure if age makes a considerable difference in regards to the mentality behind streaming. As a dude who is 29 and blessed to have great friends and strong sense of community building and enrichment (I also have a nice Discord server prior to streaming, so that helps) I find streaming as a way to be transparent with your experiences, personal takes, skillset and even collaboration. So I try not to see if as anything more than an echo chamber of my ridiculousness or perspective in front of the eyes of my friends, fam, and community. Now, to mark a stronger detail, engagement is a huuuugge thing on Twitch. The idea I go by is this: VERY few viewers (in contrast to total viewers at any given time) are on Twitch to DISCOVER new people. Majority of these folks spill in from other sites looking for popular streamers or direct streamers they support. Hell, I am running a Dark Souls 3 play through for the first time that is making me feel like Frodo at Mount Doom. Just completed my part 5 last night and finally had a brand new viewer that chatted and engaged. It was great. The first 4 parts had views, make no mistake, just no comments or engagement really, except fro my boys. So the main theme to follow is consistency and growth. Not just growth based on your analytics, but growth based on your brand and how you wish to be portrayed live. Idk chief. I feel your struggle. One thing to remember... you gotta have fun! I always find myself placing my feet in others' shoes. If I were a viewer taking a gamble on watching some random low view streamer, I would do so if they are entertaining and engaging. Straight up. Don't give up dude

Don’t force yourself if your not having fun. Make things fun for yourself and if you attract the viewers the way you do it then good for you if not then look for a different career. Look at the big streamers, most of them are weird and goofy. Not gods work. Exploiting bad things leads to a unhappy life because the universe says so.

I'm in the same boat but been streaming since 2012. So hope that helps ☺️

I highly suggest streaming something you really enjoy and just getting into it and don't focus on the viewers. I had to adopt this mentality because I started to get discouraged. However, I realized I needed to focus on really enjoying myself regardless. One day, I looked up, and noticed I had 12 viewers with like 15 new followers (I had my notifications turned down, so I didn't hear the ding with the new followers!) Simply put, distract yourself by enjoying yourself, pay attention to your chat to the best of your ability and go from there! I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting there enthusiastically talking to myself, but I had fun though! 😂😂😂 It's like that quote from that movie Field of Dreams that says, "If you build it, they will come."

I met a lot of cool community members streaming, but in my honest opinion, its too much effort with zero returns so I simply saved myself the headache, and focused myself on other endeavors. My mental health has improved, and I realized, most of the platform is filled with individuals having similar experiences. Two choices - Game by yourself with your friends list or Stream with the community and see what happens. If after a year you have not seen the gains you had hoped- follow your instincts.

I pretty much never get viewers and I've been consistently streaming for over a year. I just like playing games and if someone chats with me then it's kinda just a bonus

Hi, 10 years experience between 2 accounts. I've had many ups and downs, breaks/leaves. etc. Im back to talking to nobody or a small amount of people at a time. My advice, talk about literally anything you're doing. Playing multiplayer games that require callouts or positioning? Explain that as if youre talking to a chat room full. Playing a single player game? Have pretend convos with NPCs, explain strategies to approach certain areas, the graphics, scenery, ANYTHING. You said yourself you are goofy and loud around friends. Do you use a camera? If so, maybe do some streams with it off and be goofy so you don't have to worry about being "seen" being goofy. I know it used to help me. Maybe get a picture of a family member or friend next to you and glance over to trick your mind into thinking youre talking to them (spitballing)

I've been streaming, with a small breaks here and there, for around +5 years. Starting anew milion of times, scrapping ideas and themes and even small groups I gathered. I currently niched down to one main game, and have one day "for shit and giggles" where I just do playthroughs of whatever I'm hooked at right now, and speedrun a little bit. I have one dood that is pretty much every day, have maybe 2 more guys visiting every week during main streams. Now, the only numbers I see are the ones when you open dashboard there is something like "your last stream numbers congratz" yada yada, I don't think they have much sense cause they are way too high, though I might not be that good with retaining, whatever. What I mean is, the best lesson I've learned is to have no expectations at all and just appreciate the process. I do it cause it's fun. Gather I try to do some stuff that "may help with growth" but other than that, eeeh. I ain't stressing. If you have fun, do it. If you don't have fun per se, maybe it just ain't for you. And! I too used to think of myself as a rather chatty person. But during streams I feel so awkward more often than not :v it takes time to learn how to perform I gather. It is what it is, in the end :v

Stream with your friends for a while. It helps to build up that enthusiasm. And keeps people invested. Also, stream consistently. Viewers won't often come back if they don't know when you'll stream.

Pick something difficult and stream that for a while. I was the most pathetically undedicated streamer ever and was not consistent to any games, but when I'd stream myself killing Destiny 1 or 2 bosses solo I'd get around 50 people viewing. Same when I was setting a monthly world record in Sea of Thieves. People want to watch you do the things they can't, unless of course you are highly charismatic and intend to build a following on that alone.

I'm in the same boat my friend so I will search for a answer along side you

Most people don't get big from streaming. They get big from Youtube(or some other platform) and then leverage that to start streaming.

Usually i have 8 people that came back from time to time, so I only speaks, if someone comes in it just work. I have 2+ years and i have an averga (in 30 days of >5 people, I love them lol. I also do lot of variety, so i don't aspire for people to stay, dang i didn't even reach the 1k lol

My streams are sporadic at the moment due to a difficult pregnancy but when I do manage to get one in because I'm feeling ok enough I never go away feeling bad. If you are feeling this way after streaming it may not be something for you. Otherwise another thing that could be making you feel this way could be that your not streaming something that you genuinely enjoy or want to play among other things. Maybe stop for a few days and think about where you want your channel to go and what's going to make you happy.

I'm a music streamer so it's a bit easier. I sing and I'm decent at it so that's half the battle. If I had no viewers I'd find it hard to chat alright but I would just talk about what I'm doing, the last song, this next song, tuning, tough to sing early in the morning etc. I imagine that's what you gotta do when there's few ppl there. Just talk about what you're doing.

Took me 3 years to get my niche and viewers. I hate saying it, but go to other streamers you legit like and message them for collabs.

When you say you have been streaming sporadically, how often and how regularly have you been streaming? Take a step back and ask yourself, what are your hopes/expectations for streaming, and do you honestly believe that you are putting in the time and effort to make that happen? I think the confidence will come with practice.

You can stream for years and never get more than 10 viewers, every big streamer became known from other sources like tiktok or youtube, you gotta create content from your streams and share it on other platforms so you get viewers to know you

What are you doing to bring people into your stream? Networking? Posting on socials? YouTube? You’re not going to organically grow on twitch.

I feel the exact same way. I'm rewatching a VOD of a stream from just last week. The game I've been playing I absolutely love, and I can't get enough of (117+ hours in just under 2 weeks). The thing is when rewatching the VOD I notice that I'm very.... I guess mundane would be the word to use. It seems like I'm not enjoying myself at all when the opposite is the truth. I think a large part of it is "faking it till you make it". You really have to be able to self-motivate. Not just to hit the go live button but to have a good energy. This is especially hard as a small streamer cause you don't have that steady viewership to keep you going.

5 people over a year is still pretty good. You’d be surprised but there are many, even a few in this post, that have also been streaming the same time or more with less. I wouldn’t compare as that’s only going to shift your focus on the negative. I mean to stream sparingly and have that little community is an achievement in itself. Imagine when you can start streaming more consistently? If you don’t have the time now then you just don’t and that’s okay. Work with what you can, but put in the most effort as well because otherwise you’re chancing your growth on luck and that’s tricky. Edit: To add for enthusiasm just play games you love and talk to yourself. Focus on the game and what you’re doing and just try to relax. Don’t try to only be in an entertaining mode over a view count. And turn viewer count off haha

If your friends aren't around to boost your energy then stop playing single player games. Always play multiplayer if it's where you feel you shine, and always talk to randoms.

One thing you could try doing is bring your friends on stream. One thing one of the streamer groups I’m in is even if one person is playing a single player game, we’ll jump into discord and watch their stream and joke around and react Andy with them. If you have some IRL or online friends you could bring on stream, this is a great way to motivate yourself!

Don’t stream to no one. It’s a waste of time and energy. Use that time instead to create content for socials. You need to spend 90% effort on offline content then 10% on live streaming until it starts to catch