Viewer Counts & Broadcasting Strategies
I see so many broadcasters get discouraged by low viewer counts and get so many questions asking “What am I doing wrong?” “How can i get more viewers?”
Well first let me say this: there are two paths you can take with broadcasting. The first path is to just have fun, play the games you like, enjoy what you do. Even if the games you play are only watched by one other person, have fun doing it. This has been my primary broadcasting method. I don’t play games because they are going to get high view counts or games that I don’t like just because they are popular. It’s more important to me to have fun with what I’m doing than to simply do what will get the most viewership.
I ignore the viewer counts because they simply don’t matter. They are just a number that you often have no control over. You can’t control how many people are interested in watching a particular game. There are some games that even the greatest personalities in the world can’t make extremely entertaining to watch to a wide audience. it’s true some games will get large audiences and others that just aren’t going to get high view counts.
If you enjoy the games that get low view counts then play them, have fun. Others will connect to your feeling of happiness with the games you play and enjoy it because you enjoy it. There will always be someone willing to watch something. It’s just a matter of finding them and this takes time. At first you’re going to go through long periods of low to now viewer counts as you start out and that is perfect normal and fine. Some may always have low viewer counts and that is perfectly fine. It’s much more important to have fun and love what you do.
Now, if you want to be the person who just wants to boost viewer counts then I can help give you some tips to help boost that little number. This is assuming, you already have the basics like good quality, etc.
Play Popular Games
- Popular games have lots of people interested in them, thus you have a larger starter audience to potentially click on your channel
Play New Releases as Quickly as you can
- People want to see a New Releases gameplay to see if they want to buy it or just to watch it because it’s new and they’ve never seen it before. Many people that only watch other games will tune in to check out the gameplay of a new release. This is a great time to get lots of new people to come to your channel. Stream the game as soon as it’s legal check when the company says it’s ok. usually it’s Midnight Eastern Standard Time or 3AM EST/ Midnight Pacific.
Only Play Games that will Be Entertaining to Watch
- Now while i said before there will always be someone willing to watch anything, the number willing to watch may be lower for some titles vs others. People are entertained when something is highly funny, there is lots of action, Fighting/Conflict, something is puzzling and bizzare, etc. Think television and what shows get the most ratings and why they get them. Not many people might be willing to watch an old school turn based rpg, while thousands might be willing to watch a streamer dance funny to a kinect game.
Become a Pro
- There’s a reason why E-Sports are on the top. People like to live in the reflected glory of others and relish the taste of the sorrow and defeat of another human being. If you are pretty good at a certain type of game, train and practice on your stream, play in tournaments, get your name out there. As your name and skill grows so will your fans who will want to bask in your glory and learn from you. Also you will get more haters this way as well.
Stream Everyday
- People are creatures of habit, stream every day and stream for long periods of time. People will eventually form a habit of joining your channel.
Be Entertaining & Interactive
- Always make the experience as fun as possible, Be Energetic, make jokes, talk to your viewers, make fun of the game, etc. Keep your viewers entertained when then game fails to. Not everyone is as gifted with Charisma enough to pull this off, but if you have that gift use it to your full advantage.
Special Events / Marathons
- Participate in Charity Marathons, hold your own marathons, do special events that stand out and are unique. Be creative and do something that no one else on the site is doing. Get your name known get people to notice you by standing out.
1 Comment
Leave A ReplyLeave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading ...
Great Article. I myself cast whenever I can and have no schedule so that takes a toll on the viewers, but I just play whatever is fun for me or if I want to play a shitty game and laugh at it. Just keep doing what you do, if you cast it they will come. (cheesy field of dreams quote)