How to Grow on Twitch and Get Followers

When it comes to Twitch, there are no get-rich-quick schemes or instantly deployable tricks that will net you thousands of followers. There may be some shady individuals offering to sell you followers, but Twitch will shut that down – and your account – dramatically fast. So, it needs to be an organic journey and a meaningful one at that. Fortunately, with this guide, you’ll learn how to grow on Twitch, how to become a better streamer, and how to make your community stronger.

If you’re desperately trying to learn how to get followers on Twitch, then look no further. With this one-shot guide, we’ve covered everything you need to know about breaking into the Twitch platform, creating top-tier content, and potentially about making a career out of streaming. It’s a long and difficult journey and very few content creators will truly make it, but it’s definitely worth trying – the path to the top can be just as fun as reaching that ultimate destination.

So, if you want to learn how to grow on Twitch, keep reading.

How to Stream on Twitch

It all begins with learning how to stream on Twitch, of course. That’s the start of the journey, and fortunately, it can be accomplished in a few simple steps. However, like many aspects of content creation, building a Twitch profile can be the most basic thing in the world, or it can be complex, time-consuming, and stressful. From the graphics on your channel to your literal account name, there’s a lot that you’ll need to put some thought into.

This is where you start learning how to grow on Twitch – the very profile name that you choose could have a bearing on your growth. It should be something memorable, and recognisable, and it should have at least some relevance to you or your character. When you’re building out your Twitch profile, you’ll want to feature graphics, overlays, a channel trailer, and written content (such as a bio) that reflects your professionalism as a streamer.

Unfortunately, it can be hard to know what will truly hit in terms of a profile. There are some extremely popular streamers who use no fancy graphics or effects, and they still pull in millions of followers – but that’s a conversation that we’ll have further down this guide. Ultimately, when you’re just starting out, having a complete, attractive profile will help you out.

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How to Grow on Twitch: Make Your Content Shine

This isn’t a full guide to streaming, but we will point out that, to grow on Twitch, you’ll need to create top-notch content. That essentially starts with having a great streaming setup, as crisp audio and a high-quality stream make for a much better viewing experience. There are so few streamers that will find success on Twitch while putting out a grainy stream with crackling audio.

So, with that in mind, you’ll want to invest in your streaming setup:

Get a good webcam, or for the best results, a DSLR
Buy a nice microphone, at least a USB-powered cardioid device
Purchase a lighting solution, such as a lightbox or a ring light
Invest in your backdrop and buy RGB lights and knick-knacks that reflect your personality

Once you’ve got the best equipment you can afford, it’ll be time to put it to work. By using the best live streaming software – like OBS or Streamlabs – you can build an attractive, interactive stream that viewers will want to return to over and over again. If you pair the software with something like StreamElements, you can integrate overlays, transitions, and alerts that, again, can reflect on you as a streamer.

It doesn’t matter if you’re streaming from a PlayStation 5, an Xbox Series X, or a gaming PC, having a clean, aesthetically-pleasing stream is so important. If you’re eager to learn how to grow on Twitch, this is what you’ll need to consider early on.

It’s About You As a Streamer

Now, this statement might not please every new creator, but ultimately, many streamers will not ‘make it’ simply because they’re not cut out for it. It’s an extremely competitive and oversaturated industry, and only the best of the best really earn their time in the spotlight. There are many things that you can do to make your stream much more enjoyable for viewers, but at the end of the day, if your delivery is flat, your charisma non-existent, or your gameplay boring, then nobody will hang around.

There’s no hope for you sitting there searching for how to become a Twitch Partner if you haven’t even started your journey. Don’t look ahead that far, and for now, focus on delivering a great stream to a small audience by following these top streaming tips:

1. Always engage with your chat, even if it’s just one person that’s watching you.

Ask them how their day was or if they have any plans
If it’s a gaming stream, perhaps talk to them about their favourite game
Answer every question they ask as thoughtfully as possible

2. Try your best to remain energetic and animated at all times, even if the chat is quiet.

If someone was to raid you or pop into your stream and you’re sitting there in silence, it’s a bad vibe
There’s such a thing as ‘self-comms’, and it’s where you essentially narrate what’s happening, or you just talk to yourself about your game
If you do something good or something shocking happens, then try to hype it up a bit

3. As you grow, use everything that Twitch makes available to you to foster engagement.

If you can become an affiliate, you’ll unlock custom emotes, channel point rewards (which come earlier), and features like subscriptions and bits
Run polls that your viewers can vote on: ‘Will I survive the next game?’, which engages them more and might encourage them to hang around
Use the Twitch Schedule feature to let people know when you’re next live, or if you plan a special event

There are many small streamers that make the mistake of ignoring their chat, which can be an instant turn-off to any viewer, no matter how casual. If you’re building a community and seeking to become one of the most subbed Twitch streamers, even one engaged viewer can make a difference.

Diversify to Succeed

If you’re trying to figure out how to get followers on Twitch, it’s important to diversify. By that, we mean that you’ll need to spread around your content and your channel, letting as broad a base of users know that you actually are a streamer (or that you desire to become one). With that in mind, you can use platforms like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or even something more professional like LinkedIn to share your content and attract potential viewers.

For instance, if you’re going live on YouTube, then post a tweet about it with targeted hashtags and some kind of relevant image or GIF. If you’re looking for the most visual impact possible, then pair that go-live message with one of your Twitch clips – ideally an entertaining one – giving potential fans an insight into your content.

If you’re capturing game clips and Twitch clips, then reupload them to another platform, like YouTube Shorts or TikTok. Every time you upload, make some kind of reference to having a Twitch channel or have the link to your channel in the bio or direct link section of whatever platform you’re using. Soon enough, you’ll have an easy half a dozen links online all leading to your Twitch channel, and if you’re doing it right, it could lead to steady but sure growth on Twitch.

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Behave Yourself, Be a Model Streamer

There’s no way that you can grow if you’re breaking the rules, and there are several pitfalls on the Twitch platform that could catch you out. If there’s one thing that catches out new creators, it’s copyright rules, and many new streamers will find themselves with ‘copyright strikes’ after playing music on their stream. Fortunately, playing copyrighted music won’t earn you an instant ban, but it won’t reflect well on your channel.

There are plenty of rules to follow, though. They’re a broad set, and they’re targeting everything from bullying and cheating to terrorism, violence, and sexual or lewd content. In fact, you can even pick up a suspension for saying the wrong thing, so having an idea of the Twitch banned words list is ideal. Of course, you could just use common sense and not say anything too controversial, violent, or offensive, and you should typically be fine.

It’s impossible to learn how to grow on Twitch if you’re banned, isn’t it?

What You Do Impacts Your Growth

It’s a slippery slope when learning how to grow on Twitch, and you can make your journey harder or easier by changing what you play. There are many streamers that’ll make it big without ever playing a single game, but the majority of Twitch’s user base is there to consume gaming content. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to know what will ‘hit’ until it actually does – or doesn’t.

For instance, let’s say you’re a fan of the Fallout franchise and want to base your streams on those games. There’s a dedicated and loyal fanbase for the franchise, but typically, it doesn’t perform very well on Twitch. At any point, no more than a few hundred viewers will be tuned in. However, that does mean that you’re almost guaranteed a bigger slice of the viewer pie, as there will be fewer streamers for potential viewers to pick from, and maintaining an average of just ten viewers will put you at the top of the pile.

If you’re eager to become a Minecraft or a Call of Duty streamer, it’s a whole different ball game. There are thousands of streamers and millions of viewers in these categories, and starting out as a new creator means that you’re immediately a tiny fish in a massive ocean. It’s extremely tough to grow on Twitch using games like this as your base, and arguably, it’s much easier to be a small streamer while working on a niche area, like Fallout, as we’ve just mentioned.

Ultimately, if you’re a good enough creator, cracked at the game, and charismatic, those qualities should shine through with a little hard work. After all, not every top-tier content creator out there today started their journey with a million followers.

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Dr Disrespect was famously banned on Twitch in 2020

Final Tips for How to Grow on Twitch

Hopefully, you’re somewhat ready to kick off your journey towards becoming the next big streamer. Here are a few parting tips to send you on your way.

Be consistent in everything that you do – your times, how you present yourself, and even the quips you make and mannerisms you portray.

Constantly upgrade yourself, your content, your equipment, and your delivery.

Build a network, create a Discord community, and use social media to push your connections to the next level.

Create a brand, and build something that could eventually be featured in a line of merchandise.

Be a streamer that people want to watch – try to be positive, encouraging, engaging, and if possible, funny.

Avoid breaking the rules or being controversial – it’ll land you views, but for all the wrong reasons.

And finally,

Have fun, and remember that, first and foremost, streaming should be a hobby. There’s no way you’ll make money streaming at the start, so enjoy the journey, appreciate your growth, however slow it may be, and take every day as it comes.

We wish you all the best of luck with your Twitch growth! Or rather, if we wanted to use Twitch slang… つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Take my energy!