Category Archives: Streaming

Dealing with Trolls!

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What is a troll you might say, and no we aren’t talking about the dolls kids used to play with, who had the neon hair and a jewel in their belly button, a troll is an asshole. Basically someone who wants to bully or try to belittle or make fun of a person. Mind you there is such thing as healthy trolls who poke fun at things with the streamer or other people online but in a playful way. I have people in my chat who do this! Normally at something I did wrong in the game that we all know I am capable of doing well! If that is the type of trolls that you encounter than this bit might not be for you! Trolls could be poking fun or degrading you with anything. Weight, sexuality, gender, race, etc. However if you are like me who from time to time gets the odd asshole in chat calling me a whale or overweight or to show my boobs this might be something that could be useful for you!

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There are many different ways to deal with trolls. Most people have a sort of system where a troll will get different chances for example: The 1st time maybe they will get a time out for 10 minutes. Second time maybe a few hours or even 24 hours. And a 3rd time might result in a permanent ban. It really depends on the streamer since there is no “Magic” amount to time out a troll or when to permanently ban them. Each streamer has to decide for themselves how they are going to run their channel. It took me a little while to really figure out how I want to run my channel and I’m sure it will take you a  bit to figure out how to run yours too! Some people even un-ban everyone who they have banned once a year over the holidays or even every few years too. I know a streamer who had a re-brand and at that time he had decided to start fresh with the bans and removed all of them. Mind you at this time I would assume that most of the people have moved on to other channels but you never know though. Time will tell who shows up again though!

How do you know someone is a troll really all depends on the person and how much people can get away with it. For me, I can put up with a lot of jokes and things but what I don’t like is sexually charged comments or things that regard my weight. Those kinds of things said to me really don’t make me feel good and are super unnecessary. If someone comes into the stream and mentions either one of these my first reaction is this person is being a troll and chances are more often than not this person is also not a regular. A regular knows how to act when coming into a stream they frequent a lot. Another thing you might notice is that when a troll comes into the stream if you do have regulars who are in chat that they typically stick up for you and have your back when something gets extremely uncomfortable.

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Rarely also, you will see the trolls who really go all out for trying to make you have a shit stream or day. These people will come on and start to say things in chat and when you time out or ban they still come back with a similar or different ult account saying the exact same things. Unfortunately all you can really do is ban them continuously or you can even report each username to Twitch also. Not that Twitch really does anything about it but you know, It might make you feel better in the very least. This might be better if you do it and their is people in chat. That way you are not the only one reporting but others are as well too. If possible sometimes you are able to go offline for a half an hour or so and they will disappear as well. Other times you are able to go into a followers only mode (JUST TEMPORARILY) so that you don’t discourage regular viewers. It would even help if you put a timer or had a command explaining why you are on this mode and how it is to get rid of trolls too.

I deal with trolls in a pretty harsh way. I have had the same saying nearly the whole time that I was a streamer. The saying is this, “Anyone who is a regular won’t say these things to me, and if a person who has never been in my chat comes in and is nasty towards myself or the people in chat, they are not someone who I would miss or would add value here”. When I first started I used to time people out for 10 minutes or 24 hours. This seemed fair, give someone a chance to redeem themselves and more often than not someone would come back when their time out was over and do the same thing again! I was basically playing tag and it sucked. I was feeling like garbage about myself because they would say the same things and I lacked the confidence to bounce back easily. I decided that if someone is new and comes into my chat they get a perma-ban. Some might say that this is a bit much for first time offenders but honestly for my own sanity it was the best solution for my stream!

Ultimately, it is YOUR stream at the end of the day. Whether you want to give someone a second chance or you want to play around with trolls. Or you want to take the quick and easy route like me where you just ban them and hope that you never see them again. Don’t let someone in your chat make you feel any less then you are. Sometimes people find pleasure in making others feel bad. Especially if you have a webcam and they can see an instant reaction. If you aren’t sure how you want to handle trolls then ask around! See what others are doing and adapt something to suit your desires! And be safe out there, Your stream is YOUR space, Don’t let anyone ruin that!

Panels, Why should I have them?

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What are panels?
Panels are an image/text that can display a certain part of who you are/your channel. Look at them as titles to chapters with a mini write up underneath or just the photo there with information or a photo that if clicked sends you to a page.

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Why should I have them?
Panels are a great way to showcase who you are and the content you are willing to provide. If you aren’t live for example and someone comes to check out your channel this is a great way to show who you are without being able to at the time. It can give them an idea of who you are and can even determine if they give you a follow or not even if you aren’t online too!

How can I get them?
Panels do not have to be expensive or even difficult. Anything is better then nothing when it comes to panels. Below is a website Nerd or die that I myself have used, It lets you create your own panels even if they aren’t something fancy its still something to use until you know what you want or can afford to get a personally created panel set. I have also included the twitter of people I have personally used for some of my designs as well!

Nerd or die:
https://nerdordie.com/resources/free-resources/customizable-twitch-panels/
You can also search Etsy and find some generic pre-made panels there too, though they are normally part of a package there are some really nice ones out there too!

What panels should I have?
– Bio/About Me: Pretty self explanatory. Put whatever you want here about YOU! Make is simple and short and a quick description of who you are! Think of this as a mini intro that you would tell a new viewer if they wanted to know who you are and what you are about!
– Tips: Also known as donations. However donations are more for charities. I myself am guilty of putting donations as a panel however when I get the money for a re-vamp/re-design I will be putting tips instead. This is normally linked to your paypal or other form of tipping site so that folks can tip you for your entertainment!
– Subscribe: This is for anyone wanting to subscribe per month to your channel. This normally directs people to your subscribe page. This is also for affiliate and partners on twitch and a very valuable panel to have especially if someone is on mobile. It can make subscribing a lot easier for someone. If finding where to subscribe is difficult you may be losing out on potential revenue!
– Games Played: This can be valuable in case you play multiple games or do play-throughs often. It can also help if folks to see what kind of content that you like to do. I would suggest to keep this to maybe your favorites though. You don’t want this to become a list of 20+ games and totally throw off the flow of your panels either.
– Sponsors: This is a great spot to showcase if you have a sponsor with anyone. Sometimes the company will create or have their own panel and it is required to have this there as a means to promote them and sometimes a way to make a percent of sales too!
– Socials: These are always important, whether they are twitter, youtube, instagram, tiktok or whatever else you might use. Normally when people follow someone on their streaming platform they are also inclined to want to follow on different socials. They want to see your content across multiple spots. Not to mention, if a person is unable to financially support a streamer they are more then happy to help someone by retweeting, liking a picture or thumbs upping their videos since all of those ways to support a streamer are free!
– Artists: This is a great way to shout out the people who make your channel unique! Some artists have their own panel designed which you are able to use while having the panel link to one of their socials or websites. Others might just have a link which you can use an “Artist” umbrella panel so you can add each artist you use individually with a hyperlink under the panel.
– Shout outs: This can be used for 2 things. Some folks have this to shout out their streamer friends and to hopefully direct the love to them as well. This can also be used for showcasing the biggest supporters. Maybe the tops bits giver or sub gifter. Maybe someone has supported financially for a long time and you want to shout them out too. Again, just like the games played keep the list to the top. It can be very unappealing to the eyes when you see a list of 25+ people who support you and have to scroll down the page in order to see other panels or the bottom of your list too.

Don’t do this in panels
– Do not ONLY have a tipping panel. A lot of new streamers are inclined to have only a tipping panel. This looks SUPER scummy and normally when viewers especially new ones visit a channel and only see a tipping panel they are immediately turned off. It demonstrates to a new viewer that you, the streamer are more interested in them giving you money. Which is not a bad thing, But with that being the only thing it can come off very bizarre.
– Don’t write a book. Keep it interesting and point form. Sure you can write a story about it. But why not write enough to keep the viewer interested and then if you have a story you can use that while you are live to tell stories. If all of your panels have long paragraphs of things then it will be extremely hard to keep a potential viewer interested if they have to read 20 minutes worth of text in order to find out a simple question they might have about you or your stream.
– Don’t make everything all cluttered. There is a flow with panels ie: Making them all the same size, Same style, one side isn’t just panels with links or another filled with texts as well. You do not want to have someone open your channel and start to read your panels when they have to scroll down pages to finish reading text when the other side has been finished long before.

Panels are pretty much a fundamental part of a channel. Whether you make them yourself of have someone make them. Make sure before you even hit the live button once that you have these done! Look at them as an extension of YOU!

Begging for Money? Subs? Does it work?

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We all know someone who has begged for subscribers or money or whatever have you in the streaming world. To the viral clips that get a lot of attention of streamers calling out their viewers for not saving 5 dollars to subscribe and financially support their channels. Does it work, Maybe. But I know for sure that the attention these clips get these particular channels is actually insane. To the retweets and comments on them is worth it? Today we talk about if begging for money from your viewers or anyone in general works.

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I also want to state that these are my opinions and some of this may sound blunt and insensitive. I am sorry if that is the case however I will not be changing my opinion on this in order to please the people who may be offended by this.

Let’s begin with the “boo hoo” stories. This is where you hear of someone losing their job, or quitting and having no money for rent and things. I have also seen this in streamers who have the desire to go full time without having the means to. Instead of being financially stable before they take the plunge into streaming full time as a profession, they quit their decently paying job in hopes that their community will now fund them. I have no sympathy for people like this. Why? Because they were unprepared by what they set out to do. If you want to take streaming seriously and if you want to do it full time you sure as hell should make sure that you are able to do it full time before even if that means saving money for months to ensure that your “Giving this a Go” is also having the ability to pay your bills and not rely on a community to do so. What is worse or at least in my opinion (Again) Is when you see a streamer attempting the full time aspect of streaming and suddenly you see them with brand new colored hair, new makeup and manicures, but they continue to complain that their bills aren’t being paid. This doesn’t even make sense and if their community is anything like me, I do not want to support someone ESPECIALLY if they are begging for money for bills and using it on luxuries.

Let’s officially talk about those viral videos for money. We know if you actually use twitter remotely related to your streaming that chances are you are able to see all of the different clips of bigger and popular streamers getting essentially “angry” at their community for not giving them money. They may have a sub goal, they may have bills or something they need money for and they are “upset” that they aren’t being consistently subbed to. Why did I use quotes there? Because, Some of these people I THINK make these clips or comments because they know they will end up on a live stream fails list or viral on twitter and it will pull in more people to their streams. Sure, a lot of trolls will also end up going there. That is for sure true. However there is probably a lot of people who may be also going there to “help out” as well too.

Being direct with how you approach your community and your financial goals could really be how you categories the above with viral clips. You are honest and upfront with goals like “I need x amount of money for x bill by such and such date”. Sometimes communities like the direct approach and how honest a streamer is with them. Other ways streamers have set up goals but are super vague with a mini goal in the background of their streams or incorporated in to their overlays as well. Which can equally be effective if they aren’t talking about it but they do see that it and help out when they can.

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Continuously talking about money on stream is probably one of the biggest no-nos you can do though. When you talk about money on stream all the time whether you are broke or have a lot of it you really aren’t making your viewers feel like they are part of the community. You know xQc? He is one of the biggest streamers in the world who probably makes tens of thousands of dollars a month, Do you ever hear him talk about money on stream? Not really. Because it really isn’t anyone’s business and if he was to do that do you think he would be as successful as he is if he did? If you make your viewers seem like the only thing you are interested in is their money they will not want to stick around. This also goes for showing interest in people who subscribe or donate a lot and as soon as they don’t you don’t show much love to them. When I was back working and kid free I too would donate to a few folks. Sure it was great when it was payday and they were excited to see you getting into harmless bit wars with people, But as soon as that money is gone suddenly it is all changed and you barely get a Hi out of the streamer anymore. It certainly does not make me want to stick around when the only interest the streamer had in me was whether or not I could financially support them.

Lastly, how about we stop making streamers who do talk about their financial goals look like aliens? Talking about goals is healthy and a great way to to fill in your community on your aspirations. Whether it is to buy and upgrade your equipment for streaming or you simply would like to buy a new game or toy for your kids. Letting them know your goals and that financial support is an option. Just make sure that your viewers also know that like financial support there is also ways to support that aren’t financial as well too!

Setting Boundaries as a Streamer

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Setting boundaries as a streamer are extremely important. Let’s face it, There are some pretty screwed up people in the world and having a stalker is an all too real thing out there. How much you share with your community is ultimately your choice. However you don’t want to say too much. Remember, It is a lot easier to not over share then it is to over share and regret saying too much. I will also tell you how much I share with my chat and why I don’t share certain things with them also. There really is no right way or wrong way with how much you want to share with your  viewers it all goes on personal preference. I know I have watched streamers share a whole lot and others not even share their real name!

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DO NOT SHARE YOUR LOCATION!
I swear you would be surprised how many people do this. For myself I do not mind sharing a VERY rough location. ie: I live outside of Halifax. This is a huge city and if someone wants to find out where they will have a very hard time trying to find out where exactly I am. You would be surprised and a bit unsettled when you see and hear of streamers getting swatted (Police called to their residence) or having followers/viewers randomly show up at their homes. This is a complete invasion of privacy and can be extremely alarming as well too. Our homes are our space and there is a reason why we need to be careful for this. I would also suggest that this includes where your camera (If you use one) is facing. If you say live near a very easily figured out location, and your webcam is facing a window people can find out where you are located simply in a few clicks or searches. I don’t have anything by the homes that I lived in that would really show where I live but I know just as I have done if there is a window behind me chances are there is curtains that are always closed. Not that I really think about this when doing streams and where my cam faces just that I always had my curtains closed even in other rooms of the house.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

Last name
This one can be tricky. For me personally, I don’t advertise my last name however I believe if you tip I do think it shows up and I’m okay with that. Chances are if you are tipping a streamer most times people are supporting the person and aren’t going to spill their name to people. That being said this can also be pointless if you are say a pro e-sports player because more often than not your name is already out there when you compete for your team too. If you have a lot of trolls then you might not want to share this also too. However remember if you are making a username or email and you use any part of your name that can kind of defeat the purpose. I know a few folks on twitter who have their full names there which can be a bummer. Especially if they want to keep that side of their real lives personal.

Any type of personal information can be used to trace where you are. Therefore it is extreme important especially as you grow to manage what you say to your community. It can easily slip out and once it’s out there it can be extremely hard to get it back. If you have a few viewers it can be easy to forget and as you grow that not all viewers can be kind. Or if you have the same bunch of folks in your channel regularly you can easily grow close to them that when new people come in to chat it can be hard to adjust what you have said or shared.

It is also important to know, the more personal you are with your chat the easier connections will be. Chats love when a streamer makes them feel like a friend even if they are not that friendly. Making a streamer seem real with real issues and stories is a lot better then a streamer who is a wall and has no connections with them. For me, as a viewer I will watch streamers who connect more on a personal level then ones who don’t. Why? Because if I wasn’t looking for a personal level connection I would simply watch youtube videos. I like the real time interaction of Twitch and a streamer who is personal even without spilling all of their personal information. It also seems that (From what I can see) The more personal a streamer is the better success they have. If someone is all robotic, shares very little, starts stream and just playing games, a person cannot connect it will be hard to bring new people in for sure.

For me. I would like to think that as a streamer I am a personal one. There are things I never mention though have slipped up before. My Bf for example does not want me to say his name on stream. We refer to him as “Space” Mind you there have been times that I have slipped up and said his name but that is not a HUGE deal though. There are also times when I tell stories about my family or friends and most times especially when referring to my brother and sister I don’t say their names either. My camera is pointed at a wall and not a window so that folks cannot see anything outside of my house. Not that I live near any landmarks but it is better safe than sorry in these types of situations. I want to be open and honest with my stream because I treat them as I would my friends. Even if we are a streamer/viewer relationship I want them to feel like it is a safe space. If I wanted it to be a production and totally planned out then I would have a green screen, keep chatter to a minimum and not connect at all.

Be safe out there and remember, setting high boundaries in the beginning is okay, because when you set them low and want them higher, It may be a lot harder to reign them back in if you want to change them!

Choosing a Game to Stream

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Choosing a game to play when starting out as a streamer can be daunting. If you check out my previous blog post it will talk about being one game streamer and a variety streamer and how both have pros and cons. This post will talk about choosing a game to stream and what are some of the things you should look for when doing so as well as games I have mainly played too.

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When I first started streaming from my PS4 I would play the game Rainbow Six Siege every day. I loved it even though I was absolute trash at it. I had a great group of people to play it made the time more interesting. Though as many things come to an end I got bored of it and the people I played with moved on to different things and we kind of fell out of playing together. I never played it a whole lot on my own either.

That being said, Rainbow Six is a pretty popular game. I played this just because I had fun. I wasn’t looking to grow or be at the top of the category I was just playing what I enjoyed and let it happen. If I was going to go back in time I probably would still play the same game because I wanted to and enjoyed it. However I have also played games like Little Big Planet and have seen a lot of success with hat and games like GTA as well too. Depending on the game though they can be too small to even make an impact. When you play an older game or a game that is unknown it can be hard to find new viewers and you are ending up either playing for yourself or your community though.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

Once I had gotten a PC it made things easier. I was gifted a copy of Dead by Daylight one Christmas from a viewer and was instantly hooked. I was playing it nearly every stream. PC gaming was far easier for me since the games library on steam alone is endless. Dead by Daylight is a pretty popular game however I wouldn’t compare it to League of Legends or the latest FPS game. It has a pretty decent community size so being discovered isn’t as difficult in terms of there is a lot of people watching but there are some heavy hitter streamers playing it that have their abundance of regular viewers. Sure when you start out you might be near the bottom or middle of the directory but that is a lot better than being dead last. And since then I have been primarily playing Dead by Daylight ever since with the odd dabble in games like Stardew Valley, Spooky games and PS4 ones that I love like Spyro the Dragon or Crash Bandicoot too!

If you prefer to play only older games or smaller fan base ones that is totally okay also! I think realistically though you might need to work a bit harder on seeing results and growth. You might need to work on your social media reach so that when you play these games you have some regulars that show up to see whats happening. You might need to explore a bit about other content creators and see if you can connect there for a colaboration. Normally a smaller following game has their star streamers, which could be you eventually! This is a great way to see what types of people play them and how you would like to see how you fit in there!

Discoverability is huge if you want to see growth on twitch or any other streaming service. If you don’t care about growth and you don’t care about viewers and just want to stream and game then totally disregard this section! If you want to be “discovered” then playing a medium tier/popularity game would be best. If you are playing Fortnite when it was at its peak viewers unless you have god like skills the chances of being discovered are probably extremely low. Same goes for playing a game that is completely off the map or has a very little fan base. I’ve seen people complain about getting little to no viewers and when people suggest different things to try the person has said “but I like playing retro games”. Well that is okay to do, however you cannot wait around for viewers to magically show up and support your game choice and who you are. You have to put in work in order to see results. Make yourself discoverable! Do not wait around for that slim chance of a massive raid or host like that will be the savior for streaming. Spoiler alert: Raiding and hosting WILL NOT help you grow, most of the time people who are coming from the raid will always watch the streamer they came from before you. Though you may make some new viewers chances are they won’t be regulars. Make people want to click your like by doing whatever means necessary on other platforms and things!

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Lastly, And I think this goes back again to the one game vs variety streamer blog post. If you ware wanting to throw yourself out there and only play one game. A game that you want to become the best at or a very memorable person within the community, I think it is important to see the direction the game is going. What I mean by this is, will this game be around in a year from now, 2 years, 5 years or 10 years (Though anyone playing a game for 10 years honestly should receive an achievement hahahaha!!). If you start playing a game for example I see it with a lot of Paladins streamers. They played the game since the very beginning, and now they are finding themselves stuck. They don’t like the direction of the game, it is broken, the fan base is a very young/child like and they want something different. If the direction of the game you are playing isn’t going anywhere, not releasing new content, or making the game interesting to viewers you will have a much harder time trying to keep their attention. It’s like if I was to play Spyro the Dragon as my main game, the game is done, there is no DLCs and unless I am trying to speed run the game and constantly practice it will be extremely hard to keep people entertained with the stale content.

Regardless, I think at the end of the day anyone should play a game that they really enjoy. If a streamer enjoys the game their community will be more willing to chat and stick around. If you start to hate a game or do not enjoy playing it, remember that you can always take a break and come back to it!

Streamers and “Pity Parties”

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If you haven’t been keeping tabs, that is totally okay! I am a streamer though I am so bad with a schedule that it is incredibly hard for me to even keep it going half the time. Juggling two kids, being a wife, and pregnant with our 3rd child, and trying to keep a household kind of clean while cooking, cleaning, playing, sewing, writing, the things that are being done are endless.

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Though there is one thing that has never changed since I first started streaming. I don’t really care about a lot of things streamers do, but one thing I do mind is streamer pity parties. I know, does this make me sound bad? Sure, maybe to some people who consider this as a tactic to make money. But for the vast majority of streamers I think we can all agree that sometimes it is PRETTY OBVIOUS when a streamer does this.

So what is a pity party? And what is it in regards to streaming? Streamer pity parties is when a streamer will play on the emotions of their viewers by trying to get some sort of compensation from them. Sometimes this is in regards to maybe their mental health has been struggling, other times it may be the unexpected bills, or maybe it is simply put, because they know their viewers will donate to them for whatever reason so they try to get that motivation for their viewers to feel bad. To guilt them so to speak.

Before I continue, I do want to state, not everyone is like this. There is a lot of people who have donation goals or different things that people love to help out when they have a few extra dollars. Which is totally okay when you think about it. What I am referring to is streamers in particular who will take extremely long breaks, And on top of it come back with new hair, fresh clothes, nails done, and everything else, and complaining that they no longer have their rent. This is weird and while many of their “financial supporters” are unaware of this hidden agenda to others it couldn’t be more brighter of a light.

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One of these tips to figure out if a streamer you watch is playing this dangerous game would be that they constantly talk about their hardships. Maybe they talk about how they are eating ramen all the time due to being unable to afford food. Maybe they talk about how there pet is suddenly sick, and I say suddenly because they have been sick perhaps for the past year multiple times with various ailments. One thing that is blinding when it comes to these is that someone who complains they are unable to afford rent, however they have a fresh set of a full foil highlights on their head which can be hundreds of dollars. Maybe I am the crazy one, but I would like to think rent should be the priority over a personal appearance thing.

Another red flag is when someone has a donation goal which is bigger than a lot of the other elements on their streams. Now before you are all “Stacey, You too have a donation/subscriber goal”. Yes I do! However it is smaller and in the corner of the stream to not take away from the stream itself. Does that mean I don’t mention it if someone asks? No I will. But I don’t continuously talk about it either. I will never mention that we are xxx closer to our goal, or whatever you want to say too.

The fact is, a lot of established streamers do have some people who are in a position financially to support the stream. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people who do this. What I am talking about is people who KNOW who these people are and will do anything that they can to get every single cent from them. Have you ever noticed that established and good streamers never mention money? hard times? or anything else? Because people know that like myself and others, when you mention these things constantly you run a major risk of actually turning people off of your stream. The fact is a lot of their viewers too could also be struggling and they don’t want to also hear someone else who is struggling.

Why might this be? Because at the end of the day a lot of people around the world are also struggling. To the point that they are working two jobs, making sacrifices to their daily lives while hearing someone sitting on their computer trying to make money from other people. I am a big supporter of the “If you cannot afford to stream you need to find different ways to make money”. This is more or less the people who think streaming more will mean more money, which is totally wrong. There is a lot of different ways to make money and streaming is one way to do so. Maybe they need to pick up a little part time job or maybe go different avenues of making content. One that can bring money in.

MAYBE I am so out there in left field that I am the one who is jealous or envious of people who have these suckers who have the money to spend on them. As I mentioned, I am all for transparency. If you are struggling, by all means, you can share with viewers, but if the topic of conversations always end up to the fact that you need money in some way shape of form and that you need money then it may be a sign that you are watching the wrong streams. Especially if the streamer is using emotions to make you feel guilty about not donating. That is just not okay.

We live in a world that there is an abundance of jobs and if you want to be a streamer then you need to do more than going live and hoping for the best. To be a twitch streamer you need to be looking at all pathways to bring viewers in and performing to the best of your ability. This does not include making your viewer, who watches you regularly, feel bad that you are unable to afford that new set of fake nails, especially since as streamers, we don’t know just how much our viewers are struggling, and at the end of the day they could be struggling far more than we are!

Content Creation should NOT be a Grind

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“Grind out hours”
“Can’t wait to grind out the stream”
“Let’s Grind it out”

These are all things that you see across twitter all of the time or any part of streaming. There is some part of streaming, whether you have been streaming for years or you are just streaming new that somewhere and some how people will refer to streaming as being a “Grind”.

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To be completely transparent, I also was one of those people who would refer to streaming as being a “grind”. I thought I had to put everything I had into streaming and any waking moment when I was not working or doing something I had to be live no matter the time of day. I would stream sometimes multiple times a day. I would stream before I had to work. I would stream after I got home from work. I would stream for hours and hours and hours on end to the point I just was live all of the time. Or in the very least it was nearly a second full time job in many aspects. That was not including trying to grow on Twitter at the same time. I was in the mindset that if I was not live, I was not able to grow. I had to be live and I had to be active in order to see any followers and things.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!

Let me start by saying this, Nothing in life should be a grind. Whether your job, streaming, life, or whatever goals or dreams you have, Nothing should be a grind. Implying that something is a grind is basically saying that if you dont spend your every waking moment doing that you are wasting your time. Regardless about whether or not you are into any of these things nothing should be a grind. This is not good for a person mentally to be putting every single bit of effort into trying to be successful. Streaming is no exception. You know what they say “Work smarter not harder”. Being live or producing content does not mean spending every waking moment putting it out.

For example. I started blogging in 2020 before my son was born. I primarily started to write about streaming. I know, small niche however I also had like nothing in terms of knowledge. I had no idea about tags and I certainly did not know about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). What I am going to be doing here in the new year for 2021 is almost revamping these blogs, adding proper tags and trying to re-use content that I dont think is bad, but it just is not at a point of helping me to reach potential people. Sure it is recycling content, but it doesn’t have to be about making something new every single day.



Starting in 2022 I am also trying to change up my streams for another example. Currently I have been playing a lot of Dead by Daylight or even Stardew Valley. I dont think I am going to go very far in many games because I just do not have the time to be live all of the time. I barely have time to even sit back and game when you think about it either. I am looking at probably cutting back on how many days I stream per week to just Monday’s and Fridays and hopefully will be switching to some art streams and crafting and creating. Which is completely different than what I was used to streaming however I would like to grow a real business and I think this could be a great way to hopefully get the ball rolling while killing two birds with one stone so to speak.

Creating content should not be a grind. If you find that it is a grind you need to ask yourself if it is even worth it. Are you spending hours and hours per day streaming or doing whatever else to be live for no viewers or no views? Are you managing your time to stand out and try to in the very least grow other socials? There is so much more in the way of creating content that you need to be pulling people in from many avenues and not just clicking the publish, or going live button. If you are spending hours and hours streaming it would probably a lot more helpful to even cut your hours in half and try to grow socials or network and figure out plans. The hardest part is they since Covid has hit everyone seems to think that content creation is the next big thing and super easy to do. It’s not.

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I always said, When you look at the type of content creation success rates look at Hollywood. How many people do you think go there in hopes to be the next big movie star only to find themselves being rejected by agents all over town and going back empty handed. This is the same with any type of creation. You need to manage your time and set yourself apart from the hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to do the exact same things that you are trying to do. If you are not doing anything to make yourself stand out and hoping that success falls in your lap, chances are, and I hate to say it, you will not be going anywhere.

I think as a collective community we needs to stop calling content creation a grind. We need to start looking at dedication and looking outside of the box. Taking care of our mental health is also important and whether you are grinding out exams for college or you are grinding out your job and overtime to get that promotion, nothing is work a grind. You need to also take care of yourself and you also need to take time away from the dedication. Im not saying ditch it, but separating time and even planning so that way you are finding yourself not feeling the burnout. After all, once you hit the burnout phase, you are already too far into the “grind” that it is no where near the healthy aspect of creating.

Are you guilty of calling it a “grind”?
Do you still call it a Grind?

Let me know what you think and view about content creation, I am sure others are also struggling in a way just as I used to also!

Are YOU doing your best on Twitter?

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Tired of putting out tweets that get 0 likes or retweets? Feel like you are wasting your time with little to no response from the twitter universe to give you a tip that you are doing things right? Yeah, I have been there before and was in the exact same position. It took me a long time for me to see these useful tips and a lot longer to actually put them into play to see results. Just because you may have the knowledge to have a growing twitter account doesn’t mean you have to put in little work. Growing any social media requires consistency and dedication.
*These are from my personal experience on twitter, If some are incorrect or don’t work for you, tweek them til you find a right solution for the results that you desire!

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STOP USING SO MANY HASHTAGS!
Twitter is NOT Instagram. Instagram is designed to use as many hashtags as possible to reach a wider audience. Twitter however is not. They say the magic number of hashtags to use is MAX 3. This means: STOP OVER USING HASHTAGS. Not to mention hashtags you use are also important. Stop using hashtags like #SupportSmallStreamers / #SupportSmallStreams / #SupportAllStreamers. Not only does this make you look like you are stuck in the small streamers mindset but it makes you look like a rookie. Use tags that relate to your game. Even better is tag the developer or company behind your game. Show you like playing it or that you want others who like the game to also do it. Also try to change it up. Ex: I play DBD mainly. Sometimes I use #Dbd others I use #DeadbyDaylight, Sometimes I tag the company as well too. Then add a generic tag like #Twitch, or #TwitchTV. If you are using those support hashtags then you will also need to remember that if people have those tags muted (Which a lot of people do because it will spam their home pages) Then your tweets are also hidden. And also twitters algorithm also will hide tweets with too many hashtags. AND STOP TAGGING RE-TWEET PAGES! It doesn’t help with interactions and most people also have those muted. Remember, If you use the same hashtags the entire time then you will only be reaching that audience.


Links
Apparently there was a twitter trend that if you use the same link ie: Twitch/Mixer/Youtube constantly twitter will see it as a spam tweet and begin to hide those. Now I think this really depends on which your preference is. If you want to include in your tweets “Link in Bio”, Remember that not everyone will want to click your profile to click your link but there is also some people who will come and follow your twitter along the way to twitch. And if you find this gives you more interactions from your twitch link also post that too. If you find that you posting your link is good enough keep doing that. Remember to make it interesting though and not the same tweet every time since it can be extremely boring for a reader and not really motivate them from checking out your channel where ever it might be.


Media
Add some spice to your tweets! If you have a computer and a bunch of twitch clips from your streams download them. Don’t just add the link because then someone has to click away from twitter to view it most times. Add it as a file so that way you can see how many views you have from twitter. Take photos, Maybe your meal before you stream, a pet, a selfie, your set up, going live screen, ANYTHING! Make your tweets look unique and enticing so that people want to check out the stream. If you only post a link and some text flooded with tags your tweets are going to look too busy and people aren’t going to want to watch it at all.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.


Re-tweet Bots
STOP TAGGING RETWEET PAGES. They make you look lazy and unable to network. Its not going to make you grow at all. Ever look at retweet pages and see they have thousands and thousands of followers, BUT they don’t have ANY interactions on their tweets? Do you think if the page is going to be retweeting you that is going to make any more interaction to you when they cant even get any on their own things? No. I was guilt of this and as I progressed in the Twitter world I noticed it wasn’t helping anything. Not to mention I began to mute all of the pages because my home page was legit FLOODED with all the retweets and I never seen any tweets to friends or people who I was interested in.

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Interaction
It is not enough to grow on twitter if you only post tweets to your own profile. You have to put out interactions. This means commenting and liking others tweets. Make sure it makes sense and is relevant. If someone is talking about food and you talk about your stream, Or if they are talking about Fortnite and you talk about League of Legends it really doesn’t make any sense does it? Also stop RETWEETING FOR CONTENT! Retweet friends, or retweet important events, But don’t just retweet for the sake of re-tweeting. I don’t know how many times that I have muted someone I followed because their entire timeline was legit retweets. Don’t forget, People follow YOUR profile to see YOUR content. Not the content of everyone else. So when you retweet all day and someone wants to see whats happening with you, They will either un-follow or mute you when they cant find that information.


Stop Begging
A recent thing I have seen on twitter which seems to be unsuccessful is people posting tweets like this:
” I see a bunch of new followers, Let’s connect and DM”
” I see a bunch of new followers and barely any retweets/likes, Where is everyone at”
The likely hood of people going to DM you privately is very low. Put effort in your tweets and make them eye catching. Make people WANT to interact with you. When I see tweets like this its a quick way for me to legit mute or un-follow someone.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!


Negative Tweets
We all have shit days. And it is GREAT to vent it out and talk about it here. BUT when the negative tweets outweigh the bad ones that’s when things start being a problem (In my opinion). If you go to someones timeline and every 5th post is a positive one, and the rest are negatives and veiled complaints then it is extremely hard to see what someones stream is going to be like. This also falls into the category of “Blaming my community” tweets as well. So many times I have seen tweets like “Going live blah blah blah” And the next day you see a “Stream has been going crappy, Barely any viewers, No one showed up”. Stop posting these tweets and change your energy into better ways to bring new viewers in. Remember, Our communities and viewers are earned. They do not owe us anything. And they also have lives outside of twitch the same as we, streamers, do. Posting blaming tweets towards your community and viewers when a stream may be quieter then normal doesn’t leave a good look.


Emotion
Putting emotions in tweets has been seen to help boost engagements. That being said, And regarding the last paragraph, Balance some out. Provoke emotion of your followers, Whether intriguing, controversial, humor, or another types it doesn’t have to be negative as well. Something as simple as pineapple on pizza is it good or not could be something that fires up people and worth talking about! Or different shows and what not. Maybe you love a certain type of coffee over another type or whatever you may choose. Maybe you had some funny and hilarious moments in your day to day life that are worth talking about. DO IT! Showing a personal side doesn’t mean telling your address and full name and social insurance number, It just means you are relating to people and showing yes, I may stream but I am also human too!

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Going Live Tweets
These are a great way to connect with your community and show you are live and to help drive traffic. That being said, STOP POSTING YOU ARE LIVE EVERY 30 MINUTES. Posting a pre-live tweet. A going live tweet. A mid stream tweet/game change tweet. And even an ending tweet and thanking for a great stream or a clip from the night work well. You aren’t annoying people with your continuously posted link and you are making people interested in what you have to say. Also, For anyone who is using “Wizebot” to auto announce you are going live. STOP THAT. It legit posts the same going live post every single time. When someone goes to your profile and sees all of the live tweets again, It really doesn’t help anything. Its not showing your content or what you are about its just showing “Hey this person streams and posts them going live a lot”. Its not giving any information about you as a content creator. If you go to a profile and all you see is someone posting going live tweets, Are you wanting to know more or are you overlooking this person and moving on to someone else?

As you can see twitter is a slippery slope but if you want to adopt some of these tips that I have learned since really hammering down into the twitter-verse then I am sure you will notice some difference here! And believe me, I have been guilt of more then one of these offenses when I first started streaming and with time and lots of reading and advice, and of course being stubborn and trying to “do my own thing”. Good luck and Happy Tweeting!

Overlays, Good or bad?

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An overlay is a great way to display to your community different things that you want to achieve ie: A sub goal, Tip goal, Follower goal, Top tippers and anything of that nature as well. You can even display most recent followers if you wish too. As simple as it sounds there can be a right way and a very wrong way to do this as well. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you decide to add an overlay to your stream.

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Should I get an overlay?
This should be the 1st question you ask because there are certain circumstances where you will not be able to use an overlay. IE: if you stream from console and DO NOT use a capture card then it will be harder/not possible to use an overlay. I have been told that if you use a console and stream directly from there to Twitch or whatever platform, that if you use the remote play feature or do it through a computer then you should be able to use an overlay. Personally, I have no idea how to use that as I never needed to but apparently it is possible. I used to have an overlay when I did use a capture card though. This is because it runs through OBS and you are able to add the file/image to your scenes. If you stream through a computer then you will have no problem adding an overlay to your streams to make them a bit more personal as well too! I personally never got one until I was on a PC/Capture card. If you are in a position where you are unable to have an overlay, that is totally okay too! You will be able to add one eventually as you continue to progress in your journey!

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

What is an Overlay?
An overlay is any type of information or design that you want to display on your stream. In order to do so you need to either be using a capture card or streaming from a PC. Some streamers have different scenes where their overlay displays chat, or the top donators or subscribers and things as well. It really depends on what you are looking to show to your community in your stream as far as how you would like this to be shown. If you wanted you could also display certain types of goals you might have for your channel as well too. It really depends on what you are looking for as a streamer! For myself, I sometimes show the subscriber goals that I have when trying to save for certain things, I also try to show things like followers sometimes. I also have a chat overlay as well sometimes depending on the scene that I am using too.

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How can I get an overlay?
There are places where you can get a pre-designed overlay. This would be the quickest and one of the easiest ways to get one. Another more expensive way would be to commission a graphic designer and ask them to do a one of a kind overlay for you. Keep in mind if you want all the “Bells and whistles” then it will cost some money to get done. I always say when looking for ANY type of graphics it can be extremely helpful for the artists if you have somewhat of an idea. Even knowing which colors you would like on there is a huge help! And if not, that is also okay since your artist should be able to articulate your idea’s for you if you have trouble.

My Overlay
When I decided I wanted to do a little revamp, an overlay was something that I wanted. I knew I wanted it to be simple and I knew I wanted it to be timeless. I asked for my name “StaySeeJ” to be on there and I dropped the 08. Why? Because eventually if I got to the point I wanted a name change I would be dropping the 08 if it was possible. Spoiler alert: Fast forward to now, and I have actually dropped the 08 from my name which is great I thought ahead and am able to continue to use the same overlay! And I felt this was going to be cleaner without the number too. My colors that I liked was blues and white/black. The whole point was to have it slick and clean looking. I wanted it to be very minimal at the top of my screen and that’s how mine was done! Its simple, customizable and easy to add to any streaming software. I have also added through Streamlabs the different information that I wanted at the top. ie: Sub count, Sub Goal, Top Bits, Recent follower, Recent sub. The best part is that if I want to change out the displays I just need to add text and find the different spot in Streamlabs to get it done!

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DON’Ts of Overlays
– Don’t make your overlay too cluttered. People are either watching your stream for yourself or game play. Nothing is more annoying when you click a stream and 75% of their screen is filled with different alerts, text, logos and many other things. Its cool to display things but making your overlay look like a collage board from school is not the way to do it. It also can be very distracting to what you maybe trying to portray. If you are a great Apex player and all everyone see’s is your logos and things flashing on the screen it will make it incredibly hard for anyone to really focus on what it is you want to people to focus on.

– Don’t make donation goals the center of your overlays. Though I think it can be important to showcase a tip goal for your community I don’t think making it the most important thing is going to do a lot of good for people wanting to help out. If you do have one on your overlay make sure you STRESS the importance of your viewers simply being there instead of making them seem like your only goal is to get their money. When streamers talk about money as their goal it can really put a damper on things especially if people in the chat are unable to financially support your stream.

And lastly, As I have mentioned with lots of other posts. Be careful who you get to commission your work! Make sure you do your research before putting your trust into another person. Word of mouth when it comes to designers is a huge way to see how they are and if they are worth your time and money. If someone is known for copying other artists or not getting back in a timely fashion then they may not be worth you giving your ideas to. If you aren’t sure with what you want and are not in a rush post on your twitter, discord, ask in streams, or even check reviews if a person has an online portfolio in order to make sure you choose the right person for you! Go with your gut too, If you have a feeling that the person may not deliver what you expect then don’t go with them! This is something for YOU to showcase your brand and you shouldn’t take anything but the best for that!