Tag Archives: How to be a famous streamer

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!

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!

Different Ways to Support Streamers

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There are many different ways to support streamers. Some are financial ways and there are many many that can also be done for FREE! Yes, you heard that, FOR FREE! People think a lot of the time that if they cant support a streamer financially that they aren’t doing a good job at being a viewer. There are a lot of things that are extremely helpful for streamers that cost the viewer absolutely nothing! These are the many various financial and FREE ways to support streamers on Twitch or even any platform that you tend to watch someone entertain you on.

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Financial Support
This is obviously the way viewers think about when they think about supporting a streamer. Sure, if this is a streamer who does this as their full time job it can be important . However it is equally respectable if you are able to just be there. Most streamers don’t talk about finances on stream however they may have goals set up and things that can help you decide if you want to help them with a sub and or bits or tip as well too! Here are some ways to financially support a streamer:

Subscribing
Subscribing is when you choose to play a monthly fee, ie: on Twitch it can be 5.00, 10.00 and 25.00 to which the streamer gets a percentage usually a minimum of 50% of the price. If by chance they have a higher percentage that they take home it was because of the negotiations of their contract. Affiliates only take 50% though. You also get some perks like their emotes being able to be used in different channels and also sometimes streamers have different perks ie: Subscriber movie nights, sub only channels on discords and even first dibs when playing games as well too! You can also cancel this at any time. Mixer has a feature though I think there is just one base price in terms of subscribing. Not to mention on Twitch they have a feature called “Twitch Prime” where if you have Amazon Prime you are able to connect your accounts on amazon/twitch and receive a free gift sub to use on a channel across the site. The only thing with using Twitch Prime is you have to remember to RE-SUBSCRIBE every month so it doesn’t go to waste! Not to mention at least on twitch, You can also sub gift to a streamer. Sub gifting is a great way to help out a streamer and bring a few extra people into the community as well too!

*** 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.

Bits
This is the currency that you can buy on Twitch. You would use your currency for the country that you live in to buy it. This is a currency that you can only use directly on Twitch. You can use as many or little as you like to support your favorite streamers. Some might be for different things or actions to happen on the stream and can be a safer way if you wish to donate to a streamer. Where it is already bought currency through the platform there is no risk for charge backs though there is normally a time frame or a minimum amount to be made in order to get paid for that month ie: Twitch you need to have minimum 100$ in your “account” in order to be paid out that month.

Donations
Donations can be a bit trickier in a sense because it goes directly to the streamer. No need to wait for a minimum to be cashed out or anything but there is the risk for a charge back. This is when a jerk will donate an amount of money for a specific reason, and then and they charge back. A great way to look at this is having buyers remorse. The best thing you can do is have chat logs ready and protect yourself. I always encourage people to use bits or even sub because they get something back from that. Now charge backs might depend on the streamer there have been times Ive seen streamers have REGULARS charge back when they don’t get their own way. There is no streamer big or small that is protected from this however the better notes you keep the better chance you have of this person not being successful in getting their money returned.

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Free Ways


Here are some ways that you can help your favorite streamers that are TOTALLY FREE. I mean lets be honest, using your time is not exactly free and some streamers even view it as more important then subscribing or being a help financially (*Cough* Me *Cough*). Viewers make a stream even if they don’t feel like it. Having many viewers can bring in folks who are capable of supporting financially and building a community stronger as well too. Let’s jump in and explore the ways!

Chatting
Pretty self explanatory. As we all know streamers love when chats are active and engaging. Its never fun when chat can be dead and quiet so just by being there and contributing to to the stream and welcoming new viewers can be a huge help as well too.

Lurking
Though this may be a bit harder and more chilled it can still help a streamer. I do a lot of lurking while I’m writing my blog posts for example. Though it doesn’t give a lot back it still helps the streamer you want to support by putting their numbers up a bit higher on the viewer list to bring in potentially new viewers. You do not need to be an active chatter (Though it helps, we understand you have a life outside of being an active viewer!).

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Sharing Social Medias
This can be huge! It can help reach potential new viewers and sharing the stream is a great way to do so. Whether you are retweeting a live tweet or following their socials or sharing the stream with friends it all helps. The more reach someone has the easier it is for growth. Word of mouth is a powerful way to help a streamer who you enjoy watching their content to reach new heights. Legit free with a click of a button!

Active in their Discord
Discords are a great way to connect with a community of a streamer you enjoy. Discords being dead can be super hard to bring new people in but they are a great central place to get the useful information from a streamer out to their community. Even checking in and contributing to conversations is great and a fun way to meet members as well who also enjoy things. Even make some new friends as well!

Clips
Clips is another great way to help support a streamer for free. Whether or not that make YouTube videos with them or they are used across social medias as well too. They are a great way to clip memorable moments in a stream to share with others. Especially for different commands that streamers use for moments and to help make streams more interactive too!

As you can see there is MANY MANY MANY ways to support streamers that doesn’t require money and some that do. Don’t feel like just being a viewer is not enough. If it wasn’t for viewers whether they support financially or not streamers wouldn’t be where they are today without the viewer!

Choosing an Org or Stream Team

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Why join an org/team?
Thinking about joining an Org or Stream team can be a daunting task. You hear of MAJOR teams such as G2, TSM, FaZe and plenty of other ones but there are some smaller Orgs/Teams out there that are more the willing to give people their 1st shot as well as help them grow as a content creator. It goes without saying though, not all teams, especially the smaller ones will have your best interest at heart. Most are simply trying to make it bigger, and bring as many people along the way to help them promote the team for free.

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How to pick one?
My first stream team that I was on was pretty young in the progression process. I was part of a support for support community and they branched out into E-sports, Well they wanted to. The reason why I left this team was because there was a lot of empty promises as well as negativity coming from the owners. Putting blame on the stream team when their viewer numbers were low. I decided to leave somewhere else and find the current one what I was with named Vanquish. They are established, They have some Pro teams currently and a lot of content creators. They did a lot of charity work at the time as well as helped the streamers. However when some of the bigger admins and leaders changed the team lost a bit of sight from that.

When picking a stream team you need to look at where the team is and what you want to be doing. For example, The first team I was on, obviously wouldn’t be as established as they were since they were just in the beginning stages of growth. Barely having a twitter, talking about a website, clips for YouTube and whatever else. They were just starting with not a lot of experience in the field. I felt like I was being held back since you cant really promote another team while on one (See more on this in the next paragraph). I wrote out a quick thank you for the opportunity and applied to Vanquish. I choose Vanquish (And they also accepted me of course!) because I knew a few people who were also on the team. I haven’t heard anything bad about the team and they seem to be doing things. They put their streamers on front page for charity events. They are around for the competitive scene with certain games like Fortnite, Apex, and games I had no idea about due to never hearing them before. They help one another and even have a sponsor through GamerSupps drinks. They have merch and have been established as well. I felt what better way team to be a part of though than this.

*** 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.

When picking a team, pick a team that will suit YOUR needs. If you want to be part of a professional/competitive scene, choose one that is known for that. If you want to join one with similar lifestyles then choose another one like that. If you want to join one with more of content creation side choose that one!
There are many teams out there however remember that they also probably have requirements to join ie: Stream x number of hours per week, Have to be affiliate, use a webcam, above a certain age, stream x number of hours on their verified (or not) channel, and other ones as well too.

Respecting the Team?
When joining a stream team or org it is important to learn about the team and respect the team too. Number one would be respect the other members. There most likely will be different streamers for all walks of life, playing many different games from the most popular to indie ones. No one person is better then another and you should respect everyone on there, regardless of what games they are playing.
Another thing is focus on ONE team and not multiple ones. Nothing looks more unprofessional then when you are representing a team but you have multiple others in your panels or bio’s across social medias.
Also, If your team you are representing has a sponsor ie: Say you are being represented by GamerSupps on your team. And you have a panel there, Do not start drinking a competitor on streams. When you do this it looks extremely wonky as well too. If you are personally sponsored by a company talk to your team about it being a conflict of interest. Show that you are fully dedicated to the team instead of sending mixed messages of conflicting sponsors. Not to mention from a sponsor standpoint, They may be less inclined to extent the sponsorship status to the team if they see these types of things happening as well too.

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Leaving an Org?
This also ties into the previous paragraph as well too. Be respectful! If you feel like an Org isn’t going the way you want it or that it is holding it back, leave. But do so respectfully. I have seen in certain situations where a person would write this huge story and publically post it in hopes they go down in a blaze of glory. Don’t do this. Not to mention if another org you are trying to get in happens to look at your socials and sees you being rude like this towards a previous org it doesn’t make you look like an appealing member they would want to bring on to the team. Keep it classy when trying to leave somewhere as well. If you need to say something and a reason for leaving then direct messaging someone would be a great way to start instead of doing it in public!

How to make the most out of an Org/Stream team
The major misconception that people make when joining a team is they EXPECT support. That doesn’t happen. Remember that teams can be extremely helpful, but you will only get what you put into them. If you don’t visit streams or support other members then don’t expect them to visit you. Though teams are a great tool to be a part of meeting a lot of different individuals who might have the same ideas for streaming as well too. If there are events happening mention you would like to take part in them, If they have an official channel to stream on, stream there, You will only get what you put into it!

Graphics, Are they important?

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Graphics can be a great way to showcase who you are and what you like when it comes to your stream. Normally partners on any platform, as well as anyone wanting to showcase their brand through photos normally customized to their ideas. This can be panels, online and offline screens, intros and outros and overlays as well too. Though this might sound overwhelming don’t be alarmed, Everyone has to start somewhere and you don’t need to have the fanciest things to begin with. A lot of streamers start with basics and move forward as they progress in the streaming world or when more money comes in. As any type of graphics will normally cost money. Getting something for free can be a good way to wait a long time for them.

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First, If you are a new streamer, make sure that the first thing you do, IF ANYTHING is to change your profile picture. Far too many times I see people tweeting and trying to get viewers, when they don’t even have a profile picture. Whether you put a photo of food, or your photo, adding a profile photo and not keeping it the default photo is a great way to show what you are about. Maybe you have a custom logo made, maybe you have a pet or something else you enjoy, changing your profile photo demonstrates you know what you are doing (even if you are pretending!).

*** 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.

Secondly, Don’t pay a crap load of money for panels JUST YET. There is a lot of free sites out there such as Nerd or Die where you can actually make your own panels. Nerd or Die is a prime example of a website that you can make even very basic panels for your live streaming needs. They are available to anyone so there isn’t much customization BUT its a great way to put place holders there and show that you are growing in the industry. I actually used this site and made my panels that way. Its easy to change and helps you not to stress over the customized graphics (Just yet) when it comes to building your channel.

Next is overlays. You have overlays that again, you can pay money for and have a decent overlay customized for you. Or you ca go to some sites where you can purchase an overlay that is also available to other people too so customization may not be as personal. Some sites even have packages for specific panels and overlays that you can buy for a cheaper price. I would check if possible, the popularity of the package though. You don’t want to use the same panels and overlays as all of your friends or people you watch either. You can have an overlay on your screen as well as a cam boarder. This is where you can display your stats like recent followers, subscribers, tips as well as other things that you wish.

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Another thing I would suggest when it comes to thinking about the graphics for your channel. Go into this with an idea of some sort. Not saying that artists aren’t creative or anything but if you go into this with an idea or a concept then it can make things run a lot smoother. When I went into wanting my emotes made I had the names and a few examples of something similar that I wanted. I sent them to my emote artist and she did a fantastic job on them. It can also do a lot in helping the artist as well save time. If you give them a basic concept, And they do something you aren’t fond of then they now have to go back and revise what they did. Now, yes that is part of their job is to refine what you asked but it can save so much time in the long run if you go in with a particular style or even a mascot with who you want. I am going to be personally saving my twitch pays for the next few months I would estimate perhaps.. 6-9 months given that I get pay outs every 3 to save to re-invest into the stream. I’m in no rush because for me I typically sketch out an idea and refine it over time so that an artist has a pretty clear idea of what I want and they can then put their own style onto it!

A HUGE thing to remember when looking for an artist. Nothing in life is free and you get what you pay for. If you are looking for a cheap and easy artist chances are you will get the run in to a lot of various issues with creating your design. Artists take a lot of time when making these creations for our streams some even have many years of schooling behind them. Do you have a friend who has had their graphics done and you loved the work their artist has done? Hit that artist up. One thing that is huge in getting your name out there as an artist is word of mouth. From sharing and having great emotes and overlays and things. Look at AdmiralBahroo, He is known not just for his streams but his iconic emotes as well too. You may have seen them around, the ones with the panda mascot. The power of great graphics is similar to having a great impression via word of mouth. If you use a site like Fiverr as well too, Make sure you check the artist reviews, what they will provide, revisions and whatever else you are looking for. If you get a weird feeling from someone by reading their profile or portfolio (which you should be asking for examples as well too!) If you don’t like something keep searching. There is no rush when finding an artist to make your vision become a reality.

Also this almost should go without needing mentioning, If you cannot afford emotes/graphics/overlays DO NOT STEAL THEM! If you see someone on twitch or where ever with the same emotes as you, report them. Ask how they got them. Question things. So often you see people using others designs because they wanted an easy way our. Streamers and artists are also responsible for this. Streamers if you notice that you have a product that is plagiarized then remove it. Question your artist. And Artists if you use someone else’s artwork. Shame on you as well too.

Regardless of how you want your vision to come to life remember, Not everyone had the money to pay hundreds of dollars for graphics their first stream. Save your money and invest in someone who you trust and you enjoy their work! Ask around and don’t be afraid to ask your artist questions as well too. Don’t spend a lot of money on a “Maybe” if the artist isn’t sure they can produce results!

Should I check my Analytics?

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Before I even begin. If you are a streamer who legit only wants to be casual and feels there is no need to grow or you are only looking at this as a hobby with a few friends who game together or maybe even you have streamer friends and you want to just join in on the fun, this might not be a blog post for you. There is NOTHING wrong with that. A lot of people just stream for the fun and have no desire to pursue anything from this either. Believe it or not, I even felt this way before I started really getting into streaming. A few people I knew did it and I though why not. I can do that too. And would just go live from my PlayStation whenever I was gaming. I had no desire to really keep going or to make something out of this but here we are today! I will be breaking this blog as many before it into paragraphs no particular importance but things that are important (in my opinion) when exploring this side of streaming.

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Why do I want to look at my Analytics?
This is a super valid question I think to ask. Why? Are you looking at this because you are curious about growth? Are you looking because you want to know where you can improve? Or are you looking just because you can? I used to look at my stats just for a curiosity sake. I didn’t really care much about growth I just looked and seen what happened and then I wouldn’t focus too much about them. Now that I want to see how I am growing I look at them frequently and keep track of things I’m doing that might help or hinder the growth of my channel.

**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.

Where can I look at my Analytics?
The main way to look at them would be on your twitch dashboard. There is a section of where you can see stream lengths as well as followers, subscribers, etc. There is also lots of websites out there as well such as:
Social Blade: https://socialblade.com/
or
SullyGnome: https://sullygnome.com/
You can go back further with these then you can the twitch dashboard but its a great way to compare other things. Also Social blade has the opportunity to check other platforms and not just twitch as well too. They can be a great way to see how you are doing in the space of your choosing.

How do I analyze my Analytics?
The best way is to look at what you want to analyze. I would also suggest NOT looking at money. At least in the beginning. Subscribers can fluctuate a lot and to analyze these numbers a lot can make you feel horrible since you cannot control who and how many subscribers you will have at certain times. If money is your goal as well talking about this a lot in your stream can really push people away if they don’t see your vision. A great way to start is viewer average. That’s what I focus on anyways though. Subscribers are great to check up on occasionally but Its something you cant really focus on though. Its also great if say you are focusing on viewers, Say you use sullygnome and you can see how your viewers were and what you were playing at the time as well too. Since that is also important. Maybe you are trying to expand your channel and you want to see which games work, Or branch out into a totally different direction.

Remember as well, Regardless of what you are doing or analyzing, you have to be doing this for a period of time. Its not enough to just analyze things for a week and say there you go not working. Sometimes things take time, Starting a new giveaway for your regular viewers, playing new games, focusing on one game away from when you started, things of that nature. I have been keeping track of my stats though some months that were not very well that it’s good to see growth. Its also important to remember that not every month will be the same. You will have some that are amazing and others that may fall flat from expectations. That’s also okay. I know depending on my life and mind frame sometimes I am way to lazy and preoccupied to keep track. But none the less that is not that big of a problem as I normally step it up the next few months!

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Also before ending this, know that even if you decide to track stats and things. The important thing is to have fun streaming. If you aren’t having fun and focus too much on numbers that almost will always translate into your streams. And with twitch (Not entirely sure about mixer) On the dashboard you can actually click away some stats like your viewers, views, followers etc. That way if you are noticing you are focusing too much on numbers then you can hide them from sight. I normally do this with viewers and than if I feel like looking at the number occasionally I hover my mouse over the hidden area and it will show in a tiny bubble. That way its not staring me in the face if I have a slower stream one day then the next as well too!

And lastly, Stats DO NOT make you. Its great as an indicator if you are on the right path or need to change some things in your channel, but it does not mean you are a success or failure. As mentioned before if you don’t give a damn about your stats that is okay too. If you want to keep growing and focusing a bit more on the analytics then this is a great way to start. I know for me I love lists and seeing how I am doing  but if I slip up a little bit I also don’t get too stressed about that as well. Since we all know outside of streaming we have a life, Its okay to take it easy on stats a month. Remember though, Being the most consistent will help with your overall picture too !

Mental Health and Streaming

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Mental health and streaming can have a very fine line between them. Streaming can also be a huge in opening the lines of communication when it comes to mental health due to the broad audiences that can be brought together to talk about things.

Before I even begin I think I should mention that this is one of the MOST if not IS the most important thing to remember when it comes to streaming and mental health is this:
STREAMERS ARE NOT THERAPISTS AND VIEWERS ARE NOT THERAPISTS.

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It is very easily for a viewer to forget that streamers are not therapists especially if a streamer is very open with a community. You build a relationship and connection with them or their other viewers too. Mind you, Normally streamers don’t mind hearing about a shitty day you had, however there is no need to jump into the details of that either. For me sometimes I mention if I’m asked how my day was I say not the greatest but here to relax and turn it around. Which is a great way to kind of mention your feelings and yet not bring down the damper of the chat. Also, by not being super specific you aren’t putting any pressure on people to try to fix the situation. Some streamers don’t mind hearing about the details but you don’t want to make the whole tone of the stream go down either. Remember, This is not your stream. And sometimes if you are close to a specific person with in the community sending a message would be more beneficial to a person/friend then airing everything out in chat while a content creator is live.

*** 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!

Now the flip side to this, Streamers, Don’t treat your viewers like they are your therapists. Sure, a lot of streamers who start their streams will talk about their day so far or some things that happen. And that’s okay. What is wrong (In my opinion) is when a streamer spends the next 6 hours repeating the same complaint or problems waiting for chat to magically give them an answer to fix said problem when they could have probably taken the day off of streaming and dealt with whatever their issue was for the day. It can really put a damper on streams not to mention, If you have viewers who have come to your stream to get away from a problem they may be having, coming to a stream that might not change their mood or mind off of something (Even if temporarily) might be a quick way for them to go else where. I know someone who once wanted to have their stream as an “open mental health channel”. What did it turn out to be? It turned out to be them complaining and talking about the negatives in their life for weeks and months to their viewers and then again feeling bad in tweets and things why they never seen any growth.

This also includes trama dumping. This is when a viewer will come into a streamer who is live, and talk about their major issues for the day, week, month and put the streamer on the spot or even their chat to respond. This also includes when celebrities pass away and viewers come into chat to announce that yes, so and so has passed away. This is something that is entirely unfair to the streamer since we have no idea the relationship or meaning that these statements can have on them especially while they are live.

There are great opportunities to however mix streams with Mental health days, Where chat can vent about issues and streamers kind of moderate them. Coping strategies are great as well too since everyone copes differently and hearing how others have overcome adverse issues in their lives. There is a time and place for things and sometimes streamers even have a specific spot in their discords for things like this as well too. If you know a streamer who has these days tune in, you may be able to learn a few strategies that could help you with anything you may be seeking some help with.

Another thing to remember, As a streamer, You are ALLOWED to take a day off. Whether you are sick, mentally drained, or simply put you don’t feel like streaming. From someone on the outside streaming looks easy, or fun, or no strain whatsoever on a person. That would be wrong. Trying to entertain people for a period of time can be emotionally draining and taxing to someone. And there is a good chance if your day is going crummy and you hit that live button you will also project onto your stream that you are in a bad mood. Sometimes its easier for us to click live for fear we are feeling bad or “Grinding” out time. Take time to have a break. Don’t apologize if you don’t want to. For me myself, I have missed quite a few streams in the last few weeks why? I have had my 2nd child and trying to balance a newborn, with a toddler, and a blog, and a crafting business I would like to get started too. Do I post late if streams aren’t happening? Normally. Do I feel bad? You bet. But at the end of the day, I’m not going to sacrifice myself missing out on sleep (or sanity) in order stream.

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Whatever you decide to have an open line of communication in your streams or you are a viewer seeking this. It is totally okay. In today’s world mental health should be in the open and the stigma should be gone. That being said, no amount of venting in streams or in discords will help the same way as a licensed therapist or psychologist would. There are just some situations when you actually have to seek professional help in case there is deeper meaning or reasons why someone feels the way they do. It is totally okay to reach out to others but as people who become friends online, or sometimes in cases seem like family, unless we have proper school and credentials it can be extremely hard to help someone. Even if you have dealt with the same situation os even similar, one way does not fit all when dealing with mental health. Though a lot of times listening to a problem can be a huge help. It isn’t always the only thing that someone may need.

And, Last but not least again, TAKE DAYS OFF IF YOU NEED TO! Don’t force yourself to stream or really do anything if you aren’t feeling it. Sure its okay to feel bad, However self care is IMPORTANT in anyone’s life. No matter what the profession, Taking a personal day is great for anyone!