Tag Archives: Streaming Advice

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!

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!