Tag Archives: twitch streaming

Begging for Money? Subs? Does it work?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Unspoken Rules of Streaming

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Different from streaming don’ts here is a few of the unspoken rules of streaming. Each subject will be from a streamer perspective to a viewer perspective as well. Being a streaming and understanding a viewers standpoint is just as important as streaming itself. The better that you can understand your audience the easier you will understand streaming. These are the time of things that you normally will not know until you do it yourself or you see it done. I say this because a lot of people who want to start do not really research it before hand, they simply click their “Go Live” button and hope for the best. Which is totally fine, however you do not want to be caught in a place where it can be awkward or you find yourself doing one of these tacky unspoken rules.

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No Self Promo
Streamer: DO NOT DO THIS. SERIOUSLY. There are a few things that look worse then when you go to a stream, or are the streamer, And you have someone random come into your chat to comment about their personal streams. As a streamer DO NOT do this to other streams. This includes veiled Self Promo ie: “Yeah I’m about to start the stream, have a great day though” Blah blah blah. Change this to “Heading to do a few things” or “I have to run for a bit, I might be back later” but do not self promo. Its a quick way to be scolded if not timed out or banned in a channel. This includes channels you may frequent every day. Chances are if you are close to the streamer they will talk about your stream when they pop in on their own terms. Not on yours.

Viewer: Don’t go into another streamers streams and shout out your friends and their streams. It looks tacky and does not help your friends. Not to mention its a great way for the channel you promo yourself/friends in to troll the promoted channel. This also includes if you are commenting on other streams. Its one thing to be in a stream but it’s another to be like “Oh so and so went live, Imma dip”. These don’t always make the streamer feel great. Sometimes we have to remember that the golden rule is key here.

*** 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!

Talking about others while live
Streamer: Talking about other streamers when you are live is a quick way to be clipped and called out. It starts unnecessary drama and shouldn’t happen. Do you ever see HUGE partnered streamers talking about each other? Not normally. There is a reason for this. As much as there is a large percent that does like drama, or to hear the latest juice, there is also a larger part that does not want to join a stream to hear the streamer

Viewer: Stop trying to bait streamers into talking about another person. A big reason for this is you look foolish and drama fueled. Whats worse is that people will go to streamers chats and do this in order to bait these clips above as well too. If you try to do this which I STRONGLY would suggest not to. Respect the streamer. If they ask to drop the subject or not to talk about that here. Do it. Or again you risk being banned or timed out. Streamers have enough drama on their plate they don’t need to be baited into creating more. Politics and Religion are other topics that are widely known to not be spoken in twitch chats. Mostly due to the fact that so many people have various views on this and chat can become very sour very quick. Another reason is when you talk about these particular topics (Though any topic can also generate this) it normally becomes personal. Something a streamer may just not have the time to deal with when the time comes so the best practice is to avoid it all together. (Unless specifically stating that your channel is about this subject)

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Back Seat Gaming:
This can be super tricky I would say a major rule of thumb would be to look at the tags at the bottom of the stream. If you do not see these tags it may just be safe to assume that the streamer DOES NOT want any spoilers or help. Twitch has tags where you can see if streamers are encouraging backseat gaming, or no spoilers or no back seating. Remember also that a lot of streamers do in fact talk out loud and they might appear to be asking for help but they aren’t really though. Before spilling the secrets of a boss fight or how to conquer the next aspect of a series of segments in a tough game, ASK. Or wait and see how the chat is. Normally a regular (If that’s not you) will help or will comment on ways to help.

Being Creepy/Asking way to personal questions OR  Hitting on streamer
Nobody likes this shit. Some times people forget that streamers DON’T want to talk about their life on stream. While others don’t mind it at all. Being creepy and trying to make something bigger with a streamer can make things super awkward. And what is awkward for one person is not for the next. For me I HATE when people call me baby or babe. My BF doesn’t even call me that and it makes me extremely uncomfortable. That being said I’m sure that there are streamers who actually enjoy this as well too. It really takes a lot of skill to read a streamer and what makes them feel icky. Not to mention if they have a web cam then you can NORMALLY see visibly if they are uncomfortable with the topic. This also means prying for personal information. If a question is asked once and the streamer declines replying, OR if they ignore the question, This is also a great indicator that they do not wish to respond. Some streamers just do not want their personal side to be showing to everyone and are hiding that. There is nothing wrong with that!

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Talking about viewer numbers
Streamers:
This can also be a tricky one. I know a lot of people do not like to hear their viewer counts in fact a lot of people turn them off. It is however a great indicator on how you are doing though in terms of growth. As a streamer a lot of times people don’t want to hear viewers it can make them focus too much on them and it can make them nervous and not relaxed. Sometimes people also get a host with a bunch of viewers as well too and you don’t want to make it awkward in that sense by mentioning it. Whether they have a whole lot of viewers or a smaller number then normal. I normally turn off the viewer counts because when it is a slower day I focus too much on it and become quiet. However depending on my mood I do leave it on from time to time as well too!

Viewers:
Nothing is a big damper when someone comes in chat and points out “Where are all your viewers gone” or “Whoa how did you get so many viewers”. Let people live in the moment. This falls under the same category when viewers come into chat and comment how quiet the chat is. Sometimes chat is just quiet. Maybe there is a lot of lurkers for the day? It honestly just depends. But going into someones chat to point these out can really put a damper on how the stream is going.

Regardless, These are all valuable tips from both streamer and viewer perspectives brought to you by folks in the community! Be mindful and remember, If you aren’t being constructive, And you think your comment might hurt someone, Is it worth even saying it!

One Game Streamers VS Variety

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When it comes to streaming it can be extremely hard to find your “Niche”. I asked this question on twitter and the results seem to be overwhelming. Ill lay out the two sides and then at the end say what the majority had thought as well too.

One Game Streamers

Picking one game to play can have many good or bad reasons. One good reason is you can pick a game (Mind you saturation somewhat does have a factor here as well too) and You can build a community around one game and grow on this. Plus side is you gain regular viewers because they are normally seeking out a person who plays this specific type of game. They know what to expect. Keeping in mind, Whether you play a game that is over saturated or one that is under saturated you still have to put in the work and the time it takes to bring viewers to come into your stream. Playing a game like Fortnite, or Apex or Dead by Daylight, that has some of the top viewers on the directory can be hard to make your place. Unless you are a professional player/competitive player, or extremely funny, It can be hard to make a footprint there.

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There is also A LOT of risk if you stick to one game. Say this game is new, taking off and some what popular. You play this game every single day. And one day the it flops. Whether the fan base disappears, The developers pull the plug (Which we all know too well on games and companies in the gaming space) and now what? Do you try a brand new game? Stick this out til its gone? Find a similar like game to start playing? It really depends. You have to also ask yourself this “Have I built this community big enough and been personal enough with them that they will watch me play anything?”. If the answer is yes normally you can switch games easily because folks aren’t there to watch game play, they are there to see YOU. And that is just a bonus if they like the game.

Variety Streamers

Now you have the flip side of this, Variety streamers. These streamers play any game they want and aren’t limited to anything other then what they want to play. Again, they have pros and cons. A pro would be you wont get bored of games. When you do get bored you just flip to a different game and play that. Mind you variety can be great if a game you frequent is not that great and you just switch games. Though building a community could be extremely hard for the simple fact that you are always changing games. And changing games so differently like going from a Battle Royale, to a Team game, Then you flip to an Indie game and a simulator game it can be quite challenging. Though you might pick up a follower or two while doing this you have to really drive home who YOU ARE personality wise to keep that viewer coming back.

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Being a variety streamer in my opinion means having to really lay on who you are. Connect with your viewers on a personal level. I’m not saying go out and spill your entire life story or social insurance numbers. For example, I share A LOT with my stream, But I also don’t share a lot either. Like what the name of my BF is, Or my family names for example. But we talk about life and issues that happen to be happening in my life as well as my viewers as well too. I think this makes people want to come back due to being able to relate to you as well. Finding the balance between disclosing certain information and not disclosing others can be really tricky. Give it time though and patience with yourself and you will find the right balance for your stream too!

Genre Streamers

These are streamers who stick to one genre and only one. Which I would also consider a type of variety. These people stick to team games, MMOs, battle royales, simulators, really anything from horror to indie games too. They play something similar enough that people enjoy their content and will watch normally since the games aren’t that drastically different. A lot of people dabble in this version of Variety and it seems to be a successful one for them as well too.

As you can see there really is a lot to streaming, Especially the type of content that you want to put out as well too. Personally, I stream variety. HOWEVER I would say I do main the game Dead By Daylight which will again change if you have been following my stream, now in 2022 I am primarily focusing on arts and crafting as streams. I will play games like Overwatch, Stardew Valley, as well as simulators and random games here and there. Making a switch in games can be really hard and challenging however if you let your viewers know and plan plan plan like I have with my main game of DBD to Arts and Crafts it can be more forgiving than just giving it a go blindly.

Now on to what twitter says. They have basically agreed across the board that Variety OR genre streaming is the best way to go. A lot of people even made the comments that they could not see themselves playing a single game for a long period of time as they would probably be extremely bored from this. Which can be extremely taxing especially if the game is going south or has a bunch of bugs suddenly. Twitter seems to agree that having multiple games or at least a few that are rotated around them makes the streaming experience easier because when you are bored with a game the whole stream feels it as well.

*** 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.

I think regardless of your choice, A streamer should always remember that whether you play a bunch of game or just one there is a lot of behind the scenes things that need to be done. As was mentioned in previous blogs, There really is so much to do. It is not enough to just turn on the going live button and hoping for the best. And whether you decide to play just one game for years you are always able to change up your style if you feel that it is needed. The streaming world is constantly changing, therefore we need to adapt and change things where we see fit! And there is no magic formula for streaming. Just have fun and play what you want to ultimately!

Why I Decided to Re-Vamp My Streaming Blogs

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This may come as a shock to some of you, However before I went kind of the parenting and lifestyle route for blogging I was aiming to be a streaming blogger. I was continuing to post 2x per week however I was writing ONLY about streaming. My reasoning for this was I wanted to produce content when my 1st son was born and where I was a streamer I thought I had to do something similar. Fast forward to now, nearly 2 years later and I am having far more success with my lifestyle and random blogs than I ever did with streaming. There is many reasons for this which I will explore in the coming bodies of text however I think there could be some valuable information hidden in these that maybe just are hard for people to find due to their lack of SEO, tags, or whatever else have you! I know as a blogger I have so much to learn and so far to go to make this a viable source of income however I think it could be a great way to recycle content and bring back some new content and eyes to the blog also!

One of the hardest parts of content is well, making content! So often whatever you choose to do you may find yourself like me, getting stuck and trying to do the same thing over and over again. To the point it feels super repetitive. This is why I switched subjects in blogging because after writing blog after blog about streaming I felt like I Was starting to either run out of ideas, or I was finding I was repeating the same things over and over again and that is just not where I would like to be. In turn I found myself slacking and missing schedule blog days because it just was not working for me. Being a content creator is hard. We are always looking at ways to re-invent ourselves and make it so that people see things new and fresh from us consistently. People do not realize just how hard it can be to be a content creator, I know I felt that way with blogging when I was getting little to no one reading my blogs even though I felt the content was useful.

**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.


While on Twitter one day I seen someone post about a tweet that may have flopped. What they said was if you post something you think has value, and maybe it flopped for whatever reason, be it wrong time of day, wrong audience, worded wrong, take it down, and re-post it at a different time. This really stuck with me and makes me think of blogging about streaming for all of those months. Sure, I was super new and felt like just posting a blog about streaming would some how gain followers or viewers. I was sadly wrong. At the time I had no idea what Search Engine Optimization was (SEO) and I still really don’t all that much. However I am learning more and more about what I can do to make my blogs become easily available to many readers instead of waiting to be found. I wrote about streaming for so long and feel like they are just sitting in my archives collecting missed opportunities that I feel like it may be time to re-vamp them and spice them up a bit for the new year. I can take my time and find out proper tags and titles that can bring people into the blog. Even though currently I am trying to get back into streaming after having a new baby in the recent months and streaming is kind of on the back burner, I think this could be a great way to share the knowledge that I have with others in hopes they don’t make the same mistakes that I did when I started! The fact is streaming is not for everyone, but there is so many tools out there to help you decide or become successful that if you only know where to look you will find it a lot easier!

Here is what I am going to do starting in 2022. I will be taking some older, more popular blogs that I had written about streaming. I do not have the amount to go weekly here however I do have quite a few that I will be re-vamping or tweeking a little bit to add into a bi-weekly feature. These blogs will be released again on Sunday’s and hopefully with the knowledge that I have made in terms of blogging it can reach a new batch of folks who may be looking for their own tips and tricks in terms of streaming. I know I am still learning about streaming in so many ways that having a batch of ideas in one spot for others to see would be a huge thing I think especially if some things were updated and what not too. It also will help to put out a little extra content in the blog periodically through the year!

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In short, I am really excited to hopefully see this used information re-done and brought back to life. I think it could be a huge way for me to recycle information and bring back some of my first blogs back to life. I was so naive when it came to blogging I legit had no idea what I was doing. I just posted and hoped for the best. Now with some knowledge over the past 2 years I cannot wait and see if there is a difference between the quality and how well it will be received! And if there is no difference obviously I need to go back to the drawing board and majorly look over some successful tips for blogging!

Have you gone back through and tried to re-write or re-vamp some of your old blogs?

Did you find a big difference between the originals and the new ones?

Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear your experiences!

4 Things You Need For Streaming in 2021

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If you are unaware about what streaming is which is totally possible, you might be living under a rock, respectfully of course. Streaming is a way for people to connect with the world right from the comforts of their own homes. Whether or not they are playing video games, chatting, doing art or anything they want really. There is a few basics that you should do though if you want to take the plunge into streaming. In order to give yourself the best shot at success at least. Remember also, you do not need the most expensive equipment in order to be successful however having any of these is better than none. Even if you start with a lower end item you can always upgrade and get the higher end models as well when things are accessible.

The 1st two things can be debatable however way you want to look at it. Get yourself a solid camera. They have cheaper ones and they have higher end ones. For me, I started on PS4 and had to use the camera that they offered. However I moved up to a bit better one which was about 80 dollars and now I used the Logitech c922. This is a lower end/mid tier camera however it can go on sale quite a bit so you can watch for that and save yourself a few dollars also. Then you have the higher end cameras that you need special hook up’s and cords to be able to charge the camera while using it and set them up. I have no idea how to do this as it is far above what I make streaming. Though if I wanted to upgrade I would ask my boyfriend for them for holidays as a gift or I would save the few dollars that I make streaming in order to upgrade my equipment also. Having a webcam will immediately set yourself above the streamers who do now have a webcam. At least starting out. If you see streamers who do not have a webcam and are successful that is fine. However chances are they did start by using a webcam and grew their audience. At some point they would have realized having a camera while streaming does not add any value so they stopped. One of the main reasons besides being live that people want to watch live streams is the interaction. You can see a streamer getting scared, laughing, facial cues and other things also. Personally I never started with a webcam I waited to get my Playstation 3 one after I hit 250 followers because I wanted to be able to know I was serious or semi-serious about this before dumping money into it.

Next which interchanges with having a camera is having good audio quality. That being said, Do not go out and buy 300$ headphones because they will not make you a better streamer. For a long time I started using headphones that were just ear buds from a gas station. Then I upgraded to a pair of razer krakens when I got a capture card and still used the earbuds but I used it for myself to be able to talk to my chat and razer krakens for the stream. You do not need to have expensive headphones. Not to mention, there are plenty of things that you can also do in order to make your sound more crisper, clear, etc. This being said. If you are planning to stream, Remember that having a quiet environment, relaxed, and peaceful can sometimes be great also. No one wants to sit there in the middle of a stream when you have your kids running around and yelling, if you are unable to find a time to stream that accommodates this maybe putting this dream or hobby on hold is best. Another thing to be mindful of is that stream/game audio is not louder than yourself or vice versa. Check clips or vods to make sure that your sound is the best it can possibly be also.

Scheduling streams is important even if you are just starting out. The only way scheduling is not important is if you have absolutely no desire to grow or maintain anything don’t worry about this. However if you want to grow somewhat I would suggest starting with a schedule, even if this is only 2 days a week. On top of that, if you have a job that doesnt allow for a set schedule you can always start and post a stream schedule once a week to update it every week. You have to let people know when you are live even if it changes or else people won’t want to find you as easily. Play around with times maybe you have more viewers different time zones, or times of the day even. Maybe evenings are worse than mornings for you. Or maybe you only have very specific times due to prior life commitments. For me I stream evenings once my son goes to bed, However once I have my second child I know they will change slightly but I will still do my best to try and be consistent though!

Lastly, streaming more will not make you more successful. You need to be putting content out to many different platforms in order to be successful. There are millions of streamers that go live daily from hundreds of thousands of countries across the world. If you are only streaming on twitch that is just not enough to be successful. Whether or not you try and put content out on twitter, or tiktok or instagram putting content on other places other than twitch would do a lot of good in terms of growth.

So there you have it. Streaming really does not have to be hard. Whether or not you are streaming on a playstation or you are streaming directly from a PC or even an xbox, you only need to do a few things in order to set yourself apart and begin the journey.

Do you know what streaming is?
Would you give it a shot or are you completely not interested in it?

Let me know in the comments below!

– Stacey

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Should you be a content creator?

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Since the beginning of Covid it seems like there has been a lot of people who want to try out the world of streaming and online content creation. With people being laid off and losing their jobs due to work places preventing them from working to help break the spread people think content creation is easy and the way to go. Here is a few things you might want to ask yourself before you begin. They might not be easy questions and some of the answers might be hard to hear but still they need to be asked regardless.

One huge question you should ask yourself is Why? Why do you want to start online content creation? Is it because you want to get rich quick (Which let’s face it, will not happen fast and there will be more about that later!) Or because you want to make a bigger impact on the world or even an impact as an influencer too.

What type of influencer or content creator would you like to be is one of the most valid questions you should ask yourself. Do you want to be a different person and create a persona or would you like to be genuine and yourself? Not to mention, Where do you want to produce content too, Youtube, Twitch or Facebook? Do you want to grow on Instagram or Twitter? When I first started streaming, I could have told you that I wanted to be a partnered streamer and see how that realm of creation works. Now, I would tell you I want to be a successful writer and blogger with streaming on the side as well.

There are many different skills or qualities you need in order to be successful in creating content for the world direct on the web. Some generic answers for this would be you should have some type of a sense of humor and charismatic personality. You also should understand the space you are trying to break into. And a huge if not one of the most important qualities would be to understand that this is the internet and there will be people who do not like you. They will troll you and direct hate towards you for many reasons. How you handle this can ultimately decide your happiness. People will hate or be rude towards you for anything from your appearance or even sound of your voice or way you put out videos or blogs or photos too. Ignore them. Having haters is typically a sign that you are doing well!

Doing some research and finding a niche will ultimately be a challenge for anyone. For example: If you are looking to become a streamer and want to play the game with the most viewers on Twitch chances are you will find a really tough time breaking in unless you are a pro player and absolute god in the game. Another would be if you want to be a blogger and if you don’t research. I stared this blog on Streaming and without thinking, streamers probably are more likely to watch a YouTube video instead of reading a blog about it. Switched to Lifestyle/Parenting/etc and my blog seems to be slowly flourishing when I should have did a bit more research into it. I also had no idea the importance of pinterest in blogging and growth either and that was a whole year wasted (Not really since I did learn more!) that I should have been pinning and helping drive traffic here. I also didn’t use any tags either which didn’t do me any favors.

Here is the question everyone is asking and probably thinking it is easy to get. Will I make money at creating content? The short answer is No, Not right away. Nothing is quick and it will take you a long time to grow your brand and make people want to tip you or support your content. You are going to have to do a lot to influence folks to want to give you money for whatever reasons. Do you provide a product? Do you provide a service? Entertainment? Or whatever else there might be. I have been streaming for nearly four? or three? (Honestly it feels like ages!) years and right now currently I am making about 25$ per month. That is legit all. And with Twitch you only get paid every time you hid the 100$ threshold. That means I essentially don’t even get a “pay check” every month from them. That is another reason why I wanted to focus a bit more on blogging. Streaming is such a give give give way of making money and the reality is the money you make is never a for sure thing either. You could totally make a modest month worth of cash and the next month make next to nothing. I feel like long term blogging could be the way to make a regular income once I get it grown to where I feel I am able to search the financial side of it though. Just like any job, content creation on whatever platform is not easy. Overnight success is not easy and chances are you will be working hard for a long time for little to no money before you can say that you “made it”.

So before you dive in, Ask yourself if creating content online is right for you. And before you take the plunge into trying to make a living out of this I would recommend NOT quitting your day job. So many people in the time I have been around on twitch along have been trying to make it big just by streaming full time hours. If you want to be successful put content to different platforms and bring others towards different avenues you have created. But NEVER put your own family or livelihood at risk because you think you can make full time hours online. Truth be told, The people I have seen stop and try to stream full time and be successful, are no longer streaming at all anymore.

Have you ever thought about creating content online?
What spots have you wanted to produce content?
Do you have any tips you would like to share with folks too?

Let me know in the comments below!

– Stacey

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What channel bots to use?

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Choosing a bot to stream with can be daunting due to the fact there is really hundreds of bots that have different features and levels of skills required to use them and set them up. Ill be going through the few bots that I have used since I started streaming and ones I am really not a fan of to hopefully help you in making a decision in which to use in your streams!

When I first started streaming (As mentioned in so many blogs previously) I didnt have the monitors or bells and whistles so to speak. I had a TV and my playstation. I had the chat pop up on my screen for a while then switched to having my laptop open with my stream so that I could see what was happening. I started using Vivbot because while I was able to stream from playstation and unable to use overlays (I never got a capture card till way later!) I wanted to use this as it was easy for me to see who was following me so that I was able to thank them for supporting the channel. I also wanted a main bot like Nightbot to put majority of commands that viewers could check out and use when they needed as it wasnt really required to have a PC for it but a lot of streamers seemed to have their stuff and timers there as well too.

Fast forward now, I still use nightbot and the amount of commands it has grown to is INSANE! I try to add the commands that i want to be there forever as it is so versatile. There are commands that are there since my streaming from a playstation day and there are also some that i have added recently. The amount of things that you can do is incredible and whenever i see a cool command from anotehr chat I just take it and put it on my channel. Nightbot, in my opinion has to be one of the most used bots across twitch because it really is user friendly as well too. Now that I am on a PC I also use streamlabs chat bot. I use this for my timers, temporary and perminent as well, and I also use it for my hcat games like heisting and betting too. Its a bit more complicated to set up while I have had a friend do that due to the fact that it had to be connected to an account which I made TheSocietyBot to represent my community that I have. Some people connect them to their own channels and it will post certain things on their behalf, I thought this made the channel a bit better this way!

While finding a bot you should ask yourself what you would like the bot to do. Do you want it to just put out timers or also commands. Do you want it to have games or interactive things as well. Finding a bot that is for you can be challenging however if you know what you want it can narrow down the search. A good practice too is if you notice a bot in someones channel that you watch a lot then you can see the different things that have set up for it also too. I knew I wanted timers, some games for chat and also some commands. Thats why I choose nightbot and streamlabs chatbot which I still use in my streams today. one feature I had no desire to see was the one which shows you every so often the amount of viewers in your chat through the chat. No one wants to see it consinutesly update to 1 or 2 viewers. I also do giveaways quite frequantly on my channel and was looking at something that could be easy to use for giveaways and make it fair for others. I use mainly streamlabs chatbot but nightbot can also do this feature if needed too.

Popular bots that I have seen across twitch is for sure Nightbot, as well as Streamlabs Chatbot. I always still recommend Vivbot as well if someone is unable to have another monitor to have them or overlays to be abel to see alerts rigth on the screen.

As a new streamer I would suggest this: If you choose a bot MAKE SURE it does not post you are live on twitter. If you start this you will feel lay and soon your profile will be the filled with the exact same posts which will be a major turnoff from new potential followers. As mentioned above a particular one I know Wiebot has something that puts in your chat how long you have been live and viewers whether they go up or down every so often. Remove that feature. You do not need to see how your viewers flucuate whether you are new or old at the streaming game. It can be a really big moral boost watching it post you are losing viewers every half an hour. Make sure that you are also aware of what features that the bot you do choose has. If you can choose a bot with more features that you want it will save a lot of time than setting up multiple bots with one feature on each one! I only have had 2 bots going at once and I cannot imagine having more. You also will need to make the bot a mod in your chat in order for it to do certain things. Not to mention as well, If you are new and are not sure who to mod or make a mod set up an auto filter on a bot so that it can help if you only have yourself managing chat or the person or people you have modded arent around!

Regardless of which bot you decide to add to your stream, there really is endless possibilities on which you would like to use for whichever purpose. And if you get sick of one or it changes chances are there will be another that can do all the features you like and more!

-StaySeeJ08 xo

Skills needed for streaming!

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Stream from the outside may seem like a very easy thing to do. However you will soon find out after starting if you havent researched anything about it, that entertaining is not as easy as it appears to be. This blog we will talk about a few things that make streaming, well, streaming!

Interaction and conversation are pretty much the backbones of streaming. If you are unable to interact with your chat (In the beginning at least) you will find it extremely hard to grow at all. People go to Twitch for the fact things are LIVE. If they didnt want to interact or watch things in real time they would go to YouTube where they can pause and click through videos at their wish. This also includes making conversations when there is no one to talk to. Whether you are commenting on your game play or gaming with friends, you really have to have the ability to keep a conversation going. This being said a lot of people I have seen who arent normally talkative have found that streaming has also brought them out of their shells. It isnt as direct as talking in person but it does help with growing those skills even if you dont think you have them to start!

Tech Skills or at least having the ability to learn the skills necessary by reading blogs, or tutorials and watching videos on YouTube you will find that it can be very tricky to even begin streaming or continuing to grow in the streaming world. When i first started I streamed directly from PlayStation. I clicked a button and was live. I eventually got a Cam and that too was just plugged in. Now when I decided to use a capture card and my laptop this was a whole new ball game. Thankfully i had a great friend who had already done this and was able to help me out as it was a lot of new technology that I had absoutely NO knowledge for. I would have taken a lot longer to figure it out by watching videos but it wasnt that hard and once you know the general idea of what you are doing it can be easy to learn new things and tweek your setup. This also goes for other aspects like mics, volumes, hardware, devices, etc.

Equipment can be SUPER subjective as well. You could go with the products that have the best reviews, You could also ask your friends or fellow streamers which products they like or even by a trusted name that has other products or go by the price tag too. I think regardless of things when you start streaming you should have the skill set as much consumers do to be able to decide on a product. Like any hobby or interest it is also good to note that when starting out you do not need to have the best of the best in order to grow. In fact starting at a lower tier end and growing in products is a lot easier then starting higher and losing interest or what not. For me, I started directly6 on my playstation streaming, I got the Playstation webcam next and then afterwards I purchased an Elgato Capture card and then I used my boyfriends old computer and saved up for my own. Staring at the beginning for a hobby you may or may not fall out of love with and spending a ton of money on it can be expensive for sure.

Knowledge of Streaming would also be great. Whether you are a viewer or whether you even know anything about the streamer side. As mentioned before watching a streamer can be incredibly simple. It can look like seamless when you are a viewer from the transitions and overlays and alerts but in actuality it could be anything but! Knowing some of what it takes to be a successful streamer even from the mental health side to the demanding schedules and dedication and consistency would save a lot of people heartache if they knew what to expect and understand how difficult making it in this industry can be.

Etiquette would probably be something I wish I had explored before streaming as well. Learning what is acceptable and what isnt is extremely hard and not nessacarly in the rules of someones stream. For example self promo is a big no-no in nearly every stream on Twitch. I had done this thankfully to friends who told me the reasoning behind it but had it been a random stream i enjoyed how awkward would that have been! Another would be the push to talk on discord when you are streaming with another person who is also streaming too. This is something I encounter quite often and it really is a pain when you have someone trying to butt in on a stream or when they are shouting out their alerts over your stream. These are all important things you should know if you decide to take the plunge.

Knowing who YOU are is probably one of the most important things I think. Knowing who you are and not who you want to be can make or break you. Do you want to try to be like Ninja? You may find it a struggle since he is who he is. You want to be family friendly or do you want to be mature audience? Do you want to be a one game stream, just chatting one or even a variety? There is so many things you need to think of even as far as what you want to call your followers or subscribers once you hit affiliate. These things can also come as you stream more and as your followers or subscribers say more they can even help along the way with ideas.

Whatever you decide, know that these skills are forever changing with the trends as well as with the medias and streaming equipement. You may not need to be fully up to date on them but having some sort of an idea would be a great way to start instead of going in blindly!

-StaySeeJ08