It’s an on-going battle: finding ways to grow your viewer count. Whether you’re a brand new streamer, if you’ve been streaming for a year, or if you’re a veteran streamer – growing your viewership is always something you think of. There a few ways to do this:

1. Don’t go into a stream and whisper all the users. This probably one of the biggest no-no’s of streaming. Why? They’ll narc on you and you become a laughingstock right before your eyes. Because you’re the equivalent of junk e-mail that goes directly to your spam folder.

2. Don’t leech of an already existing streamer’s community. Chances are, the people you message are already established members of that community and their loyalty is to that streamer and not to someone who is sneaky enough to message people behind their backs. If you’re already part of the streamer’s community, you will look like an ever bigger fool once word gets out.

3. Go to a game forum. If you’re variety streamer, then your chances are even better in finding more people who may be interested in watching you. And there’s no better way to do it then to find forums that focus on the games you play.

4. Interaction. Stream as if you’ve got 100 people watching you. If there is no one talking in your chat, talk to yourself: talk about the game and your thought processes, talk about your day, talk about that time in the third grade when you wore your shirt backwards, talk about your adventures in picking a college major – JUST TALK! If there are just a few people talking in chat, focus on them and converse with them.

5. Expose yourself. No not in that way! What I mean is to invest in a camera and a microphone. It doesn’t have to be THE best camera/mic at first, but viewers tend to feel more connected to a streamer if they can see and hear who you are. If they wanted to watch pure game play, they could just play the game themselves, or

6. Have thick skin. Trolls will visit your stream just as often as genuinely interested people. Learn to deal with it in a way that’s best for you (ignore them, ban them, joke around with them, etc.), because all eyes are on you to see how you react. And depending on how you react, it could turn away your viewers and bring unwanted attention.

7. Interact with other streamers. Like your mama may have probably told you: Go out there and make friends! You are not a one-man army and certainly won’t get your name out there if you are a loner. Visit other streamers and make friends. Show your support by watching them stream and interacting with them.

8. Have a schedule. Not just have one, stick to it. You don’t have to stream everyday, but consistency is a way for people to schedule their viewing around YOU. What I find irritating is when I feel like I’ve found someone I want to watch, but in their bio it states, “I stream when I can.” Well, when is that??

9. Social media. Having a way in which others can connect with you off-stream is not only preferred, it’s a must. You can’t be accessible during your stream. That’s impersonal and limiting. And it’s a way to meet other streamers and people who are interested in your game/activity.