let's go back to basics with my move away from twitch to YouTube and YouTube streaming I think
it's essential to break down what growing a stream actually means because it's easy
to get wrapped up in the wrong part of content creation and you end up grinding away for ages
with no results whatsoever so if we put it in the simplest terms does growth mean
viewers discovering your stream? Well yeah it does, but it also doesn't you could have
10,000 people finding your stream every single day but that doesn't mean you're growing,
right? What makes growth is when those viewers come back for a second, third, or fourth stream
when viewers return your average viewership grows up and that means growth in your mind as a Creator
this should be what you think about keeping viewers returning or retention rate and that
is what this video is entirely about how do you keep viewers returning and why do viewers return
in the first place you're probably expecting an ad read right now but no let's literally answer that
question straight away why do viewers return well if we put it simply they return because
they enjoyed your stream you provided them value in some form it could be entertainment
information a sense of community or even just a moment to breathe in a world where they are
bombarded by an endless wave of Articles pings and notifications telling them they're going to die
if you do this well they'll come back for more and if you consistently provide that value then
they'll keep coming back it's why I tell you to double down on things that work when you see
spikes in growth and this is what it means when creators like myself or Harris stay to create
valuable content or why we tell you to create a schedule for streaming and stick to it because
when you provide value for someone and that someone wants to return for more of that value
they need to know where and when you'll be live so they can find you in the first place if they don't
know when and where you'll be Live Well they can't find you again and you can't grow because they're
not returning one of the easiest ways I find to provide value is by understanding The Narrative
or the story you are telling to your viewers and this is something the majority of large creators
who have grown as streamers in the more recent years really recommend I said recent years because
there is a clear distinction between streamers who grew prior to twitch's over saturation such
as soda Poppin and someone like Ludwig cdog VA small ant or Point Crow who all under stood to
grow in this industry they needed to do something more they had a plan specifically they planned
out their content so that every stream had a goal that their viewers would want to stick around till
the end to see or a goal they had to come back next stream to see this keeps them coming back
and increases retention rate this is something I've talked about on this channel a decent amount
before but I think revisiting the basics in a new way can sometimes really help you guys new viewers
and myself improve to plan out a Content idea like this let's look at someone like Ludwig every
Ludwig stream usually has three steps establishing a goal establishing the challenge or the hurdles
to stop him reaching that goal and establishing Stakes or a punishment of sorts at the end this
is a tried and true method and actually the most basic form of Storytelling if you don't believe
me well look at it this way Luke Skywalker's goal is to save the Galaxy and defeat Vader his journey
across the Galaxy is met with bounty hunters Space Battles and the entire universe is at
stake if he fails photos goal is to save Middle Earth by destroying the One Ring his journey is
met with Orcs spiders and evil who try to stop him and the entire world all of it is at stake
if he fails now Ludwig's goal is to not laugh at memes his journey is met with a stretched out PNG
of an ape fighting and the greatest thing of all is at stake his best friend tasing his bare ass
Ludwig's streams are truly the hero's journey of the digital age you probably laughed or hopefully
laughed or hopefully just breathed out of your nose a tiny little bit at that example but this
is literally the easiest way to create content these days for a beginner if you go live with
a structured piece of content not scripted just structured and when or if you ever feel lost or
not sure where to go next or not sure what to say next well you know your final goal you know what
to aim for to get you back on track when you're feeling those feelings yeah I guess just having a
basic goal to work yeah yeah the goals are great yeah yeah like one General goal because like
whenever someone does enter the stream oh you're trying to make five thousand dollars on GTA and
you're this far apart and it's easy to jump in and watch now you're thinking what about people who
like to do longer playthroughs of games or longer series well this works even in longer playthroughs
and you don't need tasings or the universe to be at stake for it to work you see a lot of people
hear these examples and they think well that's not for me I make make chill content and if you think
that you are taking my examples too literally because even chill creators can have stakes
and goals for example if we look at my Hardcore Minecraft streams these weren't hype or intense
they were actually very chill streams where I spent time chatting with my viewers and it just
so happened to be in a permadeath Minecraft world but to take it further every single stream I set
up three different goals or challenges to complete despite it being 9 to 10 different streams they
ranged from fun things like building a giant rocket ship to in-game challenges like finding
a nether fortress building binoculars or taming a pet parakeet that we would go on to call Jeffrey
this meant I'd set a goal and then inevitably the challenges exist in the fact that Hardcore
Minecraft is well it's hard it is permadeath if I lose I lose the entire world and all of the work I
have done this also means every single stream Builds on itself and adds to the stakes more
work is at risk of being lost now if I die I don't just lose my rocket ship but I also lose Jeffrey
the parakeet he'll be alone forever in that world the payoff is beating each stream's challenges and
eventually we're either going to beat the Ender Dragon which was our final goal or we will die
it doesn't matter which happens because both are a payoff and that is good content for viewers
they feel like it was worth watching all of this takes a boring normal Minecraft playthrough and
adds Stakes challenges and interesting content to unfold for the viewers it turns a normal stream
into a story it doesn't need to be every single stream but I will say for your streams and your
content ideas I want you to remember establish a goal establish the challenge or hurdles to try to
stop you from reaching that goal and establish the stakes or put simply tell a story that captures
your audience one thing that is important to note here creating stream content like this is also a
great way to make it so your stream content can be edited into a YouTube video After all you've
planned out a beginning a middle and an end now it's about editing it down and making it clickable
to people who don't know you yeah I'm I'm so in the camp of uh because I only really started
streaming uh two years ago uh but it's been going really well it's been doing well and um my whole
thought process around it is like make the live stream obviously as anything as possible but built
around the whole thing so it can fit nicely it's like 15 minute YouTube video that is literally
how I plan all my streams and I find that improves personally like improved my streams I'm trying to
hit those beats trying to hit those moments that's third eye opening what content no in a good way
when you're a twitch streamer and you think about how to make a twitch stream a YouTube video before
making this like you have oh yeah and then you make the content and then it's a full stream and
then it's a video like yeah yeah it's it's a full circle yeah yeah because because like I feel like
a goddamn God yeah because I've been trying I've been trying to do that as well recently and I'm
not a twitch streamer at all but I've like been dabbling in twitch streams and I notice the best
streams that I do is something that has that the audience can follow that has like a specific goal
or an end yeah yeah um I think that's good because it's good for viewer attention yeah yeah I want to
watch the school finish yeah yeah exactly yeah as long as it's an achievable goal now I do have to
admit there is a major issue with this concept that when creators do this they can cause an
issue where new viewers coming into their stream struggle to understand what's going on this is
where we land on the second rule of retaining viewers you need to make it so that any viewer
who clicks onto your stream anyone who joins at any point in the entire stream can feel like
they understand the goal and narrative the moment they join otherwise they will likely feel lost and
leave even Pokemon says this is one of the most important aspects of live stream Simplicity and
inclusion works best for live streaming is you want it to be a form of content that people can
tune in at any point and it's enjoyable I agree that said this is Twitch chat we're talking about
so you could be as clear as freshly cleaned glass and they'll still struggle to see what's going
on I think Sea Dog VA or Connor said something perfect and that is it has to be something that
can be explained in the title of the stream it would have to be something that can be explained
in the title that's my way of doing it as well so that's really good because it's also the same with
YouTube right I gotta hook them and it has to fit in the thumbnail and a title so that's kind of the
way I plan most of my things now there is one last tip that I haven't ever told you guys before and
it really helps me every time I hit the go live button and it always makes better content when I
do it but before we get into that I am excited to say this video is sponsored by the amazing
epidemic sound I love it when Brands I already use love and want to work with the channel it feels
amazing to recommend a product to you guys that I believe in and know has helped me make better
content for example we're talking about making our streams better making them more engaging
taking them to the next level well one of the best ways to do this I feel is music epidemic sound has
over 35 000 songs across every single genre no matter what type of Creator you are they will
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of the most amazing things I have ever done was start using epidemic tracks to take moments of my
stream to the next level say I'm doing something where I'm making myself look like an actual clown
or a fool you better believe I am pumping circus music to my audience am I on the seventh hour of
a getting over it stream and need some hype music before I try scale the hardest and furthest part
of the map that I've ever gotten to well let's throw on some epic epidemic action music and for
this video epidemic sound has given us a pretty amazing discount on their music so not only can
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getting into this seriously you can use it but I will say the offer is only available for five
days after this video goes out if you want to support me go and support epidemic with the link
in the description and check them out because at the end of the day I couldn't make these videos
if it wasn't for sponsors like epidemic who I love helping the channel out so I want to give you guys
the tip that completely changed how I approach content creation and specifically how I change
streaming entirely but just to prove that I'm not talking out of my ass and I honestly believe
this here is the sticky note that I have on my monitor at all times to remind me of this tip
this is a show these four words are meant to remind me that my stream is entertainment it
is a performance and similar to stand-up comedy or your favorite TV show it is meant to be valuable
to viewers I wrote this myself because I found that sometimes when streaming you forget it's
a show and you get wrapped up in the numbers or the parts of it that suck like having a slower
chat or not getting many followers that day and when you get wrapped up in those things you can
easily stop putting that show on and when you stop putting the show on well you stop providing value
and your viewers won't come back recently while watching Northern lion he was talking about how
streamers kept complaining about having to run ads and he said something so perfect he said
that's great but can't you guys just tell a joke and I'll be honest I felt a little bit
called out myself but I needed to hear that I needed to be reminded that my issues with the
platform my issues with analytics and the bad parts of my personal life causing the issues
right now aren't part of my show and bringing a negative or defeated energy to my show isn't
going to be entertaining for the viewers sure if I made these things entertaining and engaging
they could be but many times the energy these things bring to a stream isn't entertaining
so remember it's a show you're putting on a performance for viewers people who
act in movies or walk out on the stage for a performance don't walk out and let their bad
day ruin the performance there is a reason for the phrase The Show Must Go On and remember your
performance could even just be a quiet chill place for viewers to hang out and chat that is still a
show those viewers still deserve when you hit go live to have a place you made for them they bought
metaphorical tickets and you have to deliver so if you want to make good content I have a video
right here all about growing on Twitch that is perfect for helping you make good discoverable
content so why not check it out and I'll see you guys next week for another show [Music]