Hello, my YouTube friends.
Today's video is brought to you by OWN3D.
I'll tell you a bit more about them later.
One of the questions I get asked most about is how to get more people
to watch your live stream.
I've been taking notes and watching back my live streams to see what I
do that gets more interaction and engagement.
These things all lead to more chat activity and thumbs up on YouTube
or Twitch, which inevitably leads to more viewers.
I'm going to share what I learned today with you.
So you know what?
Let's get to it.
Starting a live stream is pretty demoralizing in a lot of ways,
whether it's Twitch or YouTube, getting viewers can seem like a
serious uphill battle.
I did a video that covers getting more viewers on YouTube for live
streams previously.
And if you haven't seen that, when you really should check out the
link at the end of the video and watch it, it's pretty good.
Now this video is going to be different than that because it's going
to cover more of the performance aspect and audience retention side of
live streaming.
This can really help with YouTube's algorithm, but it will help Twitch
streamers too, because especially on Twitch building an audience
that's engaged and active is what the whole platform is built on.
I've taken a streaming on Twitch a lot more lately, and it's something
I've not done.
All my focus has always been on streaming on YouTube.
So as I took to Twitch for the first time, I decided to take some
notes and do a bit of study on audience engagement, especially since
I'm starting from ground zero, just like any of you would on Twitch.
But before I dive into what I found, there's a tool that I use on
Twitch that makes streaming a lot easier, and that's today's sponsor
OWN3D.
They helped me get set up and running with awesome streaming assets in
no
time at all. OWN3D is a website that offers anything a Twitch streamer could possibly want. On own3d.tv
there are thousands of overlay packs with alerts and stingers built in
as well as emotes and badges.
And like I said, just about everything you could want, but what really
excites me is the OWN3D pro site.
On OWN3D pro you download a plug-in for OBS and in OBS, you can browse
and select from thousands of overlay packs that download and are set
up completely right out of the gate in OBS, you can add alerts and
labels and modify the text and even create custom layouts in just a
few minutes.
And they all have custom stingers that are set up with the profile.
So you don't have to do anything.
You just download them and they're ready to go.
In just a few minutes, you're going to have a professional stream that
looks like you spent a million bucks.
The best part is for just a few bucks a month.
And I mean, less than that crappy Netflix subscription, you never use
anyways.
You're going to have access to every single one.
So you could change it up on every stream in just a few minutes, if
you really wanted to.
So take a second and check out OWN3D TV and OWN3D pro.
Down below, there are links in the description for each one.
If you have the means to support the sponsors, that support this
channel, it goes a long way towards helping me continue to make
content that helps you.
So thanks.
It's been a while since I did live streams to no one, but on Twitch,
that pretty much sums it up.
Just like a lot of you, I don't have an audience on Twitch to really
interact with.
I've been testing a lot of VR content like alerts and chat overlays.
So I can work through the issues on the stream.
And I don't have to worry much about boring the audience.
Now, a lot of people who watch Twitch are used to lurking, just kind
of listening in the background.
So when I'd be playing, I might have like eight viewers, but actually
only one person in chat talking to me.
The first few streams, this was fine.
I was still testing anyways, but I started to wonder how to get those
lurkers involved.
So here's what I did on my game screen.
I have a small camera on me, but I'm wearing a VR helmet and you
really can't see me at all.
So instead I sat down, looked at the camera and had a conversation.
Now it wasn't immediate, but it didn't take long until many of the
lurkers were chatting away with me right in the chat.
And before I knew it, 15 people were in the room.
So here's the key.
This is what I've noticed.
Talk directly to the camera.
Don't be distracted.
Give your audience the attention and you know, what?
Do a bit of guilting.
I know this sounds bad, but let your audience know, Hey, it's lonely
here.
Come talk to me now that probably doesn't seem comfortable to a lot of
you folks out there.
And it is what it is.
The fact is that you're putting in your time to stream and trying to
entertain folks.
It's not really that much to ask for them to say hi and let you know
they're there.
And that's all really what you're saying by guilting them into having
a discussion is doing, you'd be surprised how many lurkers chime in
and at least say hi, and then you have an opening.
So take it and speak directly to them.
How are you, where are you from?
How was your day?
What games do you like to watch?
All this while looking directly at the camera and talking to them.
Streaming is about connecting with your audience.
And if you do, they're going to come back and even bring friends.
At the end of the day, it's actually really that simple.
If you struggle and you're not confident on camera, well, you know
what?
Suck it up, buttercup, be bold.
No one said it was going to be easy.
You want folks to tune in to watch you.
So take the time to communicate with them directly.
For gamers specifically when you're first starting out, play something
that you can play in short segments.
That way, after a few minutes in game, you're back to interacting with
your audience and waiting for the next round between every round, make
attempts to re-engage your audience by looking at the camera and
speaking directly to them.
After you do this for a while, your audience is going to expect it.
And they're going to be right there waiting to chat with you.
Always remember, they could just play the game themselves or watch
someone else.
There needs to be a reason for them to watch you, your interaction
with them directly will give them that reason and the connection
that's going to bring them back over and over again.
Being on camera is not easy.
It takes practice and it's uncomfortable, but you're never going to
get good at it or be comfortable until you actually do it over and
over again.
So go out there, talk directly to your audience and give them a reason
to watch you.
Have a lot of fun and stream a lot.
If you want to see a video that outlines how to get more viewers on
YouTube live streams in full detail, definitely check this video out.
Big thanks to today's sponsor OWN3D.
You can find links to OWN3D and all the other sponsors that support
this channel in the description below, under the heading sponsors,
supporting the sponsors that help keep the lights on here in the
studio is a great way to ensure that I can continue to make content
that helps you.
I couldn't possibly do this without them or you so thanks.
And if you're always looking for tools, tips, and tricks that can help
make you a better live streamer or YouTuber, subscribe to the channel.
My name is Michael Feyrer Jr.
Thank you so much for watching.
Have a great day and I'll see you in the next one.