How to Build a Twitch Community in 2024 – From Zero to Hero Guide

Creating and starting a Twitch streaming community may appear daunting to many.

With so many popular streamers available worldwide, acquiring your own follower count will seem like an impossible goal.

But, if you think about it, all of your favorite content creators on the platform had to start from somewhere.

If you are just starting your own Twitch channel, or you already have your stream set up, I am going to help you with tips on how to start and grow your Twitch streaming community.

How to Build a Twitch Community

When you are choosing games to stream, if you are going to choose games, be careful of choosing games that are oversaturated.

Especially if your channel is fresh and you just started your streaming community on Twitch.

It is important to prioritize the things that you love and to create the type of content that you want to create.

Nobody wants to see a content creator who is not enjoying themselves on stream.

I mean, just imagine how dull it would be if a streamer was playing a game he does not enjoy.

It would be hard to keep your audience engaged if you can’t be engaged yourself.

You want to think about who your target audience is, so you can better prepare the type of content that you would like to share with your viewers.

You must also be aware of the fact that if you choose to stream some of the most popular games, it might be hard for your channel to stand out.

Most newcome streamers are facing a common challenge when starting out.

Streaming for zero viewers.

So, you finally set up your stream, and a month or two has already passed, but your viewer count and follower count are not going up.

What do you do?

Attracting new viewers is not what it is all about.

Keeping your audience engaged and your viewers coming back is even more stressful.

According to the experience of some of the most popular streamers currently, there will be tough days when you’re starting out.

Most of the time your viewer count will be a single-digit number.

Here are some tips on how to attract and engage new viewers that visit your stream.

1. Choosing the Type of Content

On the Twitch platform there are many different categories to choose from.

You are sure to find something tailored to your needs.

For example, if you choose to be a content creator that streams video games, think about the type of content that you want to publish.

Are you going to be more focused on strategic, skilled gameplay?

Or you just want to be focused on kicking back, having fun, and interacting with your viewers.

When you are building your audience, they are going to be coming back to your stream because there is a certain element that they like.

This can be your personality or the way that you interact with your viewers.

If you are a content creator that plays games, that element will be the way you play the games.

If you are constantly changing the elements of your streaming channel, the element that your viewers like may no longer be there.

It can be very confusing from a viewer’s point of view and it may cause some of your followers to leave.

My advice for you would be to pick a couple of your favorite streamers and try to see which elements of their stream you find enjoyable.

If you are starting out, try to think about how you would include those elements on your own stream.

Pay attention to when those streamers are getting the most views. Is it when they are playing the main game on which their stream is based on.

Or, is it when they are having a casual stream, interacting with their viewers.

Maybe it is when they are doing challenges in a certain type of game.

Back when Dark Souls III was released, a very popular challenge appeared called the “No Death Challenge”.

Viewers were going crazy for players who actually managed to beat the game without dying once.

If you ever played any installment of the Dark Souls franchise, you know that this is no easy feat.

But, even if the content creators were dying and making mistakes, most of the viewers found it enjoyable to watch.

Watching someone fail in video games can often be funny.

And when you share that laugh with a bunch of people who share your common interest, it makes it even more enjoyable.

So don’t be afraid to even fail sometime while streaming, you can make a good laugh out of it.

An important thought to keep in mind while planning out your channel is that different things work for everybody.

Just because one streamer might be doing something a certain way does not mean that the same thing is going to work for you.

And that is totally okay!

You also should not be afraid to try things that people have not done before.

A lot of people have the tendency to look at it as a formula.

They see what the most popular streamers are doing and they convince themselves that they have to follow the exact same steps.

This is often not the case.

Remember, this is your own creative space, there is no formula to follow.

This is the perfect time to think outside the box.

2. Keeping Your Viewer List Open

The only reason, and in my opinion the best reason, to keep your viewer list open at all times is so that you can see when a new viewer joins your stream.

It is going to come in handy because most viewers that pop into a new stream stick around only for about two or three minutes.

I, myself, from time to time like to visit streams that have a low viewer count.

But I often find myself not engaged by the content creator, and I can get bored easily and move on to another stream.

Having your viewer list open at all times will help you identify when a new viewer has joined your stream.

This gives you the opportunity to welcome them to the stream.

3. Welcoming New Viewers

This is pretty much a no-brainer, right?

Imagine if your friend was visiting your home for the first time.

You would want them to feel welcome so that they know that they can return.

The same thing goes for your viewers.

You want your viewers to come back to your stream.

That is why making them feel welcome is important.

When a new viewer joins, you will get a notification in your viewer list that the “user123” has joined your stream.

A simple greeting and a welcome is more than enough to make the viewer feel appreciated for dropping by.

For example, you can say something down these lines: “Hello, user123, welcome to the stream!”.

With just this one sentence, you already made the viewer engaged in your stream by directly communicating with them.

This is one of the many benefits of streaming.

The way you can interact with your viewers live and in real-time.

4. Engaging the New Viewers

Sometimes, just welcoming your new viewers will not be enough.

You want to encourage your viewers to chat with you and interact on your stream.

This is where you can get your personality to shine!

After the welcome, you may ask them if they have any questions about the game you’re playing.

You can ask them to tell you what their favorite games are, or what type of content they enjoy.

Be careful not to apply too much pressure on your viewers.

If they feel obliged to chat, it might make them uncomfortable and they will probably leave your stream.

Moderation is the key to success!

Always leave your viewers the option not to reply if they do not feel like it.

If your viewers are willing to interact with you, you are doing something right!

Try to capture those moments and reflect on what you did to instigate them.

You want to learn from that experience and use it next time you want to engage your audience.

If you successfully applied the tips above to your own style of streaming, you will start noticing that more and more viewers are coming back to your stream.

Jackpot!

Or so you think.

Keeping your viewer count, in the long run, is going to be impossible without a plan.

This is going to take me to the next big point in creating a streaming community Twitch.

Because without a plan, you will not get very far.

5. Plan Your Streaming Schedule

When you are first starting to build your Twitch channel, it is important to have a schedule for your viewers to look at.

This is going to help your viewers know when you are going to be live on the platform.

This will, in return, make your streams more populated.

For example, imagine if TV guides did not exist.

How would we keep track of when our favorite TV shows are on.

We would have to write down guides ourselves or memorize them.

Let us be honest, nobody wants to do that.

You can see why having a schedule for your viewers is quite important.

When you are going live with your stream, you also need to keep in mind that you want to be live for at least two hours.

Streaming for longer periods of time gives you more chance to be found by other viewers.

But, keeping up with your own streaming schedule can also be challenging for many new streamers.

Life often tends to get in the way of our hobbies and activities we do in our spare time.

This is where good planning plays a key role in maintaining your schedule.

Planning your week ahead will help you solve any problems that you have with time management.

This means more uptime on your streams and more followers!

6. How Can I Make a Good Streaming Schedule?

One of the easiest ways to keep track of all your activities is using a calendar app or something similar.

You can find great organizing apps on the web which will greatly improve your streaming efficiency.

Planning special stream events can also boost your viewer count.

This includes charity streams, twenty-four-hour streams, birthday streams, and similar events.

The key to successfully executing these events is planning ahead and promoting.

The easiest way to promote your streams would be through social media.

Make sure you at least have one of your social media accounts linked to your Twitch stream.

This can be your Twitter, your Instagram, or your Facebook page.

I do not advise using your personal social media accounts for marketing purposes.

Create dedicated social media accounts for your brand and your streams.

This way it will be much easier to manage your fanbase and manage your streaming career.

I am sure that you noticed that all of the most popular streamers on the platform have almost every social media platform engaged.

Your best move would be to create accounts on as many social media platforms as you can.

Not all viewers are using the same social media platforms and they do have preferences.

Spreading your influence across multiple social media platforms will definitely help you secure more followers and grow your fanbase!

It definitely can be challenging to keep up with your schedule when you have other activities in your life.

Whether it is school, work, or other activities.

My advice on this would be to plan your schedule one week ahead.

Even if your live hours may differ from week to week, it is still good to have a schedule to uphold.

7. Be Consistent

One of the key factors in succeeding on Twitch is to keep your streams consistent.

Having a well-thought-out plan is a crucial part of this.

Many viewers like to share content creators whom they find entertaining with their friends.

Imagine if a viewer stumbled on your stream and found it enjoyable.

They share your stream with their friends telling them: “Oh, this person is fun to watch and has a quality stream, you should check them out tomorrow!”.

But, then, you don’t stream for a couple of days and they forget about it.

You just lost a potential viewer and a follower.

This is not something that you want to encounter often, so you can see why being consistent with your streams is the key to growing your streaming community on Twitch.

But, even if you follow all these steps there will be times when you just can’t attract any viewers.

This is completely normal and you should not feel discouraged by it.

If you have already chosen to go down this path and create a streaming community, you have to be prepared for bad days.

If you quit after only one bad day of streaming, you won’t get a chance to explore the potential of your streams!

8. Promote on Social Networks

Something I think a lot of people are underestimating is the value of using multiple social media platforms.

Use Twitter, use Instagram, you can even create a YouTube account where you can upload and publish your favorite stream moments.

This has become an increasingly more popular strategy with big-time streamers.

You can find compilations of their best moments from streaming on their YouTube channels.

Sometimes, people will just not have the time to watch your streams.

This way, they can keep up with what has been going on in your live sessions.

You can even use Reddit.

There are loads of Reddit threads about streams where streamers can meet each other and help each other out.

This can be a great place for you to promote your streams and learn a thing or two about streaming!

You should always publish an announcement when you are going live on your social media platforms.

This doesn’t have to be a boring public service announcement.

You can put a little personalized twist on the post.

Like adding a funny picture of yourself.

Generally, posting additional content on your go-live announcements can draw even more viewers to your stream.

Do not be afraid to experiment with that and see what best works for you!

Conclusion

If you keep following these tips, I am sure that you will notice an increase in your stream views.

Keep focusing on improving your stream every day.

But do not forget that the most important thing about having successful streams is to have fun and enjoy yourself!

Good luck!