If you’re familiar with Twitch, you should know that being a streamer takes more than showcasing yourself playing a particular game (or multiple ones) and talking to your audience. Once you’ve earned your place on this streaming platform, your name becomes a brand, and therefore, you need to learn how to make your Twitch channel look professional.
The streaming industry is highly competitive, so it can be hard for you to maintain viewers’ constant flow if you’re starting. Since it is so easy to start a Twitch channel nowadays, learning how to stand out in such a large crowd is crucial. So, how can you do that?
If you’ve already decided what your stream will be about – cooking, showcasing your music, gaming, or just talking to your audience – it’s time to start planning how to make all of that look different than other streams within the same genre.
That being said, today, we’ll teach you how to make your Twitch stream more professional to differentiate your channel from the rest.
Being Professional Starts With A Brand
Most people have the wrong idea about Twitch and think that the platform was made for gaming solely. That is far from reality, as nowadays it is possible to find artists (including musicians, painters, crafters, anything you can think of) and even cooks.
Once you’ve decided on a theme, it’s time to start thinking about a name. This part has major significance as it is one of the key factors for your branding. Overall, everything about your channel resonates with your brand, and people will associate those factors with you.
Keys To A Professional Looking Twitch Stream
We have some tips you can use if you’re starting. A Twitch channel needs to maintain a stable flow of viewers to contain the following elements.
Consistency
You should stick with one theme and keep that uniformity going on in every aspect of your Twitch brand’s aesthetics, both on Twitch and off, like on your other social media accounts. Otherwise, it may confuse your viewers and may make them lose interest. We are not saying that you should use the same design in all panels, banners, or overlays, but they must have a similar appearance. Think about this in real life too, like on your merch.
Organization
This factor varies depending on the design you’ve decided to use. Still, all the information available in your stream must have a particular order and coherent information.
For instance, don’t get your introductory message in the same place you’ll mention all your social media or merch (if you have them available). All of this data should be kept in separate sections for both aesthetical purposes and accountability.
Keep your gaming space clear too. People like to watch streamers who have a clean and organized setup that looks like some heart was actually put into it..
Harmony
Once you’ve decided what design theme you’ll use in your channel, try not combining it with anything else. The colors should be cohesive – for instance, white works with pretty much everything. You will see how good the results are after trying it out.
Invest In Quality Streaming Gear?
Notice we didn’t say expensive?
If you’re going for gaming, you’ll have plenty of options, depending on your preferences. It’s possible to stream from a PS4, an Xbox, or a PC with a decent capture card. If not, you’ll have to rely on your computer.
Not taking consoles into account, t is possible to be a good streamer with a decent gaming computer. You can find multiple budget-friendly options around the internet, but choosing a device is not the hard part as there are plenty of good alternatives in the market. When it’s about the software, things will get a bit complicated.
About the streaming software
You may have to pay for that software if you want something of good quality. A good choice is Xsplit, as it allows you to come up with a quick setting and start streaming quickly. However, as you advance in your journey, you may want to switch programs.
If you don’t want to pay for anything, there are options, such as Streamlabs OBS. It’s another good choice for beginners. The program will set an automatic setup that matches your system’s capacity if you don’t have the time to play around with the configuration or if you have no idea about how this software works.
What about the audio?
Your stream’s audio is as important as the visuals. Bad audio can be the number one cause why viewers don’t keep up with your channel.
A good microphone is an essential part of your setup, but if you’re not familiar with these devices, you can start with the “Blue Snowball.” Nowadays, the Blue Yeti is the most popular choice within the streaming community, although there are less costly and better options. Also, this is a matter of preferences, too!
Overlay
What will your viewers see while you’re streaming?
Your screen’s overlay should contain as few elements as possible. Otherwise, it may be misleading and cause your viewers to withdraw their attention from your stream. We recommend including three factors:
Webcam – If your viewers can see you, it will be easier for them to earn more interest in your stream and emphasize your persona.
New subscribers and current followers – A good way to keep your audience interested is to keep a list of your followers and those who just subscribed in your overlay. Who doesn’t like a bit of attention?
Animated alerts – Custom notifications are also a good idea. For example, you can combine the previous aspect with the current one and implement some other creative ideas for your followers to be more engaged.
How do you get viewers?
This part may be tricky, as you may consider several factors first. For instance, most popular streamers rely on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for people to find them. If you don’t know how this works, try searching for “Let’s Play + video game” or “video game + playthrough” on your preferred search engine and how many Twitch (or YouTube clips from Twitch) you get. Or even in Twitch itself!
SEO is one of the many ways you have to acquire organic viewers, as people will reach your channel because they are looking for that specific content. Please pay attention to the tags you use, as they play a big role in this!
You need to research keywords that may help these people find your channel and include them in your titles.
