How does one become a popular WoW streamer?

Community General Discussion
41

Pick a stupid argument with a well known streamer.

42

Or do something that Asmon will react to.

4 Likes
43

Just call out asmon and you be popular soon
I’m sure if you call him out one of his fans links it to him and he reacts

44

Usually doing high end content is a start to get reliable views, people like being able to watch high end, end game content.

45

Well i can think of 3 ways off the top of my head:

  1. Be very good at PvP, this is how 99% of big wow streamers got to where they are
  2. Be part of a top tier guild
  3. Be a dumbass and do stupid stuff, do drunk streams and be a clown and or a personality
2 Likes
46

You advertised the wrong make up you nail biter!

47

for every succesfull streamer there are 10.000 not succesfull.

its just like in life - you gotta work hard and have a literal f…ckton of luck .

just like for every successfull laywer/MD there are 10000 who work for "low " wages and take only unpopular low paid cases.

1 Like
48

The only time I have seen a chat chaotic is when there were literally 40,000 people watching, not all of them type in chat though, most are content to just watch, others might have the stream open to listen to while doing something else.

Streamers who are playing are usually pretty good at keeping an eye on the chat and picking out one or two points/questions to address.
Rogerbrown did this while doing islands during a break from WF progress. He didn’t reply to everything but the fact that he replied to some meant that he was still engaging with those who are taking time out to watch his stream.

TBH you don’t have to be great at your class or a good player, I would find it equally entertaining if it was someone trying something new and failing at it as long as the commentary was comedy gold. But you need the personality behind the character on screen to make that a reality.

I’d probably start with youtube, you can play and then do voice overs if needed to explain whats happening or tell a story about some crazy thing that happened in a raid/BG/dungeon/Questing etc…

Maybe look up Project Lore videos on there for some inspiration on the failing but funny. I might get flamed for this opinion but I thought they were literal gods at the whole entertainment thing while not needing to be at the top of the meters for their classes.

1 Like
49

Its not a waste to engage with your viewers, at the end of the day as a streamer you are the product that they are buying into when they come to see you. If it were only gameplay that they wanted they could quite easily get this from YouTube and other avenues. People look for personalities that they can relate to or are entertaining when they look at a stream and that is why some of the biggest personalities are gaining more than just viewers when they stream their content.

Not always, you will never get “everything” from a streamer. Chatting a lot helps retain viewers as they invest themselves into either listening to or participating in the conversation.

Streamers aren’t replying to every message that their followers put in their stream chat, they often pick the ones they notice at the time and reply to them by voice as if they’re having a conversation with viewers. Big streamers would find it impossible to reply to 100 messages every couple of minutes.

1 Like
50
  1. be very good at the game
  2. be so good and humorous about it that you attract the millennials
  3. you want some of the Gen Z, but not all, so avoid becoming Sodapoppin or fortnite
  4. because you’re good at the game you can all of a sudden legitimately !@#$ on Asmongold and such
  5. be the next Athene like Violetta says, because otherwise you gotta compete with Cdew and you can’t be Cdew.
  6. maybe be the Athene of WoW classic? idk, Retail’s p dead in terms of attracting interest and you might get a chance to build a fanbase with the hype around classic’s launch so it’s the chance of a lifetime
1 Like
51

I used to watch more streams than I do now but I can tell you what attracts me:

  1. I usually don’t scroll much below the first 3 complete sites, because it just hurts my eyes ;/
  2. I want to see gameplay (usually pvp) of a certain class. Mostly which I cannot find because no one plays enhance. 90% of the streams play warri / rogue / mage or some other fotm garbage
  3. I like if the streamer interacts with the chat but also tells why this or that happened
  4. barely ever watch pve because it is really boring to watch as it is always the same
  5. usually only watch people who are good at the game, in pvp easily indicated by being high rated

pretty sure if you are not good at the game it is nearly impossible to get viewers.

Btw you will also notice that beyond the first 20 streams the viewers go below 10 or something.
So building up a group of friends to turn you viewership to 20+ will score you a place near the first page that will net you in more viewers automatically because your stream will be exposed to more audience

1 Like
52

being a good gamer that goes back in time, 5~6 years minimum, back when nobody streamed on twitch and you’ll become popular.

Or end up being super lucky.

Or being a very good player in a newly released game.

Or having a famous streamer friend who hosts you.

Or being a famous youtuber, starting your career in twitch.

That’s pretty much it.

53

There are many talents that make for a good streamer.

Good looks and charming personality.
Personal angel, opinions and humor
In-depth expertise about the subject/game.
Pro-like scripting abilities, how to communicate a topic.
Patience and persistence (it can take years)

The main reason why people fail is that they think creating
a twitch account and popping a camera on their monitors is enough.

Professional streamers spend weeks planning just on simple stream.
They make scripts, plan events, organize people to join and help, etc.

1 Like
54

Complain & Cry like a female worgen how everything in wow is bad & be toxic pretty much from what i’ve seen

55

Have a deep decolette and be a female i guess

OR

Be a clown as someone else suggested

56

I dont think trying to be someone your not will end well.
They key to success is, as many have said, hard work and preparation.

Think of a stream as an opportunity to communicate your thoughts, ideas or interest. It does not matter if its a book, movie, blog or whatever, pick something your passionate about, plan it out and execute, if you build it they will come, If not then at least you made something you enjoy.

1 Like
57

you forgot about most important factor.

hard hard work for many years.

as much as i despise Asmonbald for his toxicity and toxic community and negative impact on wow i will always admit he worked very very hard for many years and now are ripping benefits from that work.

i mean im talking about years of content creation for youtube , years of time put into his youtube channel, absolute risk of not going to work only putting all the time and effort into youtube channel and then picking up perfect moment to swap to twitch .

look at how many other youtube creators tried ot at the same time and failed.

the most prominent example would be Preach woudl arguably was much more known and respected youtube persona and failed miserable didnt achieve even 10% of what Asmonbald did .

i always will give praise to where its deserved - and Zack deserves as much prise for being a very succesfull entrepreneur as much as he deserves to be banned from twitch for toxic influence as he has on viewers.

58

Here’s some advice from someone who has been YouTubing and occasionally streaming since 2006.

Bear in mind I speak more as a YouTuber than a Streamer, but the majority of it applies across the board. So, first things first.

:heavy_check_mark: You need to cement your identity. Your ‘brand’. This includes all the fancy bits and pieces, like thumbnails, banners, avatar, overlays, social links to other media(s) all with the exact same treatment, and more. If you haven’t already done this, do it ASAP. It should be the first thing any new channel/site/stream does before it even starts generating content. Make sure you’re happy with it before you start. Of course, you can update it as you go, but it helps to have this step mostly done before you get to the real content meat. Make it catchy but relevant to you as its host and your theme/target audience.

:heavy_check_mark: Second, you need a content schedule – and this needs to be CONSISTENT. Like above, if you’re, say, a “WoW Streamer”, great, that is a consistent content type. However, if you’re uploading/streaming at sporadic/random times, not only will you potentially miss peak hours but you’ll also make it difficult for people to either follow you or find you at all. If you’re the type who uploads content of random games, then you risk dividing your audience, but this can be helped by a good content schedule so that everyone in those respective groups know when they’ll get what they seek.

Even something as vague as “Two videos/Streams every week based on X topic @ Y time”. Just ensure you remain true to yourself and your content remains true to your target. Check out peak times, plot out when you can provide content, and do it on time every time. If you want to be super-pedantic, you can also check when other people are streaming to lessen the inevitable bleed of people wandering off to check out Joe Soap Famous Person, but this is largely unavoidable.

:heavy_check_mark: ENGAGE with your audience. The prospect of doing this when you have tens, or hundreds, or thousands of viewers is daunting (which is why the larger creators often have moderators or help with it), but if you are not that big, it should not be a problem. Even if you were in a chat-room with 50k people, you would devise talking-methods that would be more engaging and to keep people invested. You’d also likely have help at that point, such as moderators or an additional host, but that’s getting ahead a bit.

Remember, ‘human’ content is infinitely more engaging than non-human content, and nothing is more human that connecting with people, thus those with webcam tend to do better than pure commentary, whereas commentary is still infinitely better than just raw gameplay by itself with no other engagement – but no matter which way you cut it, treating things like a ‘conversation’ is more engaging than “Here’s me playing a game. There’s you watching. Well, too busy, will just talk to myself”.

The sad reality is that, while quite a few people might be in it for the particular game or topic, personality is somewhat of a big deal. After all, you are essentially ‘hosting your own show’, so if the host is a wet fish, it won’t matter how interested they are in the show’s topic because there will likely be someone out there doing the same thing in a more engaging way. It is the reason why those ‘gamer girls’ (a lot of which don’t even play the game and just have their assets on show) will still reel in an audience despite not being true to the game they are categorized under. You don’t have to be a ‘clown’ or a ‘supermodel’, but you absolutely do need to engage with people.

:heavy_check_mark: Quality is important. As said, you need to consider it like a professional endeavour, so good-quality cam / mic helps just like having professional looking branding helps. Sure, there are people out there getting by with little, but you can’t beat good quality when it comes to competing with others. It doesn’t guarantee anything other than ensuring that your ‘hooks’ are crisp, clean and inviting. You can stream on your potato with a grainy camera and awful microphone if you wish, but people WILL be off-put.

:heavy_check_mark: Share everything. Everywhere. But be WHOLESOME about it. I’ve seen so many desperate people heading to YouTube and streams solely to beg and mooch for views and subscribers or pleading for people to check them out. Don’t be that person. It’s tacky as hell and gives an awful first impression. In addition, don’t be one of those people who rant for minutes on end at the start of a video asking people to subscribe or follow or “look at this other thing I’ve done” - save that for the end. Also, don’t have an obnoxious 20minute autobiography introduction. 5-10 seconds max if you’re that way inclined. Anything more and people will zZzZzZzz. If you want people to like you, being Mr.Business or Mr.Beggar will (more often than not) have the opposite first-impression effect and turn people away. Keep it cool and engaging, not “Hey, I’m a streamer looking to make it. HELP ME PLZ!”

:heavy_check_mark: Utilize your social media to circulate yourself. Back in the day, I’d ensure every video I created was sent to Google+, Twitter, and occasionally Facebook with a pleasant message. This helps auto-build those platforms, and if you then decide to communicate using them (and someone checks it out as a result), voila, potential hook. If they don’t find you through X site, they’ll likely see you at Y instead. Same rule applies - don’t use those platforms to beatstick people into following/subscribing/checking you, because that’ll just scream “desperate”.

If you’re streaming to twitch? Allow Vod uploads, make highlight videos for YouTube. Just because you use one doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the other. Audience builds faster the more accessible and circulated you are, so manage all those accounts.

:heavy_check_mark: GET HELP! Collaborate. Invite people. Get a co-host. Get people to share your work. Get moderators to keep things clean. You think Pewdiepie or Markiplier or your favourite Twitch Streamer who has built an empire over the years did it just sitting in their room and switching on a camera? No. They made plans, schedules, calendars, the materials, scripts, edited the footage, manageed the media, managed the chats, organized events… But wait, as a single person? Of course not. At least not when they could afford not to. Sure, you’ll be handling a lot of grunt work initially, but a dedicated team is quicker, smarter and safer than a dedicated individual who risks burnout.

Unfortunately, there is an infinite number of other things but some of that is just the basics. It’s a topic I could ramble on all day about seeing as I’ve been doing it (casually) for many years as a sort of learning/fun/side-project.

Building my channel helped me to learn Photoshop, Premiere, Machinima, Flash Animation, Social Media, and a diverse set of skills/software that I use on a regular basis both as a hobby and as a Community Manager. Some people made it on the back of viral content but the majority (now that saturation is so high) do it through hard and consistent WORK. Are you a worker or a chancer?

Personally, I have no desire or interest in it being more than my own little personal project, but it was still the best thing I ever did regardless.

And hey, it resulted in 10k subs and 17.5 mil views across YT and Warcraftmovies despite just being my personal/random content-creating background. Like everyone has said, time and effort can net you results depending on how you treat it - but if you want it to go quicker, you need to take it seriously. It helps tremendously if you also love what you do.

Good luck!

2 Likes
59

really not trying to be a dick but 10k subs after 12 years of work ? thats sooo bad. i know people who have 100-200k subs by releasing 1 video a week for like 1-2 years which is like 20 min long.

but their “content” is actually interesting

there is so much rubbish and fake self pride that its hard to read - especially parts about promoting your channel - do you know why asking for subs at begining of video works ? because there are meta-data which prove that when first asked and then being interested in content of video makes people click this button

there is no such thing as wrong marketing or any shame in being a sell out when the product that you are selling is you .

1 Like
60

There are only a few types, the cute girl, the rager, the elitist, the outspoken racist and the slob. Occasionally a combination of two.