In a nutshell

  • Establishing a unique niche can draw a dedicated audience to your Twitch stream, whether it is an underserved game or a topic you are passionate about.
  • Inviting friends to tune in, maintaining a consistent streaming schedule and cross-posting content to YouTube can significantly enhance the visibility of your Twitch stream and attract more viewers.
  • Learning from the strategies of successful streamers and remaining open to trying new trends or platform features can help maintain viewer engagement.

On Twitch, gaining those crucial first 100 viewers can be a daunting challenge. In this article, we’ll explore practical strategies to help you kickstart your Twitch journey and attract those initial viewers who will become the foundation of your growing community. Here’s how to get your first 100 viewers on Twitch.

Find a niche

One way to get noticed on Twitch is to find an undersaturated niche that you can fill. For instance, say you love the shipping building and battle-sim game “From the Depths,” but you notice that not many other streamers are playing it. You’ve just identified a gap in the market — and you could be the one to fill that gap. Establish yourself as the go-to streamer for that game to gain a following in that community. Even if the game has only a small fan base, those loyal players could turn into your first 100 Twitch viewers.

If you aren’t a gamer, there are still ways to get creative with your niche. While it might be tempting to just copy what’s already been proven to work, you’re more likely to find a dedicated audience if you focus on topics you care about, whether or not they are currently trending. Whether you have one viewer or 100, they’re tuning in for you — so lean into that. Create a stream that reflects your personal aesthetic, brand and values, from lighting to background staging to the games you play and topics you cover.

Recruit your friends

Topic in hand and brand established, you’re ready to start broadcasting to the world. But before you can get your first 100 viewers on Twitch, you’ll need to get your first five or ten. Unfortunately, many new Twitch streamers struggle to get even one viewer to watch their streams. One solution is to invite your friends and family to tune into your broadcast. These few initial viewers will give your stream a boost in visibility and make it more appealing to new viewers.

Post to YouTube

Twitch has a notoriously bad discovery and recommendation system. The category-based Directory forces Twitch viewers to actively seek out smaller streamers. If they aren’t willing to go digging, most new viewers will be recommended only the top Twitch streamers.

YouTube, on the other hand, is famously good at surfacing new content to the right viewers. That means the best way to grow on Twitch is to post on YouTube and grab viewers from there. One common workflow — one used by streamers like Jollz, SweetAnita and others — is to stream for several hours on Twitch and then create a series of highlights and clip videos to post on YouTube. Once potential viewers discover your content on YouTube, you can direct them to join you on Twitch for the full interactive experience.

Set up a consistent streaming schedule

Once you have a few viewers and some streaming experience under your belt, you’ll want to compound that success with a consistent streaming schedule. Streaming at a consistent time helps build an audience. Over time, that foundation will grow and attract even more viewers.

New viewers need to know that you plan to be online regularly so they can look for your stream the next time they log onto Twitch. While viewers may enjoy one stream, they’re more likely to forget about your channel if they don’t know when to tune in again.

Being consistent also makes it easier for viewers to build your stream into their existing routines. You may find that you attract a group of regulars with schedules that happen to align with yours. If viewers can count on you to be live at a specific time of day, they’ll tune into your stream whenever Twitch-o’clock rolls around.

Watch what other streamers are doing

We advised at the beginning to avoid copying popular streamers directly — and we still stand by that. However, there are things to be learned from the success of other creators. If you are struggling to reach your first 100 viewers on Twitch, watch what other streamers are doing. Find out what’s working for them and put your own unique perspective on it.

When studying other Twitch channels, try not to focus too much on content. Instead, consider what specific strategies they are using to promote their stream. Consider questions like: What other social media do they use? How often do they stream? How do they keep viewers engaged? Then, think about how you can apply their strategies to your own content.

Try new things

As you continue to grow your Twitch viewership, keep an eye out for new features and trends from Twitch and other social platforms. For example, Twitch recently introduced a new short-form discovery feed, which could help viewers find new streamers more easily. It’s still too early to know how exactly the new feature will be used, but it’s definitely worth exploring.

Keep going

Even after following all of these tips, gaining traction as a new Twitch streamer is tough. There’s a lot of luck involved in gaining your first 100 viewers, but to make it as a streamer, you need to keep going — even when it seems like your stream will never find its audience. With authenticity, consistency and the right strategy, streaming success is within reach.