From playing chess to painting, there is room for everyone on Twitch. Just because you don’t play games doesn’t mean you can’t stream on Twitch. This article is here to guide you in the beginning phases of setting up your non-gaming Twitch channel.
There are plenty of opportunities for non-gaming channels to grow on the platform. A variety of non-gaming categories have been increasing in popularity on the platform. Not only that, Twitch continues to invest more in non-gaming content. So, if you’ve been thinking about starting a Twitch channel, but don’t want to stream games, now is the best time to do so. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Come up with a name that’ll help you get discovered
The first piece of advice we can give in this guide is to spend some time really thinking about your Twitch channel’s name. We recommend that you consider naming your channel in relation to the offbeat content you want to stream. For example, if you plan to stream chess, you can call your channel something along the lines of “Chess Lord.” Right away people will know that your channel is dedicated to chess, so those looking for chess can identify your channel quickly in a search.
However, if you plan to eventually branch out and do more than the topic you originally set out to do, this tip might not apply to you. For instance, if your channel’s name is Epic Draws and you originally streamed drawing-related content, but want to start branching out and doing a more variety of content. This might include reacting to memes or doing Let’s Plays, the “Epic Draws” might not accurately describe all the content you do. It might be better to name your channel “Epic” in that instance.
Plan niche content carefully if you want to make a profit
Next piece of advice in this guide: It’s essential to stream niches and topics you enjoy and like to talk about. At the same time, it’s just as important to decide if and how you’re going to make an income. If you don’t plan to make money right away or at all on Twitch, then you don’t have to worry about how many viewers you get. However, if you want to make a living out of your stream, then find a niche that you like and has enough people searching it on Twitch.
Look at rising trends on Twitch and see what content is becoming popular. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t try doing the kind of content you want to do. It is completely possible to steam offbeat content that viewers didn’t know they needed. Still, it’s good to understand the current trends and interests on Twitch to be successful.
Network with other creators in your category
It can be tough knowing how to reach out to other streamers in the same content category as you. However, building relationships with your fellow streamers can help you boost your viewer outreach and inspire the Twitch streamers you collab with to guide their viewers to your stream. It helps if you have connections to the streamers you want to collaborate with.
If you don’t have any connections, reach out to them. When reaching out, be respectful. Don’t spam them messages or tell your chat to spam their chat. Also, don’t overuse them in your content. You want to build a good relationship with them. Once you have a good relationship with the streamer, you might be able to use them more in promoting your content. However, if you dont know them well and have only interacted with them for a short period of time, it might not be appropriate to use them in content promotion. Be respectful of them as streamers and they’ll be more likely to want to collaborate with you in the future.
Additionally, when reaching out, be sure to include what a collaboration with you will benefit them. Offer them hosting or raids, social media shoutouts, liking and commenting on their posts, and offering to connect them with other streamers you have connections with. Also, collaboration doesn’t have to be a huge one. especially if it’s your first one with the streamer. It could be something as simple as a five-minute conversation over Discord. No matter how small the collaboration might be, it’ll get you on their radar for future collaborations.
You can do it!
While Twitch is primarily a game streaming platform, there’s been a shift in Twitch’s focus over the years. More non-gaming categories are skyrocketing in popularity. For example, the category of Just Chatting has become one of the most used categories of streaming in recent times on Twitch.
There are more effort and resources being put into non-gaming categories because Twitch sees the potential. Most of its growth over the past few years hasn’t been due to gaming, but offbeat content from its usual gaming formula. Find your niche and make content that you enjoy making and feel proud to share with people. If you do that and keep what we mention in this guide in mind, then you will see success as an offbeat Twitch streamer.
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