If you want your live streaming efforts to pay off, investing time into your Twitch strategy is necessary. And one of the most crucial aspects of any Twitch strategy is to build a following. Learning how to get viewers on Twitch may seem like a Herculean effort, but there are some superb hacks that can help you reach new Twitch viewers and retain the existing ones.

In this guide, we’ll break down 37 ways to get Twitch viewers, whether you’re starting your channel from scratch or want to accelerate growth.

How to Get Noticed on Twitch: 37 Terrific Ways

1. Identify Your Target Audience

Whatever your live streaming goal is, you can benefit from identifying your target audience. Whether you want to entertain your audience, expand your viewership, or want to build a brand on Twitch, begin by finding what your community entails. What are the interests of the people you’d like to attract through your creative content streams?

Niching down gives your content a direction, and you’d spend less time focusing on things that don’t resonate with your goals. For example, if you’re into the Latin dancing niche, you’d not want to have viewers who love live music. So, carefully determine your calling and find a dedicated audience interested in what you share.

2. Study Your Competition

To create a great impression for potential viewers, you need to find out what other streamers in your niche are doing. You can go to your preferred category and sort channels by Viewers (High to Low) to find the top streamers in your category. Study these channels and figure out what they do that makes them gather views.

As you do it, don’t forego your authenticity. The idea is to take inspiration from those who are successful at what you aspire to do. So, instead of blindly following the most popular channels, learn the ropes from them and create a strategy that best suits your channel.

And avoid spending hours studying your competition. Remember, the primary motive is to produce content. So, check out the competition without compromising your live stream production schedule.

3. Time Your Twitch Streams to Perfection

Contrary to popular belief, avoid streaming on Twitch during peak times. That’s because when it comes to gaining new followers, you’d have to face fierce competition at Twitch’s most popular times. As more people tune into the channels of well-known streamers, your chances of gaining viewers could be low.

While late nights, early mornings and weekends can help you attract viewers, you can experiment with different timings based on your location and niche to identify the best times to go live on Twitch for you.

4. Pick the Right Game & Be Good At It

If you’re into gaming, take the lesser-known road and avoid picking the most popular game. The premise is simple: when you select a game that’s already being broadcasted by hundreds of streamers, you’re decreasing your odds of attracting more viewers.

Thus, consider picking a game with few streamers and a decent number of viewers. For example, go for games where you can be in the top 20. If 25 streamers are playing a game with more viewers than you, then grabbing eyeballs might be challenging. So, anything beyond 20 may not be a great opportunity.

Use twitchstrike.com to find how many streamers are playing a game and how many viewers the game has. Then, pick a game that’s not over-saturated to avoid competing with the big guns and double up your chances of getting on the map.

Also, whatever game you choose, ensure you’re good at it. Flaunt your skills and let the viewers learn how to flawlessly annihilate the enemy or uncover tricks only you know. It’s the secret sauce to gaining a huge following.

5. Strive for High Production Value

Successful Twitch live streaming requires constant efforts and equipment upgrades. So, invest in high-quality computing and streaming equipment to produce high-quality content without any technical issues jeopardizing your hard work.

From a reliable graphics card to high-speed internet connectivity and proper lighting equipment, you’d need it all to produce seamless live streams. When the production is smoother, racking up the views gets easier too.

6. Add a Camera to Your Stream

When learning how to get viewers on Twitch, understand the importance of building trust with your viewers. Most Twitch users want to connect with the live streamer or gamer, and adding a camera to your stream is the best way to do it.

By showing your face to your viewers, they can watch your expressions as you stream, which adds a personal touch to your content. Using a webcam or adding a high-end camera could also make your channel look more professional by building brand credibility and improving production quality.

Read more: 12 Best Cameras for Live Streaming for All Budgets

7. Use Overlays for Better Stream Aesthetics

Another way to maximize discoverability on Twitch is by improving the aesthetics of your streams. To this end, you can add attractive overlays to make your streams look better and make it easier for your audience to discover you on the platform.

Apart from giving your content a much more professional appearance, overlays also deliver real-time information about your current gameplay, boosting engagement.

The key is to make compelling overlays that don’t distract the viewers from your content, while still making you stand apart from the competition.

8. Focus on Audio Quality

When streaming online, the audio quality is much more important than the video. That’s because while most viewers would “watch” your live streams, they will all “hear” what you say to get a good experience. So, you might do okay with decent video quality, but the audio quality has to be top-notch to get more viewers.

Now, you don’t have to buy the latest top-of-the-line audio equipment to make immersive live streams on Twitch. You can go with basic headset mics too, as long as the quality is good. If budget allows, you can use a professional mic and a pop filter to get crisp audio without unwanted sounds.

Read more: 30 Best Microphones for Live Streaming

9. Utilize the Power of Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool to reach a broader audience, and you can use it to get viewers on Twitch. Being active on these sites can also help you find sponsorship opportunities and improve your bottom line.

Here’s how to use some of the most popular social media platforms to build a loyal following on Twitch:

YouTube

Post clippings of your Twitch stream on YouTube and add a link to your Twitch channel to draw viewers. Another way is to build a viewership on YouTube first by creating educational or entertaining content and then asking your YouTube subscribers and followers to check out your Twitch channel.

TikTok

TikTok users love entertaining content. So, you can edit your Twitch streams using Wave.video and post interesting clips on TikTok to gain a substantial audience size. In addition, make funny videos on TikTok relating to your niche and make your viewers enjoy a few laughs. But don’t forget to add a link to your Twitch channel to convert your TikTok followers into Twitch viewers.

Instagram

Use Instagram Stories or tease your Twitch content on the ‘Gram by posting photos and videos to attract Instagram users to your Twitch channel.

Twitter

Twitter is a great place to interact with fellow streamers and followers. Use the platform to connect with others, share your thoughts to showcase your personality, or simply post updates from your daily life, as Aydan does on his Twitter profile:

Facebook

Begin by creating a Facebook page for your Twitch channel and be a part of relevant groups to promote your Twitch channel. You can also use Facebook Stories to garner attention and go for Facebook Ads to bring more viewers quickly.

Discord

For live streamers, Discord is a vital place to be. To make the most of this platform, you can join Discord servers and network with other streamers or viewers. You can also join or build a Discord community to engage with your audience beyond Twitch. Another way to use Discord is to enable the Discord streamer mode for Twitch. It will inform your Discord audience whenever you go live on Twitch.

Reddit

Online forums like Reddit are gold mines for live streamers and gamers looking to expand their audiences. You can share your gaming clips on Reddit or even participate in discussions to build traction for your Twitch channel. It might be a slow build, but it’s all worth the effort – especially when you take your content in front of people having shared interests.

10. Add Music, But Make Sure It’s Royalty-Free

Any Twitch live stream can be improved with music. So, when it comes to enhancing your Twitch streams, use exciting music that appeals to your audience. You can add music to the live stream’s intro or any other segment. The idea is to use it right. Plus, it’s essential to use royalty-free music to avoid getting a strike on your account or, worse, being banned.

You can use Wave.video to add your own soundtrack or pick the right sounds from a vast library of royalty-free audio clips, tunes, etc.

11. Talk, Ask, and Engage

People may stumble onto your channel by chance, but you must encourage them to return. So, when you’re trying to figure out how to get noticed on Twitch, talk to your viewers. You can easily break the monotony of gameplay or a simple live stream by engaging with your audience.

Begin by asking questions if you are uncomfortable sharing your thoughts. When you ask something from your viewers, they feel valued. You can ask questions about their lives, where they are joining from, what they like about a particular topic, etc.

Another tactic is to interact with your loyal fans. For example, you can go through your Twitch chat logs, jot down the most active viewers’ names, and mention them during the stream to make them feel appreciated.

12. Show Your Personality to Build an Audience

Wondering how to get viewers on Twitch by displaying your personality? Well, you can easily stand out from the competition by having a signature style or peculiar personality trait that doesn’t go unnoticed. Then, weave it around your niche, and you’d have that perfect recipe to fetch more viewers.

For example, KaiCenat‘s loud and comedic personality is ideal for his Just Chatting streams on Twitch. No wonder he was one of the fastest-growing content creators on Twitch in 2022.

13. Have a Consistent Visual Brand

Adding to the previous point, letting your personality shine through your streams is significant, and so is having a visual brand that makes your channel recognizable. You’d want your audience to identify you in an ocean of streamers.

From brand colors to logos, overlays, imagery and even fonts, a lot goes into creating an excellent visual brand. You can even have a consistent background using a green screen or switch between two or more backdrops that tell your brand story.

Also, consider having a Twitch name that brings you more viewers. How? By picking a name that’s cool yet relevant to your chosen niche. You should also pay attention to your bio, as that’s one of the first things a new visitor checks when landing on your profile. So, make sure it’s concise and reflects your persona well, like NICKMERCS’ bio:

14. Come Up with Compelling Titles

Being creative should be second nature to you when it comes to making a presence on Twitch. Give your streams some amazing titles to attract clicks. Don’t be lazy and end up with a generic title like “The Last of Us – Part II”. Instead, include a wow factor and tell your audience why they should choose to watch you.

But avoid clickbait, as it could do more harm than good. You can experiment with different titles and then go back to your streams to see which ones outperformed the rest and if you used interesting titles for the ones that did great.

15. Use Custom, Engaging Thumbnails

Like compelling titles, your Twitch streams also need attractive thumbnails to generate more views. You can create customized thumbnails to tell your audience what to expect from a particular stream. But don’t forget to use your branding elements like logos, colors, theme, etc., as PixelProxi does here: 

16. Deliver Entertainment

Twitch is famous for its entertainment factor. Unlike YouTube, Instagram, or LinkedIn live streams (usually educational or informational), most Twitch broadcasts are delivered to entertain viewers. So, go that extra mile and show your quirkiness with each stream.

You can make fun and familiar references to engage your audience. For example, talk about popular TV shows and movies to connect with most viewers instantly. Crack jokes, use limericks or make puns to relate to your audience. You can also complete crazy challenges trending on the web or start one of your own!

17. Invite Friends and Family to Watch You Go Live

Asking your friends and family to join your live streams is an excellent way to show you’re popular even when you’re new. Besides boosting your confidence, these viewers also add to visibility and attract more clicks as people find your content is “worthy of being watched”.

You can even ask some friends to engage with you through the chat and help you build a Twitch community. Because when other viewers find that your content’s engagement is good, they may join in and interact with you too.

18. Create Value-Added Content

Even though Twitch streams are primarily about entertainment, most viewers are there to gain something valuable from your content. They won’t spread the word just for entertainment’s sake. So, give them something worthwhile to lure them into returning to your channel and recommend it to others.

You can ask for their feedback to know what they want to see from you and what they like the most about your content. This will help you pave the strategy for your future Twitch live streams.

If needed, take a break from your regular streams and dive into a new category or game. It can help you get out of a creative rut. Just inform your followers about the transition to avoid losing your existing subscribers.

19. Network with Other Twitch Streamers

Networking is essential for any profession and Twitch streaming is no exception. Find fellow streamers whose content you like and who belong to your niche. Perhaps, look for streamers with a similar viewership as yours. Build a rapport with them by connecting over social media profiles and then support their channels by mentioning them in your streams.

They might return the favor and mention your channel in their streams, broadening your audience reach. You can even collaborate with them and co-stream on topics of mutual interest. Additionally, raid each other occasionally, complete challenges, or even create a team to get in front of their audiences.

20. Create a Website and Add Twitch Follow Button/Plugin on it

Another tactic to get more viewers on Twitch is to create a website and embed your live streams. It helps in taking your Twitch content to an audience that’s not on the platform. Then, make it easy for your site visitors to follow you on Twitch by adding a Twitch follow button to your website.

To drive more traffic to your website, you can create content around your niche and add blog posts answering the commonly asked questions. Furthermore, you can write guest posts and publish them to other websites to build traction.

Promoting your Twitch channel through your website and other sites will increase your brand’s exposure, bringing more potential viewers in the long run.

21. Play with Your Twitch Family

If you’re a gamer, playing with followers and subscribers could help you form a close-knit community. Besides making your audience feel special, it’s a great way to build and nurture relationships on your Twitch channel.

You can invite your followers or subs to join you for gameplay once or twice every month and foster your bond with them while improving your viewer retention rate.

22. Create a Schedule & Stick to it

If you’re trying to get noticed on Twitch, consistency can be your best friend. You need to create a schedule with set times for your live streams. This would help gradually build up numbers and keep your existing followers by telling them what to expect from your channel and when. When you have a schedule and stick to it, your viewers are highly likely to show up rather than when you stream randomly without any set plan.

A good schedule involves streaming at least 4-5 times weekly to stay relevant and avoid getting lost in the crowd.

Here’s a snippet of KaiCenat’s schedule for inspiration:

23. Reward Your Viewers

Everybody loves rewards. So, incentivize your Twitch audience for being there for you and they will surely come back for more. Now, even though you can, you don’t really have to spend money to make them feel valued.

For example, you can offer Twitch Channel Points (if you’re a Twitch Affiliate) to viewers for completing specific tasks and they can then redeem those points for special rewards.

Although it’s a fantastic way to attract attention, most users unfollow streamers after the winners are declared. So, mix this tactic with the others mentioned in this post to experience increased viewer retention.

24. Run Long Streams

When you’re trying to discover how to get viewers on Twitch, one foolproof way is to run long live streams. Being online and interacting with your followers and viewers for several hours double your chances of finding more viewers. So, go beyond the usual 1–2-hour stream duration and increase your visibility.

While going live for at least 3 hours every day can boost your Twitch search results, going that extra mile with a 12 or even 24-hour live stream can build a buzz for your channel. Besides intriguing your audience, it’s also helpful in getting in front of viewers scattered in different time zones.

25. Leverage Meetups and Events

Taking your online interactions offline could be a smart move for Twitch streamers. Doing so can help them build a bond with their followers.

Meetups and events also highlight the importance of your fans for you. When people know that you are willing to travel and host an event or join a Meetup for them, they will appreciate you more. They might even show up with friends and family to spread the word, helping you gain new followers.

So, if your time and budget allow, go to meetup events in different parts of the world, and interact with your followers and other streamers to build a strong connection that gets you more potential followers.

26. Display Your Top Supporters with Twitch Leaderboard Panel Extension

Another superb way to show your followers that you care for them is to use Twitch leaderboard extensions. Display your top supporters and generate excitement amongst your audience to compete for the top slop on the board. You can even customize the leaderboard panels to suit your brand’s aesthetics and strengthen brand affinity.

Check out how supertf uses the leaderboard to showcase his weekly top cheerers:

27. Use Twitch Notifications to Bring More Views to Your Streams

Okay, this one is fairly straightforward and is similar to setting up the Discord streamer mode. The only difference is that it’s for your Twitch audience. Turn up Twitch notifications to inform your followers when you go live.

Although those who don’t want to be reminded can always turn off the notifications, people usually tune into live streams only when they get reminders. So, set up your notifications on Twitch and maximize viewership with this simple step.

28. Expand Your Twitch Presence through Podcasts

Twitch streamers can also use podcasts as an extra step when it comes to expanding their reach. Create podcasts about your niche and promote your channel in the episodes. You can even add the link to your Twitch channel in your podcast bio to encourage visitors to go and check your Twitch content.

Initially, you can interview smaller streamers or influencers to gain traction and ask your guests to share your podcast on their social media pages, receiving more visibility. You can also discuss the latest trends in your niche or talk about your journey as a streamer.

Although it doesn’t require much financial investment, you’d need to give your time to build your podcast.

So, if you don’t want to go ahead with it, you can always be a guest on one of the podcasts related to your niche. Shortlist a few good podcasts and then reach out to the hosts to join in as a guest. It might make you jump through hoops, but podcasts are big. Use them to get more viewers on Twitch.

29. Attract Viewers through a Charity Stream

Well, no surprises here! Charity streams are fun, exciting and sure-shot ways to generate buzz. However, don’t run them just to garner views, as you might end up disappointing your audience and yourself in the long run.

Conduct a charity stream only when you’re passionate about a cause and want to show your genuine support. In fact, when done with an altruistic mindset, charity streams can help you gain viewers and followers who feel the same way about the cause. And you might even end up building lifelong relationships with people who share the same outlook as yours.

Here’s an example of a charity stream from EricaNagashima where she also shares a QR code to receive donations for her cause:

30. Use Custom Sub Emotes

You can create custom sub emotes for your subscribers if you’re an affiliate. Twitch emotes can be used by your subscribers and they can drop them in other channels too.

So, if your emotes are fun and appealing, people may ask your subs where they got them from, which could be one smart way to bring viewers to your channel.

31. Join Tournaments

Listen: one of the biggest niches on Twitch is gaming. So, if you are a good player, sign up for a tournament and get your name out there.

Besides helping you network with other gamers, it’s also a great way to get the hype you need to bring new viewers into the fold. Even if you drop out or come in last, chances are you’ll be popular in your community. And if you win the tournament, imagine the audience you’d be winning along with it!

32. Get the Most Out of Creative Stream Alerts

It might seem a bit technical but you don’t have to get in the trenches to successfully use creative stream alerts on Twitch. These short animations show up when you get new subscribers, followers, or donations.

With animated alerts brightening up your Twitch streams, you can improve the viewing experience and encourage participation and viewership. This, in turn, helps you take your broadcasts to newer audiences. The only caveat is ensuring that excessive alerts shouldn’t distract the viewers.

33. Go for Twitch Tags

While having a captivating thumbnail is essential, tack on a couple of tags to your Twitch streams to make it easier for new viewers to find your content. Just ensure that your chosen tags are relevant to your stream, niche or the cause you’re supporting if it’s a charity stream.

For example, this is how tarik used #HelpTurkey for his charity stream to support the cause.

34. Concentrate on the Chat

Popular among live stream viewers, chat threads serve as a place to interact and gain feedback about the content. You can use a chatbot to moderate the chatroom and answer common queries. Plus, having a chatbot means having at least one viewer in your stream, so you’ll never have zero viewership.

To build a community, lay some ground rules to keep the chat clean. And never hesitate to ban someone who’s bullying others in your chat. The motive is to keep the discussion entertaining and h enough for others to stay and get the conversations going.

35. Multistream Your Twitch Content

Beyond the engagement tactics mentioned above, there’s another subtle step to get viewers on Twitch, i.e., to multistream. Although simulcasting is possible only for non-partners, many streamers forego their affiliate or Partner status to reap the benefits of multistreaming. You can opt for multistreaming if you’re willing to build more audience and then slowly funnel it down to Twitch and boost your channel’s visibility.

If you want to learn more about multistreaming, read – Multistreaming: All You Need to Know to Stream to Multiple Channels.

36. Monitor the Stream Quality

Always conduct a test run before you go live on Twitch to fix any avoidable tech malfunctions or connection issues. Remember, the better the quality of your stream, the higher the chances of people sticking around.

To ramp up your Twitch viewers, monitor your stream quality regularly, not just before you go live. So, go through your past streams and evaluate them based on production quality, content, visuals, branding, etc., to find any areas of improvement.

You can even ask your loyal fans, friends, and family to share their feedback. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes give you better clarity about the content you’re producing.

37. Work with Twitch Analytics to Gain Insights

This is a very important final step and can be used in conjunction with the previous one. Gaining insights about your Twitch streams can help you learn about your viewers’ likes and dislikes, and that’s one excellent way to create content that brings potential viewers.

From viewer count and audience demographics to the content your viewers like the most, finding information about these aspects can help you craft a clever Twitch strategy.

However, be careful not to get obsessed with numbers. Your primary goal should be to deliver unique and interesting content. Everything else will fall into place eventually.

Ready to Get More Viewers on Twitch?

Follow the abovementioned steps and have a good time streaming content on Twitch. When you do it right, your audience will likely have a good time too. So, be yourself and keep it all simple.

Hopefully, now you have a better idea of how to get noticed on Twitch. If you want to add Twitch to your marketing mix, but don’t know where to start, check out this detailed guide on streaming on Twitch.