So you’ve created your Twitch channel, got your setup going, and are streaming your favorite games on Twitch. Congratulations!
But wait…no one is watching!
You may be thinking, “Man, this sucks! Why am I streaming to 0 viewers on Twitch? It’s been 1, 3, 6 months! What am I doing wrong?”
Most people would say, “Hey, keep at it. It may take a while, but you’ll start getting viewers if you just keep going.”
I’m not going to tell you that.
What I AM going to do is give you my #1 tip you can implement TODAY that helped me when I was streaming to no viewers on Twitch.
I got partnered on Twitch back in 2013, but I remember my first few months vividly.
So I understand that what you are doing right now is not working and that’s okay! My goal is to share how I felt when I was in your position and the #1 thing that helped me finally start getting more viewers on Twitch.
You can check out my Twitch Channel here if you would like to very that it has actually worked.
And if you just made a brand new Twitch channel and haven’t streamed much yet, you can read my beginners guide on how to start streaming on Twitch.
Does This Sounds Familiar?
What was the reason you decided to do your first live stream?
For me, I was excited that one of my best friends who moved to Tokyo, Japan would still be able to watch me play video games live. So I started my stream to play my favorite game, the original Legend of Zelda.
What I quickly found was that if my friend wasn’t in the stream, I’d find myself sitting alone with no viewers to talk to.
This happened to me for such a long time I used to have my brother, cousin, and friends open my stream even if the weren’t watching just so it would look like I had 3-5 viewers. It was rough and I remember thinking to myself, “Why am I doing this? When will people start watching?”
We all start streaming because we want some regular viewers to consistently hang out and chat while we play our favorite video games.
But then many of us end up having to learn to talk out loud for 2 hours straight just in case a viewers pop in and you want them to be interesting in what you’re playing.
So what did I do to start finally getting viewers?
How To Get Viewers and Followers on Twitch
When it comes to learning how to get more viewers and followers on Twitch, being able to welcome new viewers into the stream can make all the difference. Creating a community on Twitch is an important part of keeping viewers coming back to your stream.
The trick that worked for me is something that sounds like complete common sense, but it honestly took me a few months before I realized it.
What changed everything for me is I realized that if I just left my viewer list open at all times, I would be able to see out of the corner of my eye the moment a new viewer joined into my stream.
I would see NewViewer123 in the viewer list and think to myself, “SWEET! A viewer!”
I’d see them in there for a few minutes then poof…GONE!
“DAMNIT, they didn’t even say anything!” I remember thinking to myself.
Then it dawned on me…why would a random viewer just start talking to me out of the blue? They have no idea who I am, what I’m about, why I’m a great streamer to watch. Plus, there are 5 million other streams out there they could be enjoying so why would they stick around in mine?
It was a little depressing at first, but it actually turned out to be a really great discovery which leads into my #1 tip on how to get more viewers on Twitch and actually keep them around to turn into followers!
How To Check & Welcome Viewers Into Your Stream
So how should you start welcoming viewers into your stream? The following process worked incredibly well for me and I hope it helps you, too.
Steps to Stop Streaming to 0 Viewers on Twitch
1. Keep your viewer list open and visible at all times
2. When you see a new viewer enter your stream, welcome them (Specific ways to welcome them listed below)
3. Give new viewers the opportunity to feel welcome and comfortable in your stream
How to Open Your Twitch Viewer List
To open your Twitch Viewer List to learn how to see who is watching your stream on Twitch, just follow these steps:
- Log into your Twitch account
- Click Your Avatar in the top right of the screen and visit your Creator Dashboard
- In the bottom left, you will see a box with your Twitch Chat – Click the 3 dots in the upper right corner of your chat box.
This will allows a way how to see who is watching your stream on Twitch at all times. I recommend keeping your Twitch Viewer List visible so you can see when new people enter.
Why Keep Your Viewer List Visible?
Keeping the viewer list open not only helps catch when a new viewer joins which you can see out of the corner of your eye so you’re aware they are there. But it also allows you to properly welcome them into your stream and make a great first impression.
Encourage Viewers to be a Part of Your Stream
When a new viewer enters your stream, welcome with the following message:
“Hi [viewer name], Welcome to the stream! Let me know if you have any questions about the game!”
You can change this up to whatever works best for you, but the important part here is that you don’t want to put pressure on the viewer to participate.
Many viewers on Twitch prefer to be lurkers and you want them to feel comfortable in your stream whether they’re lurking or chatting up a storm. Using this style of introduction let’s them know that you acknowledge they are there, are open to answer any questions they have, and have given them the opportunity to chat IF they want to.
I have found that this strategy gets a lot more people not only talking with you in your stream, but it also starts the relationship off right in a way that promotes return visits to your stream.
Many Twitch viewers are used to just joining a stream and not having any direct communication with the streamer, so this can really help you start getting a few regulars so you are no longer streaming to 0 viewers on Twitch.
Hope This Helps You Get More Viewers on Twitch and Happy Streaming!
As you get a few regular viewers, when new viewers drop in to watch, they’ll see you chatting with your regulars and feel more and more welcome as your channel continues to grow.
And of course, feel free to message me on Twitter, Instagram, or Twitch and let me know what your stream is and when you’ll be live! I’d love to stop in and check out your stream and give you any pointers I may have!
Thank you for reading and happy streaming!
I will try that tip about keeping it open. I’ve had most at one time was 2 ppl watching. And one was a random who was on my team.
I really hope it helps, Jaime. It can be tough in the beginning. But just focus on making sure the 1-2 people you do have are having a good time, help them feel welcome in your stream, and let them know what your schedule may be so they can know when to keep an eye out for your streams again. Also, shoot me a link with your stream either in a comment or on my Twitter, Instagram, or Twitch and I’ll give your stream a watch if I see you on!
Twitch.tv/fosxxweez
Hey Weez,
I checked out your stream and I would definitely put something on your screen that encourages people to chat. A game like Smite is a tough one for people to get engagement in chat on because viewers come in and you seem so focused on the game that they likely don’t chat. I’d put a stream overlay saying something like, “Got questions, let me know!” or since it seems like music is a core part of your stream I would maybe have a song request feature that you could have instructions on your stream overlay like, “Song Request Is On – Do X to request your fav hip hop music”.
May help get some viewers interacting in the stream for ya. Hope it helps!
Thanks for the article have definitely noticed that viewers pop in and out before I even see them. Hoping this will make a difference. Would love it if you would check out the stream. I’m on Twitch @BlazedFuzion
Just started my stream trying to get into it. Any advise to help is greatly appreciated!
Hi Michael,
Happy to help. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or Instagram with any questions you have. Or be sure to follow the site and I will be posting more articles with tips and advice in the future!
I’m having a hard time growing past 10-15 viewers. Granted I am new to streaming with only a little over 2 months on my belt. My channel was growing pretty fast but it has now slowed down drastically. Any tips on what I could do? Also what are your thoughts on picking the right stream team.
Hi Joker! Just checking out your stream now (And your LIVE!). How do you mean your stream was going fast and has now slowed down? Did you pick up viewers quickly and then now they’re no longer returning or do you think you’re just having trouble attracting new viewers?
Hey,
I have been streaming solidly for almost 10 months. I try to interact when I dont want to call out and say hello to a bot? I will see in my viewers list 3 names i don’t recognize. But on the Viewer count it will still say 0. Do they just pop in too quick in and out for the algorithm to count them as a viewer?
Thanks for any help. 🙂
I have noticed that bots do come in quite often and it can be hard to determine which are real viewers and which are bots. Generally, I welcomed them into the stream regardless because even if it’s a bot, you don’t really lose anything by saying anything. About the viewer count showing 0, just because it says you have 0 viewers does not mean the people aren’t actually watching your stream. I’ve been in some where the numbers are completely off, so I would probably focus more on who is in the viewer list.
If you see people popping in just for a minute or two, I would consider how your stream appears to a brand new viewer. For example, when viewers join, what do they usually experience in the first minute? Are you constantly talking even if you have no viewers? Is there dead silence while you are playing? Would the viewer feel that if they comment, they would be acknowledged? Those are the kinds of questions I would ask and try to tailor your style to encourage people to chat. It doesn’t even have to be you calling them out, you could just put a welcome message overlaying your stream. Just a sign to a new viewer that you want to know they are there…that will help you get more engagement.
Hope that makes sense and let me know if you’ve got any more questions!
Hi! So when you said keep the viewers list open you mean if I see a new viewer pop out do I welcome them first or do I need to wait for them to say something before I welcome them? I have been streaming for almost 2 months and i am having a hard time getting viewers. Also what games should I be streaming for me to have my regular viewers? Thanks in advance Mr. Dinky
Hi MasonKaret,
What I did when I was streaming is I would leave the viewer list open and if I saw a new person join the stream, I would wait a few minutes and then say something like, “Hey John, Welcome to the stream! Let me know if you have any questions!” so they didn’t feel like they HAD to answer, but if they did want to, they could. If you leave a link to your stream, I will take a look at what you normally play and give you any suggestions I have.
Hi Dinky,
Thanks for your time in replying back. I will try to do the tips you told me and if you have extra time please do check on my twitch link to see what I need to improve.
http://Www.twitch.tv/masonkaret
Again thank you for your time.
Hi Mason,
I checked out your stream. You’ve got some great quality audio and video. The layout also is well set up with the sweet overlay at the bottom showing subscribers and cheers.
I did notice that when I first watched, it was almost all silent for the first 15 minutes or so. Then a viewer commented and you started chatting and talking out loud a bit more. I would suggest trying to talk your strategy out at all times even if viewers aren’t commenting.
It’s really hard to do because it just feels weird talking to yourself, but when new viewers come in, it helps make them feel like you are used to chatting and they’ll usually be more open to comment and engage with your stream.
Hope that helps and I gave you a follow on my dinkydana account so I’ll try to catch you online sometime.
Thank you so much Dinky. I saw you followed thank you so much I also did follow you back and thanks for the reply I will try to talk as much as I can.
Hi Dinky,
I’ve been streaming for about a month and I’m using Streamlabs and restream to stream to all the major platforms. I’ve noticed I get more viewers on Twitch and Facebook, should I just focus on those platforms? I try to chat with everyone that comes in stream but any advice to help my streams would be greatly appreciated. My streams are under Bigmacsc1 on Twitch, Mixer, Facebook, and YouTube. Please stop in and check it out, I welcome all feedback and tips.
Hi BicMac,
I have always found it best to focus on one platform. I made my move from YouTube over to Twitch a while back and was glad that I did. I would probably prioritize the one that you are seeing the most success with. So if you’re doing well on Twitch and Facebook, I would probably focus on those two most and then possibly test between just those two and maybe narrow is down to a solo platform. To be honest, you really just want to do what makes the best experience for the viewer and the place where you most prefer to build your community.
I will give your stream a visit. Thanks for leaving a comment and hope it helped!
UPDATE: I just checked out your stream and your intro/transitions are sweet! I wanna know how you got those!
I will say that there is a lot of “dead air” time as I’m watching. Call of Duty is a really hard game for me to stream because I have to focus so much on the game and don’t really think out loud or have much to talk about while playing. This can make it difficult for a new viewer to get involved in your stream as they just drop by. I’ve found the more a streamer is talking at all times, the more viewers tend to participate.
The ways that have helped me most with this is to literally say every thought I’m having out loud. Possibly explaining which gear you’re getting as you’re running around picking up guns and armor. Saying strategy out loud as you try to flank an enemy. It’s a tough transition to make, but if you can pull it off, I think it’ll really have an effect on your stream engagement.
My tip is make friends in the game you are playing, practice commentary with randoms.
I got a sub from someone just because he loved how I sounded and how much I made his day. Join discord servers with these people and let them know who you are and build your team. Even if they are not all online they can tune in the stream and hear the rest of the gang having fun and be a part of it too
That is excellent advice, Michael. Thank you for posting it. I agree that just connecting with your viewers and letting them know you are there if they want to join makes a huge difference. Things like Discord, Twitter, Instagram… find ways to keep connected with them and hopefully start building a community. I just wrote another blog about building a Twitch Community too and it’s very similar to what you just wrote. What’s your stream URL so people can check it out?
Hey there, great article, ive definitely noticed more people tend to stick around when you’re engaging or even just talking through what your doing on the game. A lot of the bigger streamers out there tend to always be walking you through what they’re doing as it’s happening especially during games that don’t offer as much down time to communicate directly with chat. I’ve been streaming and making videos off and on for a few years now on YouTube mainly because it was convenient that I can stream from my PS4 without needing a computer with a capture card, but I’ve noticed that streaming without a computer or capture card or obs, as well as video content tends to be a little harder without a PC.
That being said I’m finally building my first gaming PC to up my game with content creating and streaming. (Nobody told me i would have to sell a kidney to afford a good gaming rig to run 1440, but I’m working that out LMFAO) once the PC is built I think I’ll make a switch over to Facebook gaming as I’ve got friends already on there and it seems like they have been doing a lot of working with partners over there with steadily giving them new tools to work with. That being paired with Facebook’s already massive user base seems like a good move for me.
Anyways… My name on YouTube is “TooEZ games” feel free to check it out and lmk what you think, but based off this article and a few things I’ve realized watching my favorite streamers lately I know for sure I have to be more vocal
I have definitely noticed the difference streaming on PS4 vs PC, too. If you’re unable to stream with a PC, then it’s perfectly fine to just use the PS4 but you will likely get more followers and engagement if you are able to use a PC because it’s easier to engage with your audience.
Since you’re looking to build a PC, I would highly recommend going through Cyber Power PC. I just used them and they allow you to piece together every component individually and really customize everything. They also have a lot of deals. I managed to upgrade mine from a Ryzen 7 to Ryzen 9, RTX 2070 Super to an RTX 2080 Super, and a few other upgrades all for $100 LESS than what I was going to order on Newegg (which was my usual go-to).
For me personally, I always got a decent amount of views on YouTube, but Twitch was where things really picked up. Twitch’s built in subscriber system worked really well for me and I’d definitely consider at least trying there. I know it’s super competitive now and Facebook does have a huge user base. I’d try both and see which feels better to you.
I will check out your YouTube channel. Appreciate you taking the time to read the article and hope it helps you with getting more “vocal”. It’s a hard habit to start at first, but once you get the hang of it, I think you’ll see a lot of results!
– Dinky
Ive been to this new twitch streaming platform and people join but then leave after like 2 mins idk what im doing wrong or what i need to improve on… Twitch.tv/ttv_jowers
Hi Andrew. I’ll check out your stream and give any feedback I find. I remember people doing the same thing in my stream. One of the biggest things I did to help fix people leaving right away was to train myself to just always be talking. I started thinking all of my thoughts out loud. I would think through my strategy out loud and say every move I was thinking as I did it. It seemed like when I did this, people would pop into the stream, see me talking and they felt more welcome to chat themselves.
Give it a shot and let me know if it helps!
I’ve been streaming for about a month. I’m not discourage that I don’t have any new viewers or followers, but would like to get more. This article is a great read and will definitely try it out. This is my twitch channel http://www.twitch.tv/dcruzader. If anyone ones to check it out and tell me what I can improve on. Thanks!!
Hi Ralph, I hope this article helps! I gave your stream a look and the quality is very good. Audio and video quality are top notch, so that’s good. A question for you, I see that you streamed Smite, Rogue Company, and Genshin Impact recently. Did you get any new viewers on the different games? The reason I ask is that I know games like Smite are super popular and may be harder to get new viewers on since there are so many other streamers at the top of the search. Usually smaller games are easier to get new viewers in.
Also, I would consider adding some sort of overlay to your stream encouraging users to chat. This could be a command like !askmeaquestion or !cruzadercash. Then when new viewers enter your stream, they’ll be curious about !cruzadercash and will type the command. That gives you an opportunity to welcome them to your stream and say hi. In the beginning, it’s all about just getting people to type anything into the chat and then once they do, just make them feel welcome and a part of the stream.
Not trolling by any means but this is most likely the worst “advice” you could give a live streamer. By constantly watching your viewer list all that does is promote and creat bad unhealthy habits. By that I mean your only coming to life when you see a viewer, or constantly watching your viewer count/list. Terrible and no one should ever take this advice. Just be used twitch says you have zero or 1 viewers does NOT mean that. Sometimes their systems cannot process in time and you really always have more. You should turn OFF your ability to see viewers and focus on having fun and creating fun, exiting and fulfilling content ONLY! if you only smile and welcome viewers when you “think” one pops in you are doing this wrong and you need to pack your bags and get off twitch. Just focus on yourself and finding your niche and what YOU would want to watch on Twitch. The community you create will come eventually.
I completely agree with you DeeMurk! It definitely would be a bad habit to create if you are only acting excited and coming to life when viewers enter your stream.
However, I completely disagree about “The community you create will come eventually”. That is definitely false. People do not just “find” you if you make amazing content. I have learned this through helping many other streamers over the years. I have seen so many streamers with amazing content just slip completely under the radar because they do not understand marketing and the psychology of what makes a viewer stick around and enjoy your stream.
That being said, I do think it is a balance that is required. For a brand new streamer with zero viewers, the total goal should be to get a viewer to join the stream, chat with you, and start creating a bond between streamer and viewer to the point where that viewer had enough fun to return again to your stream. For me, this worked best by watching my viewer list and making sure to welcome the new viewers when I saw them. For others, it might just be to focus solely on the game they’re playing, but I’d find it hard to believe that anyone should have a problem with welcoming people into the stream.
This article is geared toward streamers with 0 viewers. They’ve already tried getting a community to grow and just aren’t having success.
For anyone reading these comments though, DeeMurk is completely right about that you should NOT only get excited and pay attention when a viewer pops into your stream. Like he says, the primary focus of your stream should most definitely be having fun and providing the best possible stream you can regardless of viewer count. Just be aware that viewers will not magically just find you. You need to be proactive and let people know how much you appreciate them joining your stream and spending their time with you.
Thank you for this, I’ve been struggling big time lately. But I think this is a good tip and will be trying it out later. I’ve also lost interest in a lot of the games I play because I’m a huge horror fan and there are no real good horror games on Xbox so I’m in the process of getting a pc built so I can play much better horror games which is where I want to direct my channel.
I had a lot of success with Horror games, Jay. Horror games are fun for people to watch because there’s always the element of a jumpscare coming around every corner. I would definitely recommend building a decent PC. That gives you so much more opportunity and games as SO cheap on steam that you’ll never run out of options. I would suggest sticking to the smaller games to try and get some traction. I know Alan Wake is an amazing game that I played on Xbox 360. If you haven’t played it, definitely give that one a shot!
I’m a partnered streamer and I just stumbled across this article. Never ever call out a lurker. People who want to chat will chat, those who want to lurk and watch your stream will leave if called out.
I would agree with you on that as a partnered streamer myself, but this article is written for people who have been streaming for months and still are only streaming to 0 viewers on Twitch. I’ve seen far too many streamers who provide amazing content just sit streaming to themselves, so I share what worked for me in the beginning. I definitely think it’s worth trying to welcome new viewers in a way that will help them stick around for future streams. Once you have a few regulars, this tip isn’t really needed as much because new viewers will see others engaging and want to join in.
Appreciate you reading the article though. I know a lot of streamers do not agree with mentioning viewers who haven’t chatted, yet. I just share what worked for me and encourage readers to try both ways and see which works best for their stream and their own personality.