More people than ever before are streaming now. It can be big business, with some of the bigger streamers making an absolute fortune. Today we’re going to focus on how first impressions matter when it comes to this. Primarily, people used to stream themselves playing games, but now, people stream all sorts, such as daily challenges, them just in real life carrying out casual tasks, or doing question and answer sessions with their community.
There are various platforms that people stream on now. The original (and the one that is still going very strong) is called Twitch. This primarily was full of people gaming, whether that was playing GTA V, Skyrim, FIFA, or even trying to get lucky at casinos online. Other platforms that have since come to fruition include those of KICK as well as other platforms that implemented a streaming function, such as social network giant Facebook and media megaspot Youtube. Another notable mention is that of TikTok, which, despite not having reinvented the wheel, has made sure that their offering is different.
Recipe for success
Although being successful at streaming takes a lot of commitment and presenting something different to your community. If you think about it, let’s say you’re playing poker online. They could go and watch plenty of other people streaming poker online, so what is to entice them to come to you? Is it your skill? Do you engage with your community a lot more? Do you tend to take quite outrageous chances? Do you have your own alter-ego that you play as when you’re at the poker table? All of these are questions that you’re going to want to ask yourself. Just like if you were running a shop or a website, you need to find out what is unique about you that is going to make people want to watch you instead of something else. And sometimes it isn’t easy nor quick to find the answer to this and can sometimes take years.
What should you wear?
And so if you’re planning on making your streaming debut, what should you wear? Well, like everything else, first impressions count, just as if you were going to a job interview. At the same time, if you’re trying to put on an alter-ego, you’re going to want to get into character. There is no set outfit that can be recommended for your first stream or, in fact, for any stream. It all depends and is subjective on who you are going to try to portray yourself to be on stream and who your audience is. What you’re going to want to do on your first stream is highly engage with every single person who comments on your video or asks questions or comments in order to try and drive engagement not only between yourself and your viewers but also between the viewers themselves.
Maximise your earnings.
There is also a business opportunity if you choose carefully as to what you’re going to wear. For example, if you speak to a clothing manufacturer who is trying to promote a certain line or brand of clothes, you could then wear these clothes for when you are streaming, and if anyone asks where you got them from, instead of telling them, you point them to a link somewhere in your chat or stream that has an affiliate link.
This means that you can earn money whenever someone clicks on that link and subsequently ends up buying that product. This is another revenue stream in addition to the revenue that you will also be earning from the actual stream itself, either through advertisements or donations/tips. And so if you’re looking at maximising your earnings when you’re streaming, we would heavily recommend looking into affiliate marketing. Likewise, it doesn’t always have to be clothing; depending on what game you’re playing or what your community is into, it should be something that is relevant and will capture your audience's attention.
In Summary
Hopefully reading this today has given you a bit of confidence and reassurance that you can make it if you’ve been planning on getting yourself into the streaming world. Confidence is everything when it comes to streaming, and you’re just going to want to make sure that you keep your audience as engaged as possible. At the end of the day, they are spending their spare time watching you and want to be given a reason not only to come into your stream but always to stay. It may also be worth rewarding people who subscribe to you so that they feel wanted and appreciated. And always remember, looping back to the title of this article, that first impressions matter, so make sure that you take the time to consider what you’re going to wear for your first stream and wear it with as much confidence as you can.