EPTI have been gathering a lot of information on how streamers stay successful and continue to gain more and more viewers. Twitch.tv is great for this information gathering because they easily show stream count and popularity for each specific game. After a few days I came to some very basic, but good to know, conclusions.
You have the chat bar, use it
The great thing about the streaming medium is the instant communication with your viewers. While most pros don't talk in the chat simply because so many messages go through the chat box with the thousands of viewers. As a small time streamer, you have the opportunity to see your messages and actually respond. If your viewers feel like they can actually reach you, they will perceive that as a value to watching your personal stream over the larger streamers. I would suggest using a second monitor to watch your chat as you play, but if you don't have that, then just check it in between your games.
Convert guest into repeat viewers
Once you start communicating with your viewers, you want to use that engagement for good. I would say that the community building has yet to be fully explored. Try to get a call to action in front of them like sharing your link or following you on twitter or the stream sites follow system. Getting your viewers to become repeat viewers will greatly help your stream community. People will start being seen as regulars, and will start to take pride in being on your stream a lot. Try to encourage this by letting people moderate or giving them more attention in the chat. This will give people a great drive to come back and engage.
Types of Streams:
So their are a 4 big streaming groups right now. People will just show the game, have the game and music, the game and commentary, and then the game with a webcam view. I ordered them in terms of engagement, and also how you should progress as a streamer.
Just the game
I would fully discourage streaming just the game itself. The simple reason is that your viewers will get bored of just watching the game. They could go to a bigger streamers channel if they just wanted to view the gameplay itself. If you have some kind of crazy creative play style, then they might stay, but this usually isn't the case.
The game and music
When you start streaming, you think that you should add music to the stream. This can help you get some personality, but it can also alienate your viewers. If they go to look at your stream and don't like the music, they will switch immediately and find something else to watch. One of my friends just despises electro, and cannot stand when streamers just blare dubstep while playing. I would say that you can do this if you are still uncomfortable with talking or being on camera. Once you get familiar with streaming , move away from just playing music and add something else to your stream.
The game with commentary
Once you get comfortable streaming, its time to start directly communicating with your viewers. Using a mic and commentating your games is a great way to add personality to your stream. Having a mic allows you to show a lot of yourself to your viewers. You can be really informative and explain what you are doing step by step in the games. Another good use is to be more entertaining. Being able to joke around while playing can cause people to view you as funny and then they will actually grow attached to you, and not just your play. The greatest example for this medium is Destiny. Most starcraft fans have heard of him and his stream. He decided to talk while streaming, and quickly grew a loyal fanbase because of his antics, and not just refined play.
Destiny's 4 Infestor Hit Squad
The game and a webcam
If you are very comfortable with yourself and you are confident in your ability to stay entertaining, then a webcam feed is for you. Slayers Dragon is the most prominent streamer to come to mind who uses his webcam very effectively. He connects with his fans because they see his face, they see his looks of joy or concern. I remember when he hit grandmaster and just started dancing and everyone in the chat were elated. His creative play and entertaining webcam really pulls people to watch him over any other streamer.
http://i.imgur.com/V3Fgx.jpg
Thats Dragon running around his room as his units fight, just him being his entertaining self.
As a streamer, you need to find which one of these strategies works for you and really just get out there. Do not think it is a big deal to stream, do it every time you play. Doing this will get you used to having people watch you, and soon you will get comfortable with it.
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