Pokimane shares her top 5 tips for small streamers
YouTube: PokimaneBoasting an audience of over four million followers, Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys is one of Twitch’s top broadcasters and has shared five important tips for those looking to reach similar success in a space where everyone’s competing for views.
It’s no secret that being a full-time streamer is a highly coveted occupation, with users across the net taking to sites like Twitch, YouTube, Mixer and more to kickstart their own broadcasting careers.
Despite its popularity, streaming isn’t all sunshine and roses, with many smaller personalities struggling to gain the viewership of huge names like Ninja, shroud and Dr Disrespect.
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As one of the net’s biggest names to date, Pokimane has decided to share her own tips on finding success in a highly competitive environment — and some of them might surprise up-and-comers.
Tip #1 – Interactivity is key
For her first tip, Pokimane advised new streamers to make their audience a priority. By chatting with viewers, they add value to their streams, allowing for some back-and-forth banter that makes fans want to sit in.
This also includes giving entertaining commentary over their current activities if there aren’t many commenters making noise in the chat.
“Just like live radio, as the saying goes, you don’t want any dead air,” she suggested. “Honestly, you don’t even want ten seconds to go by without you actively saying or showing something to the people that are watching.”
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Tip #2 – Growing on Twitch for reasons outside of Twitch
Her second tip placed an emphasis on using one’s outlets to their advantage. By plugging their stream to their social media accounts or appropriate subreddits, broadcasters might be able to expand their stream by utilizing a site where they already have a substantial following.
If one doesn’t have a huge social media presence, Pokimane suggested growing their following by suggesting their stream in an already relevant space, such as plugging a knitting stream in a knitting subreddit, for example.
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Tip #3 – The Door Metaphor
Pokimane’s humorous third tip compares streams to doors. Just like a door, streamers’ broadcasts need to be alluring enough for viewers to want to open them up — while also having enough compelling content for audiences to remain engaged and interested over time.
“Think of your channel as a door,” she began. “There’s thousands of other doors out there, just like there’s thousands of other streamers and other channels out there… in the same way you open a door, you click on a stream and go see what’s inside.”
Freepik.comTip #4 – Figure out your branding
Although Anys admitted that, in the old days of Twitch, being a female streamer was enough to set one apart from the crowd and create a form of branding on its own, simply existing as a girl isn’t going to cut it, anymore.
Instead, Pokimane urged streamers to stand out from their counterparts, asking that they find a niche to fill that would make them a unique face in a sea of people trying to accomplish the same thing.
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Tip #5 – WYWYS?
For her final tip, Pokimane asked streamers — Would You Watch Your Stream? This simple acronym presents a compelling question that forces broadcasters to consider their content in full. After all, if you wouldn’t watch your own stream, why should anyone else?
“Try to answer these questions,” she advised. “Figure out why or why not, and figure out what you can specifically do to be better.”
You can watch Pokimane’s full video on the topic below:
Pokimane’s advice comes from six years of experience, during which she became one of the most popular broadcasters on the net. Whether you love her or hate her, there’s no denying that her top five streaming tips contain grains of wisdom and truth.
What do you think of Pokimane’s advice? Is there anything you’d like to add to her tips?
