It takes a lot to become a successful streamer. From being able to set up equipment such as a webcam, microphone, and strong internet connection to having access to all the video games, new streamers are in a constant race to offer viewers content that’s engaging and entertaining.
Streaming is about much more than simply playing your favorite video games with a webcam aimed at your face. It’s a form of content creation, and like all content, it must be interesting enough to get people hooked.
It’s easier said than done, with many new streamers failing to get it right.
So, what does it take to capture a viewer’s attention? As a streamer, how do you become “watchable?” A great way to go about this is to develop a strong streamer persona.
Let’s look at what a streamer persona is, why it’s essential, and how you can develop your streamer persona that best fits the type of content that you want to stream on Twitch.
What is a Streamer Persona?
A streamer persona is essentially the type of personality or character a streamer puts on whenever they go live on Twitch or any other platform. A streamer’s persona is what makes them unique and identifies them. It’s what defines a streamer.
Your streamer persona doesn’t necessarily have to be an elaborate, made-up character, though some successful streamers do it. It could simply be the best version of yourself. Being genuine and honest about yourself is a trait that’s appreciated. Others can tell if you aren’t acting honestly! Acting genuinely and being yourself is a great way to gain viewers.
One’s on-camera persona can range wildly from acting the same as one acts off-camera to pretending to be a fictional character, such as popular video game streamer Dr. DisRespect.
Research, Research… Watch Other Streamers
So, how do you develop your streamer persona? The best way to start is to watch other streamers – both in your chosen content type and outside of it! It’s vital to watch some of the more prominent streamers out there. Pokimane, Ninja, Dunky, QT Princess, Beatemups, and WULFF DEN are a few examples of highly successful streamers worth checking out.
When you’re watching some of the biggest streamers, notice how they behave while on stream. Do they seem friendly? Do they talk a lot? What are the things they talk about? How do they conduct themselves? What makes them unique? These are some of the crucial traits to take note of.
More importantly, you should watch many smaller streamers as well. That’s because it tends to be harder to gain a following today than it was 5-10 years ago when present-day streaming giants such as Ninja and Pokeman started.
New streamers tend to take bigger risks and try more out-of-the-box ideas to stand out from the crowd. So, many new streamers who’ve gained niche followings might be helpful to watch. Try watching streamers with 30 to 100 viewers. Take note of their traits as you’d do with more prominent streamers.
Decide What You Don’t Want to Be
An excellent tactic for developing your streamer persona is to decide what you don’t want to be. So, like before, watch other streamers and see how they behave, how they present themselves, how they interact with their audience, and what games they play.
It’s important to decide what you like and what you don’t before you start streaming to narrow down your options and help figure out what sort of streamer persona will be a good fit for you and your channel.
Use Your Favorite Streamers as Inspiration
Once you’ve watched a fair amount of other streamers, pick a few you particularly like the most. Watch them more, and try to figure out what makes them enjoyable to watch. Are they constantly engaged with the chat? Do they have personable, welcoming, and comforting traits? Or are they just fun to watch play games? There can be a lot of reasons why you may like watching your favorite streamers. What’s essential for you is to understand what makes them so popular.
Once you’ve figured that out, you may want to use those streamers as inspiration for your stream. But remember there’s a fine line between inspiration and plagiarism! For example, if you like a streamer’s haircut and outfit, don’t go out and get the same outfit and haircut. Instead, you could borrow their strategies for engaging with viewers.
Another way to take inspiration from other streamers is to learn from the look and feel of their presentation. If you love the webcam overlays and stream alerts of another streamer, then there’s nothing wrong with making your stream look similar to theirs, as long as you add your own flare!
Choose a Name That Fits Your Style
Once you’ve got your inspiration, try coming up with a name for your channel that fits you well. The name isn’t the most critical aspect of your Twitch channel. But it can go a long way in setting the tone for your stream and telling viewers what sort of streamer you are.
For example, the name VideoGameDunkey sounds light and goofy, and that’s precisely the kind of streamer that Dunkey is. He rarely takes himself seriously, and his name perfectly reflects the type of streamer he is.
Build a Brand That Reflects Your Personality
New streamers need to create a brand that reflects their personality. If you’re a huge fan of all things horror and want your channel to emphasize that aspect of your personality, make your channel have a spooky aesthetic and dress goth!
Try to be yourself, and create a persona you feel comfortable with on stream. But don’t simply act or behave in a certain way on stream just because you believe it’ll garner a lot of attention. Emulating Ninja only because he’s a popular streamer is not a great option.
Learn as You Go, Tweak it Over Time
Remember that this isn’t something that most streamers can do overnight. Creating your streamer persona will take time, much trial and error, and tweaking to be perfect. You may decide on a name, style, and vibe for your stream and quickly determine that it doesn’t feel right and want to rebrand completely. There’s nothing wrong with that. Many streamers rebrand themselves, sometimes multiple times, before figuring out a streamer persona that works for them.
Lightstream Gamer is a helpful tool for new streamers who want to create their brand and personalize their stream through a vast selection of stream themes and alerts. Try Lightstream Gamer today!
No matter what kind of content you’re going to create, Lightstream has you covered! From streaming from your console with Lightstream Gamer, to a talkshow or podcast with your friends on Studio 2, to a full production setup on Creator, Lightstream can make it fast and easy to get started (or level up).
