I am a creative streamer, I gave up because I was still in college, had a job, and social anxiety which was too much, but you motivate me to give it a second try.
This hits home to me as well. However, doesn't discourage me to stop trying. I tutor math on stream. Math. For students all over. And I do it for them. There are students all over the world that dont have the best teachers or even have the money to hire special tutors. I've lost everything trying to be someone I'm not. Hitting rock bottom is hard, moving home and sleeping on the floor of your childhood bedroom is hard. But, I help people all over the world. I'm trying to grow by being myself. Trying to help others is why I stream. Thank you Harris.
I love these honest videos a lot more than all the other stuff on here where everyone is just telling people what they want to hear, it's so harmful if you're someone who's just getting into streaming and some content creator is like yeah just keep cruising along you're doing fine just treat it as a fun hobby :), because it effectively puts that person's progress to a complete halt... As a side note for anyone struggling with disconnecting your own personal value from your online likability and crowd, I'd honestly recommend looking into learning DBT skills if you have the resources and accessibility to do so, it's so so helpful to learn to grow as a person
Now that I've been a RUclipsr for almost a year now and absorbed sooo many of your videos - I can honestly say, your advice is very realistic. This is a difficult job but it's so amazing. Just came here from your "pros of streaming" video and I have to say, I can relate to all of this - the good and the bad.
Hey Harris I found your channel about a month ago and I wanted to congratulate you for all your awesome videos and how you try and help people succeed. Something I've noticed about RUclips and Twitch is that the more you grow, the more it becomes a competition. Well, it is a competition right from the start but when you get sort of "big" you realise pretty much everyone hates each other and no one will give advice to people they don't know. That's what I've been noticing through the years. So thanks for being so helpful! I love your content :) Another advice I can give people is really prepare yourself to get hate. Even if you are the most loving caring inocent person some people will hate you and will do everything they can to destroy your career and your overall well being. It can be an emotional ride, some people are weaker than others (aka; myself) and really struggle with this. Focus on the good people who come and watch you, not the hate (And also Harris I took your sub alerts for my twitch page they are sooo awesome, keep up the great work!)
First tip is HUGE. Exactly. You will NOT convince some people until you get a paycheck. I went months and months with no RUclips ad revenue (before the new monetization standards). Probably a good six months producing quality content before I really picked up steam. Now I'm doing 50-70K views a month, have landed multiple company partnerships and make great side income. Frankly ALL of these tips are solid and you earned another sub!
The dope thing with this is i think this was information that I already knew subconsciously, but like I been learning this year you can't move past something unless you actually acknowledge the issue. Thanks for the advice and the video! I gotta keep my own stuff moving!!
This was probably one of the most encouraging of your videos. The production side is actually what is attracting me to the idea of streaming. (Worked in entertainment for years, so it's like that but I get to work for myself.)
I'm a 43-year-old father of two boys. I started a RUclips Channel about Division 2, three weeks ago. Damn, it is a lot of work! I started the channel because my 12-year-old son said he wanted to be a RUclipsr. I thought I should know how it works. I have always been a gamer, and you are absolutely correct that you will spend more time content creating and less time gaming. Hell, at this point I only jump into the game to record my content and then I spend the rest of my night after work editing the video. And they still suck..... getting better though. This is great advice, I will be making my boys watch it!
Great points, I think this will be a wake-up call for a lot of people. I've been doing youtube for about a year and with the release of MK11 I decided to stream on twitch and I'm having a lot of fun with it. I don't want to just forget about YT either because it's where I've always been, but the level of interaction you get on twitch is really freaking awesome. But, in all things you have to find balance or you'll just work yourself into the ground and that's never good, never prioritize money and success over mental health because at the end of the day if you don't enjoy what you're doing, you'll never be happy no matter what you have or what you do.
Man I needed this. I’ve been on and off for months then recently started a gaming channel. Went back after your recent stream about going back and watching old vids of others. Thank you 👏🏽🙌🏽
I gotta say I love you videos. They have helped me a lot in learning how to grow on twitch. When I started watching your videos I averaged 1 viewer after listening to you and taking some of your best practices and mixing them with some of mine I’m currently at 21 subscribers on twitch. It doesn’t seem like a lot to most but to me it’s huge. Thank you for your help!
We had our first live stream ever yesterday, and had 9-10 people watching at one point. the feeling was great. This kind of video is really helpful and motivational, thanks :)
How's it going Alpha. I haven't streamed in over a month, I only streamed so I can socialise more on chat. I wish I could stream 20 hours a week, have a schedule but I only did 5 hours a week and having a wife who's doesn't support me with twitch not understanding it not spending time with my loved one doesn't help. Thanks for your video.
Great content from you and I know this video is old, but it's always nice to be able to review the past and learn. What you said then is still applicable today. There are many memorable quotes from Picard as well, = ) Glad to see your reference.
I remember seeing a video about growing as a band/musician. I think the struggles are in some ways equal. You need to refine your skills, but you also need to gain and build viewership. Of course it may happen through beeing good. But it's about keeping on and about networking. For example a musician going to many conferences, networking events and concerts will eventually get his chance because the potential of meeting someone that can help you is growing everytime you visit one event. For streamers it should be the same. You can grow your own, by working for others and showing them how good you are. Keep up the good work!
Leaning to edit was the hardest process learning what a good cut is vs a bad cut ect it's exausting but with the tips from you and other influencers I watch it helps us interns learn
Great video, I’ve been treating RUclips and twitch like hobbies that I expect to be my job. And the connections you made kinda opened my eyes to kick my ass into gear, thanks man :)
I can't stand people who tell you that you will never become successful if you do something that you "don't like" or if you "only do it for the money and fame" you will fail. Content creation isn't easy, you have to put a lot of effort, work, and creativity into things you don't really like doing. After a while, you will get into a routine and the things you hate doing now will become easy - but if you are never EVEN A TINY BIT frustrated during content creation, then either you're a god or you aren't pushing yourself enough.
Nicely said Harris. A lot of what you said can be applied to a lot of self run business/ideas. I started a radio show that after 3 years has finally picked up on FM radio and is doing very well, but struggle to transfer that over to social media. Its always a very humbling reminder. But bottom line always improving your content, being consistent and patience are key. Thanks for the words of encouragement. Cheers
Thank you. I think I needed to hear what was on this video. I'm struggling with trying to get my channel to grow, but hearing these things--instead of putting me down--kind of inspired me to do better and to work harder. So, again, thank you.
I streamed full time for months on end with no twitch followers and no viewers, I experienced loads of these hurdles. Thankyou for spreading light on them, you motivated me a lot man
I appreciate the advice! I'm not really looking to stream games but I AM looking to get back into the RUclips space. I had an internet sketch troupe that did pretty well WAY WAY back in the day. Doesn't seem to be much room for that type of thing anymore.
Thanks for your content, you are very good at your job, you're dad must be proud and even a little slighted by the fact that they told you it was a stupid career choice despite you doing basically what he did only it sounds like your chosen path may have been filled with bigger obstacles. My how life can be so ironic...I love it! You have helped keep it real for me thanks ALOT. I only started streaming in December and I have kids and fulltime job in Construction so I have especially paid careful attention to time management portions of your vids lol but although my NEWLY created youtube channel is very small I made affiliate on twitch in less than a month and I jump on now and almost immediately have 10-12 viewers with my average viewership growing regularly. Keep em coming!
I only did streaming for about 4 months and then realized the one point you made that stood out to me “if you just like playing games this isn’t for you”. I’ve been gaming my whole life and figured hey why not try streaming! Streaming sucked all the fun out of what I enjoyed and that was just gaming. I like getting on fortnite with my one buddy and just playing to have fun but when I was streaming I had to ignore him or ignore the game at times to try and keep up with anyone that would be in chat. When really all I wanted to do was play the game and relax. I work 9 or more hours a day Monday through Friday and gaming after the kids are off to bed is my release from the real world. I had some fun met some cool people but soon realized that this isn’t for me and I just don’t have the time or desire to try and actually make it something. Plus the amount of time it takes unless you are a GOD at a game to actually make a respectable amount of money is just not worth it to me. I used to watch seife a lot cause he would toss out some good info and I realized that this dude is GRINDING every hour of the day about his brand and his content and yeah....I’m not about working 20 hours a day. The other thing i noticed is a lot of the big streamers...they were already in the industry they got a head start on most of us. Siefe worked for ea I believe and also has a marketing degree, ninja was pro in halo 2 so these guys were slightly known before they jumped into twitch/mixer. The other thing that bothers me and it didn’t at first till I realized there is some truth to boobs sell. There are some crazy talented female streamers and there are also a lot who pull massive viewers cause the nerds out there literally think that by watching and donating are gonna get a taste. Hey it’s not what they do that bothers me if you got it and want to flaunt it more power to you but when you are a normal dude just trying to make it you realize that you aren’t over coming that haha.
thanks so much man i've been streaming on youtube for the past year or two and i just switched to twitch and because of you i have got 20 followers in one week
Got to say been following your channel for a little over a year now and tried to follow your advice as much as possible (Usually putting my own twist on it) and the past week I've managed to have some luck. The game I mainly play "Albion Online" is going F2P and as I have a lot of exp I can share with people my stream has taken off. Been sitting around 50 viewers per stream the past week! Ty
Thank you for your wise words and wisdom. I’ve been contemplating making youtube a side job with the hopes of it one day being a full time job. Watching your videos gave me more of a insight and possibly getting started soon. Biggest fear is video editing, intros and making thumbnails. Do you have a video on that? Or could you make one? How you started? What your first thoughts were. Breaking points and times you almost gave up. Why you didnt and how you pushed through. Thank you in advance
Honestly this motivated me more then it dissuaded me. You make some very great points that are quite terrifying but i believe my love and determination for editing and playing video games will prevail over the fear of failing in the end. :) thank you for making this video. Liked and subbed!
had To Re Watch This 10 Times to get the video and all the parts 100%, and it was totally worth it it got me thinking and motivated me tbh, Love these Twitch Videos really helps me and gets my brain thinking on how I can do and change things up, keep the awesome work up Harris Your Videos really help
Good video. Love the honesty about treating it like a creator. I have two jobs and do RUclips on the side (haven't gotten into Twitch just yet), but I have to constantly reevaluate and teach myself things daily.
You gotta keep going with the grind. If its something you are passionate about doing and you're good at it don't listen to those who are trying to bring you down. Edit. Still watching harris :)
5:05 I had to rewatch this a couple times because the brutal honesty of it cracked me up. It's also solid advice, if you show up for the money and you expect that, a lot of people will smell that and not like it. Best example of this: people with nothing on their stream except a donation button. xD
Man I love your videos. I have been watching you and learning since I started on Twitch. Been going now 3 1/2 months and have hit 338 followers, 28 subs, and average 12 viewers a stream. Your info has helped me out so much I just wanted to say thanks you. Dropped you a follow on Twitch and can't wait to catch you live. Much love from BoschGaming and the BG Crew!
Just curious but can stream elements make ban alerts as well, when you ban someone the name of the one will show up with the message (username) got banned." with a sound and a custom gif or custom emoji on it. Because that would be useful to handle trolls. The ban alert should be used to troll them back.
Will be sharing this. Some great points being made here. Harsh truths and generally good points being made without being rude or pretentious. Great video!
I"m trying to teach my friend about building a platform and he doesn't really buy anything I say unless he hears it from you. xD Thanks Harris, everything you posted today is related to what I've been talking to him about.
Hey man, I've been kind of stuck in my own loop for awhile and the reality check was something that I needed. This video has helped me realized that I do need to push out some more content instead of just streaming video games only. And you definitely called it, I can't push past 10 just quite yet haha!
Thank you for making this channel. I'm just starting to get into streaming. I found myself always playing games on my off time. So I figured, why not stream and bring together people would enjoy my gameplay. I know it's work, and there will be evolution to that work. But I think that's what's keeping me going. You're videos bring in the facts, pros, and cons about choosing this path. Which helps me bring clarity to why I'm doing this. It's an adventure. You never know what you can make of it until you try!
I think you were honest there and its good that you dont only tell people the good sides because some will get so driven like you said they will quit everything on life to make this works and when it doesnt work life crashes down. Much respect my friend keep good content .
I've got a full time job. I'm doing RUclips part time and my god is it a grind. I can't imagine how hard it is to gain a following streaming. I spend so many hours working into the a.m. to produce content. Thanks for this video man. It's always to see it's normal to go through these things.
This video really did more motivating to me than dissuasion. It is important to know exactly what you’re up against and it’s even more fun when you’re getting to overcome a huge challenge.
But what if i stream as a hobby? Even so i have mostly zero viewers i stil enjoy streaming, it's like let's playing again. But still i felt the lonelyness and it got me frustrated, but still i have fun doing it. Is this madness?
Great talk nice and real honest view and since you made the comment on not being able to learn this in school maybe there would be an option I can totally see a college adding social media and content creation classes to their curriculum one day.
Love ya honesty. Been at twitch for nearly 5 years, finally moving on to youtube and cutting some streams short. I see it as expanding my brand. gotta keep moving on.
Since my classes have started I am not able to play videogames on stream. I had two options stop streaming for 4 months or stream when I do my homework. I chose the second option and I move to art category. This was the best change I have done with my channel because I have 5-6 viewers (sometimes 8-10) when I draw. When I play fortnite I have 3-4 viewers and I got stuck in that number for 2 months or more I guess until I change the category. Well, thanks for all your videos that make me improve my channel. Sorry if I have grammar mistakes, I'm still learning.
Could you do a video discussing how to deal with suicide and suicide trolls in chat? (or just approaching hard topics) I had a situation with this at my last stream and it was really hard for me.
For the people with 1 to 3 viewers: Give some love to the ones that already enjoy your content, the other people will come seeing that, and will want it too ♥️🐥
It's so cool to see a streamer talking not only about success but failures, too. I used to multistream with Restream.io to RUclips and Twitch to see which channel is best for me. For a novice streamer, there are lots of difficulties, disappointments and finding the right platform is one of the challenges. So now I got that I feel more comfortable in RUclips rather than Twitch. But I do like watching others on Twitch. So yeah, it can be complicated.
Story time? I quit (streaming on Twitch) because I got in a huge fight with the partnerships team for about 4 months primarily because they refused to give me requested feedback as to why they weren't partnering me. It would've been nice to see why and it really put a sour taste in my mouth about the platform and how little they actually do to support you in that way. My entire discord/audience/friends know this story. I was denied the partnership around 6 times with the generic rejection if you've all seen it too. Not a big deal. Keep applying. Annoying ass process. The point I'm making is that sometimes it isn't the discouragement that you aren't good enough or not because no one watches... It's the false sense of support you actually receive from the very platform you put your content on. Every now and then you'll get a streamer or two (and we've all seen it) get handed a partnership and not push any of their required numbers for even a week just due to them being in an org, clan, group, Esports Team, know someone (majority of the time) etc. The whole partnership idea is corrupt for the most part and serves a stupid purpose for those handed the purple check oppose to those that earn it cold blood. I hate that- and pride myself thankful I was an affiliate pushing the numbers I did making everyone ask why I wasn't partnered and I just sit there like "I don't know but maybe on my 19th time they'll accept me". I probably won't ever stream on Twitch again despite my grind earning my audience to what it was and earning the kind of money I was. It's just whatever. And Harris is right but I'll word it differently. You don't just "land" yourself making money out of random on Twitch. You have to grind for it. Build your audience somehow and use what you're good at. If online marketing is your thing, use that. Make content elsewhere and feed your audiences back and forth from Twitch to RUclips to Twitch to RUclips- you can spin that into a nice little community over time 100% if you know how to get your videos out to more people. Which is fairly simple thus why your success is controllable, again, Harris is right there too it just so happens it ironically fell into place with my point.
In one of your Videos (I think it was the GoXLR one) you said you like to her your own voice coming out of your headphones. Why do you like it and how is the best way to do it without an input lag (going through the whole PC and out again)? Great Video btw!
Very good video bro. Your channel is very helpful because I pretty much have really no subs on RUclips or followers on twitch so I was feeling a lot of the things you mentioned in this video. So thank you very much!
You are so good and so funny! Keep up the great work and thank you for putting up reality. A lot of us streamers need a good “smack in the face” reality check so we can either decide to overcome or give up.
love the alpha gaming tips and tricks. Most people take these as a roadblock and dont actually implement what you talk about. This stuff really works. Thank you
Just real quick, I started with the mindset of wanting to play more games and I was already talking to myself whilst doing so. Figured I might as well record while doing so and having that live with a bit of banter from other people is just.. fun. I still hold on to that base. I don't see streaming as anything else but a hobby (even when I do irl streams because they're chill and people seem to enjoy them). Why I watch these videos is purely for entertainment. Sure all of these tips might apply if you're doing this from a 'I want to make money' standpoint, some just don't apply when you have the 'it's for fun, a hobby' mindset.
Awesome advice as always. My advice is you can make if 1 you always aim to improve 2 interact with your community and reach out to others. I achieved affiliate with no social media presence and I have also made money too not much mostly through my art but none of it would have been possible without the amazing community have fun and connect.
Hi, I love what you provide to me!! seriously I think of that as your hand on my shoulders when it gets hard and it gets, and I see that because you talking about things than nobody else does and it's seems to be realistic plus I mean it is!!! so for the record it really push me up :)
Motivated me for sure. But I've been in College for the past 4 years and started a youtube channel back in 09' for the same reason I started again in 2017 - I liked a game, I knew enough to be passionate about it and knew enough I could teach someone - so I did exactly that for 3 years and going. Obviously I still struggle with production, quality, and keeping it consistent.. its tough especially when the time I get is only really on the weekends - and it usually means sacrificing a social life to keep it practical. i eventually just had to sit back and keep the content as good as I could make it 3 times a week with a strategy in mind (like picking certain topics, listening to my audience for requests, and going for what I felt people were searching for (with statistics to back that up). If I really had an opinion now though.. its when you pick a single game, you get only one audience for that game that wants only that game. Its not easy now that I feel like branching out to different content, only to realize that I've changed the mission statement of my channel and thus I have to rebrand it again in such a way that makes sense to the people that subscribe to the channel know what they're getting (and probably lose some subscribers, but that comes with the territory). Thanks for the content Alpha, these have been really insightful - too bad my girlfriend frowns on streaming so I'll never probably get back into that again even though it was absolutely a joy spending time with fans live.
Twitch and RUclips need to clarify their gameplan to handle the new EU copyright laws though (Article 11 and 13). There are countless people using copyrighted material on their channels, and many of them are on the edge or way beyond it when it comes to "Fair Use". But the way the platforms will avoid becoming liable to copyright violations is what will matter most to streamers from now on. Also, can't forget how the already existing filters reacts to things that aren't copyright violations, what will happen to that? Will it just count as "friendly fire" and the platforms will just treat it as "better safe than sorry"? And what about European streamers living in the EU, will they not be allowed to view their own content afterwards just in case the filter reacts (assuming they go with geoblocking)? So many uncertainties in the air right now...
Did this dissuade you or motivate you? Answer honestly.
Definitely motivated, and learned not to snort crack at 8:12 in the morning
Hearing that there's 5m other people streaming is a little discouraging, ngl. Could be the low self-esteem talking.
Always love your honest vids! It wont stop me making videos :)
It just ended my whole twitch streaming experience.
Jk naaaa, I wont stop unless my pc breaks hahah
I am a creative streamer, I gave up because I was still in college, had a job, and social anxiety which was too much, but you motivate me to give it a second try.
This hits home to me as well. However, doesn't discourage me to stop trying. I tutor math on stream. Math. For students all over. And I do it for them. There are students all over the world that dont have the best teachers or even have the money to hire special tutors. I've lost everything trying to be someone I'm not. Hitting rock bottom is hard, moving home and sleeping on the floor of your childhood bedroom is hard. But, I help people all over the world. I'm trying to grow by being myself. Trying to help others is why I stream. Thank you Harris.
Thats very unique... streaming math
Thanks guys, that's really great. I appreciate it so much
I'm a variety streamer and tutor people and math as well. I also write essays and give advice... And play games of course.
It's honestly a lot of fun.
wow, i think ure amazing. ure post made me well up. ure a wonderful soul, ty so much for what you do. 💞💖💞
Respect!
10 viewers?!?! More like 5 on avg. Stream is still growing. Thank you for all the help.
ReflectiveGamer more like 1
I love these honest videos a lot more than all the other stuff on here where everyone is just telling people what they want to hear, it's so harmful if you're someone who's just getting into streaming and some content creator is like yeah just keep cruising along you're doing fine just treat it as a fun hobby :), because it effectively puts that person's progress to a complete halt...
As a side note for anyone struggling with disconnecting your own personal value from your online likability and crowd, I'd honestly recommend looking into learning DBT skills if you have the resources and accessibility to do so, it's so so helpful to learn to grow as a person
Love the brutal honesty from your videos, rather than sugar coating the process, you tell it how it really is. Thank you.
I love the "Unsubscirbe T-series" on your computer screen! 1:43 great plugging. #individualsnotcorporations
Variousgaming i saw it too 😂
I was just about to say that
The last reason kinda hit me...but i guess i have to explore more on what i can learn and do. Thank u for the great advice.
Now that I've been a RUclipsr for almost a year now and absorbed sooo many of your videos - I can honestly say, your advice is very realistic. This is a difficult job but it's so amazing. Just came here from your "pros of streaming" video and I have to say, I can relate to all of this - the good and the bad.
Needed this! Nice video!
one tip you would give for low watching on streams than regular?
Hey Harris I found your channel about a month ago and I wanted to congratulate you for all your awesome videos and how you try and help people succeed. Something I've noticed about RUclips and Twitch is that the more you grow, the more it becomes a competition. Well, it is a competition right from the start but when you get sort of "big" you realise pretty much everyone hates each other and no one will give advice to people they don't know. That's what I've been noticing through the years. So thanks for being so helpful! I love your content :)
Another advice I can give people is really prepare yourself to get hate. Even if you are the most loving caring inocent person some people will hate you and will do everything they can to destroy your career and your overall well being. It can be an emotional ride, some people are weaker than others (aka; myself) and really struggle with this. Focus on the good people who come and watch you, not the hate
(And also Harris I took your sub alerts for my twitch page they are sooo awesome, keep up the great work!)
I know right! Absolutely love this content :D
First tip is HUGE. Exactly. You will NOT convince some people until you get a paycheck. I went months and months with no RUclips ad revenue (before the new monetization standards). Probably a good six months producing quality content before I really picked up steam. Now I'm doing 50-70K views a month, have landed multiple company partnerships and make great side income. Frankly ALL of these tips are solid and you earned another sub!
The dope thing with this is i think this was information that I already knew subconsciously, but like I been learning this year you can't move past something unless you actually acknowledge the issue. Thanks for the advice and the video! I gotta keep my own stuff moving!!
If you didn't get discouraged by this video, you truly have passion. I found out that i don't have passion enough to even start.
This was probably one of the most encouraging of your videos. The production side is actually what is attracting me to the idea of streaming. (Worked in entertainment for years, so it's like that but I get to work for myself.)
I respect how you give us information straight and how it is in reality instead of beating around the bush with different points
I'm a 43-year-old father of two boys. I started a RUclips Channel about Division 2, three weeks ago. Damn, it is a lot of work! I started the channel because my 12-year-old son said he wanted to be a RUclipsr. I thought I should know how it works. I have always been a gamer, and you are absolutely correct that you will spend more time content creating and less time gaming. Hell, at this point I only jump into the game to record my content and then I spend the rest of my night after work editing the video. And they still suck..... getting better though. This is great advice, I will be making my boys watch it!
Great points, I think this will be a wake-up call for a lot of people. I've been doing youtube for about a year and with the release of MK11 I decided to stream on twitch and I'm having a lot of fun with it. I don't want to just forget about YT either because it's where I've always been, but the level of interaction you get on twitch is really freaking awesome. But, in all things you have to find balance or you'll just work yourself into the ground and that's never good, never prioritize money and success over mental health because at the end of the day if you don't enjoy what you're doing, you'll never be happy no matter what you have or what you do.
Man I needed this. I’ve been on and off for months then recently started a gaming channel. Went back after your recent stream about going back and watching old vids of others. Thank you 👏🏽🙌🏽
I gotta say I love you videos. They have helped me a lot in learning how to grow on twitch. When I started watching your videos I averaged 1 viewer after listening to you and taking some of your best practices and mixing them with some of mine I’m currently at 21 subscribers on twitch. It doesn’t seem like a lot to most but to me it’s huge. Thank you for your help!
We had our first live stream ever yesterday, and had 9-10 people watching at one point. the feeling was great. This kind of video is really helpful and motivational, thanks :)
How's it going Alpha.
I haven't streamed in over a month, I only streamed so I can socialise more on chat.
I wish I could stream 20 hours a week, have a schedule but I only did 5 hours a week and having a wife who's doesn't support me with twitch not understanding it not spending time with my loved one doesn't help.
Thanks for your video.
Good luck, maybe you can play games with your wife and maybe even stream that hahahahha.
Mad props for the Picard reference!
Great content from you and I know this video is old, but it's always nice to be able to review the past and learn. What you said then is still applicable today. There are many memorable quotes from Picard as well, = ) Glad to see your reference.
I remember seeing a video about growing as a band/musician. I think the struggles are in some ways equal. You need to refine your skills, but you also need to gain and build viewership. Of course it may happen through beeing good. But it's about keeping on and about networking. For example a musician going to many conferences, networking events and concerts will eventually get his chance because the potential of meeting someone that can help you is growing everytime you visit one event. For streamers it should be the same. You can grow your own, by working for others and showing them how good you are. Keep up the good work!
Leaning to edit was the hardest process learning what a good cut is vs a bad cut ect it's exausting but with the tips from you and other influencers I watch it helps us interns learn
Great video, I’ve been treating RUclips and twitch like hobbies that I expect to be my job. And the connections you made kinda opened my eyes to kick my ass into gear, thanks man :)
I can't stand people who tell you that you will never become successful if you do something that you "don't like" or if you "only do it for the money and fame" you will fail. Content creation isn't easy, you have to put a lot of effort, work, and creativity into things you don't really like doing. After a while, you will get into a routine and the things you hate doing now will become easy - but if you are never EVEN A TINY BIT frustrated during content creation, then either you're a god or you aren't pushing yourself enough.
Did this comment just spawn here
The GTA god radalll
Nicely said Harris. A lot of what you said can be applied to a lot of self run business/ideas. I started a radio show that after 3 years has finally picked up on FM radio and is doing very well, but struggle to transfer that over to social media. Its always a very humbling reminder. But bottom line always improving your content, being consistent and patience are key. Thanks for the words of encouragement. Cheers
Thank you.
I think I needed to hear what was on this video.
I'm struggling with trying to get my channel to grow, but hearing these things--instead of putting me down--kind of inspired me to do better and to work harder.
So, again, thank you.
This is pretty spot on. Great video man.
I streamed full time for months on end with no twitch followers and no viewers, I experienced loads of these hurdles. Thankyou for spreading light on them, you motivated me a lot man
I appreciate the advice! I'm not really looking to stream games but I AM looking to get back into the RUclips space. I had an internet sketch troupe that did pretty well WAY WAY back in the day. Doesn't seem to be much room for that type of thing anymore.
great video! its been a rough start for 2019 but gotta keep grinding
Thanks for your content, you are very good at your job, you're dad must be proud and even a little slighted by the fact that they told you it was a stupid career choice despite you doing basically what he did only it sounds like your chosen path may have been filled with bigger obstacles. My how life can be so ironic...I love it!
You have helped keep it real for me thanks ALOT. I only started streaming in December and I have kids and fulltime job in Construction so I have especially paid careful attention to time management portions of your vids lol but although my NEWLY created youtube channel is very small I made affiliate on twitch in less than a month and I jump on now and almost immediately have 10-12 viewers with my average viewership growing regularly. Keep em coming!
I only did streaming for about 4 months and then realized the one point you made that stood out to me “if you just like playing games this isn’t for you”. I’ve been gaming my whole life and figured hey why not try streaming! Streaming sucked all the fun out of what I enjoyed and that was just gaming. I like getting on fortnite with my one buddy and just playing to have fun but when I was streaming I had to ignore him or ignore the game at times to try and keep up with anyone that would be in chat. When really all I wanted to do was play the game and relax. I work 9 or more hours a day Monday through Friday and gaming after the kids are off to bed is my release from the real world. I had some fun met some cool people but soon realized that this isn’t for me and I just don’t have the time or desire to try and actually make it something. Plus the amount of time it takes unless you are a GOD at a game to actually make a respectable amount of money is just not worth it to me. I used to watch seife a lot cause he would toss out some good info and I realized that this dude is GRINDING every hour of the day about his brand and his content and yeah....I’m not about working 20 hours a day. The other thing i noticed is a lot of the big streamers...they were already in the industry they got a head start on most of us. Siefe worked for ea I believe and also has a marketing degree, ninja was pro in halo 2 so these guys were slightly known before they jumped into twitch/mixer. The other thing that bothers me and it didn’t at first till I realized there is some truth to boobs sell. There are some crazy talented female streamers and there are also a lot who pull massive viewers cause the nerds out there literally think that by watching and donating are gonna get a taste. Hey it’s not what they do that bothers me if you got it and want to flaunt it more power to you but when you are a normal dude just trying to make it you realize that you aren’t over coming that haha.
thanks so much man i've been streaming on youtube for the past year or two and i just switched to twitch and because of you i have got 20 followers in one week
Awesome!!!! I followed on Twitch! Been watching your videos for a while now...awesome stuff!
Love your videos. You come off very genuine and I always come away with useful information.
Your honestly a I watch right now. All your videos are greatly appreciated and helpful
Love your videos man, legit spent the last 2 and half hours watching them!
Got to say been following your channel for a little over a year now and tried to follow your advice as much as possible (Usually putting my own twist on it) and the past week I've managed to have some luck. The game I mainly play "Albion Online" is going F2P and as I have a lot of exp I can share with people my stream has taken off. Been sitting around 50 viewers per stream the past week! Ty
Thank you for your wise words and wisdom. I’ve been contemplating making youtube a side job with the hopes of it one day being a full time job. Watching your videos gave me more of a insight and possibly getting started soon. Biggest fear is video editing, intros and making thumbnails. Do you have a video on that? Or could you make one? How you started? What your first thoughts were. Breaking points and times you almost gave up. Why you didnt and how you pushed through. Thank you in advance
Honestly this motivated me more then it dissuaded me. You make some very great points that are quite terrifying but i believe my love and determination for editing and playing video games will prevail over the fear of failing in the end. :) thank you for making this video. Liked and subbed!
What’s your camera and mic??
had To Re Watch This 10 Times to get the video and all the parts 100%, and it was totally worth it it got me thinking and motivated me tbh, Love these Twitch Videos really helps me and gets my brain thinking on how I can do and change things up, keep the awesome work up Harris Your Videos really help
Sad but facts
Streaming for 0 viewers for hours is very demoralizing. But the show must go on!
Good video. Love the honesty about treating it like a creator. I have two jobs and do RUclips on the side (haven't gotten into Twitch just yet), but I have to constantly reevaluate and teach myself things daily.
to be honest im glad i found this channel cause the amount ive learned from these videos is amazing. Thank you for all you do.
Thanks man, its hard staying driven at times when I feel like no one cares about what I am doing.
Hearing this lights a fire even more than before. I’m here for this journey and I will hit my goals as I learn to edit and stream better.
You gotta keep going with the grind. If its something you are passionate about doing and you're good at it don't listen to those who are trying to bring you down.
Edit. Still watching harris :)
Keep the grind? My mom called me a failure in front of my face
Thank you. Needed to hear this.
5:05 I had to rewatch this a couple times because the brutal honesty of it cracked me up. It's also solid advice, if you show up for the money and you expect that, a lot of people will smell that and not like it. Best example of this: people with nothing on their stream except a donation button. xD
**pats back**
Man I love your videos. I have been watching you and learning since I started on Twitch. Been going now 3 1/2 months and have hit 338 followers, 28 subs, and average 12 viewers a stream. Your info has helped me out so much I just wanted to say thanks you. Dropped you a follow on Twitch and can't wait to catch you live. Much love from BoschGaming and the BG Crew!
Just curious but can stream elements make ban alerts as well, when you ban someone the name of the one will show up with the message (username) got banned." with a sound and a custom gif or custom emoji on it.
Because that would be useful to handle trolls.
The ban alert should be used to troll them back.
Will be sharing this. Some great points being made here. Harsh truths and generally good points being made without being rude or pretentious. Great video!
I"m trying to teach my friend about building a platform and he doesn't really buy anything I say unless he hears it from you. xD
Thanks Harris, everything you posted today is related to what I've been talking to him about.
Hey man, I've been kind of stuck in my own loop for awhile and the reality check was something that I needed. This video has helped me realized that I do need to push out some more content instead of just streaming video games only. And you definitely called it, I can't push past 10 just quite yet haha!
Thank you for making this channel. I'm just starting to get into streaming. I found myself always playing games on my off time. So I figured, why not stream and bring together people would enjoy my gameplay. I know it's work, and there will be evolution to that work. But I think that's what's keeping me going.
You're videos bring in the facts, pros, and cons about choosing this path. Which helps me bring clarity to why I'm doing this. It's an adventure. You never know what you can make of it until you try!
This just made me more hungry to succeed. I appreciate your work man, thanks for the pep talks and advice.
I think you were honest there and its good that you dont only tell people the good sides because some will get so driven like you said they will quit everything on life to make this works and when it doesnt work life crashes down. Much respect my friend keep good content .
My Dude, wonderful charismatic person and awesome content creator. A true inspiration for us plebs
I've got a full time job. I'm doing RUclips part time and my god is it a grind. I can't imagine how hard it is to gain a following streaming. I spend so many hours working into the a.m. to produce content. Thanks for this video man. It's always to see it's normal to go through these things.
This video really did more motivating to me than dissuasion. It is important to know exactly what you’re up against and it’s even more fun when you’re getting to overcome a huge challenge.
Great video and excellent content as usual. 😊👍
What is a good mic that you can play with EQ levels and what not ?
That stuff is expensive (pocketstudio on Amazon)
THANK you Harris! U help so much People and put so much Work into this Videos to Help us for Free, awesome!
But what if i stream as a hobby? Even so i have mostly zero viewers i stil enjoy streaming, it's like let's playing again.
But still i felt the lonelyness and it got me frustrated, but still i have fun doing it.
Is this madness?
this is sparta
Great talk nice and real honest view and since you made the comment on not being able to learn this in school maybe there would be an option I can totally see a college adding social media and content creation classes to their curriculum one day.
Thanks for another great video :D - Nyanzito
Great video @Alpha Gaming I really honestly found this video a challenge and it persuaded me to try harder thx man 😇
Love ya honesty. Been at twitch for nearly 5 years, finally moving on to youtube and cutting some streams short. I see it as expanding my brand. gotta keep moving on.
Since my classes have started I am not able to play videogames on stream. I had two options stop streaming for 4 months or stream when I do my homework. I chose the second option and I move to art category. This was the best change I have done with my channel because I have 5-6 viewers (sometimes 8-10) when I draw. When I play fortnite I have 3-4 viewers and I got stuck in that number for 2 months or more I guess until I change the category.
Well, thanks for all your videos that make me improve my channel.
Sorry if I have grammar mistakes, I'm still learning.
Could you do a video discussing how to deal with suicide and suicide trolls in chat? (or just approaching hard topics) I had a situation with this at my last stream and it was really hard for me.
Harris this is why you are the best man your a real human and always here to help others you are so uplifting
For the people with 1 to 3 viewers:
Give some love to the ones that already enjoy your content, the other people will come seeing that, and will want it too ♥️🐥
Agreed. I see a whole lot of people with 1-3 watchers bejaving as if they aren't even streaming at all.
Thanks for vid, the real talk, and the encouragement.
I love the subliminal T-series message hidden in there lmao. Great video!
It's so cool to see a streamer talking not only about success but failures, too. I used to multistream with Restream.io to RUclips and Twitch to see which channel is best for me. For a novice streamer, there are lots of difficulties, disappointments and finding the right platform is one of the challenges.
So now I got that I feel more comfortable in RUclips rather than Twitch. But I do like watching others on Twitch. So yeah, it can be complicated.
Story time?
I quit (streaming on Twitch) because I got in a huge fight with the partnerships team for about 4 months primarily because they refused to give me requested feedback as to why they weren't partnering me. It would've been nice to see why and it really put a sour taste in my mouth about the platform and how little they actually do to support you in that way. My entire discord/audience/friends know this story. I was denied the partnership around 6 times with the generic rejection if you've all seen it too. Not a big deal. Keep applying. Annoying ass process. The point I'm making is that sometimes it isn't the discouragement that you aren't good enough or not because no one watches...
It's the false sense of support you actually receive from the very platform you put your content on. Every now and then you'll get a streamer or two (and we've all seen it) get handed a partnership and not push any of their required numbers for even a week just due to them being in an org, clan, group, Esports Team, know someone (majority of the time) etc. The whole partnership idea is corrupt for the most part and serves a stupid purpose for those handed the purple check oppose to those that earn it cold blood. I hate that- and pride myself thankful I was an affiliate pushing the numbers I did making everyone ask why I wasn't partnered and I just sit there like "I don't know but maybe on my 19th time they'll accept me".
I probably won't ever stream on Twitch again despite my grind earning my audience to what it was and earning the kind of money I was. It's just whatever.
And Harris is right but I'll word it differently. You don't just "land" yourself making money out of random on Twitch. You have to grind for it. Build your audience somehow and use what you're good at. If online marketing is your thing, use that. Make content elsewhere and feed your audiences back and forth from Twitch to RUclips to Twitch to RUclips- you can spin that into a nice little community over time 100% if you know how to get your videos out to more people. Which is fairly simple thus why your success is controllable, again, Harris is right there too it just so happens it ironically fell into place with my point.
Omg dude this story sounds so sad, I am sorry you had to deal with it
In one of your Videos (I think it was the GoXLR one) you said you like to her your own voice coming out of your headphones. Why do you like it and how is the best way to do it without an input lag (going through the whole PC and out again)? Great Video btw!
Very good video bro. Your channel is very helpful because I pretty much have really no subs on RUclips or followers on twitch so I was feeling a lot of the things you mentioned in this video. So thank you very much!
You are so good and so funny! Keep up the great work and thank you for putting up reality. A lot of us streamers need a good “smack in the face” reality check so we can either decide to overcome or give up.
This was great. Your channel is my university for content creation and streaming.
Very nice video. It keeps me motivated
JazzApeOW it has literally been out for two seconds Hahahhahahaha
Does anyone know what the song name in this video is, or where/how to find it lol...?
love the alpha gaming tips and tricks. Most people take these as a roadblock and dont actually implement what you talk about. This stuff really works. Thank you
Your eyes make you seem so genuine. I'm new to your channel... and you're really engaging. I'll follow your examples!
Just real quick, I started with the mindset of wanting to play more games and I was already talking to myself whilst doing so. Figured I might as well record while doing so and having that live with a bit of banter from other people is just.. fun. I still hold on to that base. I don't see streaming as anything else but a hobby (even when I do irl streams because they're chill and people seem to enjoy them). Why I watch these videos is purely for entertainment.
Sure all of these tips might apply if you're doing this from a 'I want to make money' standpoint, some just don't apply when you have the 'it's for fun, a hobby' mindset.
Awesome advice as always. My advice is you can make if 1 you always aim to improve 2 interact with your community and reach out to others. I achieved affiliate with no social media presence and I have also made money too not much mostly through my art but none of it would have been possible without the amazing community have fun and connect.
Your words hit home and are extremely sincere, which is so damn rare
Hi, I love what you provide to me!! seriously I think of that as your hand on my shoulders when it gets hard and it gets, and I see that because you talking about things than nobody else does and it's seems to be realistic plus I mean it is!!! so for the record it really push me up :)
Harris always killing it on these videos 😁
Motivated me for sure. But I've been in College for the past 4 years and started a youtube channel back in 09' for the same reason I started again in 2017 - I liked a game, I knew enough to be passionate about it and knew enough I could teach someone - so I did exactly that for 3 years and going. Obviously I still struggle with production, quality, and keeping it consistent.. its tough especially when the time I get is only really on the weekends - and it usually means sacrificing a social life to keep it practical. i eventually just had to sit back and keep the content as good as I could make it 3 times a week with a strategy in mind (like picking certain topics, listening to my audience for requests, and going for what I felt people were searching for (with statistics to back that up). If I really had an opinion now though.. its when you pick a single game, you get only one audience for that game that wants only that game. Its not easy now that I feel like branching out to different content, only to realize that I've changed the mission statement of my channel and thus I have to rebrand it again in such a way that makes sense to the people that subscribe to the channel know what they're getting (and probably lose some subscribers, but that comes with the territory). Thanks for the content Alpha, these have been really insightful - too bad my girlfriend frowns on streaming so I'll never probably get back into that again even though it was absolutely a joy spending time with fans live.
The ring light reflection in the window triggers me to no end... Well played...
Twitch and RUclips need to clarify their gameplan to handle the new EU copyright laws though (Article 11 and 13). There are countless people using copyrighted material on their channels, and many of them are on the edge or way beyond it when it comes to "Fair Use". But the way the platforms will avoid becoming liable to copyright violations is what will matter most to streamers from now on.
Also, can't forget how the already existing filters reacts to things that aren't copyright violations, what will happen to that? Will it just count as "friendly fire" and the platforms will just treat it as "better safe than sorry"? And what about European streamers living in the EU, will they not be allowed to view their own content afterwards just in case the filter reacts (assuming they go with geoblocking)? So many uncertainties in the air right now...
9:00 I am here, you got me, when you said, and I quote, "Streaming for no viewers, for months at a time"
That first thing about the paycheck... SO TRUE!
That comment deserves a 10,000 bit donation...
I mean I'm not able to swing that, but it deserves it!
Super solid advice that not everyone is brave enough or in touch enough to share.