Why Streamers Fail — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:00] Did you know if you reach 10 viewers, you're in the top 5% of Twitch streamers? Crazy, right? Except that's not true. It's pseudo-motivational crap that stream coaches use to get likes on Twitter before inevitably trying to sell you something you don't need.

[00:13] That statistic includes millions of people who go live once and then never again. The people who go live from consoles with no microphone or camera. It includes literally the bottom of the barrel. This mindset is genuinely baffling to me,

[00:26] and it's one of the major reasons so many creators never grow. I don't know about you, but when I make content, I know it's shit. I can see where I need to improve, and because I don't like being shit, I work harder to fix it.

[00:38] Today, I have a few questions for you that, if you answer honestly, will stop you falling for traps like this and start making content you actually enjoy and will help you grow. So, first question. Why are you streaming?

[00:51] I want you to write down the answer on paper in front of you or comment below. And keep that reason in mind for this entire video, because we're going to come back to it at the end, and that answer will completely change whether you grow or not. Oh, and if you aren't willing to write your answers down today,

[01:05] well, you're not going to like this video because actually answering the questions I ask is kind of important and it's very easy to do and even I'm going to be doing it. Okay, so, second question. Are you planning to succeed or planning to fail?

[01:17] I promise that's not some bullshit life coach question. What I mean is, when so many new traders go live or upload a video, they're doing it almost as if they're expected to do it. There's no joy. The streams have no goal or really aren't even meant to succeed.

[01:31] From my experience talking to you guys, there are three reasons. First, a sunk cost policy. You've been streaming for weeks, months, or years. If you stop now, all of those hours are wasted effort.

[01:43] So you keep going live despite never getting viewers and not really enjoying yourself. If this rings true to you, the only advice you need to hear is just stop. Do something you actually enjoy.

[01:55] The moment I stopped enjoying my Twitch streams, I walked away. I walked away from 30,000 followers, 200 average viewers, and $2,000 a month. I did that because I've always said, streaming is meant to be fun, and that's the only goal for me.

[02:10] Now, the second reason is because you want to play games. You want to play games and maybe get paid on the side to do it. But the issue is streaming to grow or streaming to make it a potential revenue source doesn mean just playing games There is a huge difference between just playing games and making content for viewers to enjoy When you go live to make content for viewers you asking yourself

[02:31] what is the goal of this stream? Why would someone watch it? What is the title that will get them to click it? What is my goal I'm going to say to make my followers come back? But almost more importantly, why would someone stick around to the end of the stream rather

[02:43] than leave and click on a different streamer? I think this is why I love being a YouTube streamer these days. To go live, you need to schedule the stream. You need to title it, thumbnail it, it needs to be clickable, because it is going to compete against videos on the

[02:55] sidebar. All of this forces me to consider the content I am making, rather than just going live and hoping for the best like Twitch allows. It literally stops me being lazy, and I'm lazy as hell. But much more importantly, even if I do all of that and I fail, if I end up going live to 15,

[03:12] 20, 30 people. You know what? That's okay, because on YouTube, the VOD is stored forever in the live section. It can be recommended on the homepage the next day to thousands of people, or months down the line, and it can always get new views, new subs, and new

[03:28] comments. On Twitch, if I had 15 to 20 viewers and hit end stream, I would have considered myself a failure, at least by my standards, because that content was unappealing. The stream would be considered bad, and you can't deny that, because a lot of you guys, if you

[03:41] saw that I had 15 average viewers on Twitch would also judge me. So this is where the third reason comes into play. So many of you are planning to fail because you're scared to try. Scared to put your heart into it or put hard work in because if you try and fail, that hurts a hell of a lot more

[03:57] than not ever really trying. These three things are what I mean by are you planning to succeed or planning to fail. So here's an actionable tip. Ask yourself, do you actually want to create content? Do you actually enjoy making it? And are you really trying? If you are, how are you trying?

[04:13] Write all those answers down on this piece of paper. I'm going to do mine now as well. Okay, next question. What is unique to your stream? Why do you stand out from the guy, gal, or gremlin appearing next to you? Do you have a reason to be memorable or interesting? And no, I saw what you

[04:28] started writing down and I'm going to stop you right there. Your overlay, your alerts, your sound effects, your gimmicks or crazy streamer bot setup is not your unique value. Anyone can recreate those things with time, and at this point 90% of the small streamers are spending

[04:42] hours on those things hoping it help them grow but it won The reason creators like Nutty or Shindag who by the way are incredibly talented actually get viewers isn because of all their amazing and crazy effects or wild interactive concepts it because of their personality

[04:58] Well and because they actually spend time making videos showing off everything and being discoverable but it's mostly because of their hilarious and unique personalities. If you are nothing without your crazy effects then you're nothing with them.

[05:10] You can't put sprinkles on a turd and expect it to be edible. So step back and ask, what do you have going for you? There has to be something. Every person is unique. And while you might not have the self-confidence to recognize where your strength is, I promise

[05:24] you there is something. You likely just need to practice until you find it. Actionable tip. Don't stress about all the pressure to make crazy overlays or effects. You can go live these days or just simply make videos with a cam, a mic, and a game

[05:39] capture. The rest, it's really up to the individual and absolutely isn't a requirement. Actually, I'm lying to you. Something that is pretty much mandatory now is good music. It helps fill that air, helps set a mood for chat, and also can completely take your own

[05:52] energy from flat to excited to be live, to happy to be live. That's why I'm excited and happy to say this video is sponsored by Epidemic Sound. I've been using Epidemic Sound for more than six years now and I've paid for my own subscription

[06:04] the entire time for two major reasons. The first is copyright strikes scare the crap out of me, but thanks to Epidemic I can upload worry free and I will never have to worry about copyright issues. And the second reason is because most music out there that claims to be safe to use, well it doesn't sound like real music,

[06:21] it sounds fake. But Epidemic has 40,000 songs across dozens of genres that actually sound like real music. Meaning whether I need something emotional to hide a sad scene to help viewers connect better, or just background music, I can always find what I need by going to their catalog,

[06:36] sorting my genre, tempo, emotion, popularity, or even just searching something random. Every streamed team video and every Twitch stream I've done has used Epidemic Sound for both sound effects and music. So if you want to support me, then you can by clicking the link in the description

[06:50] and use code SC underscore 25 to get 25% off all annual plans for the next seven days, which will definitely help you to bring your content to life. Okay, next question. Do you think having zero or low viewers is holding you back from making good content?

[07:05] If you wrote yes, you're full of shit. That is absolutely an excuse, and everyone makes it at some point. Don't worry. You have to remember everyone starts at zero viewers The people who manage to get past that and grow are the people who didn let that stop them making good or discoverable content on TikTok YouTube or finding ways to grow individually on Twitch

[07:25] Hell, every single week, did you know that I stream multiple times a week to zero viewers? I do this when I record offline for my gaming videos. Nobody is watching me play Noita alone in my office for four hours. But there I am, commentating it and doing my best to make good content because I need to edit it later.

[07:41] This segment is the most powerful tip I can ever give you. Back in the day of Twitch, people said, stream for the clips, no matter how small you are. Meaning, always stream for amazing clipable moments that can be shared to Reddit, Twitter, or just genuinely go viral.

[07:55] These things, it's a little bit different. You need to stream for the editor. As in, stream for the content you made is good enough to be edited into TikToks or YouTube videos to help you be discoverable. And that right there is what I keep telling myself while I'm recording and while I'm live.

[08:09] There is someone who will watch this back later, especially because I'm on YouTube now, where my VOD will stay forever. It is my job to make this stream or this recording as fun as it possibly can be for that editor and or that person.

[08:22] Now, if you wrote no to that question, you have a much harder task. You need to explain how your content is actually good. So, good luck with that one. So, while you figure that out, I want to circle back to the very first question I asked you. Why are you streaming?

[08:35] Is it to meet people? Is it to make money? Is it to be famous? Is it to grow, to entertain others, or maybe it's just to kill time? Whatever it is, I don't actually care, but you have to remember, your answer to that question is going to determine how motivated you are,

[08:49] how much work you put in, and how much you actually grow. If you are going live to make money, you're probably not going to see any earnings for months or most likely years, so you'll likely burn out and stop trying.

[09:01] Likely, the same thing will happen if you're trying to stream purely to grow or be famous. Now, I don't think there are any bad reasons. If you want to stream, then go live and have fun. Don't let me or anyone else stop you. But if you do want to grow and become a full-time content creator,

[09:14] then your motivation, aka the answer to that question, needs to be something you'll get every time you upload or go live, even if nobody watches it. That's why the joy of creating or learning new skills are such good reasons,

[09:26] because you'll always be rewarded. And that's why I was able to grow a brand new Facebook YouTube channel from zero subs to monetize in just six uploads. Click here for that, or click here to support the channel for just $1.

[09:38] Oh, and I'll post a picture of my answers in today's video in the Discord, link in the description. I'll see you guys next week.