Twitch was one of the fastest-rising stars in the social media space and is still going strong. As a lucrative market, it requires a lot of hard work to make it on the streaming giant but with a bit of strategy, you can streamline your process. Here are some crucial tips for streaming on Twitch in 2023.

Things You Should Know About Streaming on Youtube vs Twitch

YouTube is the biggest video platform, so it’s often compared to Twitch. Ideally, you should be using both and hoping your clips go viral on YouTube while focusing on live-streaming on Twitch. The strategic reason is that if you want to stream, Twitch has better options for browsing and funding.

Although YouTube offers a higher user rate, Twitch is better for streaming because the audience is dedicated to that format. While YouTube is still primarily about uploading videos, Twitch is also built for the streaming market and has the support infrastructure for streamers.

However, Twitch requires more investment than YouTube video uploading because the algorithms favour consistent, long-form uploads. This can be strenuous compared to how YouTube videos can more easily gather passive views after uploading.

In terms of monetization, Twitch has paid subscriptions but YouTube has payments like super-chats. Both can be good for ad revenue, but YouTube splits revenues by almost half. Twitch also allows viewers to make direct, in-app donations to streamers.

Twitch’s creator revenue split can vary. Twitch president, Dan Clancy, has made the company’s strategy quite clear:

Twitch Streaming Trends

Gaming content is the biggest draw on Twitch, unsurprisingly. Kai Cenat is the most subscribed Twitch streamer with 101,815 subs (77,205 of them being paid subs). Following him are xQc (70,112) and Shlorox (59,635). All 3 of these creators do game streams but also have a close parasocial relationship with their fans and engage in other content as well (Cenat is popular for humorous videos and pranks on YouTube, for example).

In 2022, Twitch averaged about 2.58 million concurrent viewers with 7.6 million Twitch users streaming on the platform at least once a month. The platform produced 22.4 billion hours of content in one year and is slated to increase growth. This growth is instrumental to Twitch’s revenue as it means more subjects for advertising (over 72% of Twitch’s revenue comes from ads and subscriptions).

The average user on Twitch is surprisingly dedicated. They tend to watch an hour and a half of content. In contrast, the average YouTube viewer spends 19 minutes per day. This is a testament to how Twitch users have a more specific niche with concentrated interests.

Twitch Streaming Timing Tips

The best times to stream on Twitch are between 0:00 (midnight) and 9:00 if you can keep up with the competition. These are heavy streaming hours and may not be suitable for newcomers. Otherwise, there is an opportunity for newer, low-competition streamers to make a mark between 11:00 and 14:00. These stats are decent averages that work in most places, but your time zone may make a difference.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are the lowest competition days for streaming. This would be advisable for beginners but it’s also the time with the least amount of overall users. The average Twitch stream is between 3 to 6 hours long but many go over this threshold. Remember, though, that longer isn’t automatically better since Twitch recommends an average of 2-hour streams.

So, how long can you stream on Twitch? With a maximum broadcast length of 48 hours. We do not advise this (please take care of your health) unless you’re doing a charity stream or once-in-a-while challenge.

Strategy Tips

Here are a few extra tips that can help you out:

• Save time by using a chat mod bot.
• Link to your other socials to gain more engagement on all channels.
• Let others clip and put up your streams. This allows you to grow.
• If you can, hire an editor for YouTube. Due to the nature of the platform, better-edited content performs well (compared to Twitch). Here’s our article about optimizing for YouTube.
• Let people know your streaming schedule.
• Announce your streams on social media.

How to Make Use of Special Features on Twitch

Add Captions

Captions can make your stream more accessible to more people and help foster more direct screen engagement. While Twitch provides an auto-captioning option, it can be inconsistent. You can add captions with third-party apps if you need more accuracy. Here’s how to add captions to a Twitch stream:

• There’s an “Add” button next to the extension that allows you to add it to your Extensions Library.
• A pop-up will appear and allow you to enable it as a “Video Overlay”.
• Head to your dashboard and check “My Extensions” for newly installed extensions.
• Find the Closed Captioner extension and turn it on.
• Use the “Set as Overlay 1” option.
• From the activation pop-up, push the cog button in the “Active Extension” box.
• Select the link to the captioner dashboard and sign in to Twitch.
• Push the “On” option to enable closed captions.

VR Twitch Streams Offer New Possibilities

VR streaming is another avenue new users can capitalise on to set themselves apart from the crowd. Streams featuring VR chat, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular over time, so it can be a nice niche to exploit.

To stream VR on Twitch you need to check your VR software because the procedure can depend on the hardware and software you’re using. The general process for streaming on VR with a PC is:

• Check the specifics of the process for your set.
• Open the game you want to play.
• Open your streaming software, e.g. OBS, Streamlabs, etc.
• If you need to, add a new source by opening your sources list within the streaming software.
• Select the “Capture specific window” option with the settings “Mode”.
• Check the “Window” menu bar and enable VR capture. Remember to resize your screen for an optimal view.

Squad Streaming

Squad stream with other channels and build your audience together. This can also help you enhance your content with a more conversational style. These streams have the potential to be more engaging and, for example, play multiplayer games.

Here’s how to squad stream on Twitch:

• Access the creator dashboard by clicking your avatar.
• Select the “Squad Stream” option.
• Invite people to your squad.
• Once others join, you’ll be ready to go.