Last Updated on 12/01/2024 by Dean
This is a comprehensive guide on how to network on Twitch.
Twitch is a different place in 2021, the new era of streaming is no longer just about playing video games, it’s about playing video games with others.
If you want to grow on Twitch, you need to collaborate with other streamers.
Throughout 2020, we’ve seen streamers grow into absolute behemoths through games like Among Us, Minecraft, and GTA.
We’ve seen streamers pop up out of nowhere, we’ve seen underdog veterans climb to the top of Twitch. If you were paying any attention, 2020 has been a wild year for streaming.
And there is a lot to learn from these streamers’ growth.
Let’s look at some examples…
Streamers who blew up through networking 🚀
(credit)
The success Story of 5UP
Before Among Us, 5UPPP’s Twitch channel didn’t even exist yet. He started streaming on Twitch on August 18, 2020. At the time he had 27 viewers.
5UPPP was fortunate enough to know some smaller Twitch streamers and got himself invited to a streamer lobby of Among Us.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, Among Us requires 10 people to fill the lobby. That’s 9 slots you can fill with other streamers.
This gave him LOTS of exposure right off the bat. Viewers came from other channels to 5UP’s channel to see things from his perspective.
Combine that with a game that is about to blow up on Twitch, and you have a success story waiting to be told.
By the time August was over, 5uppp was streaming among us to over 2,613 people.
As he grew more and more, he started playing with bigger and bigger streamers on Twitch. Eventually, he became a regular in the Hafu morning lobbies.
These days, 5UP streams to 8,988 people on average.
How Valkyrae blew up through networking
Unlike 5UP, Valkyrae has been a streamer for years.
And while no one would have considered her a smaller streamer to begin with, in 2020 she blew up to become the most-watched female streamer in the world.
And guess how she got there? By networking.
After Valkyrae left Twitch for YouTube, her audience took a hit and she was streaming to an average audience of 1,000 viewers.
But then Among Us came around.
This gave her the opportunity to play with friends such as Sykkuno, Disguised Toast, and LilyPichu. Friends who were also streamers.
And that led her to play games with behemoths such as xQc, Ninja, PewDiePie, JackSepticye, and more.
Eventually, she even streamed an Among Us game featuring congresswoman AOC.
Through the huge networking opportunities that Among Us brought, Valkyrae was able to turn her 1000 viewers stream into a 30,000 viewer stream in just 9 months’ time.
What can we learn from this? 🤔
I know some people are going to read the success story and think: these people had streamer friends to boost them up. And while that’s true, if you’re using that as an excuse to not collaborate yourself, you’re missing the point.
None of the people 5UP streamed with on his very first day had even a tenth of the audience that he has today. He played with small streamers and worked his way up into bigger and bigger lobbies.
What we can learn from these success stories is that collaboration works.
If you’re streaming on Twitch all by yourself, you are limiting your exposure to your social media networks and the Twitch directory.
But when you stream with others, no matter how small they are, you are gaining exposure from the best possible source: twitch viewers.
In our Twitch Growth Guide, we summed up 18 tips to increase your viewership on the platform.
But only one tip knocks all the other ones out of the park: if you want to grow on Twitch, you have to collaborate
How to collaborate with other streamers
👉 Play social games
One of the best ways to collaborate with others is to play games that require other players. These so-called social games have become very popular in the last two years among Twitch streamers for all the obvious reasons.
Through such games, many streamers have blown up on Twitch.
Here are some of the most popular games that require these social interactions:
- Among Us
- Gartic Phone
- Minecraft Servers
- Uno Online
- GTA Roleplaying servers
👉 Team up
You don’t need to limit yourself to social games in order to play with other streamers, many multiplayer games can be played with fellow streamers.
You are stunting your growth as a streamer by solo queuing, team up with other streamers and increase your exposure!
👉 Host challenges
Twitch is much more than just video games these days. Challenges not only make for fun youtube highlights, but they are also a great excuse to collaborate with other streamers all while having some fun!
👉 Meet up in real life
👉 Start a podcast
How to find other streamers to collaborate with
👉 Find other streamers on Twitch
Why not go immediately to the source? Head over to your preferred category on Twitch and find streamers with a similar viewer count to yourself. You can then use the chat function to get their attention or contact them elsewhere.
Politely invite them to play with you, it’s mutually beneficial!
Remember to always take no for an answer and don’t spam people.
👉 Find other streamers on Reddit, FB Groups & Discord
Online communities for streamers are the number 1 place to find other streamers. Many of these communities allow you to invite others to play without you.
You can find communities on:
- Subreddits
- Discord Groups
- Facebook Groups
Check out our article on Twitch communities for a list of some of the best communities for streamers.
👉 Connect on Twitter
Twitter’s format is popular among streamers as Twitter is a great place to inform your viewers when you’re going live.
But beyond that, it’s also useful for networking purposes. Twitter is full of Twitch streamers, big and small, looking to network just like you!
You can quickly find other Twitch streamers by checking Twitch’s replies or by checking hashtags related to Twitch.
👉 Network using YouTube comments
The YouTube comment section is a great place to catch the attention of other streamers without DMing them.
It will also sneakily increase your exposure to the viewers of these streamers, double win!
Other ways to network on Twitch
🌐 Hosting other streamers
The hosting feature allows any streamer to host another streamer on their Twitch channel while they are offline. This might not seem like it could benefit you at first, but it definitely will because hosting is seen as a give and receive kind of thing.
You host another streamer, and in return, they might host you back in the future. Ideally, this would be someone you are at least acquainted with somewhat and who has a similar viewer count.
Don’t expect to get hosted by a streamer with 500 viewers simply because you send your 5 viewers to them, that’s not how it works.
🌐 Engage with your viewers
While you are still small, you should treasure your viewers. At this time, you still have the time to get to know your viewers and engage with them.
Ask your chatters for their socials and follow them. Ask them about their lives, get to know them, etc.
Engaging with your viewers is a quick and easy way to ensure that your viewers will come back to your stream.
From networking to growth 🚀
By networking and collaborating with other streamers, you’re going to be discovered by a bunch of new viewers.
It’s important that you convert these viewers into loyal fans.
Most of the time, a single stream isn’t going to win them over. They will likely give you a follow if they like your content, but other than that you might never see them again.
This is why you need to get these new viewers into your Twitch funnel.
Your Twitch stream should lead your viewers elsewhere:
- Discord Server
- Twitter Account
- YouTube channel
Each of these social media platforms will have major influence on your growth on Twitch.
👉 Discord servers are perfect to build your own loyal community
👉 Twitter is a great platform to let your viewers know you’re going live
👉 YouTube is the platform where you will grow the most
🚀 Add your socials to your overlay
Most streamers already have these listed in the description of their Twitch channel. But I’m not seeing very many streamers focus on this.
70% of small streamers have an overlay that practically begs for followers, subscribers, and donations.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that, far from it, but they are focussing on the short-term, instead of focusing on what’s most important: long-term growth!
An overlay for your Discord Server, YouTube channel, and your Twitter account will benefit you far more in the future.
🚀 Add your socials to your graphics
Your socials deserve a nice clickable graphic within your Twitch description. GRAPHICS GET CLICKED, THEY WORK. Don’t skip out on this amazing feature.
🚀 Shoutout your socials
Your voice can influence people’s decisions. Viewers might not realize they should join your discord server until you tell them about it. It’s okay to talk about your socials on stream! No one will blame you for promoting on your own stream as long as you don’t overdo it.
You could designate a little section for this at the start and end of your streams. Don’t be afraid to plug your Discord Server whenever it comes up. You can even show off your discord server on stream to entice your viewers to join as well.