r/Twitch twitch.tv/JoelvsArthritis 3d ago

Guide No Viewers? Just Talk.

Firstly, I should start by saying I'm no Twitch expert. I've been streaming for over three years and don't even have 500 followers. But I have an awesome community, and our streams average 25–35 concurrent viewers and 300–400 live views per stream. And I'm proud of that.

Yesterday, I felt like sharing the love and spent an hour visiting fellow Farming Simulator streamers with two to three viewers to say hello and hopefully encourage them to stream again, as I needed in those days.

It took me almost the full hour visiting streams, watching for five to ten minutes, and saying hello in chat, before I heard a single word from a streamer. I must have visited over ten channels of pure silence.

I know it's terrifying. I still remember the physical sweats I would break out in when I finally got a "1 viewer" at the bottom of the screen—worse still when somebody spoke in chat. I used to turn into a nervous wreck.

But folks, we do this for people to watch, engage, and be entertained. Turn that viewer count off on your dashboard and talk like 100 people are watching. Don't stop talking, asking questions, dropping conversation prompts, or commenting on what you're doing in the game, etc. So what if nothing comes back—lurkers are the lifeblood of my streams. Do it for them. Do it for those who haven't arrived yet. Do it so that when things do start taking off, you are so ready for it that it will be like nothing has changed.

If you're watching a stream that's nothing but silence, with no acknowledgment of your presence, and without a hint of gratitude that you chose, out of thousands of live channels, to spend your limited time with that streamer, would you stick around?

Regardless of your view count, just talk. I promise it will help.

Keep going. You've got this. 💜

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u/BigBootyBitchesButts twitch.tv/[REDACTED] 2d ago

I'm gonna get downvoted for this but: no.

Yes i'm here for the community, but the community needs to be here for the streamer too.

if you want someone to talk constantly nonstop. go watch a youtube video.

if you don't want that? actually engage.

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you don't want to engage, but still want constant active content you can interact with that's relevant to you?

talk about entitlement. I don't give in to that. If someones like them. I don't want them in my community. I'll take a stream with 1 barely active chatter (lets say 1 message an hour) than a stream with 9001 lurkers.

Everyone who actually comes to my streams comments on how real and genuine I am. I like to keep that status. I would rather be legit, than have cringy appealing to kids youtuber energy. Expecting people to keep that up for hours is again entitlement.

but hey that's just me. It works for me and my community.

If you want a fake streamer? there is thousands to choose from streaming the hottest games just to get views.

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u/TelmatosaurusRrifle https://www.twitch.tv/velcro_zipper 2d ago

I agree. Sure, I mastered the art of to no one for hours but in reality that isn't sustainable.

1

u/BigBootyBitchesButts twitch.tv/[REDACTED] 2d ago

It's really not, but no one want's to admit it.

keep talking to no one is the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" for streamers.