Hey #Earlygang! What do you think, Twitch Alerts, are they distracting or engaging? Do they make editing easier or harder? Will people understand this video is trying to start a constructive conversation round gimmicks and effects? or will people just get upset without understanding the video?
I just started streaming beginning of Aug and reached affiliate a week ago. Thanks to a very supportive community (3d modelling), I had all the followers I needed before I did my first stream. All I had left was people chatting, number of hours and number of days to reach the requirements. The purpose of my stream is so people helping me learn Blender can see what I'm doing and offer help, as well as for others to learn along with me. Overlays would block part of the screen and people won't see what I'm doing. Alerts, tho some can be handy, mostly are very distracting and block people's view. The only thing that interests me is starting, brb and ending images or animations, alerts for follow, sub and bits, and that is so I can thank them for supporting me. After that I don't really need anything else, except maybe something for Halloween and Christmas.
I love this reminder to consider the core value prop that you offer to viewers when adding features, and keeping that at the forefront, rather than adding features just because you can. Thanks for another great video!
For me, this was the major takeaway as well. It is really easy to hide behind the surface level 'features' of your stream instead of focusing on the core value prop. Just like in most aspects of life, balance is very important.
Been feeling this big time lately. A while back, I made this custom TTS command that has a ton of fun voices. I was really proud of it, and viewers love messing around with it! The big issue is that I'm constantly getting interrupted, and it completely kills my train of thought. This video made me realize I need to dial it back a little, even if I am proud of the work I did to get that command working.
Definitely related to this comment. One thing I've started doing is educating my audience on stream segments. Using my voice and chat commands, I help my audience understand what is available to them and when those things go away. For example, if I'm hosting an interview I will let my audience know that alerts will be muted and I will most likely focus my energy on the interview instead of answering chat. Automated chat commands and on stream banners could be used to reinforce these ideas as well. Good luck on your streams!
Very good point. I use Stream Elements TTS, which gives a Subs only option. I also turn it off during times like D&D where I want the VoD to be on RU-vid later. I don't want the DM's voice to get drowned out by ppl just dropping in who aren't paying attention anyway. 😅😂
I set up a TTS with a site called Monster because it had AI voices that my viewers could choose and it works off channel points as well as bits. i've had it enabled for almost 6 months now....not a single person has used it. I have a chat bot alert to it and its down in my descriptions and no one at all tried it. Even the bit functions that use TTS my viewers don't seem to like, but oh man you let them sound redeem anything Michael Jackson and they spam that sh*t
Streamlabs OBS actually has a fix for most of these things. "Selective recording" is what it's called. It's available right on the main screen above the list of "sources" where you can have it only on stream, only on recording, or both. It's insanely awesome since I can have my twitch alerts on stream, but never on the video I'm recording. It works with all sources to my knowledge, so it's extremely helpful. I myself focus on funny jokes and sometimes loud noises to gain an audience, and it's gotten my 7 followers in about 2 weeks. I'm slowly going up, but honestly your content here is really helpful in seeing how much I need to work on to make this happen properly. Thank you.
On streamlabs desktop you can record and stream and have certain scences only visable on one or the other or both. So you can still have all your alerts go off on stream and then recording will have nothing.
I needed this video 2 years ago HAHA, thank you for putting it out there. Listen to this one people! This is something I learned on my journey. I have all the things, and when chat is a vibe with the content and the interactions it creates a great live show, but they also can turn that right around, put you into sensory overload, derail the vibe, and just crush your will to keep going. Early on I lost so much content like this, I'd go make a short and then a dixper card or tts alert would just ruin it. Now, it's not available every stream, the planned content dictates what we are doing and which features will be turned up on that stream. Recording is setup so things can be filtered out when I am willing to turn it on, and everything happens because I generally will queue it to happen. Since doing this, I've seen great growth and achieved that check mark goal.
100% agree, I've had streams where three separate audio sources are playing at the same time. It's so overstimulating and really derails my thoughts. These days, I keep streaming simple and focus more on using streaming to produce edited content for RU-vid. Glad to hear your stream has been growing! Best of luck as you continue.
REALLY hoping to try getting back into streaming/content creation again in the future. Real life has been so insane this past year, it was impossible to keep a proper schedule. Alerts were neither bad nor good for me when I did as they either never worked properly or no one did anything to trigger them.
Now that you've had some time to reflect on your past streaming experiences, what do you think your number 1 priority will be when you return? Any advice for other streamers? Best of luck on your return!
Honestly Eljay made all good points here! HOWEVER I still want to know when someone followed, subbed, donated bits, etc. So what is a different way to be alerted by this?
This is top advice. I didn't realise how I'd kind of...internalised the interruptions from a lot of the louder alerts/sfx, I've dialled them back significantly and I'm a happier streamer for it. Still have some subtle ones for Subs/Bits/Follows. Your example of being interrupted by the Bits TTS was spot on.
I love the comedy haha. I still love my alerts but really think there's a middle ground between being engaging and having too much. Thanks for the vid!
Hah jokes on you. You cant hurt something that is dead anyway! No seriously. Great video. Makes me think about my Streams (and somehow a bit depressed). And how i always think about "what could i change" and always add new stuff or look for new stuff, but never actually change my content, so that people might actually see it and enjoy it. And even through you said we shouldnt throw away everything... maybe this is exactly what i will do. Throw away all the disrupting on screen stuff that adds no value. Get more basic alerts that are less intrusiv and just try to use less gimmicks (well and finding the motivation to stream and get out of my "nobody cares anyways hole) Thanks AJ. Always watching your videos and always finding them to be something to think about.
i just watched this and i understand the community portion of this.. its so important to have your show and have the flow of your show be important for the audience.. then core content be the most important
Owen Owned is such a great guy. He really looks like he's been through the dark ages, black plague, the invention of capitalism, two world wars and he's still upbeat and chipper enough to tell us about these great features offered by Owned!
I have slowly but surely been changing, reducing the time of, or outright removing aspects of alerts or channel point redeems for the same reason. If they break the flow of a recording or require/ruin context it affects my downstream (pun intended?) plans for editing or making other content. I used to have a redeem to “send me to the shadow realm” but it was 45seconds long and as time went on and my stream grew that outstayed it’s welcome. It doesn’t mean things need to be removed but maybe reflect like what eljay is saying and see if things need adjustment or fit your content still
This is something I have realized since switching from Twitch to RU-vid (mostly anyways). If you can't put out content and carry things and be entertaining without bells and whistles, then these bells and whistles are literally all you have. Also, minus all of the bells and whistles I can focus on things a lot easier and keep things flowing without having a bunch of stuff interfering.
Just so its out there if anyone wants to try it. There is a Source Record plugin for OBS that lets you record individual sources and scenes, you can record as many as you want separately from the rest of your stream so long as your PC can handle it. Which would let you have as many alerts and effects on your stream as you want while still having a clean recording to edit in to a video later. All that said I haven't used it myself just yet and only know about this thanks to Nutty talking about it during one of his OBS plugins videos. I hope this helps someone.
Great video! I hope I limit my gimmicks to things that fit with my stream and drive engagement ... things that are "fun." It is a tough streaming world out there... trying to keep people's attention with a decent stream and some side engagement things while not doing "too much" is a pretty tough balance.
I agree, the balancing act is really tough. But I think acknowledging that and focusing on your core content are great steps forward. What are your favorite things that you add to the stream?
@@DimTheLightsTTV I have these things: I give my viewers the ability to change my lights behind me - channel points to change my voice or mess with my game a little bit, and using the points to activate a second camera that focuses on things in my space - also the Pokemon Community Game (PCG runs on a bunch of streams and its all synced) running in the background has given people something to play along with me. I'm hoping it's not too much or too gimmicky, but seems to help engagement. And I try my best to not be boring.
heh, my core content is just drawing my webcomic, and talking about art. Which can be very boring if you're not into art related stuff already. I could spice it up with other stuff, but that would be the glitter on the turd xD
I like how this was about alerts but also mentioned how people act on stream. Which come to think of it I think I subconsciously have fallen into that be it intentional or not
To answer one of your questions, I play trackmania. Thanks for making these. I feel incredibly successful, having grown over 500 follows and averaging 5 to 20 every stream without actually knowing any of these things. I implemented just a couple of minor tips and my retention rate was all climb last night. Thanks again
You helped me go from 1 follower to just passing 1k. And since you asked I'll tell ya! I put over 24 hours into two live wrestling shows I edit and make like you're watching a real tv show from start to finish. At first I automatically disagreed with your title but that's til I watched it and realize what you're saying. I agree that if you aren't making good content sound alerts and flash do nothing. I cannot tell you how many people have tried to rip off a few things I'm doing and try it on their streams only to get upset at me when it doesn't work for them the same way. Your personality goes hand in hand with the overlays, alerts, the whole feel of your stream. And just bc someone likes to contribute a certain way on someone else's stream doesn't mean they are going to enjoy doing the same thing with you. Ya gotta find the will to keep going when you are just starting out and you suck. I still have to motivate myself every day to keep going and believing. But that's what separates the one's who really take this seriously and the one's who just want to take shortcuts.
1:26 The funny ad is such a great idea! Making the sponsor the most entertaining and curated clip in the whole video is a winning point in my opinion, It really helps to follow it until the end. And you don't seems like a moneygrabber who put it there just to earn something. Furthermore, Here in Italy, a RU-vidr called BarbascuraX has the sponsor as its characteristic element. People almost wait for it in every new video 😂
As an editor with 10 years experience on youtube nd just starting on twittch, I can't stress enough how right you are with that bit about overediting. Let people hear your story, you don't need to make it ultrashort for YT shorts or tkt
well, there are obs plugins for example, where you can record any source of the stream you want, separately. for example, you can record the facecam + the gameplay. they will be 2 videos with each their own sound - no distractions, like alerts or sound effects. maybe this would be a help for some. but I get the message of your video and I am totally here for it. I know a lot of streamers who just overdo it with all their extras, filters and whatnot. the core value should matter the most.
I do guitar repairs and builds oh yea, I play Golf in my Simulator while the CNC cuts out a project. Trying to get golf scenes appealing to the eye. Could use more guidance you share. Thanks
Really appreciate this video. ❤ One thing I'd love to see in the future, if the option for the VIEWER to turn off overlays and pick specific scenes, specifically for them. So, Tom could watch the gameplay video from one angle, without alerts, while Bob watches the stream from another angle, with alerts and other potentially annoying bits.
I am currently streaming with no alerts or overlays, just me and the game. This is mostly because I am a Ludite with no artistic talent. While I have not found what others would call success I have found a small group of people who enjoy watching. If you enjoy strategy games and watching elves die trying to play football I highly recommend Blood Bowl.
My core content, is changing after I finally thought about it. My core content is telling stories. Yes it will involve voices a bit as I am a voice actor/actor, but at the end of the day if I can keep someone's attention long enough to enjoy a good story. Then I will feel like I did my job. It's a lot of work, but I also focus on story rich things too such as games, novels, Movie ideas. Something that grabs the viewers attention and make them believe that the world they are seeing, reading or hearing about. Feels like a real breathing world.
Very interesting video. I'm a small streamer and recently got Affiliate. My mentality while streaming is that I'm playing videogames. I'm not an entertainer nor am I a clown for other people's entertainment. You can watch a videogame stream and have a relaxing and funny time without the streamer having to be histrionic about it.
I find myself deactivating more and more of my alerts and channel point redeems because I have one or two regular users who will do literally everything in their power to use them to be disruptive and annoying. I agree 100% with the point that alerts can destroy a stream's flow, and have considered doing away with redeems altogether because of these two people.
Actually I recently decided that my core content is playing league of legends. I just have a few dozen followers, but every 4 hour stream, I get around 2 new followers and I am so gratefull for them! Now I am wondering if that is a good first start on average?
this is really good advice. I started with nothing, just gameplay, and voice. I spent a lot of time and still do work on myself as the why people watch. not that it's doing me amazing numbers but its secured loyal viewers who are there for me and not all the bells and whistles. It's only now I've really started to dive into the fun interactive stuff and make-believe persona, but not at the harm of all the continuing hard work on myself.
I’m so shy and chill person and that shows on my stream. I have speech disability make it hard understand me on stream but I trying to make my streams more interactive and engaging for help me be entertaining
I keep things simple and just be myself. I remind myself why I do this and that's mainly to share an experience with others. So far I'm starting to build a community of people who watch me just to hang out and I'm more than fine with that.
Wish i knew my friend, my core content is supposed to be gaming however the years of the grind still yiel an impressive 0-3 viewers when streaming *not sweating at all*
Don't let it discourage you. Some communities enjoy the trollish interactive chaos. It all depends on what kind of atmosphere and community you are cultivating
I do pistol-melee challenge runs of action shooter video games in an effort to determine if the game is balanced. I use the streams as a way to record the footage and keep the content engaging, so i'm not editing 4 hours of me staring at a shooter with no reactions lol
some solutions to these issues is using selective recording and recording all stream sounds into its own channel that can easily be muted in post, but good food for thought
omg these tips are IT, just as much for videos as for streams. I'm just a casual viewer who isn't streaming regularly but the idea of trusting yourself as entertaining enough is why I love so many older Lets Plays of games vs what they've become nowadays. The dramatic zooms, silly filters, the zany editing-- sometimes it's funny, but often I find it interrupting the game or story or even just the pure entertainment value of the video! So yeah, people like PointCrow are doing it best, where only the slightest things get added either in stream or as a video edit. I'm watching for the personality, gameplay, story, or any combination thereof-- not for silly filters and overbearing sound effects. (In moderation, of course-- I love being able to turn on 60 seconds of silly voice filters and such, but I mostly watch drawing streams so perhaps the vibes are a bit different there).
I would argue that having your effects burned into the edit is a fault of the streamer because there are definitely ways to have that not happen, as someone who is a streamer themselves, but all your other points are totally valid! I may cut back on some things or refocues them myself because of this video
My core content at least on RU-vid was clips from the steams and playing games Stardew Valley and My time at Portia. I recently upgraded my my setup going from a laptop to a PC and I had decided to try to do a soft rebrand by playing honkai star rail. My audience does like it because there free meaning they can play too.
So i see the points your making and how it applies to some people, but i stream horror games and so i have a shit ton of different ways for chat to try and jumpscare me, and for me its not about the content, i enjoy horror and the interactions make it more enjoyable for me
@@StreamScheme there is one thing i want to add but im having a hard time getting it to work, in streamerbot you can set up an HTML overlay and display things over your game using channel points and bits. i want to set different jumpscare gifs up but I tried for months to get it to work
I am restarting my streaming career. I do horror games. I am trying to figure out if I should do alerts or not or I should add anything. I am a Xboxer with no camera. So, I know I need something but I'm so confused on what I need to do!
Sound Alerts sounds like a fantastically fun, engaging tool but as you mentioned it can be a mood killer. I'm slowly removing SAs, especially the long ones. I feel bad bringing up bit costs for a jump scare but when you are aiming for a story oriented experience it ruins the vibe 🫣
Thanks , I’m actually starting to stream for Diablo 4, we have a small FB group and I have my 1st bby on the way , so anything extra will be great, thanks for the advice
Interesting take on the subject. Personally I feel big streamers dont do this stuff because they dont need to because they have the following. They dont need to stand out, unlike smaller streamers. However I do feel people need to be authentic and let that shine in their content. Being a copy cat of other creators big or small isnt going to benefit anyone as the results are never the same. I also wouldnt allow my viewers to have that much control over my stream with voice changer, text to speech, etc. Now I do agree if I am streaming for 6hrs and got that message I would be PISSED! so a solution to that could be turn off text-to-speech, turn off the sound alert, but have the alert still pop up in a small section of the screen. This way its not so disruptive and destructive of a potential stream highlight moment.
Been going thru this with my stream on Twitch lately. I have a lot of channel points for costumes and such. And I find myself sometimes getting irritated, when in the middle of a game, like Phasmophobia, which is one of my main games I stream, and having to put on a hat, or costume, or do voices and such, and it takes me out of the flow. Yeah, its channel points, but I sometimes wonder how much people really enjoy it, and if its taking away from my stream or adding. Specially now that I have been splitting time and also been playing WoW Classic Hardcore. But keep up with the great vids. They have helped me out a lot the past couple of years.
I'll do my best! Might be boring ads for a few weeks because I am moving house but once at the new place, green screen will be setup in my garage again!
I think my core content is enjoying funny moments in a small selection of games I play with my friends If my friends aren’t there, it’s me enjoying struggling thru a game, laughing at my failures & hyping up accomplishments - no matter how small
The last 6 months have been abysmal for growth on Twitch. It's the worst I have ever seen for myself and a lot of newer channels I follow. I don't know if all the ads are killing the platform, or it's something else.
I started My RU-vid Channel in the beginning of the year and I am still a small time streamer. My Main core is playing the games I like and upload it to RU-vid.
I feel like trying to appeal to people who aren't there yet doesn't matter as much as appealing to someone who is there, or wants to be now. There's a chance whoever subscribed over your gamer moment wanted to do so intentionally. I definitely feel it, but honestly for me there's a huge rift between where you stand, who you are, and how much work you're willing to do to get it all in balance. If you're a non affiliate andy with erratic viewership, nuking your chat widget for someone who would clearly have a better time watching a no commentary playthrough on youtube and having a vod that will not display or remember past chats when highlighted after the week your video is live is absolutely crushing. Because the same way I feel about all the borders and screen overlays that force people to make the actual game window small, is probably similar to how people feel it is cringe to stream without a webcam or png model or better. Most people I've seen lately are already cutting out more than a bunch of meme videos or bouncing emoji can cover at a single time. And I'm sure whoever is being annoying with their channel points bits or cash is getting their money's worth. Maybe you're talking to people that have a stable audience and want to do more, or people who plan the field and have absolutely nothing to do on that field, or maybe it's just bait-y to make a bunch of small streamers looking for tips engage you. I haven't actually seen streamers with cute and over edited content suffer from people disliking their streams, rather, people with great formats having their videos look bad because their hardware can't handle what they're trying to do. And some get away with it because as long as they're not gaming it's amazing.
yah, aitum plugin says hello. You can have all of the alerts and gimmicks going while having aitum doing just the scenes you have set up without those alerts getting in the way. Rest of the stuff i agree with. Separate your audio, and now u have your stream and vertical recording separate. you dont want TikTok or yt shorts format, well set it to 16:9.
I think it’s important to remember that these plugins come with a lot of extra resources to handle encoding, and also on a side note, I would never use a plug-in to record Vertical anyway and cut all that footage off that I’d likely use, give me the full camera clean as possible, so I can edit it in post properly, reframing to where the action is. Vertical recording tools are only holding back creators. Again that’s a side note, from someone who is getting 3.5 - 5 million shorts views a month after only a few months of releasing them. But back on topic, I’ve looked at source record, aitium, and a lot of tools to “solve” this problem but at the end of the day, I find most have major drawbacks, that make them more effort to use. Not to mention it doesn’t solve the core of the problem, bells whistles sprinkling glitter gimmicks? None of that solves the boring content beneath it, and eventually people get bored of those gimmicks too. I agree there are options, I just didn’t include them here because we all know more plugins and tech won’t solve the problem this video is actually discussing, boring lazy content.
Is it weird that I feel like my core content is just being me, being goofy, and chatting while I play games I like, but at the same time streaming can take a lot out of me? I really enjoy streaming and my goal isn't really to be someone big, but there's something that I find really daunting about it regardless and I'm not sure what. Is it possible that I'm caring too much about making a good product?
I’ve watched both creators, and I wouldn’t say they’re as flat as Dobrick and Beast. Both Pewdiepie and Jack are energetic but they also both have down time, time where they’re serious, time where they’re sad, etc I thought that was obvious from looking at their videos to be honest.
@@StreamScheme I agree they differ from Dobrick and Beast. While I totally agree with the points in the video (great job btw!), I think one main aspect they don't acknowledge in the clip is where they are in their journey versus where the majority of this audience exists. Pewdiepie and Jack both have experienced wild amounts of success and have been creators for years now. It is very easy for them to trivialize how creators may portray themselves in the public eye. But if you look at the library of their core content, especially their earlier stuff (which in this scenario is more relevant), they do prioritize a specific style of delivering information (energetic, heightened, etc.) and aim for it to be consistent. Sure, there are exceptions but I think it is a case of them being a little disingenuous about that fact.
the only gimmic i got is literally my pikachu onesie, otherwise im a very open person on stream ngl, been going from 84 to 160+ followers in like 20 days think, after taking a very long break xd big part of this is ofc having great and amazing friends
While I agree, and try to focus on what is entertaining for videos and shorts - I also keep my audio in separate channels as well as have a clean feed video to edit later. So I end up with my VOD with all the alerts and gimmicks baked in but also have a clean feed with the game audio, my mic, discord chat (when playing with friends), and music / alerts separated - which also means when I stutter or cough - I don't necessarily lose the footage - I just cut me out at that point. I even have my replay buffer capture a clean vertical as well as horizontal clip to quickly make shorts immediately after. Now, I just need to be more entertaining 🙂
I think I'm glad that when I started streaming, alerts and such weren't really a thing yet. I use some now, mostly because I like to thank people for follows and I won't notice without some kind of audio/visual cue, but not a whole lot. My core content has always been me playing games I'm passionate about and want to share with people, and connecting to the folks watching. For me that looks like a lot of the horror MMO The Secret World/Secret World Legends and usually also various games with animals (Tunic and Animal Shelter Simulator right now). I enjoy sharing things I love, and I've realized over time that really is the core of what and how I stream. I'll note that I'm lucky in that I stream as a hobby and to fundraise for charities, not as a primary source of income, so I have that freedom to pick and choose games that I'm able to be really passionate about.
Problem with this advise is it assumes you have viewers. I could have a billion different alert animations and it wouldn’t matter because no one watches my streams.
Why does that matter? I’ve covered growing viewership hundreds of times, not every video has to cater to 0 viewer streamers. But also, this does apply to them as well because it teaches to stop overproducing and focus on the content.
Love u dude… your vids are clutch… my core content is knowledge on cryptids/creatures of folklore then landing headshots in chivalry 2 as the John Rambo of archers
This is mildly validating for me. I hate gimmicks when they distract from the streamer and the content. I do have alerts and some fun channel point sound redeems, but they're not too distracting. I just try to be myself and hope that's enough... which it kind of isn't, but still!
Hey eljay! Have you made a video on tips to be a part of a community? I'd love to go on this streaming/content creation journey with new friends and I'm not even sure where to start.
