The question is: how do I become a streamer? lmao
I know, I know, but the thing is, I’ve been teaching English for about ten years now and I’m frankly getting tired of the grind, waking up early as shit, teaching for six to nine hours each day and all that. I make good money, but I get the feeling that the real big money is in doing online stuff. Selling courses, making content, that kind of stuff.
My idea for a channel or twitch stream or whatever would be me playing games and then commenting on interesting aspects of the stuff characters are saying in the games. Some of the streams would be Q&As, some straight-up lessons on specific topics, maybe some streams dedicated to other stuff like films and TV shows. You get the idea.
The thing is, I don’t even know where to start. I’m familiar with OBS, I have a good camera and mic setup that I already use for my online lessons, but I don’t know where to start in terms of platforms, streamers to use as references and what I should expect from the process of cultivating an audience.
What do you folks think? Where should I begin?
Keep a consistent schedule, always engage with chat, keep talking even when chat is dead. Can you keep up a stream of interesting observations and stories for an hour, just talking to an empty room? (Record yourself trying, ding yourself if you go 30 seconds without being engaging.)
Honestly, the people who manage to build up a successful variety stream from the ground up by doing that kind of freak me out. The alternative is to win a championship at something or get world record on a speedrun, so those people show up to see you do your thing, then start the consistent and engaging grind, and slowly pivot to variety content. (Maybe it says something about me personally that “simply become the world champion at something” sounds easier than talking to an empty room for hours a day.)
Even that isn’t a guarantee; I follow this streamer, Nitrony1, dude won the Guilty Gear Strive tournament at the most recent EVO and he’s still only getting a 100 and change viewers on his streams. Better than the dredges to be sure, but still on the smaller/niche end.