Positivity: A Struggle of a Small Streamer
Lights on.
OBS is open.
You hit the ‘go live’ button on the stream deck.
Two, three, four, maybe twelve, hours go by…
You hit the ‘end stream’ button.
OBS is closed.
Lights off.
Rinse. Repeat. The loop continues and you wonder why you’re even bothering with a cycle that doesn’t reward you. Maybe you gain a follower or two. Maybe a raid. Maybe a viewer will chat with you. More than likely, a bot will trick you into thinking you have a genuine viewer, only to pull the rug by asking you to check out their art or they have suggestions on how to improve your channel (both cases result in unsolicited attempts at selling you not so good work). Those happen on the good days for a small streamer, while most days nothing happens. The cycle is often bitter and frustrating. You’ll question why no one stopped by. You’ll wonder what you could do, only to try something, anything, and realize it did nothing to improve your streams—a brutal never ending circular cycle.
A cycle that can be negative and draining.
I once struggled to find positivity in the cycle. Content creation feels like an endless loop that has little reward for the things you are creating. No matter how much work you put into it, streaming can feel empty and hollow. Until it doesn’t. Until one day you realize that the only thing that matters is what you’re learning in the moment. There is so much you can learn, too. That’s where the positivity lies. That’s where you will find the most ‘growth’.
Too often beginner streamers focus on the numbers, rather than focusing on themselves. I fell into that trap. I still have moments where I look and wonder why my follower count isn’t going up or has fallen. But truth be told, the best advice I’ve seen and can share is to not focus on the numbers. They don’t matter at first. They don’t really matter at all, no matter what level of fame you achieve. What matters is you’re learning and finding your voice. What matters is you… The streamer. Don’t worry about all the noise and nonsense of numbers and numerical ‘growth’, that will drive you insane.
Instead, approach your streams and content creation by asking yourself, did I have fun? Fun in the moment. Fun, despite no one watching. Fun despite my last video not doing too well. If you’re not enjoying yourself foremost, it’ll be obvious for anyone who jumps into your stream or watches your videos. Don’t play games because they are popular, play games you enjoy and want to share that love. Put your enjoyment first… If you do that, then spending a few hours streaming to no one won’t feel as bad or as disappointing.
You should also focus on talking. No matter what it is. Practice the way you communicate on stream. Pretend you have people watching. Pretend your next video is going to have 1,000+ views. By talking, you ensure that anyone who stops by has something they can comment on beyond the game. By talking, you have something to critique afterwards. As hard as it might be, it’s essential to watch your stream—especially starting out. It will provide insight that you do not get in the moment of streaming. You see and hear the dead air. The balance of audio becomes more apparent, so you can adjust later. In a way, you become a viewer when you go back to watch your stream. Now, take everything you learned by watching and critiquing to help improve your next stream.
Rinse.
Repeat.
I’m a small streamer and I struggle with finding the positive in a field that is vast, sometimes lonely, but it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. I’m not an expert. I doubt I’ll have the massive numbers like xQc or pokimane. But I’m find the fun. I’m finding the positivity the more I stream.
It took me a while to get there.
You’ll get there too.
I believe in you.
Jesús M. Rivera 