Minecraft Forums

Hey guys.
I have made up a little guide for people who are new or need help with livestreaming. Feel free to add more in the comments below.



Things you will need:
1. A good computer. (GPU and CPU)
2. A solid internet connection. (A decent upload speed is crucial) Test your connection here.
3. Livestream program. (FFSplit, Xsplit etc)
4. Stuff to stream. xD (Very important)

Most of the requirements are pretty explanatory, so I won't go into detail on it.

Things to make your stream better:
1. Your voice.
2. Background music.
3. HD.
4. Interesting games.
5. Socialize with your audience.

Chapter 1: Content on screen.

1. Your voice:
A majority of the people who watch streams want to hear commentary. They want hear your opinions and thoughts about what you are streaming. This may include you talking and explaining what you are doing, your goal and what you have achieved, or it may just be you raging it out. The audience loves this. Not only do we want to hear you, we also want to hear it clearly.Sorry but your in built laptop mic is just not going to work. Trust me on this one. Even a cheap $20 headset mic is better. I recently got myself a cheap $23 unbranded headset mic and despite it broke on my head, the audio was clearer. A bit of tape fixed up the broken part easily.

2. Background music.
I don't know about you, but I love a good nice background to fill the silence in a stream. Not too loud, to draw the attention away from the stream video. But soft enough to fill the silence yet still be able to clearly hear the commentator and not draw away attention. I used a service called SynchTube . Synchtube is like a sort of music playlist chat room. Anyone who joins your room, hears the same music as you do. Plus gives the option to allow others to add songs to the playlist. This is great because I let my viewers choose the music they want to hear, and thats the background music I play. People's choice. This is a great way to get friendly with your viewers too.

3.High definition.
People love when they can see the screen well. This may not be the case for everyone. I have relatively slower internet than most of the world, so I stream in a lower quality. Members don't usually complain, because they are too busy enjoying the rest of the stream to worry about seeing every pixel in the screen. If you can stream in HD, do so. If you cannot, that's still OK. Members are usually mature and won't be rude about it, so just apologise and tell them you can't stream in HD. They will understand, as it is not your control.

4. Interesting Games.
This is the main attraction, the thing people want to see. The games! Be sure to entertain your audience with something cool man! Don't be playing that chess online

5. Socialize.
This ties in with talking to your audience. Keep a small window with the Twitch TV chat and have a read of viewers questions and comments. Talk to your audience. We love it when the streamer answers our questions and talk to us. It shows that the streamer cares about his viewers and is just a regular guy doing what we love doing best; playing games
Make your audience feel comfortable and ask questions back.
Show them that you are a cool guy, and they will want to come back and watch your streams in the future.


Other things to make streams even better!
1. Giveaways
Lots of new viewers tend to click to on stream if you say there is going to be a giveaway. We love free stuff This is a quick way to get more people quicker. Although not a free way. You could also say "giveaway at 400 followers" This way, viewers are urged to follow you, for the chance to get something in return.


Chapter 2: Professional looking Twitch page.

1. Header.
A decent header should show your personality, the theme of the stream or simply just your name. It simply gives the viewers basic information on what they are watching. Mine for example, says "HuntermanGaming" because my name is Hunter and I game. My header is simply 1 sentence, short and sweet and tells people basic information about me.
Not only does it show basic information, it shows that the streamer has taken the time to make one. This shows commitment and makes your page look just a bit nicer, and stands out. People remember things that stand out.

2. Background.
Not many people realise how important a background is. It sets the whole mood of the stream, even though you don't spend time staring at the background, peripheral vision still sees it constantly. Having a dark gloomy background will set a dark mood, a bright yellow will be a happy awake mood. Finding your theme and mood is crucial if you want your views to be in the right mindset. You don't your viewers feeling gloomy.

3.Information tab.
Under the stream, is a space where HTML can be place. I put rules in there about the stream, and about myself.
This gives more information to the viewers, so they know who the real you is. Tell them a bit about yourself and get friendly with your viewers. You can even place a donation box in there or any other embed compatible widget.
Having a nice information tab that is easy to read looks nice and professional.


Thank you for reading my guide. I hope it has help someone.
If you like to add something, please do so!
Let's help out the young livestreamers out there.

Good luck
Hunter

Me too man
Just go for it.

Quote from MinecraftDeveney

This was very informative to me. I have been looking into maybe starting a Minecraft Livestream, but I think the fear of the "unknown" is what's holding me back. I just want my first livestream to be a positivie experience for any viewers and myself.
Thanks for the information.

The unknown is what stops many streamers. Don't think about it, is my advice. Your here to play games and have fun, and provide entertainment to others.

Just go for it, the first time I streamed, I was nervous about what people might think about me, my voice (I have a strong New Zealand accent) and how I play. No one really cared, they were simply watching me play.

I stream not because I want to get followers, I stream because I want to play games, and people watching is just a bonus.

Trust me, one your first couple of streams, you will get a small audience, so no need to worry about people judging you. Keep streaming to keep getting an audience. Just go for it, it's fun


Good luck pal.

I have updated the OP with some more information and a spot about professionalising your Twitch page.