the starting soon screen. Just depends how long they go on for. 10 minutes MAX but if its about 5 mins I think it's ok but I also think why not just go live and not sit and wait just get the show started. if a tv show is scheduled at 10pm do we tune it and watch a starting soon screen for 10 mins.. no. although it's usually a little recap of the previous episode/season. Theres some streamers that have ridiculously long starting soon screen times though.. I've known some to be 45 minutes.. and more it was a podcast/ talk show and they was "waiting for the guests to join"
I 100% agree with the going live tweet, especially if that person streams almost every day, I have muted people on twitter because of that. I have to watch what you say about starting soon screens in the other video, but I do I disagree with the twitch pre rolls ads because I normally have multiple streams up at once that I switch between, so Ill keep the stream up and watch after the ad is done.
Definitely agree with the “going live” tweets bit. Unless it has some sort of engaging content within the tweet, its boring to look at and I’ll scroll past it. That being said, I wouldn’t mind trying Devin’s method of putting out these tweets then deleting them so that my TL isn’t plastered with these tweets.
At least there's a couple of ways of making "going live" tweets less painful (or not painful at all), one simply has to stop being so lazy about those. And Harris has just motivated me to figure out how to make those "starting soon" screens work. :-D (hint: I've seen Webinars draw people in 30 minutes - with something engaging - before they start.) In my opinion, the jury's out on logos at the moment (I personally don't care). So that leaves the bit about pre-roll and organizations. . . no argument from me on those.
It's corporate greed, trust me if they could they would have implemented ads on every channel change a long time ago but because of the way tvs work that isn't possible. This hasn't stopped some providers from doing this to some VOD everytime you play it or online places like Hulu and such from displaying a ton of ads. It's corporate greed, the way ads work is to tell you to shuttup and listen to me because im the one with money to make you do that. It's very ineffective and dehumanizing, hardly anybody ever clicks or goes to those ads. The whole industry is stupid.
I feel like it contradicts the core concept of their discussion though. It seems more like you have to do what works to get initial growth(ie not an anomoly) before you can afford to experiment with things that might make you one...
Audio quality being more important than video quality makes sense to me for two reasons. First, bad audio quality can be physically painful and people will click away ASAP. While bad video quality is a bit detrimental but people may still stay. Second, some people listen to Twitch in the background as they work so audio quality is 100% of the engagement.
If it's a stream I want to watch and I already know that, I usually sit through the preroll ad. But if it's an unknown stream I am checking out for the first time, I'd say 75% of the time I close the twitch browser tab and just watch youtube videos when I get the ad. I watch streamers I know and I REALLY have to be in a certain mood to have the patience to discover new streams because of it. It's almost like a punishment for not being subscribed, if you look at it. Twitch is taking too much from viewers. How about letting people check out streams before they get bombarded? It is common for me to check out 10-15 NEW youtube channels in a sitting. If I were to do this on twitch I have wasted upwards of 10 minutes watching ads, for something I dont even KNOW that I want to see. This is ridiculous and greedy. My time has value, but twitch doesn't think so. Maybe show an ad once they have watched long enough to be engaged? Novel idea. Oh wait. TH-cam did it first. 5 seconds then skip is do-able. A full 30 second ad every time you check out a stream is just greedy and punishes both the streamer and viewer.
I actually like the "Stream Starting Soon" panels -- at least when it comes to Twitch communities I'm a part of. It gives the community a quick chance to catch up in chat with eachother and say hi :)
As an art streamer and as a movie streamer I find them 100% integral to the way I run my stream. Give folks a moment to settle in or grab a snack before the show or the chit chat.
Okay, I have a tip for everyone who doesn't want to get rid of "starting soon" screens: Add a countdown. Seeing a countdown on screen makes the waiting way more bearable.
I'm in the early stages of building my youtube channel and twitch stream and been watching your videos and trying to pick up tips and lessons from it. The twitter go live one was interesting, so I gave it a go tonight. Now obviously really small numbers... My previous "go live" tweet on Tuesday for 32 impressions 1 engagement. This was simply a link to my twitch page saying go live. Tonight's I included a picture of my minecraft base along with twitch link and going live. 33 impressions, 11 engagements. Quite the improvement. Seeing loud and clear that I am not using twitter correctly. Thank you for the video's and tips.
A film friend of mine once said the difference between a Film and your personal family videos is sound. The reason why film stands out is you can close your eyes during a movie while sitting in the theatre and paint the picture with what you hear... THAT is WHY audio is so important
@@Brismo7 Well watching youtube content without an adblocker supports the content creators. Its just the easiest way. You could donate or buy youtube premium to support them but watching a 5 second ad is way easier.
Pre-roll ads are an ez kill. Imagine that every time you switched the channel on your TV, it would play a 30 second ad. The viewership numbers would drop so fast
16:50 i think what Harris is saying is that would you rather watch something with (1080p with shit crackling audio) or (360p with perfect audio) as an example.
Not going to lie, I really despise pre-roll ads. As a small streamer I feel really stuck. Do I run ads more often in my stream? Hurting those that are already viewing the stream, so I can attract new viewers? Or do I not run ads, and then all new viewers have to sit through an ad to watch... AHHHHHHHH. What y'all think?😅
I'm in the same boat, but I think running a mid roll ad a couple minutes after you start the stream is the way to go. And then at least 1-2 ads every hour
Your Content and friendgroup / streamer group seem so down to earth. Really appreciate having your voices as a streamer and content creator. Been a streamer for two years now and have been enjoying your advice throughout my journey. Keep it up harris.
The pre-roll ad bit is a really good discussion and something I've battled with. One thing I've been doing lately is using my start screen - sorry, Harris :-) - to run a 90-second ad, which then disables pre-rolls for 30 minutes. Then after running the ad is when I let people know I'm live on discord, twitch, etc. As Devin says, I wish they'd remove pre-roll ads completely, but they especially should for streamers with low viewer numbers.
I always run an ad when I'm taking a break and put on the be right back screen and some music. It gets rid of the pre roll ads briefly and no one is missing anything important because it's a be right back screen
I seriously appreciate the value, Devin and Harris! You guys are awesome, and I'm super pumped to get my new gaming channel up to teach people how to succeed on TH-cam, which they can use for their own streams and what not. Love ya man. Keep up the awesome value! Thank you!
Can confirm on the audio thing. Always considered that a must from speaking clearly to making it sound professional. Not just the quality but mastering too. Adding that impact to your sound without peaking
Twitting "going live tweets" text only will actually hurt your engagement 100% if you have a small following. All social medias, twitter, IG, etc just focus on pages that will generate them ad revenue. So if you have 200 followers and tweet text only chance of them viewing it will be high, but the chance of them giving the post a favorite , liking or res posting is slim. So if Instagram, twitter, sees that you're not getting engagements, what they will start to do is "shadowban" your post so that it doesn't get exposure, which means that only a certain amount of followers will now see your post instead of all your followers . The only expectations are big streamers/ people with a BIG Following because if they have 500,000 followers and only 130,000k people see their post there is still going to be 3k-6k people liking it etc. Do not post random things, going live text or anything that isnt going to grab someones attention if you're a smaller page with little following it will 100% hurt you.
You could offer your parents a compromise where you are allowed 2-3 hours one day and then dont play at all the next day - that way you can optimize streaming times and still have the balance they want you to have
I love that this stream clearly wasn't prearranged or scripted. I love that they had different opinions about the tweets but they talked it out and discussed it properly.
Love you and Devin talking twitch and TH-cam, I gotta stop by one of these days when you guys collab if you do it again! (Hopefully no pre roll ad lol) if you uploaded this as a vid I’d prolly watch the whole thing
whats the issue with starting soon screens? also: Is there a way to get rid of ads entirely? I only see that I can disable them but then have to run ads inbetween the stream?
I gotta be honest, your videos have helped me out a lot man. I hadn't streamed for years as I was worried about wasting my time, focused on making videos for me and my friends. But about a month ago, I picked it back up and I put your advice to good use. Streamed daily for a solid week and got affiliate, now I'm doing a set schedule and the people who helped me get there are still tuning in for every stream and it's all thanks to your advice. Thank you so much ❤️
So I didn't quite understand what was said about pre-rolls ads and what the gentleman said about how to avoid them. I want to see if I have this right. If RIGHT when I launch my stream. When I still have people starting to come in, I roll an ad where no one is being forced to watch it. Then people won't have to sit through a pre-roll ad when they come in?
I get the logo vs. profile for your channel icon if you're a personal channel (I'm planning on updating mine soon from the logo I made), that makes sense. But what about Twitch Channels (or TH-cam Channels for that matter) where it's a group or brand? We have a D&D group we started that has a logo on the icon because it's all of us, not just one of us. And we have a gaming group we play as that we use for charity streams where it's the group logo because it's more than just one person. Would that be another use case where a logo is more applicable than an individual picture?
About the discussion of is audio or video more important. I am a commercial director and yes, audio is more important for online content. People will watch a video with crappy video quality, but they will not watch a video where the audio is painful to their ears. BUT to your question, would you rather be blind or deaf... I would rather be deaf. 100%. I am actually a two time cancer survivor but the chemo made me lose a lot of my hearing function on the high end. That said, I get around just fine without any hearing aids or anything. If I lost my vision that would not be the case. So I am definitely firmly in the "would rather lose my hearing" camp, as someone with some experience in the matter. Haha. Keep up the great content man.
Cpt. Obvious statement, many might consider a eureka moment, High production value on a channel about "high production value" ...kinda important. Great stuff as always man (guys), thank you.
They need to toss the pre-roll ads - once I made affiliate and all of a sudden had those occurring regularly I had a ton of people asking whats up with the ad...
I disagree on the logo point, but in a different way. I think when you're starting out, a logo is something that is like a thought experiment. It gets your mind thinking... how do I want to brand myself and my stream, what kind of theme do I want? It's a waste if you pay a bunch of money for one, but if you have to go through the thoughts yourself, I think it is helpful and is a simple first step to taking streaming more seriously (albeit not much).
Thank you for the interesting discussion. I don't know if Twitch has changed something in pre-roll ads, but until recently, while you were jumping between channels, you didn't have to watch an ad, it looked like you have a cooldown until the next preroll ad appears for you. Nowadays, almost every time I switch channels, I see a preroll. Looks like they are becoming more aggressive in their ad strategy?
How about a Transformation Series which shows how you have helped somebody starting out, the advice you've given them, what they did well / not so well, and the result, say after a year. Like how a Personal Trainer posts before and now pics of their clients. It may take 6 months to a year to analyse, but I think would make for great content and lessons to be learned by us all. Even say taking a complete beginner who is willing to put the time in, and say they get to 10-20 average viewers + a good social following.
Honestly these are all valid points. A lot of it is along the lines of streamers don't know exactly where to go, so they do what is commonplace among popular streamers and rarely find their own voice, and along with that, they think to succeed, they have to be a part of something bigger than them, which (in the area of joining orgs, or large teams with no $$$, and no visibility) kill their viewability, and possibility for a career in streaming.
I leave a twitch stream immediately if there's an ad before it. Then if I really want to check it out I start Chromecasting on twitch, then I click on the stream so I don't have to watch the ad. I don't watch twitch much, and I pay for TH-cam premium. If they had something like that, I'd probably get it for when I on occasion watch twitch. They should throw an ad in after something like 5 or 10 minutes of watching a steam. At that point I'm more likely to keep watching it because I'm more into the stream at that point.
Im just finding this video but I have to ask, does it make you a bad streamer if you run a "Starting soon" screen, specifically to run a mid roll ad to prevent the pre-roll from effecting my bounce? I also always ask my viewers to download the Brave internet browser over their preferred browser because it prevents ads. Its become less reliable in the last two months though >.
As a new streamer (I have no illusions of granduer btw it's just a hobby) this is great advice and I've literally done everything on this list (all from reading beginners guides to Twitch)... It's quite the challenge to come up with a USP for your stream but definitely food for thought.... All of your videos are super helpful thanks for posting
I agree with the preroll ad issue, I almost ALWAYS leave when a preroll plays - unless I'm watching a streamer which I've been watching for a long time. Same goes for starting soon screens. If I'm scrolling through looking for random streamers and get hit with a preroll or a starting soon screen, I'll just leave and either watch someone I like or watch TH-cam. The thing with the production quality standpoint, most small streamers don't have the funding to just go buy all the high-quality gear - but it isn't necessary, have a personality, stream using what you have, build an audience and then buy higher quality gear. There is no point in pumping hundreds to thousands of dollars into your streaming career when you haven't established footing for yourself.
I don't mind watching ads but how many times do I have to watch the same ad. I have been tortured by Prime video series ads. The same thing runs for 2-3 days. Omg!
I'm thinking of running a midroll ad at the beginning just so the first 30 minute are ad free. I've come to notice that the 1st half hour is very important and sometimes, at least for me, the deciding factor how the stream will go.
Me and a friend made my logo lol...I only just got affiliate so right now I am trying to just do everything on my own as much as I can because I know hiring an artist for emotes, overlays, logos, etc is costly. Might as well put the effort in to learn how to do it on your own so later when you CAN afford to pay someone you are able to actually have a proper discussion on what you want, and how you want it to be. ...also thanks to the insight and suggestions from this video, I disabled the pre-roll ads thing. I didn't even consider how annoying that probably is for someone. Glad I got another perspective on that so I can continue to improve ^^
Does the "Starting Soon" screen really not have utility? I've only come from it as a viewer, I haven't tried streaming yet, but as far as I understand, is it not a way to have some sort of final check? To make sure everything's calibrated correctly before actually revealing your stream? I understand that I'm a total layperson and would like to understand more.
Hey Harris, I see a lot of stuff online saying that streaming with a Canon M50 or M200 for longer than 30 minutes will destroy the camera and kill the sensor from overheating. Have you had issues with massive overheating/sensor damage? Or are these just antiquated viewpoints from people outside the streaming industry?
I think there's an important point that was hit on towards the end. If it's a hobby, go all out on production quality if that's what makes you happy. Know that it isn't the key to make you a superstar streamer, but if it's making you happy, go for that SM7B and your DSLR. Have fun.
You had the starting soon screen in the list but weren't actually talking about it. Or am I missing something? Well anyway I would love to know what the drawbacks of this might be. Because I have certain people in my stream who get somewhat hyped from that countdown screen at the beginning.
Something definitely overlooked that Alpha did in this video - prioritized scenes based on whose mic was picking up the conversation most. Absolute genius
I wanna say thank you @ Alpha gaming,because im nearly 30 years old but now i started streaming and youtube. i feel confident because of all the Videos you Guys produce thanks Harris and thank you Sam!
I'm very curious if Logos help Streamers that do not show their face or who have a persona like Vtubers over the normal "In-Person" streamer. Especially if said Logo is their personification like Disguised Toast and such.
I have a streamer channel in my discord, and I just noticed that the last 4 videos I have linked over time, have been from Alpha Gaming - I had to add a note that I am not paid by him lol so people don't question it.
I sold high end home audio for years and my go to analogy with clients to show why audio was more important than video is I would have them watch a scene from a movie with no audio and then again with no video and only audio. I followed it up with the question which did you feel more immersed in and 99.9% of the time it was the audio only demo.
It's a bit different on TH-cam dude because a viewer can skip ads on YT. But normally don't hesitate enable your ads, it's a completely different platform to twitch, hope that helps
I would love to know if there is a full lengeth version, or at least the first part as I would love to hear all their convo. Shame that Twitch handing out DMC strikes like made and making streamers delete all their VODs.
Man when audio standard transition from headphone mics to USB or condenser mics was such a beautiful time for humanity, my ears only bleed 25% of the time now.
If you have discord you can create a server for your notifications for twitch. Just need a bot to push it to the appropriate room. It takes a bit of setup to get going, but worth it imo. Personally I use mee6 bot for this. It comes pretty much as soon as they are live.
Honestly hitting affiliate and getting forced with ads is the worst. Said it since the day I got affiliate, sorry for having ads. I literally make no money from it and I know personally how much i freaking hate TH-cam ads. So I’m sorry for my five viewers when they have to sit through ads. Summertime said having ads during the stream to get rid of the preroll ones. For me that is even worse. Note I’m suddenly punishing my viewers instead.
It just hit me after watching this that becoming Affiliate on twitch has done nothing but hurt my stream. I'm not big enough to get a substantial amount of subs/donos, so right now my only focus is growth. But, I now have preroll ads on my one-viewer-andy stream and I make NOTHING off of them.
I think this is all interesting and very helpful for new content creators like myself. Although for me personally I started off with relatively decent equipment because I had my brothers hand me downs from when he was going to pursue twitch and still use it. However if im being honest I was mostly infatuated with the pokemon slowly making there way into the pokeball through out your stream. Really interesting visual and would love to learn how to do it.
I am curious what the 5th topic will be :D Thanks for all your help. It really gives me something to work with. And btw. I never watch a pre-roll ad, especially if I visit a new channel. I want to see the streamer first. And if I like him it is more likely I watch an ad mid stream.
Which one of these do you agree with most? Which do you disagree with most?
the starting soon screen. Just depends how long they go on for. 10 minutes MAX but if its about 5 mins I think it's ok but I also think why not just go live and not sit and wait just get the show started. if a tv show is scheduled at 10pm do we tune it and watch a starting soon screen for 10 mins.. no. although it's usually a little recap of the previous episode/season. Theres some streamers that have ridiculously long starting soon screen times though.. I've known some to be 45 minutes.. and more it was a podcast/ talk show and they was "waiting for the guests to join"
Honestly I'm disappointed with this video.
I 100% agree with the going live tweet, especially if that person streams almost every day, I have muted people on twitter because of that. I have to watch what you say about starting soon screens in the other video, but I do I disagree with the twitch pre rolls ads because I normally have multiple streams up at once that I switch between, so Ill keep the stream up and watch after the ad is done.
Definitely agree with the “going live” tweets bit. Unless it has some sort of engaging content within the tweet, its boring to look at and I’ll scroll past it. That being said, I wouldn’t mind trying Devin’s method of putting out these tweets then deleting them so that my TL isn’t plastered with these tweets.
At least there's a couple of ways of making "going live" tweets less painful (or not painful at all), one simply has to stop being so lazy about those. And Harris has just motivated me to figure out how to make those "starting soon" screens work. :-D (hint: I've seen Webinars draw people in 30 minutes - with something engaging - before they start.) In my opinion, the jury's out on logos at the moment (I personally don't care). So that leaves the bit about pre-roll and organizations. . . no argument from me on those.
If the pre-roll ads weren’t 30 Second. I wouldn’t leave
Seriously, I swapped streams the other day. From Streamer A to B and back to A. I had to watch 2 ads which were both like 30 seconds. Really annoying
Kyosika ikr this happens always to me. It should be that ads on twitch streams should be a max of 15 seconds
What are your thoughts of doing the midroll while AFK to stop prerolls for X amount of time?
@@Allstin Personally I think that's fine as I can just go afk as well
That's the thing, you can't really remove them. I wish I could.
100% agree that pre-roll ads are killing streaming - people watching TV aren’t given an ad every time they change the channel
Very good point indeed. As we get bombarded with ads on any platform daily. So if we can choose to cansel one, we do 😉
Idk, I feel like every time I go to change the channel on TV it's just more ads. But I do usually watch stuff online with 0 or reduced ads anyway.
It's corporate greed, trust me if they could they would have implemented ads on every channel change a long time ago but because of the way tvs work that isn't possible. This hasn't stopped some providers from doing this to some VOD everytime you play it or online places like Hulu and such from displaying a ton of ads. It's corporate greed, the way ads work is to tell you to shuttup and listen to me because im the one with money to make you do that. It's very ineffective and dehumanizing, hardly anybody ever clicks or goes to those ads. The whole industry is stupid.
“If you wanna be an anomaly you have to act like one.”
I know this was a throwaway line but it speaks volumes.
I feel like it contradicts the core concept of their discussion though. It seems more like you have to do what works to get initial growth(ie not an anomoly) before you can afford to experiment with things that might make you one...
Audio quality being more important than video quality makes sense to me for two reasons. First, bad audio quality can be physically painful and people will click away ASAP. While bad video quality is a bit detrimental but people may still stay. Second, some people listen to Twitch in the background as they work so audio quality is 100% of the engagement.
Tyler1 mic?
@@AtaraxyVAL The exception
Your ears are more easily offended than your eyes
@@OswinKG tyler1 managed to make it his brand, it’d be wrong for him to use a good mic and it’d feel weird
@@ternedo6074 I was saying he is the exception to the rule. He's a rare case of being able to make that part of his brand.
If it's a stream I want to watch and I already know that, I usually sit through the preroll ad. But if it's an unknown stream I am checking out for the first time, I'd say 75% of the time I close the twitch browser tab and just watch youtube videos when I get the ad. I watch streamers I know and I REALLY have to be in a certain mood to have the patience to discover new streams because of it. It's almost like a punishment for not being subscribed, if you look at it. Twitch is taking too much from viewers. How about letting people check out streams before they get bombarded? It is common for me to check out 10-15 NEW youtube channels in a sitting. If I were to do this on twitch I have wasted upwards of 10 minutes watching ads, for something I dont even KNOW that I want to see. This is ridiculous and greedy. My time has value, but twitch doesn't think so. Maybe show an ad once they have watched long enough to be engaged? Novel idea. Oh wait. TH-cam did it first. 5 seconds then skip is do-able. A full 30 second ad every time you check out a stream is just greedy and punishes both the streamer and viewer.
So true
Spot on, right here. It helps the top streamers and really hurts folks with low view numbers trying to get discovered.
This 🙌🏻
1000%. Force me to watch an ad once I'm already engaged? Sure, thats cool. Make me watch an ad before i know if i even want to watch this? Nahhhhh
I actually like the "Stream Starting Soon" panels -- at least when it comes to Twitch communities I'm a part of. It gives the community a quick chance to catch up in chat with eachother and say hi :)
Kelsey same!
As an art streamer and as a movie streamer I find them 100% integral to the way I run my stream. Give folks a moment to settle in or grab a snack before the show or the chit chat.
Okay, I have a tip for everyone who doesn't want to get rid of "starting soon" screens: Add a countdown. Seeing a countdown on screen makes the waiting way more bearable.
If I see one, I'm likely to bounce. Maybe I'll come back, maybe I won't....not because I don't want to but I could get distracted by something else
I only use mine for like 2 minutes so I can make sure everything is working after I start up without me fumbling around live on screen.
This is by far your best type of content, keep it up👌💜
Flea! Never knew u were a Harris Heller fan lol!
holy shit.you're my favourite creative fortnite youtuber and harris is my favourite tech/streaming advice youtuber. you watch him!
Did this content help double ur edit speed?
Pretty cool to know you're a Harris Heller fan too. Check dm on insta 👍🏼
so did you double your editing speed by watching this?
I wish that non-partners could disable pre-rolls.
I'm in the early stages of building my youtube channel and twitch stream and been watching your videos and trying to pick up tips and lessons from it. The twitter go live one was interesting, so I gave it a go tonight. Now obviously really small numbers...
My previous "go live" tweet on Tuesday for 32 impressions 1 engagement. This was simply a link to my twitch page saying go live.
Tonight's I included a picture of my minecraft base along with twitch link and going live. 33 impressions, 11 engagements.
Quite the improvement. Seeing loud and clear that I am not using twitter correctly. Thank you for the video's and tips.
A film friend of mine once said the difference between a Film and your personal family videos is sound. The reason why film stands out is you can close your eyes during a movie while sitting in the theatre and paint the picture with what you hear... THAT is WHY audio is so important
This should be made into a weekly pod cast. I love listening to these conversations.
when harris says "I don't think there are blind people watching this" I'm just out here living my best blind life 😎
I wonder if preroll ads affect YT in the same way it does Twitch. Like is it better to remove preroll ads for YT?
I don't imagine it has the same effect as people are so used to it on youtube
Twitch content is live, while TH-cam content is paused while the ad is going
And Twitch ads are loud as fuck! Seriously this is so annoying.
Lol, ad blocker gets rid of the prerolls. I wouldn't watch youtube without an ad blocker.
@@Brismo7 Well watching youtube content without an adblocker supports the content creators. Its just the easiest way. You could donate or buy youtube premium to support them but watching a 5 second ad is way easier.
Pre-roll ads are an ez kill. Imagine that every time you switched the channel on your TV, it would play a 30 second ad. The viewership numbers would drop so fast
That would literally be the final nail in cable TVs coffin.
@@Purpetrat0r exactly. I would watch so many more new streamers if I didn’t have to sit through an ad.
This is literally cable.
In a years time Harris will be at a million
HOW ARE YOU EVERYWHERE - OTV, HARRIS, WHAT THE FUCK, I HAVEN'T WATCHED YOU SINCE I WAS 6
He's not 😭😭😭😭😭
I am from the future and sadly he didn't make it.😫😫😫😫
The moment the pre roll ad comes I leave, sometimes I just close the whole app and just do something else
16:50 i think what Harris is saying is that would you rather watch something with (1080p with shit crackling audio) or (360p with perfect audio) as an example.
Simple: Get a shitty pc and use the saved up money for a nice audio setup.
Is there a vod for this? Would love to see the whole thing!
believe it will be in his twitch archives
www.twitch.tv/videos/640271698 Devin comes in around the 3 hour 15 minute mark, but the whole thing is great!
Jacob Lindsey not all heros wear capes
TacoRemixX they usually wear tight-tights though.
Not going to lie, I really despise pre-roll ads. As a small streamer I feel really stuck. Do I run ads more often in my stream? Hurting those that are already viewing the stream, so I can attract new viewers? Or do I not run ads, and then all new viewers have to sit through an ad to watch... AHHHHHHHH. What y'all think?😅
I'm in the same boat, but I think running a mid roll ad a couple minutes after you start the stream is the way to go. And then at least 1-2 ads every hour
Your Content and friendgroup / streamer group seem so down to earth.
Really appreciate having your voices as a streamer and content creator.
Been a streamer for two years now and have been enjoying your advice throughout my journey.
Keep it up harris.
The pre-roll ad bit is a really good discussion and something I've battled with. One thing I've been doing lately is using my start screen - sorry, Harris :-) - to run a 90-second ad, which then disables pre-rolls for 30 minutes. Then after running the ad is when I let people know I'm live on discord, twitch, etc. As Devin says, I wish they'd remove pre-roll ads completely, but they especially should for streamers with low viewer numbers.
I always run an ad when I'm taking a break and put on the be right back screen and some music. It gets rid of the pre roll ads briefly and no one is missing anything important because it's a be right back screen
I seriously appreciate the value, Devin and Harris! You guys are awesome, and I'm super pumped to get my new gaming channel up to teach people how to succeed on TH-cam, which they can use for their own streams and what not. Love ya man. Keep up the awesome value! Thank you!
Can confirm on the audio thing. Always considered that a must from speaking clearly to making it sound professional. Not just the quality but mastering too. Adding that impact to your sound without peaking
Twitting "going live tweets" text only will actually hurt your engagement 100% if you have a small following. All social medias, twitter, IG, etc just focus on pages that will generate them ad revenue. So if you have 200 followers and tweet text only chance of them viewing it will be high, but the chance of them giving the post a favorite , liking or res posting is slim. So if Instagram, twitter, sees that you're not getting engagements, what they will start to do is "shadowban" your post so that it doesn't get exposure, which means that only a certain amount of followers will now see your post instead of all your followers . The only expectations are big streamers/ people with a BIG Following because if they have 500,000 followers and only 130,000k people see their post there is still going to be 3k-6k people liking it etc. Do not post random things, going live text or anything that isnt going to grab someones attention if you're a smaller page with little following it will 100% hurt you.
how would you say is a good way of advertising your stream but maxing out engagements?
These are incredibly helpful topics. We have you both to thank for this information!
@Alpha Gaming cant find the video you mentioned something. Q:within streamlabs, how to turn off display?
Hi I’m 16 and have been wanting to stream/ TH-cam for a while now. It my parents only allow 1-1:30 hours of games per day...should I still try?
make that 1-1 hour 30 mins the best 1' hour 30 mins on twith
yes don't worry that its short just do you man
The first hour of the stream is always the best part of the stream, once it gets to 2 hours viewers start to leave anyways, so yes definitely try
You could offer your parents a compromise where you are allowed 2-3 hours one day and then dont play at all the next day - that way you can optimize streaming times and still have the balance they want you to have
Had to watch full VOD to hear about "Starting Soon Screens", and that was a great discussion! Guys, you're so cool! 8)
MORE OF THESE. Devin is a great dude and these are such informative chats for a small streamer!
I love that this stream clearly wasn't prearranged or scripted. I love that they had different opinions about the tweets but they talked it out and discussed it properly.
Love you and Devin talking twitch and TH-cam, I gotta stop by one of these days when you guys collab if you do it again! (Hopefully no pre roll ad lol) if you uploaded this as a vid I’d prolly watch the whole thing
whats the issue with starting soon screens?
also: Is there a way to get rid of ads entirely? I only see that I can disable them but then have to run ads inbetween the stream?
Simple hack for pre-roll ads just close the stream and reopen it until there is no ad, and that takes less than 30 seconds.
This is such a good conversation. Wish these two would do more of these!
If this was a podcast I’d listen to every minute of it!
I gotta be honest, your videos have helped me out a lot man. I hadn't streamed for years as I was worried about wasting my time, focused on making videos for me and my friends. But about a month ago, I picked it back up and I put your advice to good use. Streamed daily for a solid week and got affiliate, now I'm doing a set schedule and the people who helped me get there are still tuning in for every stream and it's all thanks to your advice. Thank you so much ❤️
So I didn't quite understand what was said about pre-rolls ads and what the gentleman said about how to avoid them. I want to see if I have this right. If RIGHT when I launch my stream. When I still have people starting to come in, I roll an ad where no one is being forced to watch it. Then people won't have to sit through a pre-roll ad when they come in?
Can't wait to watch the video, here to say I support the content you deliver!
Man i just found your channel a few weeks ago. Thank you for putting good stuff out in the wild. Appreciate the hard work
These are some awesome conversations, great for thinking about content, but also hearing two great minds bounce off one another
I get the logo vs. profile for your channel icon if you're a personal channel (I'm planning on updating mine soon from the logo I made), that makes sense. But what about Twitch Channels (or TH-cam Channels for that matter) where it's a group or brand? We have a D&D group we started that has a logo on the icon because it's all of us, not just one of us. And we have a gaming group we play as that we use for charity streams where it's the group logo because it's more than just one person. Would that be another use case where a logo is more applicable than an individual picture?
I love the dynamic you guys have. You're both so different but it works.
About the discussion of is audio or video more important. I am a commercial director and yes, audio is more important for online content. People will watch a video with crappy video quality, but they will not watch a video where the audio is painful to their ears.
BUT to your question, would you rather be blind or deaf... I would rather be deaf. 100%.
I am actually a two time cancer survivor but the chemo made me lose a lot of my hearing function on the high end. That said, I get around just fine without any hearing aids or anything. If I lost my vision that would not be the case. So I am definitely firmly in the "would rather lose my hearing" camp, as someone with some experience in the matter. Haha. Keep up the great content man.
Cpt. Obvious statement, many might consider a eureka moment, High production value on a channel about "high production value" ...kinda important. Great stuff as always man (guys), thank you.
They need to toss the pre-roll ads - once I made affiliate and all of a sudden had those occurring regularly I had a ton of people asking whats up with the ad...
Pre-roll ads i sometimes stay. But i left one time just yesterday bc i saw a mid roll and with 1 out of 7 ads. That is 6 to many ads.
I disagree on the logo point, but in a different way. I think when you're starting out, a logo is something that is like a thought experiment. It gets your mind thinking... how do I want to brand myself and my stream, what kind of theme do I want? It's a waste if you pay a bunch of money for one, but if you have to go through the thoughts yourself, I think it is helpful and is a simple first step to taking streaming more seriously (albeit not much).
Thank you for the interesting discussion. I don't know if Twitch has changed something in pre-roll ads, but until recently, while you were jumping between channels, you didn't have to watch an ad, it looked like you have a cooldown until the next preroll ad appears for you. Nowadays, almost every time I switch channels, I see a preroll. Looks like they are becoming more aggressive in their ad strategy?
Harris: Content content CONTENT CONTENNNNNT!!!
Me: But what is this video trying to say to me?
How about a Transformation Series which shows how you have helped somebody starting out, the advice you've given them, what they did well / not so well, and the result, say after a year. Like how a Personal Trainer posts before and now pics of their clients. It may take 6 months to a year to analyse, but I think would make for great content and lessons to be learned by us all. Even say taking a complete beginner who is willing to put the time in, and say they get to 10-20 average viewers + a good social following.
Phenomenal content. Can't wait to get these going
Honestly these are all valid points. A lot of it is along the lines of streamers don't know exactly where to go, so they do what is commonplace among popular streamers and rarely find their own voice, and along with that, they think to succeed, they have to be a part of something bigger than them, which (in the area of joining orgs, or large teams with no $$$, and no visibility) kill their viewability, and possibility for a career in streaming.
I leave a twitch stream immediately if there's an ad before it. Then if I really want to check it out I start Chromecasting on twitch, then I click on the stream so I don't have to watch the ad.
I don't watch twitch much, and I pay for TH-cam premium. If they had something like that, I'd probably get it for when I on occasion watch twitch.
They should throw an ad in after something like 5 or 10 minutes of watching a steam. At that point I'm more likely to keep watching it because I'm more into the stream at that point.
Twitch does have something like that. It's call Twitch Turbo. www.twitch.tv/turbo
Im just finding this video but I have to ask, does it make you a bad streamer if you run a "Starting soon" screen, specifically to run a mid roll ad to prevent the pre-roll from effecting my bounce? I also always ask my viewers to download the Brave internet browser over their preferred browser because it prevents ads. Its become less reliable in the last two months though >.
As a new streamer (I have no illusions of granduer btw it's just a hobby) this is great advice and I've literally done everything on this list (all from reading beginners guides to Twitch)... It's quite the challenge to come up with a USP for your stream but definitely food for thought.... All of your videos are super helpful thanks for posting
Devin is one of my favorite streamers. It’s great to see u guys together!
Question, is a dslr Shot gun mic, usable for streaming in a noisy enviroment? (shared room)
Are there office partitions in between other streamers? Is the room sound-treated in some way?
No. Just no
So if pre roll ads are a turn off. What’s the best suggestion you have for new streamers who’ve reached affiliate?
I agree with the preroll ad issue, I almost ALWAYS leave when a preroll plays - unless I'm watching a streamer which I've been watching for a long time. Same goes for starting soon screens.
If I'm scrolling through looking for random streamers and get hit with a preroll or a starting soon screen, I'll just leave and either watch someone I like or watch TH-cam.
The thing with the production quality standpoint, most small streamers don't have the funding to just go buy all the high-quality gear - but it isn't necessary, have a personality, stream using what you have, build an audience and then buy higher quality gear. There is no point in pumping hundreds to thousands of dollars into your streaming career when you haven't established footing for yourself.
I don't mind watching ads but how many times do I have to watch the same ad. I have been tortured by Prime video series ads. The same thing runs for 2-3 days. Omg!
I'm thinking of running a midroll ad at the beginning just so the first 30 minute are ad free. I've come to notice that the 1st half hour is very important and sometimes, at least for me, the deciding factor how the stream will go.
I spend my first 200€ on a significant ram upgrade
Me and a friend made my logo lol...I only just got affiliate so right now I am trying to just do everything on my own as much as I can because I know hiring an artist for emotes, overlays, logos, etc is costly. Might as well put the effort in to learn how to do it on your own so later when you CAN afford to pay someone you are able to actually have a proper discussion on what you want, and how you want it to be.
...also thanks to the insight and suggestions from this video, I disabled the pre-roll ads thing. I didn't even consider how annoying that probably is for someone. Glad I got another perspective on that so I can continue to improve ^^
I am loving these videos! You and Devin give such great info, thank you .
Does the "Starting Soon" screen really not have utility?
I've only come from it as a viewer, I haven't tried streaming yet, but as far as I understand, is it not a way to have some sort of final check? To make sure everything's calibrated correctly before actually revealing your stream? I understand that I'm a total layperson and would like to understand more.
Hey Harris, I see a lot of stuff online saying that streaming with a Canon M50 or M200 for longer than 30 minutes will destroy the camera and kill the sensor from overheating. Have you had issues with massive overheating/sensor damage? Or are these just antiquated viewpoints from people outside the streaming industry?
P.S. I just bought a Canon M50 for livestreaming, music videos, and acting self tapes. It arrives today, SUPER excited!
I think there's an important point that was hit on towards the end. If it's a hobby, go all out on production quality if that's what makes you happy. Know that it isn't the key to make you a superstar streamer, but if it's making you happy, go for that SM7B and your DSLR. Have fun.
You had the starting soon screen in the list but weren't actually talking about it. Or am I missing something? Well anyway I would love to know what the drawbacks of this might be. Because I have certain people in my stream who get somewhat hyped from that countdown screen at the beginning.
Because this is a multipart video, he explains that in his last video.
Hey Alpha I really want to get these expensive headphones but they're way too expensive what would you suggest under 80 bucks headphones
Something definitely overlooked that Alpha did in this video - prioritized scenes based on whose mic was picking up the conversation most. Absolute genius
If preroll ads have the highest bounce rate, what about youtube ads too?
sound expresses emotion, where as visual is just there and unless it is awful it is not as big of a deal as bad sound expresses bad emotion
I wanna say thank you @ Alpha gaming,because im nearly 30 years old but now i started streaming and youtube. i feel confident because of all the Videos you Guys produce thanks Harris and thank you Sam!
Do anyone have the link to that "Art Twitch Reddit" that the guy mentions? I never saw it.
I'm very curious if Logos help Streamers that do not show their face or who have a persona like Vtubers over the normal "In-Person" streamer. Especially if said Logo is their personification like Disguised Toast and such.
I have a streamer channel in my discord, and I just noticed that the last 4 videos I have linked over time, have been from Alpha Gaming - I had to add a note that I am not paid by him lol so people don't question it.
I sold high end home audio for years and my go to analogy with clients to show why audio was more important than video is I would have them watch a scene from a movie with no audio and then again with no video and only audio. I followed it up with the question which did you feel more immersed in and 99.9% of the time it was the audio only demo.
For joining the org does this apply to joining sniping groups for call of duty or in all just gaming groups like soar or others
And don’t come at my logo I know I shouldn’t use it working on a new one rn a homie made this for me
I've just gotten used to ads at this point. I don't even notice when I get them.
Does this mean when you hit TH-cam’s partner program, wait to enable ads? I know this is primarily about twitch but still curious
It's a bit different on TH-cam dude because a viewer can skip ads on YT. But normally don't hesitate enable your ads, it's a completely different platform to twitch, hope that helps
You've Been Worked thanks! Working on the partner program now. Getting there!
Bro! I absolutely loved this stream! Such a great discussion. So much to take away from the collective genius.
I would love to know if there is a full lengeth version, or at least the first part as I would love to hear all their convo. Shame that Twitch handing out DMC strikes like made and making streamers delete all their VODs.
Man when audio standard transition from headphone mics to USB or condenser mics was such a beautiful time for humanity, my ears only bleed 25% of the time now.
So true I even leave when there’s an ad😂😂
This dude in the video looks like the alien guy from the history channel 😂
he even is in the green mothership
Maybe at first glance 😂
am i doing it wrong or did number 1 get cut out or something? Was interested what they had to say about that. But im guessing its bad too :D
i disagree with the going live tweets, Twitch notifs never work for me so when i get them the stream has been on for like an hour sometimes
If you have discord you can create a server for your notifications for twitch. Just need a bot to push it to the appropriate room. It takes a bit of setup to get going, but worth it imo. Personally I use mee6 bot for this. It comes pretty much as soon as they are live.
@alphagaming what do you think of TH-cam premieres?
AMAZING CONTENT CREATOR right Here! I don't know of another person who spends soooo much time to help other content creators meet their potential
It takes genuine hard work and skill to make someone watching you play video games the highlight of their day
Honestly hitting affiliate and getting forced with ads is the worst. Said it since the day I got affiliate, sorry for having ads. I literally make no money from it and I know personally how much i freaking hate TH-cam ads. So I’m sorry for my five viewers when they have to sit through ads. Summertime said having ads during the stream to get rid of the preroll ones. For me that is even worse. Note I’m suddenly punishing my viewers instead.
It just hit me after watching this that becoming Affiliate on twitch has done nothing but hurt my stream. I'm not big enough to get a substantial amount of subs/donos, so right now my only focus is growth. But, I now have preroll ads on my one-viewer-andy stream and I make NOTHING off of them.
I think this is all interesting and very helpful for new content creators like myself. Although for me personally I started off with relatively decent equipment because I had my brothers hand me downs from when he was going to pursue twitch and still use it. However if im being honest I was mostly infatuated with the pokemon slowly making there way into the pokeball through out your stream. Really interesting visual and would love to learn how to do it.
I am curious what the 5th topic will be :D Thanks for all your help. It really gives me something to work with. And btw. I never watch a pre-roll ad, especially if I visit a new channel. I want to see the streamer first. And if I like him it is more likely I watch an ad mid stream.
totally good point. I immediately turn a stream off if I get an ad. it's to a point where I can only watch twitch on devices that support Adguard.
what if the viewers are running Ublock?
whenever i watch twitch i never see adds and I assume its because of Ublock.
What editing software do you use
I love that your seperating these outside your stream
Can you do a mic review with the rode nt-USB ??
Didn't xQc have a shure SM7B mic? I'm a little bit confused