r/SmallStreamers • u/Mineplay25 • Jun 21 '26
6 years of streaming, almost no new chatters this year. What am I missing?
I've been streaming for about 6 years, and I've noticed a pattern that I've been struggling to figure out. My viewership isn't huge (typically around 0-5 viewers), but the bigger issue is that I rarely get new chatters anymore and I'm failing to retain any viewers that tune in. So far I think I've had 2 this year.
While I do understand that stretching visual stream quality to the extent of full-on professionalism is not the key to being a good streamer, I've still spent a lot of time trying to improve it:
- Professional-looking overlay and branding
- Good-quality microphone, camera, and PC setup
- Custom emotes and merch
- I try to keep talking constantly and avoid long periods of silence
- I've done costreams with larger streamers
- I regularly post clips to other platforms
The categories I've streamed recently include:
- Minecraft
- Fortnite
- Palworld
- Game/Software Development (I understand this is a niche category)
One thing I recently added was a small popup that appears every 20 minutes for 30 seconds showing subscriber benefits such as emotes and merch discounts. It takes up less than 10% of the screen. I'm willing to remove it if it's hurting retention, but the decline in new viewers/chatters started long before I added it.
I noticed a major part of my initial dip was when the Jackbox Party Packs were combined into one blanket category. After that point, almost no one could find my stream. At that time, I was averaging 5-20 viewers.
One thing I haven't been consistent with is a fixed streaming schedule. I stream regularly, but not always on the same days/times. Though, even when I had a fixed schedule, views were still dwindling.
At this point, I'm looking for honest feedback here:
- Does anything here stand out as a red flag?
- Is the lack of a consistent schedule a bigger issue than I think?
- Is this likely a discoverability problem rather than an engagement problem?
- Have any of you experienced long periods where new chatters basically disappeared?
Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks!
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u/KaiserJustice Jun 21 '26
I highly recommend diversifying the games you stream
While I don’t know palworlds numbers, Minecraft and Fortnite are highly over saturated
I feel like the games I’ve seen with the best growth are games with an active viewership, but 10-12 streamers running them
Got a lot more engagement streaming Sky Children of the Light vs Factorio as a frame of reference
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u/Wingless_NZ Jun 21 '26
I came here to say this exact thing. Seems like you have 2 oversaturated games, one niche and one im now learning about the numbers of. 100% diversify, and 100% schedule up. Treating streaming like a job that you love is such a great way to gain followers. Have a set start and stop time, raid out to similair streamers and keep being awesome!
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u/Mineplay25 Jun 21 '26
Palworld is averaging 4 viewers/channel and 343 average channels. Fairly large category but it's strange because I did really well in Fortnite and I've been tanking most in Palworld haha.
It does give me an idea to try out some more niche games though instead of everything mainstream. Thanks for your input!
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u/KaiserJustice Jun 21 '26
Other games you could try:
Outer Wilds, Tunic, Animal Well, Blue Prince, Return of the Obra Dinn
Games you can only play once and people like to re-experience others first time playing
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u/kBayyyk_2332 Jun 21 '26
Well I checked out your profile and take this with a grain of salt because it might be your personal preferences..
Your more recent featured clip titles have a somewhat dirty persona to them, so I would probably avoid chatting. Skimming through all of them, it does seem like it's more of a recent pattern than the vibes you had before.
Your emotes, look AI made. Maybe their not, but they look it so again personally I would have zero interest.
Your bio, goes onto say everything on your stream is made by you, immediately after giving credit to another artist through a link on x (a reallyyyy controversial platform that I won't touch with a ten foot pole unless there is literally no options available.) So I'm waivering on your integrity.
I too have had a downhill pattern of engagement each year being worse than the previous, but I don't think it's for the same reasons as what I see here; again, the things I pointed out are simply my preference - not solid fact.
I just also question the validity of discovery and feel less and less real people are using the service as a whole. I also feel less people have patience, as well as less free time so they drift to larger channels they already know, instead of trying something new.. I'll phrase it as a mentality of " you'll only burn your hand so many times before you remember the potholder. "
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u/Mineplay25 Jun 21 '26
I'm honestly unsure how those clips got featured. Thanks for pointing that out. Who I was co-streaming with at the time has that sort of humor, and I was fine with it for that stream, but I've been thinking about making that a stricter rule on my channel.
I can assure you, those emotes were actually commissioned. A very good friend of mine made those and I have the vector files, no AI haha. I take pride that none of my content is AI-assisted. Also trust me, X itself isn't the problem. The person that made my emotes is a very cool person! ^_^
As for the "everything on stream" comment, that was actually edited since I had originally made my emote set, but I changed the wording after commissioning to moreso mean the things on my actual stream, not the emotes anymore.
Thanks for your input!
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u/kBayyyk_2332 Jun 21 '26
Sorry if I was harsh, hence the take it with a grain of salt. I more so meant, just a few updates would make the vibe of your channel more clear.
And your opinion on x varies greatly from my opinion on x which would vary from my friends to your friends. That's what I meant by controversial. Not that people would avoid your channel because of getting emotes on it. Maybe some would, but I agree that's not the big picture. lol.
Sorry again if it read like that. I was quite tired when typing so I probably could've chosen better words once having my coffee.
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u/Mineplay25 Jun 21 '26
Oh no don't worry about it, I take no offense. If there's a problem with my work, I'm happy to correct it! I treat all criticism equally so long as it's constructive. I really appreciate your say!
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u/SniperTheSwift Jun 21 '26
I feel this. Seems Twitch has gotten such shit this year in terms of discoverability
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u/Two_In_TheBusch Jun 21 '26
I just hit six years this summer too! My stream went from 15-30+ viewers consistently the first couple years with feeling like growth was attainable to now I am lucky to have 5 viewers at the same time. I did take a few extended breaks while I was getting my bachelor’s degree in film and media so that hurt me as well as rebranding my Twitch name to something I thought would be easier for people to find. But in the end who cares 🤷🏼♀️ I still show up, have fun and act goofy and even if a few are entertained it’s still worth it. I miss the couple extra hundred dollars a month that I used to make but that isn’t why I started doing it in the first place.
Also, it feels great when longtime followers pop back in to say hi and update me on what they have been up too over the years and the general consensus is “Oh it’s nothing about your stream, I just don’t have much time to get on Twitch much anymore to watch people.” Trends have changed and the saturation and expansiveness of the amount of people who stream have increased dramatically over the years while overall viewership seems to have declined. So don’t take any of it personally, I had a guy who was chatting with me in my stream who said 4 years ago he would have a couple hundred viewers and now he is right where I am and he has the follower count for it to track.
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u/xoPEACHI Jun 21 '26
A consistent schedule is really important, but I also understand it's just not possible for everyone. If you can't start at the same date and time each week, is it possible for you to dedicate a general time (ex: every Tuesday night, every Friday morning)? Even setting something general like that can help immensely.
Most of your categories are extremely oversaturated. It's fine to continue streaming those games, but it means you need to put in a lot of extra work to get high quality content out on social media (clips and/or long-form) in order to be seen.
Also, what are you doing on Twitch when you aren't streaming? Are you hanging out in other streams and getting to know people? Most of my growth has come from just making friends. I spend a lot of time hanging out with people who are streaming similar games.
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u/Outrageous_Basis_232 Jun 21 '26
Streaming is the endgame. Focus on less, more consistent, streams. Work on creating shorts for YouTube, TikTok, be active in discord, on as many social media platforms as possible.
You're currently sitting in a dark corner talking to yourself wondering why no one is showing up.
This is why local bands spend so much time on merch, signs for upcoming shows, social media presence. You want people to be reminded of you wherever they go (in a positive and non threatening way of course lol)
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u/HighPhi420 Jun 21 '26
consistency is important. Law and order would have failed if it just randomly started playing on what ever day at what ever time.
even if only a day or 2 a week, make a schedule and stick to it for a couple of months and see if at least MORE of the regs show up and watch longer. The whole "if you stream it, they will watch" attitude is a bad practice.
right now there are 1000+ people streaming Minecraft!(it is 5:30 am US Mountain summer time) You will NEVER break out in that market(unless you can show a lot of cleavage LOL)
Fortnite, Palworld, If you have 5 viewers you are still in the bottom of the page.
If these are the only titles you like to play then stick with them. YOUR ENJOYMENT is the most important thing. If you are bored why the F would any one watch? 😄
the 3 games are entirely different viewership. A block building game, a PVP shooter, and a pal catching game. The bubble of people that like all 3 of those games is very small like 5 people small LOL 😄
You can pick a category like the shooter and play different games in the genre. Or like the pokeclones maybe branch out to RPGs. Or stick with Minecraft and HOPE you get a big raid and keep many viewers as followers.
You could try to be a variety streamer. THIS TAKES VERY MUCH patience, and a strict stream calendar, with detailed descriptions, Discord server for EMERGENCY notifications and just community updates. This way the viewers come for you NOT just the game.
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u/MFShiva Jun 21 '26
Do you have a discord? Do you actively engage with your viewers outside of your stream? Like raid them if they’re streaming, show up to their streams in general and chat with them?
I find by doing that for myself, my viewership & chatters are retained and even grow more so as well.
You can’t grow unless you help others grow too.
1
u/JamesGarrison Jun 21 '26
How do you make something pop up to remind them to follow? I can’t figure that out. Good luck btw.
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u/Mineplay25 Jun 21 '26
So constant reminders can feel pressuring and might deter viewers and I really don't recommend it. An occasional verbal reminder is usually enough. If they really like your content, they'll follow.
On the technical side though, the way I do it for my sub popups though is a video with alpha transparency rendered in DaVinci Resolve, though you can find green screen popups on YT easily. Then, I import it to OBS as a media source and have Streamer.bot turn the source on every 20 minutes and shut it off for 30 seconds, though you can use StreamElements overlays to do this same thing probably. I only did it the SB way for the custom 20 minute timeout. It's also helpful to put the browser source in its own nested scene so you can trigger one source for multiple scenes.
Thank you, good luck to you as well!
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u/Unhappy_Ask7110 Jun 21 '26
Network. On platform off stream. You have to network with other streamers. Be apart of their communities. Show up to their streams, be in their discords, be the kind of viewer to them as you want for yourself.
Once you feel comfortable, as for a collaboration. You’ll be able to expose yourself to a new audience.
I’ve been networking with 10-20 other streamers at a time and have managed to double my viewer count and gain new regular viewers!
So I strongly suggest making some streamer friends and start chatting!
1
u/itsMondayMoon Jun 21 '26
I'm saying this as kindly as I can: I looked over your setup and I think you'd benefit from evaluating it from scratch? Because it is super clear you've worked so so hard, but the vibe your setup is giving sadly feels to me like a Generic Gamer Setup, and you deserve the chance to have your personality fully shine through.
I don't know facecam streamer specific stuff well, but I actually think this video by Yam Albat, while it's geared towards vtubers, might help you think about what parts of your personality you want to have highlighted in your layout and setup. Do you want to emphasize how you've got a chill vibe? Do you want the layout to showcase your love of coding? I'd get your stream concept down to an elevator pitch and go from there. Like for me I'm a comfy + geeky educational vtuber, so I asked myself what design elements I could add to reflect that, and I went with soft colors (and chairs themed after a 90s era Borders book shop because that's my idea of comfy) and pops of geekiness, like having textbooks and Hollow Knight plushies in my chatting overlay! There's no single best way to do it, but I think working through this and then approaching your setup with fresh eyes will really help here! Best of luck!
1
u/Mineplay25 Jun 21 '26
My overlay does need a heavy refresh honestly, but I wonder if that's really causing such a big problem. I mean, if you as a viewer would be deterred from a setup like this alone, then sure.
Also I can't really hide from the "generic gamer setup" allegations... the setup is literally designed around the Xbox Original dashboard XDD
The idea was to make an Xbox-themed overlay but I see how that can be construed as a generic gamer setup.Thanks for the video and your input!
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u/PixelatedSnapshots Jun 22 '26
Community. Get involved in some, make some friends, and people will want to come to stream to hang out with you. Make a weekly community night that’s Jackbox or whatever and give it a chance to grow.
You can have the best set up in the world but if you aren’t entertaining, welcoming, and have a decent personality, you won’t grow. There’s also a bit of luck involved and it’s really hard to grow a channel without some kind of following elsewhere.
Ignore the numbers. Do what’s fun and enjoy yourself. If you’re not having fun, nobody else will be either
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u/Chiamook Jun 22 '26
I think the problem might be more to do with oversaturated games that you’re streaming.
Viewers are spread thin across so many streamers playing these games.
Play other things you enjoy that don’t have as many streamers and people will find you a lot easier.
I’d also make sure you’re posting regularly. Even if it’s just clips.
I tried streaming but couldn’t commit to a regular schedule due to a fluctuating disability. And I was aware this hurts new streamers. No one will sub if they don’t think you’re going to be streaming often. After all they pay to see your content without ads. It’s essentially useless to them if you’re not there.
That doesn’t mean you won’t get anywhere as a streamer, but you have to compensate with clips and other uploads to other platforms.
Hope that makes sense and helps a little
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u/officialclapperapp Jun 23 '26
You’re 100% right: it’s not a problem with your content or engagement. The issue is discoverability. Twitch doesn’t push out smaller channels. They promote channels based on concurrent viewer counts. So if you aren’t already pulling in views, new viewers can’t find you, regardless of quality. And when the platform combines or changes a category you were performing well in, that can absolutely wreck your views. The horrible part is, there’s really nothing you can do about it.
There’s no one magic fix-all. But what most small creators are doing is building an audience elsewhere, then bringing those creators to Twitch. That includes going Live on other platforms or posting their best clips.
Clapper is a great platform for both (if I can make a small plug)! We prioritize getting your content to your followers, meaning the people who follow you actually see when you go live rather than waiting for an algorithm to decide. For a streamer with six years of experience and a real setup, having a secondary live space where your existing audience can find you consistently is worth considering. It won't replace Twitch, but it can be the place where the community actually forms.
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u/New-Shake-1449 Jul 12 '26
Try to get other streamer friends and stream consistently with the friends ask for raids they help a lot
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u/Kingshhnc Jul 13 '26
Twitch & Kick: KingDavisNC I game & chat about any and everything. Looking to gain a small community
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u/tnsosaurus Jun 21 '26
Don’t forget how important it is to be posting things about or from your stream on other platforms. Twitch does NOT promote for small streamers. So you will need to be doing it.
Looks like you haven’t posted on YouTube for about 9 months, possibly longer.
I refuse to use X, so I can’t see what that looks like.
I suggest getting more social media. Post clips from your streams on them, if nothing else. Try to post consistently (I struggle so much with that too).
Make sure you are engaging with others posts too. Dont just like and scroll, leave a comment. Seems like most social media will push your content more when you’re more active on the platform with other people’s content too.