Ultra.
When beginning your career on Twitch, you might think that streaming your favorite game as a side hustle is not a bad idea. It should be easy. You open your broadcasting software, play your game, and BAM, you become popular overnight.
However, the truth is somewhat different. Almost every Twitch category has significant competition for a viewer’s attention. That is why what game you stream at a specific time and day matters greatly to growing your Twitch community.
As a content creator, you presumably want your stream to reach as many people as possible. This blog will discuss the best days and times to stream your favorite game for maximum views and followers.
Please Note: Before we begin, we want to note that not everyone wants to become the next streaming sensation. And that is okay! For many people, streaming is about connecting with a small community, friends, and family. Streaming is something you should do for the love it. As long as you’re having a good time, everything else is secondary. That being said, for those that want to learn a bit more about maximizing viewership, read on!
What Days Of The Week Are Best To Stream On Twitch And Why
The best day to stream will depend on what game you want to play. If you are open to playing different games, we recommend using TwitchTracker to find which game has the highest viewership per channel ratio. Generally, a game with a high viewer-to-channel ratio will likely lead to more viewers. Of course, nothing is guaranteed but knowing when there is less competition for a highly watched game can be advantageous for growing your community.
After analyzing the data, you can rank your days in descending order to find the best day for streaming your game. Ranking will help you sort out days with less competition and more reach to present you with an opportunity to gain more viewers.
As an example, for the game Hell Let Loose, I might consider prioritizing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as those days tend to have fewer channels streaming than other days.
What Time Of Day Is Best To Stream On Twitch And Why
You will probably find an active audience on Twitch 24x7 due to multiple time zones, as viewers keep on logging into their accounts between all intervals. But that doesn’t mean you can gain their attention in the first attempt. That’s why figuring out the best time is essential for your Twitch account to grow.
The best timing for streaming depends on various factors like the type of game you are playing, your competition, target location, and target audience. After analyzing the data, the best time for streaming on Twitch is between 12 midnight and 8 am PST. Usually, during these hours, you are likely to face less competition while encouraging viewers from other countries to watch your live stream.
It is recommended to stream when there are fewer streamers instead of optimizing for high viewers because this fierce competition can affect your overall success rate. Besides your geographical location, streaming between that time helps attract more users from different parts of the world. So, here is what you need to do.
Stream With Fewer Channels
Starting your streaming journey with fewer channels is a great way to gain more viewers. Why? You may be known for your high gaming skills among your friends, or you may be a funnier streamer on the internet, but if the Twitch community doesn’t know about your channel, it won’t mean anything.
If you think about streaming during peak hours, you’re probably competing with big streamers who have a community of loyal viewers. That’s why you should start with fewer channels, as it will allow your channel to gain recognition. Then you can gradually change your streaming time as you begin to gain more viewers on your channel.
Stream During Weekends, Early Mornings, And Late-Night
As a novice streamer, you must focus on streaming during weekends, early mornings, and during nights. In particular, streaming between 12 midnight and 8 in the morning will improve the chances of viewers seeing your channel.
So, it would help if you kept an eye on weekends as kids are likely to stay up late, which is the best time to gain their attention. Even though it may seem overwhelming at first, it will give you a competitive edge over big streamers when you gain more recognition.
Tips For Maintaining A Consistent Streaming Schedule
For a novice streamer, it may be challenging to keep up with a schedule as many things can occupy your time. But the tips mentioned below will help you stay consistent on your streaming platform.
- Be realistic about your goals and schedules, as you will most likely want to stream in your spare time. As a result, you should refrain from streaming at the risk of your mental and physical health.
- Find a game you are good at playing or are passionate about to avoid burnout. It would help to avoid picking up a game with too low of a player base as the potential to grow is quite steep.
- Some might believe streaming with big streamers in the same category will drain all your viewers. But if you adjust your timing when the biggest streamer goes offline, it allows you to gain tons of viewers looking for a channel. So, try and test different methods to see which one works best for you.
- Besides avoiding big streamers, it is wise to avoid prime-time hours, as streaming with fewer channels enables you to gain more viewers. These hours are dependent upon the time zone you live in. So, it would be best to make it easier for viewers to find your channel, and you can do it when streaming with fewer channels.
Wrap Up
After analyzing lots of information and data, we have discovered that streaming during early mornings and late nights has a great chance to grab the attention of additional viewers on your channel. As a content creator, you should stream for at least 3 hours per stream and go live at least 3–5 times a week to ensure maximum exposure. Besides this, make sure you follow the guide mentioned above to reap the benefits of Twitch streaming.
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About Streamlabs
Founded on the belief that we want to help creators make a living doing what they love, Streamlabs provides a robust suite of features to help creators better engage with their fans, grow audiences, and improve monetization. Building on this mission, Streamlabs is expanding its product with 1) Talk Studio, our browser-based streaming studio, 2) Link Space, an all-in-one bio link tool, 3) Video Editor, a video review and collaboration tool. And 4) Cross Clip, the easiest way to convert Twitch clips to videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.