When you first start streaming you may be wondering how long and often you should be streaming to get the most growth. The answer is a little more complicated than you might think and there is a lot of contradicting opinions out there.

In this article we are going to break down the best plan for streamers starting out. Let’s jump in and take a look.

How Long Do The Biggest Streamers Stream For?

Before we start looking at streaming schedules and the amount of time you should stream for let’s compare two of the biggest streamers on Twitch right now. The general consensus is that if you stream for longer you will grow faster but look at these stats.

TommyInnit

Tommy is currently one of the biggest streamers on the platform pulling in 122,811 concurrent viewers.

He only streamed 11 hours in the past month. Some streamers are live for 11 hours per day and can’t touch these numbers.

Nickmercs

Nickmercs is also one of the biggest streamers on Twitch however he streams almost 20x longer than Tommy, with 206 hours in the past month.

As you can see both strategies work. Some streamers have long grinding sessions and putting in insane hours every month while others focus on creating amazing content in short bursts.

Neither is necessarily correct or the best option. However as a small streamer things are a little different. Let’s take a look at some analysis to see if streaming for long hours helps you grow.

Does Streaming For Longer Help You Grow?

Back in 2018 the verge posted an article titled “The Twitch Streamers Who Spend Years Broadcasting To No One”. It’s a pretty de-motivating title for aspiring Twitch streamers.

It references lots of quotes from reddit from people stating they’ve been streaming for hours every day for months and are yet to get any consistent viewers.

This is the problem with lots of beginner streamers. They think they can just turn on a camera, stream their games and get a giant audience. Even if you’re the best player in the world or have top tier content streaming on Twitch is unlikely to get you seen.

Streaming for 12 hours a day to no one is a huge waste of time and generally won’t get you any growth at the start.

Once you have a consistent 100-200 viewers, yes, you may then pick up organic followers on Twitch from streaming for longer periods as you appear higher in the search results.

So, what should you be doing instead of streaming?

What Should You Do Instead Of Streaming To Grow You Stream?

Instead of streaming for long periods of time to nobody, you should be working on content off platform. This means turning your streams into smaller clips for Tiktok, Youtube and Twitter.

This platforms give you a real chance at being discovered as they have the ability to give you organic reach in their algorithm. Instead of streaming 4 hours per day it would be a much better idea to stream for 2 and use the other 2 to create content.

Once you start getting discovered on these other platforms direct your followers from there to Twitch and watch your stream grow over time.

To learn more about growing your stream I recommend checking out both of these articles:

How Many Days Per Week Should I Stream?

This really is up to you and your schedule. We would recommend streaming for a minimum of 3 days per week when starting out and there is no upper limit on the amount of days you can stream.

We would recommend limiting those streams to 2-4 hours and using the rest of your time to create extra content for other platforms.

When Is The Best Time Of Day To Stream On Twitch?

The best time of day to stream is when there are fewer other channels streaming meaning you have less competition. During the week this is between 00:00 and 09:00am meaning that you should stream late at night or early in the morning.

These time periods are especially lucrative on the weekend as more people tend to stay up late at night into the early hours of the morning. You can capture this viewership with your channel while your competitors are sleeping.

You can check on Twitch tracker to see the viewership and amount of channels streaming your game at a certain time. It’s a good idea to track this for your specific game to find the best time to go live.

You will see streamers like Symfuhny getting up really early in the morning in America to stream every day as they know they can be top in the Warzone category while other larger streamers are sleeping. They are also able to capture that international audience that is already awake at this time.

Setting A Stream Schedule

It is also important to set up a stream schedule. This will make sure the same viewers show up consistently to your streams. If people really enjoy your content they will set aside time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night to watch your stream if that’s your schedule.

It’s no different than people sitting down to watch their favourite soap opera every night at a certain time.

If you show up consistently on time your viewers will too. Just make sure when you set a schedule that you stick to it.

The easiest way to set up a stream schedule on your stream is with the Streamlabs Stream Schedule and countdown widget. You can install it on your stream here.

Wrapping Up

Ultimately it is up to you how much time you spend streaming. However if you expect to grow on Twitch with out doing any work off the platform it is unlikely to ever happen. We recommend putting in a minimum of 2 hrs per day 3 days a week on stream and utilising the rest of your time to create content for other platforms.

Enjoy watching your stream grow much faster than before.

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