5 reasons why twitch viewers don't like you!

Updated: Sep 11, 2020

Have you ever glanced over at your monitor whilst Live Streaming to despairingly see that your Twitch viewer count has taken a dive and wondered, "Why don't Twitch Viewers hang around for me or my content?", pull up a chair, lend an ear and allow me to enlighten you with an account of 5 reasons that generally rub your viewers the wrong way.

Let me first solidify this in your mind - You will not be everybody's cup of tea, neither is your Twitch Growth dependent on appeasing the masses. As Live Streamers, it is of great importance that we all bring something unique to the table. Whether that be conveyed within the way we don our clothes, or the intonation with which we articulate our words, we are overwhelming the viewers senses with impressions that are perceived in alignment with their beliefs and moral code of ethics.

Naturally, It'd be simple to stand up out of your chair and passionately declare, "This is me, loud and proud, take it or leave it!", but the chances are, your viewers have made an unyielding, face value impression within the first few seconds of entering your stream, and as the Oscar Wilde quote goes -

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression”

Hold this thought in mind, and consider, if there were a list of behaviours directly contributing to your lack of Success on Twitch, or your ability to amass new Twitch followers, wouldn't you want to be the first to know?

In Sport, we often hear the mantra, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the same logic applies to our hope of building a reputable Twitch Community. In order to play for the team, you'll need to hold yourself accountable for your actions and modify the way you conduct your behaviours, because ultimately, your Twitch Community aren't going to change for your benefit.

5 Reasons Why Twitch Viewers Don't Like You

1. You are Self-Preoccupied - This is distinct from being consciously selfish for a number of reasons. Similar to several high pressure professions, Streamers often lay dormant within their own minds due to the multiple processes necessary to maintain a smooth, entertaining show for their Twitch audience. The need to remember hotkeys to transition between screen overlays, ensure an adequate audio balance between microphone and video game will inevitably sidetrack novice and Top Twitch Streamers alike.

Despite the odds, your preoccupation with Twitch Analytics pertaining to viewership, gaining followers and subscribers is holding you back from laying the foundations for success, and that is - the presence and awareness of your viewer's desire for emotional support, streaming advice, or casual discussion surrounding your game or craft. Your obsession with numbers is giving your viewers PTSD flashbacks of Mason's hot seat interrogation. Their last expectation of a streamer is to be brainwashed into feeding the cash cow, or feeling like they are nothing more than a dehumanized statistic.

On the topic of interrogation...

2. Stop suffocating your viewers - Granted, at the bare minimum, a viewer prays that their almighty chosen one (that's you!) is not dull, unresponsive or mimicking the 3-second memory loop of a goldfish before reiterating the same topic of discussion. We are human, capable of expansive thought and conversation, yet we sometimes carelessly over-egg our brains into questioning our viewers from A to Z, with little pause given for them to digest.

Twitch viewers hop into streams to blow off steam and avoid the stressors of their daily lives, not to be exposed centre-stage at a formal job interview. Consider the fact that it takes two to tango. To foster an impression of mutual reciprocity, it might be worth easing your way into their personal space with a barebones discussion of hobbies rather than delving into the intimate details of their private lives. Rome wasn't built in a day, slow down and enjoy the process before you decide to touch base.

3. The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - Or what I like to call it in the industry, the SMALL STREAMER MENTALITY! The more you convince yourself that your zero viewers entitles you to flounder about with a self-defeatist attitude, the increasing likelihood that this belief will manifest as truth! Your conviction that nobody cares for you or your content is deep-seated to the point of choosing not to make a cognizant effort to interact with Twitch chat as though you had millions of eyes eagerly awaiting your commentary in response to their pressing questions.

Stop Overgeneralizing (the assumption that if one person dislikes you, the same must apply to everyone). Stop Projecting (the sense that those around you feel exactly the way you do). Stop highlighting your imperfections (the belief that your viewers are latching onto mental and physical imperfections that you are self-conscious about). Simply put, these are nothing more than logical fallacies. For example, imagine that you are being held hostage and are shackled to the ground. The more energy you expend in the pursuit of escaping, the more noticeable you become to your captors. They won't like that, so why would your Twitch audience.

4. You're too competitive / negative - Competition is healthy and indicative of your aspiration to improve and grow. That relationship turns sour when you set your performance standards on a pedestal that you believe only yourself can attain. This might be purposeful if your goal is to be acknowledged as the next big FPS video gaming superstar on Twitch, but if your gaming ambitions come secondary in nature to your desire to grow your following on Twitch, you can bet your bottom dollar that your viewers will feel alienated and insecure knowing that they will never be able to suprass your level of entry for acceptance.

Combining this know-it-all attitude with a brooding negativity is drastically going to influence your lens of the world. If today, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, your gloomy mood will impact your experience of everything around you. If applied to a competitive environment, your bad mood and superiority complex might rear its ugly head in the form of toxicity towards those who make a mistake in-game, to your viewers who are offering some constructive criticism, or by complaining about a cheap RNG death. This mood will permeate the Twitch room creating a miserable experience for all.

Instead of tearing others down, a trueborn IGL (In Game Leader) would use adversity as an opportunity to learn, see mistakes as an opportunity to forgive, and respect their viewers by presenting themselves with a warm, friendly approach that breeds a community built around trust and compassion.

5. You don't smile enough - Let's try and end in a lighthearted spirit. This is merely a gentle reminder to bless the front pages of Twitch with your beautiful pearly-whites from time to time. After a hard day, a simple smile can reinvigorate your viewers' souls. Think back to the happiness of your first live stream where making friends and having fun was the name of the game.

The Quirkout Plan

In conclusion, if you want to be liked by your Twitch viewers, be unashamedly you, but do everything to be the best version of yourself. That might mean shifting your focus of attention towards your viewers' needs, engaging in back-and-forth small talk, behaving with the decorum that your family and friends would be proud of regardless of viewer numbers, replacing toxicity with a non-competitive, affectionate demeanour or just simply teaching yourself to smile.



Hit me up in the comment section below if any of the above principles apply to you and how you'll process this information to shape the future of your Twitch Channel.

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