Balancing Streaming and Working as a Part-Time Streamer
When you’re first starting out as a part-time streamer, you’ll need to fit your streaming schedule around your day job and around the rest of your life as well. This doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does take discipline and consistency to get the work-life balance right and to give your channel the chance it deserves.
Consistency as a part-time streamer
Streaming regularly and at the same time, every week, is vital for keeping an audience when streaming part-time. They want to know when they’re going to be able to find you – if one week you stream on a Sunday afternoon, then next it’s a Tuesday evening and so on, any fans you picked up in the first stream who want to come back will probably miss the next one. Additionally, people tend to look for something to watch at similar times based on their schedule, so sticking with a specific time and day means that the same people will come back repeatedly, building up their loyalty to your channel and the likelihood of them continuing to watch.
Frequency helps too. If you can stream several times a week you’ll obviously get more total views than if it’s only once a week. It will probably also help your channel to grow more quickly as there are more chances for people to find you and follow or subscribe.
Don’t burn out
When you first start, it’s easy to think “I’ll stream every night – I’m always gaming, so why not do it on stream?” However, this isn’t always feasible especially if you work full time. Streaming involves putting on a show as well as just playing games, and even if you’re naturally eloquent and amusing, it’s still an effort to stay chatty and involved. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t put you off streaming even if you only manage to do this for a few hours a week. Streaming can be just as fun as a part-time hobby.
Plus, if you’re streaming just when you can and want to, you’re likely to enjoy it more and have the energy to put on a good show. You’re also likely to still see growth on your channel, particularly if you are streaming things you genuinely like and want to share with others – this will come across. It’s important to give yourself time off to relax as well as keeping the channel going however often you stream. You’ll probably also find there are other background tasks associated with streaming that need to be dealt with, such as designing thumbnails, promoting your channel, and so on.
It’s still a commitment
If your friends aren’t gamers, they might not understand that your streams are a commitment and it’s important to keep to them. Just because it’s online doesn’t mean there aren’t real people at the other end waiting for you who would be let down if you canceled. This is more important with multi-player games, however, it still applies to streaming, especially if you want the channel to do well.
On the flip side, it’s important to make time to see friends. Your channel should not become your entire life! Ideally, you’ll be able to find a schedule that fits everything in – work, streaming, socializing, and some relaxing – but achieving a work-life balance as a part-time streamer can be difficult. Being organized can help you stay on top of it, so why not set a schedule and stick to it to keep things simple? Just remember to include some time for yourself!
Building an audience takes time and dedication but it’s important to care for yourself too. Balancing work, streaming, and life, in general, can be tricky, but, once you do, it will make everything go much more smoothly – well worth the effort!