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Streamers grow their communities and their careers by streaming similar content every time they go live. For most streamers, that means they’re playing the same game, drawing in viewers that also enjoy that game. These viewers return every stream to watch this specific game being played, and also draw attention to more viewers by putting that streamer higher on the recommended broadcasts feature presented by the streaming platforms.
But what if a streamer decides not to play the same game every stream? What if they play a different game every time they go live? Variety streaming is very common, because variety gamers are very common. These gamers don’t enjoy playing the same game every day; they get bored and burnt out, and in general prefer changing things up often. There are many variety streamers that have sizeable followings and brand recognition.
There is strong evidence that variety streaming is not feasible for creators wanting to grow their brands and communities. This is because viewers that enjoy specific games won’t watch the streamer when they play something other than the viewers’ game of choice. Many small streamers are stuck trying to grow their communities while playing a variety of games when they’re live. How did the large creators gain their popularity by variety streaming? Unfortunately, many of these large streamers started as niche streamers, playing the same game on stream and growing their communities. They only started variety streaming after they grew their popularity.
There is a way to grow and succeed as a variety streamer.
Although variety streaming has significant challenges, there is a secret to growing your community and your brand as a variety creator. You can play different games every stream and see the same viewers every time.
Something has to be consistent every stream.
If you’re variety streaming, then your game is not consistent. You’re losing out on the viewers that enjoy one specific game, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still grow as a creator. As long as there is something prominent in your stream that is consistent, you can succeed as a variety streamer. You could play games in one specific genre, such as horror or strategy games. Competitive games can also be a specific niche for your streams. You can build your brand around a specific theme or aesthetic, such as as dark, cozy, or fantasy. If you have pets, or you collect things, those can be regular features on your streams that keep viewers coming back. As long as there is one thing that’s consistent every single stream, you have the opportunity to grow your community and your brand.
To further establish that consistency in your streams, you should make your brand assets reflect it as well. Whatever your chosen form of consistency is, your stream panels, emotes, overlays, alerts, and other assets should point it out. This develops your brand around your niche, which is the key to succeeding as a streamer. Your viewers will grow into community members eager to see your content.
Variety streaming can be successful, as long as you have one thing that’s consistent every stream.Find your consistency, and go for it!
Streaming can be overwhelming, especially if you consider everything some streamers use to improve the quality of their streams. Let me assure you that you don’t have to buy into all of these products for your stream to look good. In fact, you can start streaming with just 10 things, and the quality and experience of your stream will be just fine. I try to stay on the minimalist side for my streaming setup because I enjoy having more open space on my desk. And I haven’t felt the urge to add more tech gear to this setup. My basic streaming needs are met, and if you’re a minimalist like myself, hopefully these 10 things will suffice for too.
A good set of headphones is a must for every streamer. You want to be able to hear new alerts for your stream without those alert sounds traveling right into your microphone and creating an echo on your stream. I strongly suggest acquiring a wired headset, because I personally get flustered when I have to charge more devices.
My Gear: I use the Razer Kraken Ultimate (discontinued). Razer has several series of headphones available, but I love the Kraken series for their sound settings and how well the headphones fit my head.
You don’t want to stream with the microphone that’s built into your headphones, trust me. If you want to hear the sound quality difference, check out this video with the headphone mic, and this one with the independent mic. In addition to improved sound quality, microphones also have different directional features. Depending on the style of your stream, you might want a bidirectional, omnidirectional, or cardioid microphone.
My Gear: I use the Razer Siren V2 Pro, connected to a mic arm so it doesn’t pick up all the little sounds on my desk.
A wired mouse is best for gaming and streaming, because you have a faster response time than you would with a wireless mouse. This difference may not be entirely noticeable in some games, but in multiplayer games, and especially competitive games, you can feel the difference. And again, I hate recharging things, so there’s the added benefit of not having to charge a wired mouse.
My Gear: I play with the Razer Basilisk (discontinued) because it’s smaller and my smaller-than-average hands feel much better with it than with a standard mouse.
Keyboards are so diverse that it takes some research to determine exactly what you want. Again, I would opt for a wired keyboard, due to response time, and of course, to not have to charge it. Beyond that, there are different switch types in keyboards you need to consider. There are 3 types of switches: linear, tactical, and clicky switches.
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Linear Switches
Smooth and quiet, not audible clicks. Even pressure throughout the keystroke.
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Tactical Switches
Have a small pressure point about halfway down to show you that you’ve successfully pressed the key.
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Clicky Switches
Similar to tactical switches, but with a noticeable clicking sound when the pressure point is met.
My Gear: I use the Razer Huntsman V2 with clicky switches because I love the light feel of the keys and the clicking noises.
If you don’t want to play and stream with a mouse all the time, getting a comfortable controller is a necessity. I was a PlayStation girl before I switched to PC gaming, so sometimes being able to sit back with that Dualsense controller feels much more relaxing than forward-leaning mouse gaming.
Having more than one monitor is almost a complete necessity for streamers. You have to be able to see what you’re playing on one screen, and your stream on the other, complete with your stream’s chat, your activity feed, and your stream stats (connectivity, frames, etc). You don’t have to have two high-end gaming monitors, use what you’re comfortable with. Your video quality doesn’t impact the stream’s quality.
My Gear: I have a 27″ and a 23″ (discontinued) ASUS gaming monitor. Both of these monitors can pivot from landscape to portrait orientations.
If you’re streaming content from another device, you will need a capture card to connect that device to your streaming device. A capture card connects via HDMI and captures both the display and the audio of the game you are playing, and transfers it to your streaming computer to broadcast it.
My Gear: I use the Elgato HD60 X when I’m playing games on my switch that I want to stream.
A desk switchboard will make streaming much easier. You can have a button for every streaming need right at your fingertips. You can have a button to create a clip on your stream, one to mute and unmute your microphone, buttons to transition your stream scenes, and buttons to start and end your stream.
My Gear: I use the Elgato Stream Deck MK.2, though I would love to upgrade to the larger Stream Deck XL in the near future for more buttons per page.
If you want to show your face on your stream, you’ll need a webcam. The primary things to look for in a webcam are resolution, frame rate, and basic adjustment properties. A good webcam resolution starts around 1080p, and a frame rate of 30fps is smooth enough starting out, as long as you keep quick and sudden movements to a minimum.
My Gear: I use the Razer Kiyo Pro. It has bright light and low light settings, along with narrow and wide field of view settings, plus advanced adjustment settings for the real video savvy users.
Having good lighting on your face will make your stream much more visually appealing to viewers. I wouldn’t recommend a ring light, because the light it casts on you is quite inconsistent. Instead, I would get LED light panels, one for each side of your setup so the lighting is more even and consistent on both sides of your face. Having just one light will cast a shadow on the other side of your face, and that is quite visible to your stream.
My Gear: I use a generic ring ling from Amazon, but when I make my next upgrade, it’s going to be the Elgato Key Lights.
These 10 products will help keep your streaming process smooth and make your stream look and sound good. I’m not one to get the high-end product lines, really ever. If it functions and the quality is good, I’m happy with it. I hope these recommendations make your streaming easier as well!
