The 1 Way to Succeed on Twitch and YouTube
Monetizing a live stream is seen as a legitimate career. Simply set up an account and just be yourself. It’s…not that easy. Here's one way to make it work!
Monetizing a live-stream is seen as a legitimate career these days. Simply set up an account on Twitch, YouTube, or both, and just be yourself. It’s…not that easy. For those who assume acting is easy, simply ask any aspiring actor if they think acting can be done by anyone. Hopefully, they’re not offended and will just laugh at you. The same with comedy. To quote the great Robin Williams’ “Of course you have to know comedy. Because if you tell a joke and they don’t laugh, then you know tragedy.”

Know Your Topic
I’ll admit, I have no skills when it comes to playing online games. The last time I touched a Halo game I barely scored one kill. When it comes to researching, organizing, and telling a story, that’s where my real abilities lie. Thus, I’ve given up on video games and instead have focused on reading books, reading about writing, writing, talking with other writers, editing, and writing some more. The upside of all this is that I’ve now landed a job where someone pays me to do this all day. It’s still a challenge. Putting words on the screen every day requires hard work and discipline. Working through horrible drafts is just part of the process of getting to the right one. Now let’s replace writing with live-streaming. The same advice applies; keep working at it. You’ll also learn some surprising things about yourself. For example; my boss asked me how long it would take to complete an article consisting of 800 words. I ballparked it at four hours. He blinked at me and said, “You’re the first person to use a number.” And I got the job. You don’t have to be an expert, you just need to know more than the average person.Create Genuine Connections
This one has always proved difficult for me. Since I’m good with writing and rewriting, and editing, and rewriting, talking to people face-to-face can be daunting. It may seem obvious, but making friends wasn’t my forte as a child. When I worked to make people like me, I came across as a fake. And worse, desperate. No one wants to be friends, or do business with, a desperate person. And those that do are going to take advantage of you. Instead, working to find a personae or a particular schtick helped make it easier to interact and relate to strangers. It was subtle at first, and at times overblown. With time I honed it. It’s not as difficult as it used to be and I still work on it from time-to-time. By being genuine you create genuine relationships. Genuine relationships lead to a solid fan base.Do Your Research
Once you’ve discovered what works for you, hone it, develop it, work on it.