off-topic How can I start a successful YouTube channel or Twitch stream?

[Reelz]

I want to start a YouTube channel or Twitch stream yet I doubt if the time investment will be beneficial. So, I'm wondering how can people achieve success in these? I would like to hear about your journey while you also offering tips about best practices. Thanks!

 

[Ashake]

I haven't streamed on Twitch but I do have a YouTube channel. What I do is maintain consistency and authenticity. That's exactly the center of success. I resist pretending to be anyone other than my true self. It is neccessary for your viewers to trust your honesty combined with reliability which has enabled me to create a dedicated loyal audience.

 

[1stop]

My belief is that delivering top-quality content provides the foundation for success across YouTube platforms or Twitch streaming. You need to dedicate your time and efforts to develop content that both informs viewers and entertains them while remaining engaging throughout. You should also maintain real interactions with your audience through comment responses and direct feedback requests.

 

[Shawn]

I want to start a YouTube channel or Twitch stream yet I doubt if the time investment will be beneficial. So, I'm wondering how can people achieve success in these? I would like to hear about your journey while you also offering tips about best practices. Thanks!

I've been running a YouTube channel for 8 years now.

I have around 6,100 subscribers. It's monetized and I earn with it. I post a new video every day and have been for years.

My tips?

1. Diversify your market reach. I'm on Facebook (22K+ followers), Instagram (6K+ followers), X (6K+ followers), and a few others (Threads and Bluesky). Build communities on each of them and cross-promote.
2. The more you post, the more you get seen, and the more you grow. I post 3 long-form videos a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and then one Short each other day (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday). I post once a day. I use Opus.pro to create short-form content from my most popular videos. Shorts typically get around 500 to 5,000 views in 24 hours for me, while Longs get around 100 to 300 views in 24 hours. Short-form is the big winner -- you could probably do it all in Shorts. I might try to create a second channel and do nothing but Shorts myself.
3. Do live if you can. It's a great way to grow and get better feedback from your audience.
4. Reply to every comment. Unless you get hundreds of comments a day, you have no excuse not to. Make replies that are engaging and keep the discussion going. Give the viewer a reason to come back.
5. Actively find channels in your niche (around the size of your channel) and engage with their videos often. Comment on things that get noticed. Look at the best comments on their videos and mimic comments like theirs.
6. Do collaborations with other channels in your niche as often as you can. Share that traffic.
7. Focus on building a community when you first start out rather than focusing on views and other metrics.
8. I didn't start making anything noticeable for at least 4 years. You're not getting rich overnight.
9. Start a Patreon and a Buy Me a Coffee page and link it to your description.
10. Have a CTA that points to something you own, like a newsletter, a forum, or your blog, because YouTube is a rented space. You need your audience on something that you can keep communicating with them in an instance where your channel could be banned, hacked, or whatever.

If you want anymore advice -- I love helping!