There are quite a few guides out there talking about how you should attract viewers to your stream or how you can improve the quality of your stream. However, something that’s rarely mentioned but also important is raising the question, how should you end the stream? How do you make sure that people who are actually interested in you and your stream come back?
Imagine: You just spent a few hours playing your favorite game and managed to attract a few viewers who have never seen you stream before. You’re feeling tired, and are ready for a break. What do you do? Wrap it up in less than 2 minutes and abruptly end the stream? Bad idea!
Still, this is something that happens quite frequently.
Here are some insights on how we can address these viewers, and make them interested to subscribe to your stream and come back for another session!
Announce your end time
No matter how many people are watching your steam, if they tuned in and are still watching your stream after 10 minutes, it’s because your content interests them and because you are bringing the right amount of entertainment to your channel.
They are basically sucked into the story of the game, and interested to see how you are going to complete the game. Imagine how bummed out they would be if you abruptly end your stream while you’re in the middle of a FIFA match or halfway through an APEX mission.
That’s why we advise you to define an endpoint (goal) and start hinting the possible end time to your audience at least a half hour prior to actually ending your stream (“Let’s play one more match / mission before we end the stream”).
Recap the game
You’ve been streaming for a few hours and I assume most of your viewers haven’t been around as long, your followers already know you’ll be ending the stream, so instead off starting with some some self-promotion, take them through a recap of the stream. What did you do? What were the accomplishments?
Bonus: If you recorded your streaming session with the plan to release it on youtube, ask your viewers what part they liked most. A blooper during the stream? A specific scene of gameplay? Use this feedback to create a short 10 second clip that you can use as a teaser on your social media, or a “Thank you for watching” post when the stream ended.
Thanking your viewers.
Your viewers just freed up their (busy) schedule and created time to actually watch your stream and engage with you. There is almost no bigger compliment for content creators than actually have people consuming their content and showing they are enjoying it. The most decent thing to do is to take some of your time to thank them. Thank them for watching, thank them for engaging, thank them for giving your stream a chance.
Go over your battleplan.
Your stream is about to end and your viewers spent the last 30 minutes watching your stream. afe to say they are interested in your channel. Let them know what’s next, so they’ll be able to follow your progress and know what games or challenges are coming next.
Mention you are about to host another gamer
Chances are that most of your followers won’t know the gamer you’ll be hosting. This is your chance to inform them about who’s coming up next and what games they like.
Before you hand over the floor to another streamer, remind your viewers about one of your social media channels. Make sure to mention what it’s about and why they should follow you. Attracting new followers on Twitter will help you whenever you go live the next time.
Bonus: Recap on Twitter
There will always be some streamers who left your channel before the end, so we suggest that you make a Twitter post to recap the highlights of your game (including some footage from the stream) and thank everyone for coming and their engagement.
Watch some streams yourself
Not playing any games? Try to catch some streamers online, and engage with them. They’ll appreciate you stopping by, and might actually come and watch you game!
Please remember Twitch etiquette: The goal is NOT to spam or advertise your channel. If you make a meaningful connection, they’ll probably view your channel & watch your content as well.
Worst case scenario? You learn some new tricks!
Conclusion
Ultimately, the way you stream is your choice. We just wanted to give you some guidance on the options you have and tell you about some easy ways that give you an impact on the look and feel of your stream. If you have any questions or suggestions of your own, please leave a comment!
