5 Important Aspects of the Best Time to Stream on Twitch

You probably did your first few streams in the time slot that worked best for you. It’s a no-brainer. Some choose to keep doing that and don’t care whether it’s a good idea or not. Others are simply not aware of the opportunities they’re missing.

The choice of when to stream on Twitch has far more implications than you realise. It can be especially challenging for a Variety streamer since each game brings along a whole community of viewers and streamers which can range anywhere from nice and friendly to competitive or even toxic. Before you set your heart on a title, think about your schedule. It’s important to pick the days and times that work best both for you and for your viewers.

Where you live is important but what’s just as important is where your viewers are.

You’d want to go live at a time that is suitable for the people who watch you play regularly, especially if you’re streaming in a language not many foreigners would understand. This is also the easier option for you because you can adjust to the school or work hours and to the hours when everyone’s looking for entertainment at home.

For those of you who are streaming in a more widespread language like English or Spanish, it might be a good idea to check where the people who are trying to watch you are located. Do a bit of research to figure out when they’ll be free to dedicate some hours to streaming and take advantage of their time zone.

If you want to optimize your schedule and are determined to grab a bite of the viewers’ market, you might want to familiarize yourself with the time slots that need more channels. Look at these periods as chances to grow. In case you’d like to try and get a nice slice of the pie, two good slots are Tuesday and Wednesday at around 7 pm. Maybe you won’t get thousands of new viewers but, especially in the beginning, every single one of them counts.

It the beginning, you don’t have an audience — your game does. That’s one of the main aspects that determine whether the time when you’re streaming is good or not.

Some categories are just more popular at particular times of the day. For example, Minecraft as a game that primarily targets children, won’t be that popular in the AM. It’s ridiculously engaging for early to late teens but, even if they want to stay up late and watch their favorite game, they have to get up in the morning for school so you can’t expect a huge audience in the early hours.

It’s the same with games targeted towards more mature viewers. Civilization V is not a game for everyone and fares better with the older generation of gamers. Similar to Minecraft, it simply doesn’t have any viewers late at night. Teenagers grow up dreaming of the time when they’ll turn into grown-ups who go to bed whenever they want to, only to become adults who don’t have that luxury because there’s work to be done in the morning. Unless, of course, you choose streaming as a career. Then, you can target all the night owls and fulfil the childhood dream of a generation.

There are games that cater to all ages. You can easily spot them based on their huge popularity, tons of viewers and undying interest (no matter how unbalanced they get). The audience is all over the clock and can’t get enough of them. In such cases, consider mornings and late nights. While there are generally fewer viewers during these hours, the correlation between the audience and the amount of channels streaming what they want is not that strong.

Assuming you've chosen to stream a game you love, you already know who’s at the top of the food chain. It seems like a long way up.

Before you put yourself down, keep in mind that every great streamer was once in your place. They had it easy because the platforms were still rising but there’s always space for new names in the world of entertainment. It’s all transient so it’s never too late to start moving up. For now, you’ll have to literally work your way around the top dogs.

During the prime time, people are watching the big streamers religiously. Once they’re done though, it’s your chance to shine. Their followers are going to look for someone else to entertain them, which is why late nights can be the perfect time for new streamers to attract some viewers. Mornings are also a good option. There are a lot of Europeans and Americans who watch Twitch with their first coffee of the day so if you’re streaming a game that’s great for waking up, you can take advantage of that.

Once you do your game research, try to combine your ideal schedule with the ones of the viewers and the game.

Streaming is very statistical. Try to pick at least one suitable time slot that aligns with all the requirements. Then you can use that to test how many viewers you’re gaining from it. As soon as you figure out your schedule, spread the news. Put the information in your panels, on your social media channels, on Discord — anywhere your viewers can easily access it.

But that’s not enough. Be prepared to repeat your schedule at least a few times throughout your stream until the words stick to your audience and you slowly hypnotize them into becoming your biggest fans.

For the most popular games, peak hours are impossible to break through. You’ll have to work your way up, just like everyone else. The good news is that if you have what it takes and you keep improving your channel, you can get where you want to go.

Time is not everything.

Taking into considerations all those little details can be stressful. Is time really that important for your success?

Well, yes it is. But that doesn't mean that there aren't other ways of attracting people. One of the most popular ways to reach a wider audience is to utilize other platforms. Put a clever title on your stream and get on Youtube. It would be nice to edit it but if you’re not ready for all that extra work, just upload the whole thing as it is.

Being offline is a massive drawback. You can easily fix this by giving access to your content so that the viewers can enjoy it at any time day or night. Just upload your stream on Youtube. You’ll reach new people and some of them will come to watch you next time you’re live so you have nothing to lose by incorporating different platforms instead of counting on one.

Adjust your schedule in the best way possible but be ready to take your game one step further. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket — there are other platforms you can use to climb up the ladder and reach success.

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