A common question asked when it comes to streaming is “what’s the best time to stream on Twitch?” and it’s one where the answer isn’t really too clear cut.
There are a lot of factors at play and in this article, we’re going to go over them and hopefully give you a better idea of what’s the best time.
So if you’re ready to go live on Twitch, then let’s dig deeper into when could be the best times for you.
What’s the best day to stream on Twitch?
Now it wouldn be great if we could just say, this day and that day and the answer was that easy, but it’s not.
The best day to stream really depends on the game that you’re choosing to play.
Fresh in-game content
If there’s a specific day new content is released within the game, then those days would probably be the best days for you to stream as if you wait a few days before going live, then it’s not really new content as other streamers will have already jumped on the freshness hype.
Alternatively, this is probably when there’s going to be the most competition for attention as everyone else will have the same idea.
Can you see now, why we said it wasn’t as easy as just naming days!
Weekends are also going to be the biggest days for competition as it’s when most people have free time and will be going live.
Twitch Tracker
Using a service like Twitch Tracker will allow you to see just how busy certain game categories are and how many potential viewers could be open to discovering your stream.
If you’re still finding your feet with streaming and haven’t set on a particular game yet, then this can be a great tool to help you pick something that’s going to get eyeballs on your content rather than jumping straight into a really competitive game like Warzone.
Simply scroll through or search to find games that interest you or that you’re thinking of playing and analyse the data to see which of those are perhaps the least competitive and a good game to start out on.
It’s always worth double checking the category on twitch as it may be that some of the viewer numbers are skewed because one huge streamer is streaming a really obscure game that only they are playing.
What’s the best time to stream on Twitch?
Again, the answer here is very much an “it depends”.
There will always be people online to watch streams on Twitch, so regardless of the time that you choose, you will always have the opportunity to be discovered.
Due to different time zones around the world, it allows you to really be discovered by a global audience. It’s important to remember that there will potentially be language issues so it may mean that people click onto your stream and then click off just as quickly when they realise that they can’t actually understand you.
In-game content (…again)
Like we mentioned before, if the game that you play releases in-game content daily at a set time then aim for around that time.
Let’s take Fifa for example where the in-game content always releases as 6pm UK time. You would want to aim to be live around that time.
Again, you’re going to face much more competition than you would at 3am.
Peak times for your time-zone
If you live in a certain time-zone, you know that there will be more people active in the evenings than there would be during the daytime or very early mornings.
Aiming to be live at these times potentially gives you a better chance of being found by people who could watch you at a time where most of us are sitting down to chill after dinner and watch some streams.
So is there a best time or day?
Not really.
The best time, is a time and day that suits your schedule the best.
It’s also something that you should be able to commit to without having to change too much.
As time goes on and your community grows, they will be much more engaged if they know that you’re going to be live on a certain night, at a certain time and for a particular length.
Think about it in the context of TV shows. If you want to watch the latest season of your favourite show, they will be on at exactly the same time on exactly the same day every week.
Your stream should be the same.
So build out a schedule that suits your life and stick to it.
Test things out
There’s no harm in testing things out when you’re first starting. That’s how you find your community and find the times and days that suit your audience best.
If you try a bunch of different days and times and you start to notice that you get more followers on a particlar day, then try and go live on those days as part of your schedule.
Just make sure that you’re consistent and the growth will come.
