I used to be a what you can call a small Twitch streamer. I had between 5 to 10 viewers on average during my streams, with some days better than others. I did put a lot of efforts into growing my stream, broadcasting countless hours, building a network with other streamers, looking on the internet for advices (as you may be right now). I want to share my experience on one of the most difficult aspect of being a streamer for me: Dealing with the chat effectively.

Talking to an empty chat

When you start streaming, it is very likely that your chat will be empty for a while. I remember the mental impact it had on me to create content for no one and seeing basically no interactions. When I would start a stream and see a blank chat window, it was like a punch to the gut. I would feel discouraged and disheartened, as if no one was interested in what I was doing.

These feelings would often escalate as the stream went on and the chat remained empty. I would start to question my abilities as a streamer and wonder if I was doing something wrong. The emptiness of the chat would weigh on me, making it difficult to stay focused and motivated.

I would tend to ignore the chat for longer period of times, which led people that were coming for the first time and posting a message to get an answer 30 minutes later, moment by which they would have already left.

It is easier if you have a few mods

If you have some friends that are interested in what you stream, they can become invaluable allies, as they are people you can interact with, giving a brighter tone to your stream while encouraging new joiners to post messages, and get a quick response from you and your mod friends.

If you don’t have the chance of having that kind of friends, that’s where a tool like AIlicia by NovaSquare can help.

ai_licia is the first companion AI powered tool designed specifically for Twitch streamers. Ailicia interacts with both the streamer and the viewers through the chat, providing an extra layer of support and adding a fun and interactive element to the stream. ai_licia helps streamers manage their channels and engage with their audiences in new and innovative ways. They are currently looking for alpha testers so feel free to contact them at https://www.novasquare.io

Trying to catch up to a 100+ people raid

Some streaming days are better than others. The days where you get raided by other streamer are usually among them.
It was a normal day, with my usual 5 to 10 viewers, doing the stream I had plan to do on that day when suddenly, I heard the raid notification ringing in my ear. It was a raid from a way bigger streamer I knew, and I was not prepared for what followed. My viewers count jumped to more than 100 viewers, something I had never dreamed of. The dream quickly turned into a very difficult stream given how unprepared I was to deal with the chat. People were now sending a lot of messages, interacting with each other, and I didn’t know what to do. Should I read each message out loud? Should I read things silently and awkwardly react to the last message of a discussion? Should I ignore the chat and go through with my content?
Again, that is a situation where having mods helps a lot in helping the streamer follow what is going on, and a tool like ai_licia can fill the role of mod, chat entertainer and support for the streamer.

Learnings

Streaming is tough, and the mental impact of seeing an empty chat is often overlooked in the other streaming related posts. My advice to you, new streamer or small streamer, is to get some friends along in your adventure, and to consider AI based tools like ai_licia to prevent you from being alone in your long hours of streaming.

Ultimately, take care of yourself, and be aware of your mental health while streaming. A good starting point would this BBC article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60109997