How do you know if it’s worth it to go to an event as a streamer? After all, unless you’re a big time IRL streamer you’re taking time away from your core value proposition. While you’re at an event you’re not live.
We’ll look at two different scenarios. In the first you’re not getting paid to go to the event and in the second you are getting paid. A lot of the considerations are the same but I think it’s still valuable to go over both.
Going for free
While of course it would be nice to get paid it can also make a ton of sense to go to events on your own dime. You could meet other influencers, sponsors, fans, and game companies. Basically, you can network. A lot more deals happen, and happen more quickly, in person.
So what are the factors to consider on whether it’s worth it to go to an event? First, who else is going? What could you possibly gain by going? It’s worth considering relaxation/fun as reasons for going. Your stream does better if you’re doing better.
On the business side you need to calculate your opportunity cost. What are you giving up to go to the event? If it would take 3 streaming days then you need to consider 3 days of average income. Hopefully you’ve put together daily stats that differentiate by day of the week. Do you tend to have subs and viewers fall if you take a longer break from streaming? Your business earns while you have to carefully consider taking time off stream. You need to take time off from streaming to run the business and recuperate but it always helps to be methodical.
Finally, what are the raw costs of going to the event? Admittance, travel, a room, food, drinks out, and other fun spending (I write this wearing a Twitch hoodie) are all a normal part of attending an event. Calculate the monetary cost and opportunity cost to come up with the true cost of attendance. At that point, you can make your decision on whether it’s worth it. Sometimes the answer is who knows. You could meet a sponsor that you never thought would work with you or someone you can collaborate with and grow your stream. Networking is inexact.
Getting paid
You have the exact same considerations when you’re getting paid to go to an event. However, the math’s a little nicer. After all, a company may be paying for your ticket, travel, or actually paying you an appearance fee. If they’re willing to pay for travel it can often be worth it to ask for an appearance fee as well. Be prepared with your numbers to show what you’re losing in streaming if you’re being paid for an appearance. That amount is the table stakes and your actual fee should be in addition to that baseline. They need to make it worth your time; they’re the ones who want you there.
Don’t forget that if you’re getting paid to do something you are earning income. When you earn income you owe taxes. Make sure you count up your in-kind income and regular income when calculating those taxes!
Conclusion
Attending events is one of the best ways to grow as a streamer and business owner. The relationships you’ll develop in person are much stronger more quickly. Additionally, you might run in to someone you didn’t even consider who could ultimately be awesome. However, there is a cost to attending an event regardless of whether you’re paid. Be a smart business owner and do your due diligence before signing up blindly.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. This is what we do- help streamers make great money decisions. If that’s something that sounds interesting to you reach out me or schedule some time for a free consult. You can check out what I do here.
