Riddle me this: why would someone watch you stream?
If you can answer that, great! You know your unique selling proposition (USP). It’s how you stand out from the crowd, it’s what attracts people to your stream over all of the others. Being different is good!
If you can’t answer that question you absolutely need to keep reading. Even if you don’t have a unique selling proposition right now you can craft one. I’m going to give you some tips for doing that.
How to Get Started
There are a lot of ways you can define your unique selling proposition. Here’s what you should ask yourself to help start the process:
- Who do I want watching my stream? Twitch viewers are overwhelmingly Caucasian, male, and 18-24 if they’re coming from the US. However, viewers run the full gamut of humanity so if you think you can be particularly attractive to a specific demographic or psychographic you should aim there.
- Do I have something unique about myself? Think personality, language, looks, abilities, etc. I’m a boring mostly white guy who speaks primarily English and looks average, at best. So what have I done with my stream? I’m answering personal finance questions since that’s something I’m better at than your average streamer. It’s something I’m doing to learn more about streaming but it would be awesome to be able to help people out while I’m playing games. Will it work? We’ll see!
- Are there two things about me that I can combine to be unique? Can you stream and be funny or perform music? Do you belong to a group that would be on Twitch and want to support someone else in that group?
- Are there other people streaming this game? If you’re one of the few people streaming a game you’re naturally going to claim a larger percentage of anyone who comes in to watch that game being streamed. Zeenigami decided to start streaming One Piece Treasure Cruise, a relatively new mobile game. Through a lot of hard work and adding a lot of value to the community that plays the game he was able to move full time earlier this year.
- Can I add some distinctive insight or approach to a game? WoW’s DoubleAgent created an incredible unique selling proposition when they decided to not choose a faction as a Pandaren. While I have no interest in watching them level through herbalism and mining I do know their name and would be interested to read/watch something on the logistics of their playthrough.
Currently Twitch claims 1.5 million broadcasters and 11,000 partners. That’s a lot of competition! Or at least, that’s a lot of potential competition. Your unique selling proposition is how you stand out from that crowd and how you find out who your competitors are.
All of this boils down to a simple point: instead of competing with a major stream you should instead find a way to make yourself the best at a niche. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, your best bet is to intentionally exclude people from your target market. This might make it harder to find that first person to follow you, but once they do they’ll be recommending you to others just like them. You want to be building a community, not having 5-10 people pass through never to return again.
Be careful though, you do want to make sure there is a market for what you’re targeting. You aren’t going to sell raincoats in the Mojave Desert even if you’re the only one offering them. For instance, it’s totally possible that no one wants personal finance advice on Twitch. I’m just some random dude playing a game, why would they ask? Even if you’re thinking those kinds of things about your unique selling proposition you still won’t know for certain until you try.
Take some time now to go through those questions and come up with an initial idea of your unique selling proposition. Got it? Great, write it down and we can move on.
Examples of Streamers with a Unique Selling Proposition
Let’s take a look at some case studies of streams I enjoy by looking at why I enjoy them and what I think that means they can claim as their unique selling proposition. Warning: upcoming Hearthstone bias because that’s what I watch the most.
- Personality Based
My favorite streamer, by far, is Day[9]. I’ve been following him since 2011. It’s partially because he was one of the first that I saw when I was getting in to StarCraft- part of his unique selling proposition was that he was one of the few in that space! Since then I’ve followed him through many games. Why? Because he is just such an upbeat guy. Even more than that, he has worked hard to make sure his chat is filled with similarly cheery, friendly people. The atmosphere is like clothes fresh out of the dryer on a cold day and there are plenty of days where that’s exactly what I need. He takes the time to talk with his chat and he enjoys the games he’s playing. Yes, I’ve seen him rage at certain things in games but 99% of the time he’s laughing like mad at something in the game and cheering on his chat. Day[9]’s unique selling proposition is his personality. This is the kind of unique selling proposition that can really translate well in to playing multiple games and building a brand. It’s certainly helped build up a community as the DayKnights Discord is constantly humming with chat, even when Day[9]’s not streaming.
Next, StrifeCro. I’d never heard of him before Day[9] played one of his Hearthstone decks. It was a pretty effective and entertaining deck so I went over to check out some of his content on YouTube. Damn, StrifeCro is a calm, thoughtful guy. He’s also incredible at Hearthstone. Those two together are magic to me. He’s someone who won’t rage and thinks out loud about not only this turn but the next several as well. I’ve learned so much watching him! I’d say his unique selling proposition is partially his personality (unflappable, generally cheerful) but mostly his studious approach to the game. I’m not a great Hearthstone player but watching his stream has made me a much better player.
- Wacky Deck
Ok, away from straight personality. The next streamer I want to look at is DaneHearth. He’s a British Hearthstone streamer who focuses on unusual decks. We’re talking Russian Roulette rogue where the goal is to give the opponent a cursed blade or Barnes Y’shaarj renounce darkness warlocks. The joy isn’t in winning but in pulling off the strange victory. I found him on YouTube because he was in compilation videos with crazy outcomes and when I went to his actual stream he kept it lively, even when the win condition wasn’t winning. He titles his stream with the idea of the deck and re-explains it as needed when new people join. Also, he does a killer Rick and Morty impression. I’d highly recommend his stream!
WowHobbs has his Cho Show. Yes, he does other wacky decks but at least for me the main draw is his unusual priest decks centered on Lorewalker Cho. His focus is mostly on playing entertaining games as opposed to laddering to legend. One of the more fun aspects of his stream is watching opponents figure out how to deal with Lorewalker Cho. It has such an unique effect and is so rarely played that you can see them having to figure out what to do. There’s also a strong personality aspect to his stream too. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I really enjoy relaxed streams. He fits that model to a T and seems to really enjoy giving back to newer streamers. He has a voice modulator that he uses for playing specific cards. This builds something his whole stream can anticipate and participate in when it happens.- First in the Space
Zeenigami had done some streaming in games he was already playing, but decided that he wanted to take a shot at making streaming his full time gig. With that in mind he found a new game (One Piece Treasure Cruise) that was free to play. It also had enough skill involved that people would likely look to YouTube and Twitch for people who knew how to play it well and could teach them. With that combination, and a lot of time and effort finding a community and making good content, Zeenigami was able to become a partnered streamer. So while he might not have League of Legends levels of natural audience he was able to find dedicated one that has taken him to full time streaming. His main value add was being helpful and first in the space.- Unique Gaming
You need to check out Rudeism. Seriously. He rigs custom controllers for games like Overwatch where the controllers match the character he’s playing. He has a nerf bow for Hanzo, a broom and pistol for Mercy, and flight sticks for D.Va. In my opinion these controllers are technical marvels, mostly because I have no talent in that space so it’s basically wizardry to me. It’s also so fun to watch him stream because of the unique controller and the joy you can see in him as his machinations actually work. If you’re looking for something that’ll not only draw people in to your stream but get others to post it to places like Reddit, something unique like this setup is a great start. Yes, you still need to be entertaining but that initial draw is there for people to actually come see that you’re entertaining. It’s worth noting that I found him via the Overwatch subreddit when someone else pointed out his unique selling proposition and it was the top post.
BennyFits is a monster who streams. He spends a good deal of time interacting with the audience and playing Blizzard games, though lately I’ve been watching him play random small games. Following lets you become his friend with BennyFits and with subscribing you’re a BennyFactor… get it? Anyways, once again the unusual gaming setup gives an easy unique selling proposition. I think part of the reason Benny caught on so fast though was that you’re getting two unique selling propositions in one stream. Benny’s also funny! So not only are you watching what is likely one of the few if only blue monsters streaming but you’re getting entertained while you’re at it. By being visually and immediately unique Benny got the initial draw in to his channel and by being entertaining and a good streamer he keeps people coming back.
ExtraTricky is a speed runner. I found him through a Faster Than Light stream where I learned a ton about how to play the game better, but in general he does speed runs. His current focus is Super Mario Sunshine. I point him out because you can have a unique selling proposition that’s been around forever- I can remember watching speed runners when YouTube first came out and I’m sure there were people doing it long before that. You don’t need to be completely different from every other person out there but you need to have enough different that you can attract some people. In the case of a speed runner you also need to be talented and knowledgeable enough to effectively conduct a speed run! Again, the point of your unique selling proposition is to get someone watching but then you keep them on the channel by being engaging and interesting. ExtraTricky does that well.
Try It for Yourself!
You need to make your unique selling proposition clear in every stream, at least when you’re starting out. If it’s your personality or the game you’re playing that’s probably pretty easy to do. If it’s some unique way you’re playing the game you’re going to have to get creative with your title. No matter what it is that you need to do to make your unique selling proposition clear you need to make sure you’re doing it every single time you stream. At least at the beginning. Maybe later once you’ve built up a large enough following you can stray away from that unique selling proposition every once in a while, or even explore a new one.
Take a close look at your favorite streamers too and go through this exercise. You’ll start to see the things that you really like in a stream. That could really help you find your own focus and help find people who you might be able to network with. If their fans like them for their unique selling proposition and you feel like you’re in a similar vein they might like you!
An important note with all of this is that it’s better to start streaming and then define your unique selling proposition than it is to fret and worry over your unique selling proposition and never start streaming. There’s a surprising amount of technical skill that goes in to running a good stream and the only way you get that skill is through practice.
Ok, so what’s your unique selling proposition? Tell me in the comments below or send me a message on Twitch. I’d love to find more people who have a truly unique selling point.
