Home Features The Zaffageek guide to Streaming to Twitch from South Africa: Part 1 – So, you want to be a hero?

The Zaffageek guide to Streaming to Twitch from South Africa: Part 1 – So, you want to be a hero?

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So, you want to be a hero?

Twitch

I have always wanted to use that tagline from the Quest for Glory series of games (it probably shows my true age), but let’s replace hero, with “Twitch streamer”. In the South African context, this is becoming more prevalent, especially as fibre becomes more readily available all across this beautiful country. I am not going to bore you with information on Twitch, on the off chance that you already have a reasonable grasp on the service. This multi-part series will cover a bunch of topics, challenges or issues, that are mainly unique to streaming from South Africa.

Before we delve into the roller-coaster ride of madness that is, streaming on Twitch, we should start with an obvious introduction. After all, if you are looking for advice on Twitch streaming, you would not take it from someone who just started streaming a week ago, now would you?

I am Sarel “Zaffageek” Steyn, and I started my twitch journey in March 2015 while teaching English in South Korea. A year later I found myself returned to African soil, with a desire to continue streaming and in November of that same year, I threw myself into streaming completely and started my full-time streamer career.

When communities were announced early in 2017, I started the very first South African streaming community called TwitchZA, with the help of a few other like-minded streamers.

Fast-forward another year and I am on the cusp of celebrating my second year of streaming full-time on Twitch. I have learned a lot over the last few years, and I approached Geoff to see if he would be willing to help me share some of these insights with South Africa. Granted, some of these nuggets might seem strange and otherworldly to you, especially when it comes to bit-rate, among other things.

First things first

Why do you want to stream? Do you want internet fame? Do you want to make loads of money? Do you want to share your passion for gaming? There’re a lot of reasons why people start streaming, and, as you will see, there’s no correct answer. Just like the advice I want to share with you here, some of these things I have found to work for me…but they might not necessarily work for you.

If you came here to find the one golden rule for Twitch success, I am sorry to say, that there isn’t one. But do not despair, I have some good news. There are a few things that you should keep in mind when streaming, and these things are echoed across Twitch.

Consistency/schedule

Schedule

I cannot stress how important this is. If you have a schedule, carve that into stone tablets, go on top of the Twitter mountain and then keep to it. Twitch is a lot like television shows. Viewers tune in regularly and on a set schedule. If your schedule is inconsistent, then people won’t know when to catch your next stream.

“But what if I can only stream twice a week?”

Good question there, Susan. If that’s the case, then you stream twice a week, come hell or high water. However, the more streams you can push out per week, the better it is in the long run. I would recommend at the very least three streams on different days, every week.

Length (avoiding phallic joke at all costs)

How long should your average stream be? There’s no real golden number here, but there is a minimum that I have found works. Your stream should be 2 hours long at the very least, but I would suggest trying to hit the mark somewhere between 4 and 6 hours per stream.

I have had many potential streamers, both local and international, come into my chat and tell me that keeping people entertained for 4 hours is tough, and they wonder how I do it for 8 hours, 5 days a week. In this instance, it’s a case of practice makes perfect. Yes, I lose a lot of energy at about the 6-hour mark, but I have found that if I take a 5-minute break to stretch my legs every 2 hours, I can keep going for a lot longer. In essence, you should try for at least a 2-hour long stream but aim for 4 hours.

What do you need to stream?

streampc

This is an easier question to answer. A mid-to-high range PC, a decent internet connection, and some games. Obviously, a Twitch account wouldn’t hurt and a webcam is entirely optional. Oh, and don’t forget a decent microphone. To paraphrase the late TotalBiscuit, “If your audio isn’t good, then people won’t listen to you.”

Now keep in mind that I moved from South Korea back to South Africa, and I still continued to stream. At that time, fibre connections was still a myth in South Africa, and it still is a myth in my hometown, to be honest. I streamed on a 10mb VDSL connection, and yes, the evidence is still on my Twitch channel to this day. I moved from a country where I paid $5 a month for a 100/100 line, to a country where I paid R 1000 for a 10mb VDSL line, and I still streamed.

If you have all the above-mentioned gear, what is preventing you from firing up your first stream? In the next article, I will be covering a few more questions that I get asked – and then go into more detail on the back-end of running a stream. You can also catch me live 5 days a week, with a minimum of 8 hours a day over at twitch.tv/zaffa_geek.

Last Updated: August 15, 2018

16 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief

    August 14, 2018 at 14:55

    2-4 hours per stream?

    Nee moer

    Reply

  2. Admiral Chief

    August 14, 2018 at 14:55

    2-4 hours per stream?

    Nee moer

    Reply

  3. Kromas

    August 14, 2018 at 14:55

    “Length (avoiding phallic joke at all costs)” You just lost me as a viewer. Unless you can make a phallic joke in a reply. 😛

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      August 15, 2018 at 03:21

      What a deeeek

      Reply

    • ZaffaGeek

      August 15, 2018 at 16:56

      I don’t think you will get the jizzed of the joke…

      Reply

    • ZaffaGeek

      August 15, 2018 at 16:56

      I don’t think you will get the jizzed of the joke…

      Reply

      • Kromas

        August 16, 2018 at 06:47

        Hahaha …. okay you got me.

        Reply

  4. Viper_ZA

    August 14, 2018 at 14:55

    I rarely have time to play games, never mind streaming!

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      August 14, 2018 at 15:09

      Preach

      Reply

  5. Craig "CrAiGiSh" Dodd

    August 14, 2018 at 14:57

    My FOMO of not being a streamer is something that plagues me everyday 🙁

    Reply

    • Dylan Buckle

      August 15, 2018 at 21:04

      JOIN US

      Reply

  6. Original Heretic

    August 14, 2018 at 14:58

    • MonsterCheddar

      August 14, 2018 at 15:00

      THIS

      Reply

  7. Admiral Chief

    August 14, 2018 at 15:11

    Anyone interested in watching an above average looking white male drink beer and play Fortnite Save the World with co-star girlfriend shaking her head at my PC antics?

    Also, donations welcome

    Reply

  8. Mike Knepp

    August 15, 2018 at 18:35

    Heeeyy! Immashue here 🙂 excellent write up sir! I love your streams and watching you grow! Cant wait for the next article!

    Reply

    • ZaffaGeek

      August 15, 2018 at 20:20

      Thanks man 😀

      Reply

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