How to Raid on Twitch
Raiding on Twitch is a form of Twitch host that is typically done at the end of a streamer’s Livestream; they essentially take their viewers and direct them to another streamer which benefits all parties involved.
The streamer they host gain more viewers; and hopefully, they gain long-time fans.
And the viewer is able to discover someone who provides the same sort of content as the streamer they just came from.
While a Twitch raid generally benefits the person being raided rather than the person who sent their viewers in the first place, it can be a great way of networking and finding new like-minded streamers on the platform.
Which could be beneficial down the line.
What is a Twitch Raid?
Once a steamers broadcast has come to an end, they then host another channel on their own stream, which will redirect their current viewers to this new channel (typically the new streamer will be broadcasting content already).
Raiding, although doesn’t initially benefit the raider, can be a great way for people to network and help others discover new streamer that fit their gaming content needs.
For example: if you stream League of Legends and you constantly raid another League of Legends streamer, this will help to create some form of bond down the line;
- They might even host you back.
- Or they might be willing to Collab with you, playing LoL on stream with you to help increase your popularity within the community.
We’re going to talk about how you can raid on twitch as well as some strategies that can turn this simple networking strategy into one of the biggest helpers in growing your stream.
How to raid on Twitch?
Here we’re going to walk you through how to raid on Twitch in a step-by-step guide you can refer to once you’ve had a successful day of streaming and you want to direct your viewers to a channel similar to yours; helping you to start networking.
- In your own Twitch chat, you’re going to want to type the command “/raid username” – the username being the channel name you wish to raid, of course.
- After you press enter after typing the command, a 10-second timer will start. After that is finished, you will be given an option to raid the channel you typed in.
- Press the button to raid. If you do not press this button, the raid will automatically be started in 80 seconds after entering the command. Press the Cancel button if you’ve changed your mind.
Awesome!
You’ve just raided your first person on Twitch and potentially a new friend/colleague you can build a connection with further down the line.
But if you want to make this so, there is more that goes into raiding that simply typing in the command and sending your viewers to the new channel.
There are some things you can do during and after the raid which will increase your relationship with the streamer and allow you to build some form of mutual relationship with them; that can benefit both of your growth on this live streaming platform.
Tips for a successful Twitch raid
In no particular order, we are going to go over some of the things you should consider when you’re raiding a channel on Twitch as well as what you can do afterward to further cement your new relationship.
Choosing the right streamer:
Pick a streamer in your niche
If you’re unfamiliar with what a niche is, it’s essentially a specified segment of a market – and in Twitch terms, it’s basically what part of the gaming niche you and your channel finds itself.
For example, if you’re someone who plays League of Legends on stream, you fall within the League of Legends niche as well as the MOBA niche.
If you exclusively play Call of Duty on your stream you would fall under the Call of Duty niche as well as the FPS niche.
Your fans come to your channel and watch your streamers because you stream a game or type of game they like, it would only seem logical to raid someone who is also playing the same or similar game to you.
This will increase the likelihood of your viewers sticking around to watch the new streamer, which will further benefit the streamer you’ve raided and they will be very appreciative of your raid.
Also, it’s beneficial for you if you do end up building a relationship with this person as they are more relevant to you so they are in your niche.
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Make sure to pick someone entertaining
Although it’s great to choose someone who is within your niche, it will also be beneficial to choose someone who is actually entertaining – this should be pretty obvious though.
With that being said, they don’t necessarily have to be entertaining in the same way you are, or they don’t even need to be good at video games like you are – they just need to have some reason for watching them.
So searching for streamers before your raid can be a good idea, creating a list of potential channels you want to raid if they’re online when you’re about to end your stream.
Pick someone that is your size
You’re also going to want to think about the size of the audience the raided streamer has; they don’t have to have the same size as yours, but it would be beneficial that the numbers were similar.
If you were to raid one of the larger streamers on the platform, almost nothing would come of it, because the small number of viewers you would send would make no real difference to them.
Unlike a smaller streamer, where you could be doubling their viewers with your raid, which will have a much greater impact.
Remember to prepare your viewers
It may sound a little stupid, but your viewers are the main reason as to why you are going to be able to build a relationship with the streamer.
So it’s important to prepare your viewers.
Encouraging them to positively interact in the chat with everyone else who is in the stream already, which will make it a great experience for everyone.
It will also help to boost the spirits of the streamer, which is always a positive thing, and if your viewers a positively interacting, the streamer will be more encouraged to return the favor in the future as they now know your community has a sense of positive energy about it.
And who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Remember to stay and interact in chat too
Not only do you want your viewers to stay on the channel but you should too.
Again this will show the streamer that you care about them and their content and it will also encourage your viewers to stick around as they now get to talk to you and the streamer at the same time.
Making it a positive situation for all.
This time will also give you a chance to interact with the raided streamer and get to know them, again, helping you to develop some sort of relationship with them that could benefit you both down the line.
Shout them out on social media afterward
Beyond the fact that it’s always a good idea to just let your viewers know that your thankful for them stopping by during today’s stream, this time can be also spent letting them know you’re also grateful for interacting in the raided streamers chat.
Linking to their social account so your viewers can check them out on this platform too.
If you link their Twitter account, the raided streamer will more than likely see this and be even more appreciative of your efforts and perhaps will even thank you in the replies.
Further increasing your rapport.
This could even show more people in the niche that you’re a positive part of the community, opening up other avenues to connect with more streamers and viewers in the future.
Play it cool
You could even send them a private message on social media letting them know you enjoyed their stream and you were grateful for their hospitality with the new viewers.
Though you don’t want to get too pushy here, asking them for a collaboration right of the bat will make it look like you were doing it just to leach off of them.
Wait on doing this when you’ve raided them a few more times and actually built some form of relationship with them.
If you stream every day, and you’re looking for someone to raid, we would suggest having a few options available, instead of one particular person.
One of the big reasons is that the streamer could be offline when you’re looking to raid someone.
But another factor is that you don’t want to constantly raid the same person, your viewers will get bored of seeing the same face and you’ll also look pushy.
So make sure to have a few options and even get feedback from your viewers after a raid to see if they actually enjoyed watching the broadcaster after your stream ended.
What to do if you get raided
It is likely whilst streaming that you will get raided by another Twitch streamer too since they will also be trying to use this feature for networking.
Remember to thank the broadcaster for the raid and welcome all your new viewers to the stream; asking your new viewers what they like about the streamer they were just watching and you could even let them know you provide a similar sort of value.
Which will increase the likeliness of them sticking around for a while.
Even thanking the streamer on social media would also be a good idea to build a relationship with them.
And you could also use your new knowledge on how to host on Twitch to return the favor in the future.
Here is an article to get a deeper understanding of Twitch Raids and how they work.
