In the past, making a living through gaming was uncommon. Gaming was nothing more than a pastime or hobby. Now, gaming has evolved into a whole industry with sponsorships, competitions with thousands of spectators live, and even more online, and even more content creators on YouTube and Twitch that are based on gaming. The most notable figures are Pewdiepie, DrDisRespect and Shroud amongst many others.
Imagine, recording yourself and your gameplay and posting it online earns you enough to make a living, sounds simple right? Truth be told, it is not. Here’s why:
Stumbling First Steps
Creating a YouTube channel is easy. The rest? Difficult. You’d need at least decent equipment in order to produce quality content for your channel, which requires money to purchase. And more often than not, starting YouTubers often have a job that earns them an income where they can spend on better equipment.
The job would take up time, leaving very little to film, edit and curate the content. It is not the end of the world though. Many YouTubers have come forth with their initial troubles, stating that commitment and discipline are key factors for a YouTuber to succeed.
On the flip side, many others have failed, dropping off after being too occupied with their jobs, school, or other commitments. Preparing a schedule will be about to help you with time management and ensure that you are posting regularly.
That’s not all. Gamers who aren’t keen on content creation have created a subsection where they coach or carry the people who are willing to pay for their services. You can find such people on the Gank app and hire them! So if content creation isn’t your thing but you find yourself really good at a game, you can try earning some money for yourself by listing your services under Gank!
Losing Motivation
So you got your equipment. You got the quality content that you find hilarious. You go to your dashboard and to your dismay, your view count’s no higher than 20. “Hey, that’s not bad” you thought to yourself, until you realized you checked your video 19 times after posting it to make sure everything was correct. Tough times. This scenario is not uncommon to any starting content creator. It is easy to get lost in the thoughts of earning big bucks and getting millions of views like the big YouTubers you see out there.
But worry not, they have all been there too. Setting your sights on the future and what you can achieve will allow you to get through this tough time. Giving up will not. So be patient, hang in there and keep posting! You’ll get there someday.
Running out of Ideas
To be a good content creator, it is essential that you stay relevant and keep your content fresh for your audience. Sometimes, it gets boring watching the same thing again and again. What’s worse is when you can’t figure out new content ideas for your channels. You feel stuck, lost, and hopeless. Fret not, it is almost a rite of passage for any big YouTubers.
Keeping up with trendy topics and games is a good move. Revisiting retro games can also be refreshing as a dose of nostalgia gets the conversation going as your audience can reminisce about how annoying the water temple level in Legend of Zelda was.
You can also challenge yourself by handicapping yourself while still playing the same game. What’s more entertaining than seeing someone beating Dark Souls on the hardest difficulty? Doing it blindfolded? Playing with your feet? The possibilities are endless! You can even record yourself having a meaningful interaction with a gamer you met on Gank, be it as their coach, or their student, or just a casual friend!
