There’s a lot of advice out there about Twitch Goals.
With 2018 in full swing, I’ve noticed a lot of talk about setting new Twitch goals from big and small streamers alike.
I’ve also noticed a lot of different opinions on what “good” goal-setting looks like, and debate over whether setting goals even matters at all. Just the other day, #ResolutionsGuaranteedToFail and #ResolutionsAreMayhem were trending on Twitter.
With so many different ideas out there, I set out to find out a few things:
Does goal-setting matter?
If so, what kinds of goals are best?
What kinds of goals are best for Twitch Streamers in particular?
After looking through a ton of scientific studies on goal-setting, I came to the following conclusion:
Everybody’s kinda right, and everybody’s also pretty wrong.
Does Goal Setting Matter?
In a word – yes.
Actually, it matters a lot.
Hundreds of studies have shown conclusively that people who set goals outperform those who don’t, in every environment. School, athletics, business – setting goals is helpful to every area.
In fact, the most accepted piece of research I found through this whole study was that, if nothing else, you should at least set SOME goal, regardless of what it is. Even vague goals are more helpful then no goals at all.
With that said, the types of goals you set do make a difference.
What Types of Goals Are Most Effective?
Research shows that when setting goals for yourself, you will be most successful with goals that are:
Long-Term AND Short-Term
Studies have found that long-term and short-term goals are both effective for motivation. The best solution is to incorporate both types of goals into your strategy (and even medium-term, if you’re feeling frisky).
Make sure to use both types! With only short-term goals, you’ll feel like you aren’t going anywhere in the future; with only long-term goals, you’ll feel like you’re not making any notable progress.
Controllable
To sum up this idea, researchers say that you have to be able to answer the “how.” How are you going to accomplish your goal? What specifically can you control?
If you have a goal based on numbers like followers or friends, be sure to work out how you can reach that goal with actionable strategies, not blind hope. More on this later.
Meaningful
“Even though the goals may be SMART, if [subjects] don’t perceive them as meaningful or valued, their engagement with goal attainment progress will diminish” (Turkay)
Be sure that your goal means something to you. Think about the why behind the what!
Specific
In many studies, researchers found that specific, measurable goals were far more effective than broad generalizations. Additionally, the more specific a goal, the more (generally) that it was likely to be completed.
For example, consider these three goals:
Okay – I will stream more
Better – I will stream once a week
Best – I will stream every Wednesday
Challenging
This one was my favorite. There are a good number of studies that stress the importance of a challenge for making meaningful goals.
It’s all about the payoff! Researchers found that when subjects set goals slightly outside their comfort range (but not absurd), subjects were both more motivated and more likely to achieve those goals. Plus, they were happier when they succeeded.
Okay, but how does this relate to Twitch?
Good question. Let’s take two extremely common Twitch Goals, and look at how they line up with these ideas.
Goal #1: I want to be a partner
This is by far the biggest goal I see for Twitch streamers, and with good cause. Partnership is sweet.
If you’re looking to really push for partner, you need to think of partnership as more of a vision than a goal. Make it something that you one day see yourself achieving.
For setting actual goals, it’s a better idea to look at the specific requirements for making partner.
What’s required for Partnership on Twitch:
Stream for 25 hours in the last 30 days
This is a great goal. Specific, measurable, controllable, short-term, and (most likely) challenging.
Also meaningful, since it falls under the umbrella of partnership.
Stream for 12 unique days in the last 30 days
Same thing here. Meets all the requirements.
Reach 75 average viewers in the last 30 days
This is where it gets tricky. Reaching 75 average viewers is something that you don’t have control over. It meets all of the other requirements, but since you don’t have direct control over it, it’s not a good goal. Instead, it’s a better idea to break this requirement down into a sub-goal that you can control
There’s a lot of different ways you could do this – meet 5 new streamers a day, send a message to 5 followers a day, etc.
The how is up to you. Just make sure it’s something you can control!
Goal #2: I want to be an affiliate
It’s sort of surprising that so many people have Partner as a goal, when they aren’t even affiliates yet!
If you’re a new streamer (or just not affiliated yet), getting Affiliate should be your #1 goal on Twitch. Unlike Partnership, Affiliate is a much more controllable goal.
What’s required for Affiliation on Twitch:
Stream for 8 hours in the last 30 days
EZPZ. Checks off every box on our list.
Stream for 7 unique days in the last 30 days
Ditto.
Reach 3 average viewers in the last 30 days
This is less controllable, but at such a low number, you can arguably control this goal by creating a simple sub-goal.
Example: ask 3 friends to come to the stream each time you go live. Instead of relying on spontaneous viewers, you control the requirement.
Reach 50 followers
Again, less controllable than stream time, but still not too bad. Remember to focus on a small sub-goal that can help you achieve this.
Example: Instead of waiting for people to follow, connect & interact with 50 other streamers (one per day) to drive progress yourself.
The difference between Partner and Affiliate is how difficult it is to reach that concurrent viewer mark. In terms of control, it’s much more feasible to ask 3 friends to come watch your stream than 75.
Setting Twitch Goals in 2018
If you take nothing else away from this post, at least set yourself a goal on Twitch.
Twitch Goals are a great way to set yourself apart from the competition, and also a good way to stay motivated when things get tough.
Make sure to set goals that are Short-Term and Long-Term. If you’re aiming for Partnership, I recommend that you also set yourself some sub-goals that you can achieve more quickly. Partnership is definitely a long-term kind of goal, and usually a lot longer than people think.
We’ll be sharing our own goals for 2018 on our Podcast and YouTube, so be sure to stop by if you want to see what we’ve got planned (hint – big things coming 😁)
What are your Twitch Goals for 2018? Leave a comment below letting us know!
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