Stream interaction usually gets some more viewers.
Giveaways might attract more viewers.
Maybe playing other games.

Most of the streams that have lots of viewers have either been around for a while or are of someone really well known (like an invite player for example).

You aren't going to get 100+ viewers overnight by doing certain things, but I'm sure you already knew that. The best thing you can do is to develop a viewer base by consistently streaming and consistently entertaining. Simply, the more you stream and the better you stream, the more followers (like actual people who watch your stream not just the follower count) will be devoted to watching your stream every time you hit "start streaming."

Interact with your chat, entertain people by doing stupid stuff, DON'T just sit in mumble and talk to your buddies. Talk to the chat. They're your new buddies.

Consistency. Try to stream a lot.
Quality. Make sure your audio mixing is good, try to use music as often as possible. Use nice clean graphics where appropriate.
I guess the rest is just personality and what you are doing. Lange and seanbud get so many viewers because they are hilarious, and nice people. They'll have 100+ viewers if they just sit on the main menu sometimes. Interact with your audience (which is probably the hardest part if you don't have an audience). Get people to come back.

Streaming when no one else is.

Getting girl gamers to talk on your stream.

Wine.
Lots and lots of wine.

The consensus seems to be streaming consistently. Does this mean daily? Weekly? At a set time?

oh god yes

Doing what you excel at is the best way to gain viewership. If you're funny, be funny. If you're really good at TF2, showcase your skills in PUGs/Scrims and share you're knowledge of the game with demo reviews. If you're a very social person, interact with chat a ton (even if you're not I'd still recommend at least acknowledging the chat every so often). Remember, gaining viewership takes time, unless you're a very high level player.

Watching/analyzing other streams helps too, if you like a certain stream, ask yourself why you like it.* If you check out a stream and leave in 5 minutes, ask yourself why you didn't enjoy the stream.* Then maybe even take a look at one of your own VODs to see what you like and don't like about your own stream.

I'm not a huge advocate of giving stuff away unless you really are in the giving mood. Sure you'll get a fair amount of viewers when you do it, but chances are most of the people are there just for the giveaway (this includes already established streams). With that said, if you have an absolute fuckton of items you want to give away, you could probably have some sort of policy of raffling off an item at the end of your stream each time you stream.

*not limited to TF2 streams

Also this so much:

Edit: If you have funny/amazing things happen, highlight it. You can submit it to stream highlights too 8)

Stream every time you play TF2. Do NOT stream other games you're playing until you build a base amount of viewers. Initially people will come to see you play TF2. If suddenly you're playing Dead Space 2, most of your viewers won't show up.

Once you get a base, find out what they like. I most of your viewers are there to watch you pub, don't stream your scrims, and vice versa. You'll lose viewers and be stagnant. That's really discouraging. One day you
ll habve 10-15 people watching, and the next it's just you.

Setup a youtube for matches, stream highlights, or other things. You'd be surprised at how many people sub to your twitch channel via youtube. I think I currently get more viewers there than from any other avenue.

Be a personality. Find something about you that is interesting and capitalize on it. Are you funny? Do you bounce off of friends well? Is your engi play interesting and unique? Know what sets you apart and do that as much as possible.

Giveaways are an easy way to get new followers. Fire up a few idle accounts, and you can easily gain enough metal to craft a hat every week. 4 idle accounts is ~$20 and a night of your PC being on. While $20 seems like a lot, there are twitch partners that spend more than that a day advertising their channel. You have to start somewhere. The information to idle is out there, and it can help you pull away from people who just play TF2 while streaming.

Be interactive. If you play on the same pub, make that IP available for people to join. Create a Steam group people can join. Accept friend requests and talk to your viewers. If you're trying to be an e-lebrity, act like it. Being a recluse in real life is one thing, don't do it online.

It takes perseverence. It might be MONTHS before you break into double digits, and even then an invite player may start their stream and knock you into a small handful of people watching. The key is to not get frustrated and to keep going.

I honestly didn't erad thethjread. I just know that people liek drunken pugs and when i do demo reviews/scrism.

Fun fact: he's drunk right now

Thankfully he already doesn't remember posting this.

People have already touched on some of the important factors so I'm just going to post about some other points.

You've got to enjoy streaming. It sounds silly, but some people don't get a lot of viewers because they don't enjoy it. If you don't enjoy something, it shows. So don't just stream because everyone else is doing it -- stream because you want to do it. Don't just stream something because you think it will get a lot of viewers -- stream it because you truly enjoy whatever it is that you're doing. Because some of the other things that people have talked about (streaming with consistency, improving the quality, talking to the stream, entertaining people) just won't happen unless you put time into doing it. If it's a chore to you, your viewers will see that and enjoy the stream less.

When you enjoy doing something, it shows. It doesn't matter if nobody else likes what you're doing -- if you enjoy it, it's attractive and contagious. Personally, I am not a fan of prop hunt because I don't think that hide-and-seek is all that fun. But when I watch Cole playing it, he's got a big ol' grin on his face and he looks like he's having so much fun that I just want to be there with him. It's great. I also really enjoy watching Reckful, a popular WoW streamer. I don't play WoW arena anymore, but he's really passionate about what he does and it keeps me coming back. Streaming is about sharing an experience. Find what makes you happy, and others will want to experience that with you.

Lastly, get some feedback from your stream. Everyone starting out always has "the regulars" -- the same handful of people that seem to show up every single time you go live. Ask them what they like about you and why they come back because they clearly enjoy something about your stream, and chances are someone else likes the same thing they do.

i asked this question to my award-winning stream and these are the answers i recieved are as follows (ACTUAL QUOTES):

I came for the reptilian shapeshifters
i can't read or see shit so i feel better about myself and my rig
i'm watching because i have no self-respect and also because you're even worse than videogames than me
cosplay
i came for the speed run
i came because don't want you to kill yourself
I learned how to close
i came for the dark souls and stayed because youre cool
for the arbitrary admin timeouts
watching a video about prewar berlin
your austistic thats y i watch u
i liked your "cooking show"
nothing
i think the real reason we watch you stream is because we're all expecting you to die on camera
you should rub ice on your nipples as much as possible

so, here it is take from it what you will friend :)

ALTERNATIVELY, IF YOU DONT LIKE THAT:

You better have silly voice.
Or scream at things at the same time.
Silly thumbnails
Play horror. Amnesia will yield the most subscribers.
Play Minecraft. Tons of autists flock to it.
Create retarded in-jokes.
THEN YOU CLOSE.

have some variety and read chat a lot, if you have a small amount of viewers read out like every single thing someone says to show them you read it

I remember that giving away items worked for shade while he was streaming in dates near to s12 lan. He named the streams something like "GIVEAWAY AT 200 VIEWERS" and the masses of poor ppl came.

Also some of my friends have told me that they like to watch POVs of skilled players playing the class they main. For instance, they wouldn't watch seanbud while he was playing medic for the beams because they wouldn't care that much about learning how to play medic.

There's basically two kinds of streamers that consistently get good numbers - you have the highest level players, and then you have people like truktruk. No, he's not amazing at TF2. But he is always very engaged with his viewers, and interacts constantly. I mean, he bought a damn green screen. He's also hilarious. The most successful streamers over time are the people that are talented and engaging (like Seanbd, Lange, and Pyyyour). Just stream on a consistent basis, and do your best to engage the viewers.
When someone closes a bad stream - they feel like they closed a youtube video. When someone closes a good stream - they feel like they closed a skype call with a bunch of people.
And if you don't feel like streaming one day, then don't. It takes a lot more energy than just playing the game, and you can burn out.

twitchtv pickup 101

1) be high status/high skill (invite ALPHA)
2) don't be boring

your stream will be interesting if you are an interesting person

unfortunately almost no one in this community meets this criteria

This is what I've gotten out of this post so far:

1. You must be competent in what you're streaming - This is why most Invite players streaming can get viewers so damn quick, they're bloody good at TF2.

2. You must be consistent in what you stream - Streaming a minimum quantity of TF2 is required for TFtv, but if you stream other stuff. Don't hop all over the place.

3. Talk to your viewers - They love being a part of the show.

4. Be Funny - But not at the deliberate expense of #1.

But if All Else Fails...

5. Be a Girl - Because... Duh?

I find the more knowledge being laid out is what really catches my attention because one reason why I watch other players play is to become better; therefore being descriptive of what you do and why.

Being drunk helps alot

I think there's a few different ways to be a "good" streamer:

1. Be a personality - Have a unique persona that you become when you stream
2. Be good - Be really good, bring something to the table that the average viewer won't be able to
3. Offer good insight - Explain your reasoning for things, or offer deep insight into plays, etc.
4. Lure people in with free shit - Don't actually deserve viewers but get them just by offering a chance to win something

Secret to Stream Success: Give away an unusual - it's like stream viewer crack. I pulled 150+ viewers the first night i streamed (and holy shit was the quality bad).

Even though 99% of the viewers didnt come back... it was motivating.

take your shirt off and be drunk

Giveaways, answering things in your chat and interacting with the chat. ask your chat what they want to see, or something.

You and I need to play Vanilla Arma 2 sometime then, that'll be worth a laugh or two :)