Twitch hosting lets you broadcast other streamer’s Twitch channel on your own, allowing your viewers to watch another channel without ever having to leave your channel’s chatroom. It’s a great tactic for established Twitch streamers to expose up-and-coming streamers to a larger fanbase and raise their fandom in turn. While it is most commonly used as a way to promote other Twitch users, it is a great strategy to keep your channel active while you aren’t broadcasting your own content.
While Twitch hosting isn’t entirely new, people are still confused as to how to host someone on Twitch. Fret not. We have put together a comprehensive guide to explain how to host on Twitch and how it can benefit you in turn. Let’s dive in.
How To Host On Twitch?
Here’s what most people don’t know. Everytime you are not streaming your own content, you can set up hosting on Twitch via both your mobile and PC/Mac, with next to no effort. However, remember that You can host one channel at a time, and up to three in a given 30-minute period. Here’s a breakdown of how to host on Twitch using two methods:
On Mac Or PC
- Fire up your web browser and open https://www.twitch.tv. click “Log In” in the top-right corner to sign into your Twitch account. Or alternately, click on “sign up” if you don’t have an account.
- Navigate to the top-right of the Twitch website and click on your profile icon. click “Channel” in the drop-down menu to head to your personal Twitch channel.
- Click on the chat window appearing on the right side of the page. Type /host followed by a channel name in your chat. For instance, if you want to host the main Twitch channel, you would have to type in “/Host Twitch” in your own chat. Your own viewers will now be able to see the channel you are hosting. While all the views on your channel will be added to the hosted channel’s views, the chatroom on your website will still remain active. However, note that its not as user friendly as Instagram and Twitter so it doesn’t autofill. Until you get the username correct, you won’t be able to host the intended channel.
- Once the channel is streaming on your page, you can view their stream on your page as well.
- To stop hosting a channel type /unhost in the chat room.
On Mobile
- Fire up the Twitch app, or download it from Google Play or App Store, depending on your mobile OS.
- Log in using your username and password or create an account if you don’t have one already.
- Tap your account icon. On iPads and iPhones, it appears on the upper-left corner, while it is located on the upper-right corner for Android.
- Tap the Chat tab, the 4th tab beneath your profile image, to display your Channel’s chat window.
- In the chat tab that appears, type /host followed by a channel name in your chat. For instance, if you want to host the main Twitch channel, you would have to type in “/Host Twitch” in your own chat. Your own viewers will now be able to see the channel you are hosting. While all the views on your channel will be added to the hosted channel’s views, the chatroom on your website will still remain active.
- Once the channel is streaming on your page, you can view their stream on your page as well.
- To stop hosting a channel type /unhost in the chat room.
Auto Host
The easiest way to host a channel is to auto host it. This can be accomplished by adding as many channels as you want to a list that your channel will automatically select from when you go offline. This will make sure that even when you are not streaming your own content, your channel is not sitting idle. The auto-host feature can select channels on the list via a pre-specified order or at random.
Auto hosting is pretty easy to set up. Simply click on your Twitch Channel settings, click on auto host, toggle it on, and start adding your favorite channels to the list right away.
How To Get Twitch Streamers To Host You?
As we have just witnessed, being hosted on Twitch can do wonders for your exposure. Just as you are considering hosting fellow Twitch streamers, it is prudent to get others to host you on their channels as well.
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Add A Host List
If you want to make others host you on their channels, a great way is to add a host list to your Twitch layout. This will encourage streamers to host your broadcast on their channels, since you will be adding them to a dynamic list of people who are hosting you, to your stream. They will take it as an opportunity to promote their own accounts. There are a lot of free tools you can use for this purpose, such as StreamLabs.
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Ask Around Friends and Acquaintances
While you can’t just ask strangers to host you all the time, you can ask your friends and acquaintances who are on Twitch to host your channel when they are not streaming.
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Ask Your Viewers
Finish each broadcast by not only reminding your viewers to follow and subscribe to your channel, but also remember to ask them to host you as well. Here’s the thing about avid Twitch users. Most are quite passionate about those they religiously follow on Twitch and would love to support them in any way they can. Simply asking them nicely should suffice. You can even guide them on how to host on Twitch to make it easier for them.
Why Should You Host Another Channel?
It is completely up to you whether you want to host someone on Twitch or not. It doesn’t contribute towards making you an active member of the Twitch community. However, there are plenty of reasons why you would want to host someone on Twitch!
Cross-Promotion
Most streamers host other channels to showcase their favorite streamers to their audience and let them know what kind of streams they enjoy; Twitch hosting offers you promotional opportunities for your channel as well. The target channel’s layout dictates how much promotional value you glean from hosting; whether the streamer mentions all hosts verbally or even displays the names of hosts onscreen, makes all the difference. The name of the host, however, always appears in a special message with the target channel’s chat. Twitch even has a Live Hosts category that displays all the accounts that are hosting at the moment. This gives your channel a great opportunity to be displayed. This is where previously unknown followers will notice your account and hoprfully follow you.
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Taper Off Your Stream
A great way to end your own stream is to start hosting another. A lot of Twitch streamers manually start streaming someone else’s broadcast as soon as they end theirs. This way they encourage their followers to jump over to the hosted channel. This type of “raiding” is all too common on Twitch.
Now that you know how to host on Twitch, what are you waiting for! Go ahead and make a list.