Guide To Creating Goals
A step-by-step approach towards creating and achieving goals within your streaming journey
As a content creator, someone might ask you what your goals are and what you hope to make out of your streaming journey. If you are new to streaming, you may feel daunted and overwhelmed when taking the first steps towards your future. That’s why I was inspired to create this step-by-step guide to help beginners and aspiring streamers create reasonable and appropriate goals for themselves in hopes of creating the blueprint for a successful future.
Step 1: Creating & Organizing Goals
• On a piece of paper or on your phone, brainstorm ideas that you have when it comes to how you envision yourself and the community that you’re trying to build. Sky’s the limit, don’t be afraid to dream and plan big.
• Take your list of ideas and organize them in order of priority. Think about which idea you want to turn into a reality first, consider which ideas may take minimal amounts of time and which ideas may take longer to pull together and complete. Take your list of ideas and change the name from ideas to goals. Identify which large goals may not be achievable until smaller goals are met.
• For now, choose 3 short term goals and only 1 long term goal to focus on. This can help prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed. Give yourself a reasonable time frame of when you desire to achieve these goals. As you get more in the habit of creating and working towards your goals, you will have a deeper understanding of the workload required to reach them.
Step 2: Actively Work Towards Each Goal
• Consistency is key and I can’t stress this enough. Your goals might look like a mountain, but with consistent action you will get closer to the top each and every day. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t achieve them in the desired time that you originally planned. Don’t give up, keep going, keep trying, keep streaming, and keep pushing towards the vision you are trying to build.
• Speak to your audience about your goals. Be transparent about what you have or have not achieved. Transparency may create the opportunity to inspire others with common interests to create similar goals for themselves or may potentially inspire your supporters to help you get closer to achieving your own goals.
• Identify your strengths and weaknesses, double down where you are strong and don’t be afraid to ask for help where you are weak. For example, my greatest strength is networking and creating connections. However, streaming can be a very technical craft that requires a familiarity with various hardware and software and I am by no means a tech savvy streamer. I had to reach out for help in areas beyond my knowledge so that I could spend more time on working on areas where I can excel.
Step 3: Celebrate Accomplishments
• After you have completed a goal, remember to celebrate! Let your community know what you have accomplished and thank those who got involved to help.
Some Ideas of Celebrations for Goal Achievements
Get your community involved in celebrating success!
• Host a mini giveaway, whether it be merchandise or an in-game item, gift card, etc.
• Host a contest, whether it be a fun virtual mini game or game in your own discord server, a post on social media, etc.
• Create reasonable prize ideas for the winner(s).
Prize Ideas
• Auto Host List, on your designated streaming platform
• VIP Chat List, on your designated streaming platform
• VIP Stream, on either a discord server, or your designated streaming platform
• Free Sub Gift to your channel
• Free Sub Gift to a channel of the winner’s choice
• Raid Request, allow the winner to choose who’s channel you raid at the end of your own stream
• IGN – Name an in-game item after the winner (like a Minecraft weapon, name one of your farm animals in Stardew Valley after the winner, etc.)
• Shout Outs – give the winner or perhaps the winner’s channel a shout out in your own Discord server or in your own stream chat.
Setting goals is vital. Goals help motivate you to grow. Being transparent has the potential to inspire or encourage others. Consistency is key. Remember to celebrate, even in the smallest ways, celebrating your victories helps boost engagement by allowing your community to get involved. Celebrate each other’s success as if it’s your own, be thankful to the ones who have stepped in to help, and keep goal chasing. One day, you will get there!
