Twitch

Twitch Teams Explained

Community and collaboration are the keys to success when it comes to streaming. If you’ve found yourself struggling to build your following and wonder how so many streamers seem to be collaborating and growing, then you need to join a Twitch Team.

Check out our full guide on Twitch Teams and learn how joining a team can help grow your channel, network and expand your creative potential.

What are Twitch Teams?

Twitch Team Corsair

Twitch Teams is a Twitch Partner Program feature that unites and connects streamers together as a community. Being part of a Twitch Team places streamers under the same banner; promoting greater social interaction, community growth and good working relationships amongst streamers. Teams are typically created around a common goal, streaming method or game as a way for like-minded individuals to connect and expand into a greater community.

How do Twitch Teams work?

Twitch Teams work like most online communities. They provide a community around a common interest, but with added networking and business-building benefits. By joining a team, you get to showcase the team name on your channel and get placed in the stream team member list, which automatically features members who are live at the top. 

Now these visual add-ons are all well and good, but it’s the potential partnerships outside of Twitch integrations that are the real benefit. You’ll often see members of the same team conducting multi-streams, hosting teammates and branching out into podcasts and videos. Any sort of collaborative effort that you’re interested in and that helps grow your community and team should be explored.

In reality, these Twitch Teams are really creative incubators. If you’re looking to build on your streaming career, collaborate on other media projects or just network with other mid-to-high level influencers, being part of a team is a must.

How do you join a Twitch Team?

In order to join a team, you must first receive a team invite from a current member. Once you’ve received the invite: 

  1. Check your settings.
  2. Click the Channels and Videos tab.
  3. Scroll down to the My Teams section.
  4. Click accept on your current team invite to join.

And you’re in! It’s really that simple and only requires you reaching out to a current member beforehand. You’ll find that joining a team-first is often the best course of action, and allows you to meet and learn from experienced streamers and teammates. 

You can always create your own team at a later time, but gaining that networking experience at the start is vital.

Where you can find teams

When looking for a Twitch Team to join, there are a few important questions to ask yourself.

  1. Is the team active and do they see a high level of viewership?
  2. Does the team share your interest or streaming niche?

You don’t want to be part of a team with members that barely stream, which eliminates any of the networking and collaboration benefits from joining. At the same time, you don’t want to join a team that doesn’t care about your interests or streaming content. You’ll have to find a community that balances these two attributes. 

Luckily, there are several Twitch analytics tools, such as Sullygnome, that can help you research potential Stream Teams to join. Additionally, you can follow or reach out to streamers on Twitter or Discord and even find Reddit threads such as this mega-thread, to get an idea of what is available to you. 

See the most watched or most active Twitch teams here: https://sullygnome.com/teams/mostwatched

Twitch Teams - Top 10

You’ll have to do your own research, but finding the right team is well worth the effort.

Different types of Twitch Teams

Here’s a quick rundown of the common types of Twitch Teams you’ll encounter when researching. It’s good to keep these parameters in mind to better help you identify which team type is right for you and your goals.

  • Open Communities (500+): These teams are absolutely massive and, more than likely, will let almost anyone in. There is typically no vetting process and joining is usually as simple as joining a Discord channel and messaging the owner. Don’t expect a great amount of collaboration or networking in these communities. Most members join solely for the stream title benefit and the large pool of people that may want to stream. 
  • Big Teams (100-500): While slightly smaller than Open Communities,  Big Teams are still all about size and recognition. While some of these teams started as dedicated networking groups, they simply grew in popularity and size. You’ll have a better chance at collaborating with fellow teammates while still enjoying the larger community, but don’t expect to find an incredibly focused group of streamers here.
  • Networking Teams (<100): Networking teams are perfect for those that want to make connections within a larger community. The members are often some of the most dedicated streamers around and are looking to support one another while growing together. If you’re looking to grow your channel and professional community, this type of team is for you.
  • Streamer Communities - You’ll come across these types of teams if you happen to follow larger streamers. These types of groups are created for followers and friends of streamers and act more like a community forum rather than a Stream Team. It still may be worth joining or creating one of these to build a community of followers and regularly engage with them.
  • Sponsored - Sponsored teams are the most exclusive groups, and are limited to streamers that are sponsored by companies and brands. This team type is the most difficult to get into and requires your complete support and endorsement of a brand.

How to determine which Twitch Team(s) you should join

How can Twitch Teams help you grow?

If you’re looking to seriously grow your presence on Twitch, joining a Twitch Team is an absolute necessity. The simplest benefit is the addition of the team name on your Twitch channel, immediately associating you with that community. Your channel will also be featured in the left-hand member list and regularly shift to the top whenever you go live.

Now the real benefit of joining a team is the opportunity to network with other creators, especially if you join a mid-size networking group. Aside from drawing viewership between channels, you get greater opportunities to collaborate, co-stream and branch out into other media such as podcasting and videos. By being part of a Stream Team, you have more resources, more opportunities and a greater potential audience than you would ever have alone. 

The long and short of it is that if you’re looking to grow, conduct creative experiments or build a community of streamers you need to join a team. 

How many teams can you be in?

If you’re simply looking to join, there is no limit to the amount of Twitch Teams you can be a part of. Keep in mind that if you achieve partner status and want to create a team, you’ll be limited to two teams that you can start and lead.

Pros and Cons of a Twitch Team

Pros:

  • Team name on your Twitch channel
  • Added to the active member list which features you near the top, whenever you go live.
  • Greater reach and viewership due to cross-promotion between channels.
  • Networking and collaborative opportunities between channels and creators.
  • Greater opportunities for sponsorships.

Cons:

  • Teams can be massive and generalized, and provide none of the networking or collaborative benefits.
  • Teams are self-regulated and can become toxic environments with poor leadership.
  • Teams may require specific streaming schedules or other strict guidelines.
  • If streamers break Twitch guidelines or cause other sorts of legal trouble, it may affect you and the rest of the team by association.

How to create a Twitch Team

In order to make a Twitch Team, you must first achieve Twitch Partner status. 

Once you’re a Twitch Partner, you must request a new team by opening a ticket while logged into your Partner Account. In your ticket, provide the following information:

  1. Team Page URL (I.e., www.twitch.tv/team/teamname)
  2. Team Display Name
  3. Twitch account to own/edit

Keep in mind that Partners are limited to the creation of two teams. If you delete or transfer ownership of a team, you will not be allowed to make additional creation requests. Additionally, only one account can own or edit a Twitch Team and be sure you like the URL because it cannot be changed once it is set.

How to add people to your Team

If you are the team owner and your team page has been set up, you can begin to add people to your team. To access your team, navigate to the My Teams section under the Channels and Videos tab of your Channel Settings and click on your team name.

Once there, click Edit to view the Team Dashboard which allows you to check and edit:

  • Revenue
  • Stats
  • Members
  • Featured Channels
  • General Settings

It’s here that you can invite or remove members from your team, as well as deciding on the priority for streamers that are online at the same time. To invite new members, simply add their Twitch name to your roster and it’ll automatically send a request. Once they’ve accepted, they will become a member of your Team.

How to edit a Twitch Team

As mentioned in the above section, once you get to your Team Dashboard, you can check and edit:

  • Revenue: View revenue generated by members of they’ve opted in to share this with you.
  • Stats: View team member channel stats if they’ve opted in to share this with you.
  • Members: Invite or remove team members
  • Featured Channels: Choose channels to feature if none of your team is currently live.
  • General Settings: Change everything on your teams page, including the team display name, the public description, logo, banner and background image.

Any time you’re looking to make any changes to your team, make sure you start at your Team Dashboard. You’ll be able to find everything available to you through Twitch and can easily edit the team page and members here.

How to leave a team

If you’ve found that a team doesn’t fit your goals or standards, you may find yourself wanting to leave. In order to leave a team, complete the following steps:

  1. Visit your Dashboard and click Channel Settings.
  2. Click Channel and Videos then click My Teams and finally Settings.
  3. Lastly, click Remove and select the trash can icon to remove yourself.

Be sure to contact the owner as a courtesy before you leave. You never know if you may interact with them again or if they are part of a future community you may be looking to join. Always strive to develop healthy relationships with fellow streamers and leave every community on good terms.

Conclusion

In a world where professional streaming is becoming extremely common, collaboration and support are almost necessary to get ahead of the competition. Joining or creating a Twitch Team covers all these bases, and is super easy to do. Hopefully, this guide has equipped you with all of the info you’ll need to find or create the right community for you and your goals.

For more streaming guides like this, check out our Resources for Streamers section. We’re constantly bringing you more updates and the latest trends in professional streaming.

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