>>32474660No, based on all the data I have collected over the last several years, being subbed does not create more incentive to return as a viewer. Subs are only useful for regulars so that they have the emotes, and if you have a huge number of subs it sometimes helps your algorithmic performance in the recommended bar, but not by much. Here is a tiering of the most efficient ways to support a vtuber:
1. Show up to all of their streams and stay for the entire stream. This is genuinely better than money, a consistent view is the most valuable thing to a streamer because the more consistent viewers they have, the more that performance can snowball. The average person is more likely to click on a stream with 50 viewers over one with 10. This is just human psychology. If they can snowball, then the chances of donations increase over time, so this is the #1 thing everyone can do (Slight aside to this, Twitch only counts you as a viewer for a stream if you are watching 4 or less streams at the same time, in order to counteract data scraping bots. Never have more than 4 Twitch tabs open at once)
2. Interact with them on social media. (Tiktok/Twitter) Liking, retweeting and commenting on a vtubers posts helps them immensely, for the same reasons as lined out in #1, and is completely free
3. Buy things for them that directly impact stream quality through services like Throne. A tech upgrade like an iPhone, a new mic or mixer, or a capture card goes a long way to improving stream quality, and the more professional a stream looks, the more likely new viewers are to stick around
4. Donate directly to the streamer through Streamlabs/Streamelements/PayPal/KoFi. This is the most effective way aside from sending them a physical good to send them funds. On average the services take out a very small percentage fee, between 2-4%, so it is much better than...
5. Donating Bits. A vtuber gets 100% of all bits sent to them, with one bit equaling $0.01, but the person donating has to pay Twitch a base fee to purchase the bits, between 12-40% depending on the amount purchased at once, making them easy to use, but inefficient
6. Commissioning art for a vtuber can be extremely hit or miss. Sometimes art can be a very good signal-boost on social media, sometimes it has little to no effect. Social media engagement is extremely fickle on if it translates to more viewers, more often it does not, so this is a relatively low-tier way of supporting a streamer. Do it more because you want to make them happy than expecting a positive impact on their performance
7. Donating gift subs directly to regulars or subbing yourself are the most efficient form of sub use, but even then they are very sub-par as Twitch takes a whopping 50%~ of all sub income, so you pay $4.99 and the streamer gets $2.36~. The only thing worse than this is to donate subs as a sub-bomb, because not only are you losing all of that money directly into the pockets of Twitch, but it will often give subs to people that do not even show up to streams or will use the emotes, effectively wasting them