Ready to try streaming

Ready to try Streaming

Livestreaming is one of the most popular forms of online content today.  From its inception in the 1990s, where we saw niche webcasts that few people watched, to the multibillion-dollar industry it is today, it has come a long way.

You’ve undoubtedly watched some of your favorite streamers and thought I could do that! Now you want to throw your hat in the ring and start your own streaming channel. Your first thoughts about streaming could be very daunting however, I'm here to share some insights and tips that I’ve learned throughout my journey to get you started on yours.

Preparing for streaming

When I started streaming, I thought like many others that you can simply download OBS, load into a game, go live and people will find you. I quickly realized that with no real plan streaming would never be more than a hobby.  If I ever want to grow this hobby into more and a possible revenue-generating venture, I needed a plan. In all honesty, I have yet to completely figure out what my plan is, and accepting that streaming is a forever-changing media and that not everything will always go as planned has certainly helped. Here are some of the things I’m continually working on and trying to narrow down.

Niche

First is the niche, the segment of the market you'll fit into. There are plenty of popular niches already established that you can easily fit your content into, from gaming, sports, IRL (in real life), just chatting, and everything in between. These are just some of the general topics you can choose from before you attempt to narrow down your content further. Be mindful, as it is easy to put too much pressure on yourself when starting out, you don’t need to figure it all out right away. This is something I find myself doing, as I’m always asking myself what is my live stream about and where I fit in.  I have found that it is easier to manage when I break it all down. For example, my current channel is based on playing video games. If I want to be more specific, I can say that my focus is on bringing people together through multiplayer games. Then again if I break it down, even further, I can include that I enjoy shooter games such as Fortnite and Valorant. Although you might see other community-based content on my channel, my main focus right now is those games and bringing people together.

Audience

Next, we look at attempting to define your audience. This is a topic we will go into greater detail about in future posts, but I want to give a bit of information now. Starting to create content when you don’t know your audience can be difficult. Know that this will take time, and will develop as your audience grows. You will need to get to know your audience and identify what you are providing or what you want to provide and why they are coming to your stream.  That information can then be used to help improve key elements of your stream. My focus is to build an audience that feels welcomed and can join in and feel comfortable regardless of skill level. My community knows that we are all about having fun with a small mix of friendly competition. If you are just starting out and don’t have an audience yet, attempt to define your ideal audience and then create content around that. Don’t forget that this will change as you grow, and your content will evolve.

Goals

Let’s talk about setting goals for your stream. It will be hard to measure your growth or success if you don’t set goals for yourself. Choosing goals isn’t always intuitive when you are a new streamer. When you are starting out you want to focus on goals that are within your control.  I have seen and even done this myself where people set goals based on the number of followers or viewers.  The thing about setting that type of goal is that you can’t control who is going to be in your stream viewing your content and when or if someone will follow or subscribe. Instead, I recommend making goals in which the outcome is fully in your control. For instance, make a goal for yourself of how many times a week you will stream and work on being consistent at meeting that goal.  We will go into more detail on goal setting in future posts.

Promoting your stream

It is no secret that discoverability on streaming platforms needs improvement. If you want anyone to go watch your live stream, you will have to tell them about it. This is something I haven’t done much of and is the reason my live stream hasn’t grown as much as I would like. I am on all the social media platforms but don’t use them to their full potential to help promote my stream. Social media is a great way to show people your personality and engage with your community and other streamers/content creators. Be mindful of proper etiquette when using these tools and work towards building valuable and authentic connections.

Equipment

It’s important to remember that you don’t need all the expensive gear that you see so many big streamers using to start streaming.  The bare minimum that you need to start streaming is a PC and/or console, a microphone, a camera, a stable internet connection, and some streaming software. I actually recommend starting with what you have and building upon it as you grow your channel. I’ve always been a PC gamer, so I started streaming on my PC with a webcam, a yeti microphone, and Streamlabs OBS.

Let’s break down the different equipment

Camera: Although a camera is not required when first starting out, people like to see you and your reactions, so having a camera helps your audience connect with you. Now you don’t need anything expensive, you can do great things with a webcam and the correct lighting.

Microphone: To engage and talk with your audience, you will need a microphone and there are many options available. If you are just starting out you can use your gaming headset microphone, there are a variety of stand-alone USB microphones and finally, XLR microphones that require an audio interface.

Software: Software will depend on the streaming platform and the equipment you will be using. I have never streamed from a console, so I can’t speak to those but for PC, I recommend using OBS Studio. Do your research depending on your equipment and don't forget there are plenty of YouTube tutorials out there to help you out.

Internet connection: When uploading video and audio in real time, it is important to have a solid internet connection. Make sure you run a speed test to determine your download and upload speeds. These numbers will also help determine the best settings for your stream.

Final Thoughts

Livestreaming can be an incredibly rewarding experience. I hope you can take this new-found knowledge and utilize it to experience your first livestreaming session. Don't forget the most important thing is to have fun. If there is anything I missed or anything you would like me to touch on in future posts please leave it in the comments below.