When to stream? Should you stream right from the start, or rather work on other content first?
Predictions for 2021 suggest the amount of unique live broadcasts to increase even further. In this article Streaming Live Academy members ENDWARO7, Seifer and GermanLuk answer the question:
When is it time to stream?
Social Following
We at SLA recommend to grow a social following first, before hitting the go live button. Having a social following will make for a better first stream, and you will be less likely to stream to 0 viewers. Streaming to 0 viewers is one of the most frustrating and discouraging aspects of being a streamer.
There is no right or wrong way to grow a social following. Any platform that allows you to create evergreen content, for example YouTube videos, Facebook posts, or even your own website is a good start for growing a following. Grow your following by providing value to your audience over an extended period of time.
Search friendly content is the fastest way to grow, after that you can slowly transition to more personal content.
Incorporate Live Streams Into Your Plan
Even if your social following is not at your desired goal yet, you can incorporate live streams into your social media plan early on.
When planning a live stream, plan the content you would like to discuss ahead of times, almost as you were preparing a presentation. That way, even if no one joins the live stream, you are able to talk about your topic, and upload the VOD later onto your social media channels and double down!
Time versus money
At the end of the day, live streaming requires a lot of time. You can plan content ahead of time and save some time by uploading the VOD to your socials as the daily piece of content, but you cannot speed up your live stream.
At SLA we compare the benefits of our live streams to the benefits of other work we could be doing at the same time. If you are making more money or can grow faster by creating content for YouTube, Facebook or your website, than you would be making or growing while you are live streaming, then not going live would make the most sense.
When to stream
There is nothing wrong with live streaming as a hobby. If you would like to simply go live and hangout with some friends, having a good time playing some video games, go for it. However if you are wanting to grow and make money being a streamer, you need to be a content creator first.
If you decide that you are ready to go live, I highly recommend you check out our FULL TWITCH GUIDE.
If you are a streamer and would like to share your content on our Streaming Live Academy website, please do not hesitate and fill out a form here.
