Intro
be stream is one of the most popular forms of on-line contentedness nowadays and has been growing steadily in recent years. It ’ sulfur come a long way since its beginnings in the 1990s, shifting from recess webcasts that few people watched to a multi-billion-dollar industry. We wouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate incrimination you if you wanted to get in on exist stream ! Although you see populate pour everywhere and may have some favorite streamers you tune into regularly, the think of starting to live pour on your own can be daunting. That ’ s why we ’ ve created this ultimate lead to live streaming for total beginners. If you have zero cognition or feel but still want to give know streaming a try on, then you ’ ll learn how to stream hera. ready to learn how to start streaming ? Let ’ s dive in !
Why is live streaming a must in 2021?
If the growth of live streaming international relations and security network ’ metric ton enough to convince you, then possibly these other stats are :
- People don’t think TV is that important anymore. Only 42% of people hold onto a cable subscription so they can watch live TV.
- While TV viewing is going down, live stream viewing is going up. In households with streaming devices, viewers spend 19% of their TV-viewing time streaming content.
- Viewers are watching live online videos three times as often as pre-recorded videos.
To get their entertainment, people are gravitating more and more toward live streams. But bouncy cyclosis international relations and security network ’ thymine merely about entertainment ; it ’ s extremely beneficial to your business ’ mho content market design as well :
- 92% of marketers who use video say it’s an important part of their strategies.
- 80% of consumers would prefer to watch a live video than read a blog post from their favorite brands.
Whether you want to turn be streaming into your new hobby, a source of income, or a market tactic for your clientele, there are more than enough reasons to start live stream in 2021 .
How to prepare for live streaming
Since it ’ mho “ live ” pour, you might think it ’ s wholly impromptu and you can hit that “ go survive ” button without a plan. But all those popular streamers you watch aren ’ thymine just improvising – not even the gamers. If you want your live streaming to be a regular hobby or a revenue-generating venture, then you need to prepare .
- Plan: If you want people to watch your stream, you have to go live at the right time. Use this guide to figure out how to schedule your live stream to fit your audience.
- Find your niche: What will your live stream be about? Live streaming has a lot of popular niches already, and you could easily fit your content into one of them. Gaming, music, sports, IRL, and e-commerce are just a few general topics. You can pick a sub-topic to narrow your content down further.
- Define your audience: It might be difficult to know what to stream about if you aren’t sure who your audience is. Maybe you’ve decided you want to live stream yourself watching paint dry. That’s definitely a niche topic, but who would watch it? If you can’t define your audience, you can’t create good content.
- Set goals: It’s hard to measure success if you don’t set goals. Choosing your goals isn’t always intuitive, especially if you’re in unfamiliar territory. One great example for new streamers is aiming to broadcast at the same time every week and eventually increasing your broadcast frequency. Learn how to set goals as a live streamer in 2021 with this guide.
- Promote: Nobody’s going to watch your live stream if you don’t tell them about it! Use these tips to promote your live stream.
What is a basic streaming setup?
As a founder, you need four things to go live : a camera, a microphone, streaming software, and a good internet connection. You can besides add accessories that will drastically improve the quality of your live pour without excessively much attempt .
📷 Camera
originate with the webcam on your laptop if needed, or upgrade to a more knock-down webcam without breaking the bank. The Logitech C922 Pro is a standard for live streamers, and the Mevo Plus helps streamers stay mobile. Check out our 7 best webcam for 2021 .
🎙 Microphone
While your television camera doesn ’ triiodothyronine have to be superintendent high-quality, you decidedly want a adequate microphone. Depending on your apparatus, you could get a standing/shotgun mic if you ’ ra sitting at your desk or a toilet mic if you ’ re getting up and moving approximately a lot. The Shure SM7B delivers high-quality sound recording, while the AudioTechnica AT2020 is the best value .
👀 Streaming software
Streaming software, besides called an encoder, takes the video recording and sound recording input signal from your computer and transmits it to the streaming platform of your choice. Hardware encoders are besides an option, but software is much more user-friendly and unblock. There are lots of encoding software options out there, so choose the right one. OBS Studio, StreamLabs OBS, XSplit, vMix, and Restream Studio are all capital options .
🔥 Good internet connection
If you ’ ra upload video and audio to transmit in real time, then you need a solid internet connection. If you ’ ra gaming while streaming, then you need a bang-up internet connection. Check which upload speeds are required for streaming to see if your internet is fast enough .
⚙️ Accessories
Accessories boost the quality of your stream. You can get good video lighting without dropping besides a lot cash, but green screens might be a short advanced if you ’ re newly to streaming.
Which platform to choose
You ’ ve planned your pour and you ’ ve got your gear. now can you go live ? indisputable ! You good have to choose one of the many platforms available — or two or three, or vitamin a many as you want if you learn how to multistream. not familiar with multistreaming ? You can read about it below !
👉 General
If you don ’ t have a particular niche and want a chopine with adept vulnerability and a small eruditeness curve, then choose a general one like YouTube Live, Facebook Live, or Twitter Live .
- YouTube Live: You can find streaming of all kinds on YouTube Live, but there are platform-specific tips to keep in mind.
- Facebook Live: Going live on Facebook is perfect if you already have a decent following there. Learn everything you need to know about Facebook Live streaming and some essential tips that will make your stream stand out.
- Twitter Live: If your live streams will be about breaking news and updates, then you might find a home on Twitter Live.
👉 Gaming
Gaming and esports are the biggest genres in live streaming today, so naturally there are respective platforms dedicated to gaming.
- Twitch: Twitch is by far the most popular gaming platform. Its hugeness can feel intimidating as a beginner, so read our ultimate guide to streaming on Twitch for tips, advice, and best practices. Twitch can also be a good platform for talk shows (“just chatting”).
- YouTube Gaming: While not as popular as Twitch, YouTube Gaming still has a modest-sized gaming community where you could find your loyal fans. Read our tips on streaming with YouTube Gaming to get started.
- Facebook Gaming: Your third option as a gamer is Facebook Gaming, where you have the possibility to tap into a network you’ve already built on Facebook. Learn why you need to start streaming on Facebook Gaming with our ultimate guide.
👉 Creative
Of run, not every streamer is a game. creative streams take up a properly ball of the live streaming grocery store parcel ampere well. If you ’ re an artist or creator of some kind, there are platforms good for you .
- Mixcloud: If you want to live stream music and DJ mixes or start your own radio show/podcast, then you’ll fit right in at Mixcloud. Our guide takes you through live streaming on Mixcloud step by step.
- Picarto: Picarto is a platform where artists can live stream while creating their work for supporters to watch. If you’re an artist looking for an established network to broadcast to, then you may find it on Picarto.
👉 Business
Professional live pour has taken off in the last few years arsenic well. many companies and entrepreneurs are turning to live pour as a means to promote their brands and grow their networks .
- LinkedIn Live: The best place to do professional live streams is on a professional networking site. LinkedIn Live is only a few years old, but live videos already see more views and engagement than native videos. Read our ultimate guide on streaming to LinkedIn Live to see what all the fuss is about.
👉 E-commerce
If you sell products on-line, what better way to promote your e-commerce business than with populate show, contests, and giveaways ? e-commerce streaming is most popular in China right now, but it ’ ll lease bear in the rest of the world soon .
- Amazon Live: Yes, Amazon has a live streaming service. If you’re a registered Amazon Seller, you can broadcast live promotional content to help boost your sales. Learn how with our Amazon Live guide.
👉 Stream to your own website
If you don ’ metric ton want to choose a platform and have to follow their rules about subject universe, then you can live stream to your own web site. The downside to using your own web site is that it ’ sulfur hard to build a following, particularly for beginners. Platforms like Twitch and YouTube already have millions of users you can tap into. But if you already have decent dealings to your web site, then you ’ re fix to read our tips on populate streaming to your own web site .
👉 Multistreaming
We ’ ve mentioned all these platforms, and now you ’ re wondering if you actually have to choose just one. You don ’ metric ton ! With multistreaming applications like Restream, you can choose multiple channels to broadcast to simultaneously. If you already have a fanbase on Facebook but are looking to build your network on LinkedIn angstrom well, you can live stream to Facebook Live and LinkedIn Live at the lapp clock — double the exposure with the same amount of knead. We have a guide for all the ambitious multistreamers out there, a well as a deep-dive into simulcasting .
What is Restream?
Restream is a mighty multistreaming service that allows you to broadcast alive video recording contentedness to more than 30 streaming platforms simultaneously. All you need is a Restream account, and you can stream to as many platforms as you want. Restream has several products geared toward making your life as a multistreamer much easier .
- Multistreaming: All it takes to start multistreaming is logging into your Restream account and adding two or more social channels to your dashboard. You can stream with your webcam from a browser or your favorite streaming software.
- Studio: Restream Studio lets you go live without any extra software or hardware — just a laptop and a browser. Restream Studio is our solution for live streamers who want to go live without dealing with complicated streaming software.
- Chat: Restream Chat lets you monitor and integrate live chats from each of the channels you’re streaming to. There’s no tab switching, and all of your viewers can see the conversation live.
- Events: Schedule a live stream in advance and share the link with your audience via Restream Events. You can set a thumbnail for the event and customize the title and description for your streams. You can also schedule a pre-recorded stream to go live with Restream Events.
- Analytics: Learn how well your streams are doing with our robust data in Restream Analytics. Keep track of average viewers, stream durations, and more metrics, aggregated from all the platforms you broadcast to.
Live streaming use cases
If you ’ re on the argue about hot pour because you ’ ra not certain what kind of content you could produce, then check out all these examples of alive video formats. Read late : Restream tools and features — Full steer 📍
Promoting a live stream
If you ’ re planning a large consequence on-line ( or even a smaller event ), then you ’ ll want to promote it to attract viewers. Promoting a live stream is easier than it sounds, specially if you use our prove tips to get viewers. Choose the right prison term to go live, send out a link to followers on social media via Restream Events, or make a countdown to generate ballyhoo. You can besides create and post a light teaser for your hot pour to get audiences excited about your approaching pour .
Making money from live streaming
possibly you ’ re getting into live stream as a avocation, or possibly you ’ d like to make a living off it. If it ’ s the latter, then you should keep our live streaming money-making techniques in beware as you ’ ra planning your live flow. A common way to generate income from hot pour is with gambling, and you can learn our best pointers for making money streaming games to get started. Asking viewers or subscribers for donations is besides another way to raise money from streaming, and all major platforms have a sport that allows streamers to accept donations. You can go outside the platform and ask for donations on a third-party platform, such as Patreon. If you have adequate viewers and subscribers, you may besides be able to play ads during your stream, which will bring in income.
Tips for successful live video streaming
Before we dismiss you from this alive pour crash course, we want to impart a few more bits of hot streaming advice. These nuggets of wisdom can help beginners, novices, and pros .
- Make your stream look professional with appropriate graphics: If you feature high-quality graphics on your live stream, they’ll make you look like you know what you’re doing. But you must choose the right graphics for your audience.
- Practice your confidence on camera: Talking into a camera without a physical audience behind you — and remaining interesting and engaged while doing so — is not a natural skill for most people. If getting in front of the camera frightens you, then build up your confidence with our helpful tips.
- Disregard popular myths about streaming: You may have come across some popular myths regarding live streaming that are keeping you from starting: live streaming is too expensive, nobody will be interested in what you have to say, or you’ll sacrifice your privacy. These live streaming myths couldn’t be further from the truth and shouldn’t hold you back.
- Monitor the quality of your live stream: 80% of viewers will stop watching your stream due to a bad viewing experience, and 25% will leave within the first four minutes. Learn how to monitor performance indicators such as bitrate, keyframe interval, FPS, dropped frames, video codec, and more so you can provide a high-quality viewing experience.
- Avoid the most crucial mistakes: What are crucial mistakes? Having poor quality streaming and failing to promote your stream are just a couple. Read about the five most common mistakes for new live streamers so you can avoid them.
- Test your equipment: Mistakes and mishaps are a fact of live streaming; they’re always going to happen. But you can reduce the number and frequency of these accidents by testing your equipment.
Wrap up
As you can see, there are several things to consider, cook, and test before you start survive cyclosis. But learning how to stream international relations and security network ’ metric ton so complicated. With this ultimate template and a can-do position, you ’ ll become a pro streamer in no meter. Remember these major tips :
- Live streaming is growing, and 2021 is the year to join in.
- Live streaming takes prep: planning, niching down, defining an audience, setting goals, and promoting.
- You need four basics for a live streaming setup, plus optional accessories.
- Choose a platform that fits your niche and your audience.
- Restream can make live streaming easier for beginners.
- Live video can take several formats.
- Add graphics for professionalism.
- Practice your confidence on camera.
- Always test your equipment before going live.
