How to Start Streaming

Streaming has grown through the years to become one of the most popular forms of media! Popular platforms like Twitch have even helped it to become a profitable venture! In this article we are going to talk about how to start streaming. We'll be going over things like:

• How to Choose a Streaming Platform
• How to Plan Your Streaming Content
• Equipment
• How to Gain Viewers
• Helpful Tips For Streaming 

How to Choose a Streaming Platform

There are many great streaming platforms to choose from! These include:

• Twitch
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Facebook

and there are many more!

Twitch of course is one of the most popular choices and offers many beneficial and easy setup options! Because it is a platform meant specifically for streaming, it's a great option for getting started! You can use it to not only get a feel for how streaming works, but also for building a strong foundation for your overall content and viewership! 

YouTube is another great and popular option that has the potential of high viewership! Social media platforms are also great options! Most social media platforms offer streaming and they're usually very easy to get set up!

How to Start Streaming: Content Planning

The second step in getting started with streaming is what sort of content you'll be creating! This includes what activity or thing will be the consistent subject of the stream, and what format you'll be using. When it comes to picking an overall topic, in our experience most things will work. Most interests, professions, and hobbies can prroduce continuous content! 

The most popular topic is gaming, but we've seen good streams for music production, painting, construction, fishing, theater, and much more! You really can create good content around most things. You just have to figure out how to present it!

This brings us to finding a format or multiple formats for your streaming content! 

Content Format

You are going to want plan on spending some time on this. The first and most obvious choice is streaming yourself taking part in your chosen topic! Gaming for instance is one topic that this works very well for! Many people enjoy watching pvp matches of Fortnite for example! Of course, if the player interacts well with their audience, single player games are also popular! All of these use the format of taking part in and doing the activity during the stream. 

Another popular format is the tutorial style. This often involves someone teaching the topic while they're taking part in it or perhaps while an assistant is doing it. This format is often a great choice for many different streaming categories! It's not only entertaining, but a lot of potential viewers will find it very useful and become regular viewers!

Solo or Multiple streamers

Another option to consider when learning how to start streaming is how many people will regularly be apart of your stream. A multi-person format often comes with many benefits!  Games where the players take part in cooperative missions is a very fun to watch format! If each player is streaming themselves, it makes it even more fun! This is because viewers can get different viewpoints! Gaming isn't the only cooperative style stream that is entertaining though! Group hiking trips are another fun choice for multi-person streaming!

Today, many businesses have found e-commerce streaming to be a valuable format to show off and sell their products! E-commerce has become a popular choice for shopping in today's world, and streaming offers a great platform for it!

There are many formats to choose from! Remember, sometimes the best option is a simple single person stream, but other times it may be great to have multiple people! While consistency is very important, when starting out don't be so set on one format before you've had a chance to see if it works for your stream! Don't be afraid to run a few tests to see what your audience responds to!

How to Start Streaming: Equipment 

When it comes to equipment for streaming the two main pieces will be a camera and a microphone. We're of course assuming that you already have a computer. After these main components you might consider things like lighting, effects software, tripods, and other items like these. 

For streaming, often times good quality webcams are very useful. Their setup is very straightforward. You can find mics online! We reccomend looking for one online as you won't be as rushed as you may be at an actual store. You can also do plenty of research on the internet!

Many phones today come with high quality cameras and microphones! This makes them ideal for streaming, especially if your streams are very mobile! 

How to Start Streaming: Gaining More Viewers

When learning how to start streaming, one of the most important things to  remember is that millions of viewers often doest't usually happen over night. In order to gain new viewers, you need to keep several things in mind. 

The first thing is content quality.  Consider the basics first. How is the lighting in your streaming? Is it so dark that it's hard to see what you're doing? And, how it the footage quality? Low quality camera footage and poor lighting are often factors in a viewers decision to leave the stream. And, does your content satisfy the expectations of your target audience?

If you create a stream about playing Fortnite, will your viewers see you playing it? If it's filled with content that your viewers aren't interesting in seeing then they won't stick around. Remember, a successful stream is often one that aims to meet the content expectations of it's viewers. Doing this will help draw in more viewers

Consistency is another major draw for viewers. People will want to know if you regularly create the content that they enjoy and if you are active. You should stream regularly and you should not leave to much of a gap between streams.

Engage Your Audience 

One of the biggest draws for viewers to streams is how well streamer interacts with the viewers! It's often more fun for those watching if you interact with them and keep them engaged. The simplest way to do this is by keeping an eye on the streams chat box and regularly respond to what your viewers are saying. You can even decide on a subject of conversation and lead it as your content plays out. 

You can also use things like audience choice. For example, if you're streaming a game, ask your viewers what path they think you should take. This is a great way of making it even more interactive and much more fun! 

Prizes and give aways are more great ways of drawing in new viewers! For example, you can announce that in your next stream you'll be asking a question, one related to your stream's topic, and the first five to send in the correct answer will win prizes. This engages your audience and doing this regularly will create a new interest in your stream!

Tips for Streaming

In this section we will regularly be adding more tips for how to start streaming and how to improve streams that are already going!

Starting Out

It's always important to remember that starting out you may not get very many views. It's perfectly normal and you shouldn't allow that to stop you. If you stay consistent and people see your stream up on a regular basis, they are more likely to check it out! Remember, consistency is key. The more practice you get, the smoother your streaming will become. And, the more you do it, the more you'll notice what needs to be changed. This will put you on the road to constantly improving it!

Music

Whether your stream will feature much talking or not, background music is a great way to liven things up, or even to create a relaxing atmosphere! Creepy streams will benefit from scary background tracks, and business streams from corporate backgrounds! Music will have a major impact on your stream by helping to create the atmosphere you're going for! You can find some right here on our website, simply follow this link: https://stockmusiccentral.com/collections