10 Things You Need to Become a Live Streamer

Live streaming is becoming more popular as a side hustle because of its entertainment value and accessibility. Who wouldn’t love to get paid for playing video games, performing music, or working out? But before you get started, there are a few important pieces of equipment you’ll need to buy – and some personal preparations you’ll need to make.

Everything You Need to Start Live Streaming

Before you get into live streaming, make sure you at least have the following:

1.       Goals and direction. Before you launch your first stream, you should have a direction in mind. In fact, you should consider writing a full-scale business plan. What is it, specifically, that you want to achieve? Are you trying to turn this into a full-time career? Or would you be happy with just a small, regular following? Do you want to master a specific specialty? Or would you rather be more of a generalist?
2.       A decent PC. Next, you’ll need a decent PC, especially if you plan on live streaming video games. Depending on your goals, you may need to use your PC to run games, render video, upload information, and handle multiple applications at the same time. That’s why having strong CPU and GPU, as well as plenty of RAM, is helpful.
3.       A strong internet connection. Similarly, you’ll need a strong, reliable internet connection. If your connection drops out unexpectedly during an important stream, it could be harmful to your reputation, your income, and your overall career. If your connection isn’t powerful enough in the first place, you may struggle to upload your video feed consistently. Consider upgrading to a better package.
4.       Chromakey accessories. Chromakey products are designed to give live streamers and other professionals a consistent background that can be digitally modified. With a single color hue in your background, you can easily use software to project a different background for yourself – or place yourself at the center of the action in whatever game you’re playing. You can even invest in chromakey flooring to give yourself more complete surroundings or add digital effects to the floor. 
5.       A camera and microphone. If you’re buying an all-in-one PC or laptop, you’ll probably have a decent camera and microphone built in. But if you want to offer your viewers the best possible quality, you’ll want to upgrade. You don’t need to exhaust your budget on the best camera and microphone on the market, but you’ll want something capable of capturing and transmitting high-quality content.
6.       Streaming software. Next, you’ll need to find streaming software you can use to record and stream your video. Streaming software makes it easy for you to customize your background, observe your video feed in real time, and make adjustments as needed to fine-tune your feed. There are many options available, but one of the most common is OBS Studio, since it’s free and open source.
7.       A personal brand. Who are you? Live streamers build their careers around their personal brand – a collection of traits that make them unique and appealing. Because there are millions of people streaming around the world, you’ll have a lot of competition. That means you’ll have to develop a personal brand that’s unlike anything else out there. Ideally, the personal brand will be built around your genuine personality; viewers love authenticity, after all. But you’ll also need to emphasize the things that make you unique.
8.       A target audience. Once you have your personal brand in mind, you’ll need to figure out who your target audience is – and make further changes to better suit them. Even a bit of market research can help you understand the demographics most likely to patronize you. From there, you can tweak your personal brand, adjust your messaging, and choose better platforms to serve them.
9.       Social media accounts. Even if your live stream is amazing, it’s not going to generate viewers on its own. If you want to reach new people, build your brand, and connect with your audience at the same time, you’ll want to claim your social media accounts and start making regular posts.
10.   A backup plan. It’s important to be realistic. Even if you do everything right and have a high-quality live stream for your audience, there’s a chance you may fail. Because of this, it’s important to have a backup plan in place. What will you do if this doesn’t work out?

The Importance of Adaptability

No matter how much you’ve prepared or how hard you work, there’s a chance your original vision won’t come to fruition. The game you’re playing may lose popularity, or you might not click with your original target audience. If this happens, don’t lose hope. Instead, consider adapting to your circumstances. What changes can you make to differentiate yourself from the competition or play to a different audience?