This week on Coffee and Content, we’ll be looking at creating a livestreaming checklist.
Why use a checklist for livestreaming?
Often as livestreamers we wear a lot of different hats. You could be on air talent, technical producer, chat moderator and more.
Additionally your livestream setup may require a lot of steps.
You don’t want to try to remember all of the things just before your show, especially if you’re already thinking about your subject matter and/or managing your own nervousness.
Take some of that cognitive load off by outsourcing that burden to a list.
Your checklist will be unique to you
Your show, your tech stack, your equipment will likely be different to mine. For this reason your checklist should be unique to you too.
I’ll unpack some general ideas here that you can adapt to your own personal setup.
I’ll also unpack the approaches I have for Coffee and Content and The Video and Livestreaming Show. I use different software and processes for this so it should be a good demonstration of how potential variations.
Livestream Checklist
Planning and scheduling
While you could just go live without a plan or a schedule, you’ll likely offer a better experience for your viewers if you prepare.
Consider:
- Who: Who will be on the show? Is it just you? Will you be joined by a guest? Make sure you work out scheduling issues ahead of time —most calendar software will help you negotiate time zones and daylight savings.
- What: What will you talk about? It’s good to have a focus so your audience can decide if it’s worth their while to attend.
- How and Where: How will you go live? What technology will you use? What streaming service will you use? What streaming destinations will you be on?
Promoting your livestream ahead of time
Setting up your livestream as an event ahead of time allows you to build up some anticipation of the event and get people to opt in.
It’s also a great opportunity to tease some of the things you’ll be talking about.
Consider:
- Posting content about your event on social media
- Mentioning it in a newsletter
- Adding information about your event to your email signature
If you are going to go live at a specific time, you can use social media scheduling tools to send out reminders ahead of time.
Going live: lights, camera, action!
Again, the specifics will relate to your own set up, but think about:
- Lighting
- Camera
- Audio sources and microphones
- Chat
- Graphics, captions and other media