The founder of Livestream Universe, author of 100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions bestseller, Ross Brand is the guest of episode 17 of the Live Better show. Watch the show to study how to boost your brand’s income with live streams.

Timestamps for the episode:

4:08 – Hi, Ross!

4:50 – A little about the latest Ross’s book

Recently Ross published a fantastic book, 100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions. It has predictions for the development of live streaming and digital media. It is full of conversations with people who are leading live-streaming creators, digital media influencers and have a significant impact on the industry. 

6:18 – Can any business increase sales with live streams

Unfortunately, live streaming cannot help every business with increasing its sales. If you are a solo consultant and have a 100% booked schedule, the decision to have regular live streams would draw you away from the thing you are supposed to do as a consultant.

It doesn’t mean that you must deny the opportunity of having a show, no. It would help if you considered the industry, study the trends and opportunities it brings you. 

For most businesses, live streams might result in significant benefits in revenue, audience awareness, and brand development. 

10:07 – What should you ask yourself considering live streaming options

• Who is your audience?
• What content would be a good fit for a customer?
• What platforms are your audience on?
• Do I have a skillset in-house to deliver the content? 
• Do I have to develop the skillset?
• What kind of shows or live streams would benefit my business? 
• How would you manage the show?

If the host cannot resonate with the audience, it doesn’t matter how hot your content is. 

14:50 – How long does it take for an average live streamer to monetize their content?

First of all, you should understand that it’s a long game. 

Three fundamental paths to revenue:

• Selling
• Time & report
• Content creation

20:18 – Essential components for a live stream to become lucrative

To make money with your live streams, Ross recommends adding call-to-action activities to convert viewers into customers.

Also, there is no successful show without a charismatic host. If you are the one who runs the show, develop yourself as a host.

Everything you need can be learned from experience, but also you can learn from watching the experts doing their job.

With Wave.video, it doesn’t require you to be great at tech stuff. Live stream beginners can concentrate on developing their hosting and camera skills instead of mastering software and tools.

25:32 – Experience that made Ross a Pro expert in live streaming

Ross has started developing in the media field in his mid-20s, and at first, it was horrible, but with time his broadcasts got better and better. Everything has started with the college radio station, which resulted in him being hired for a city radio station. It made him learn the stuff in the course of workflow. 

With time appeared lots of technical things that should have been mastered, including chats with guests, webcams shows, etc. It made Ross think that live streaming is the same as radio broadcast but with the web camera turned on. 

29:50 – To host the show yourself or hire an expert

First of all, it depends only on you, your time, and your desire to do it. Secondly, the type of your business, if you represent a personal brand and are the face of the company, you should probably do it yourself. If your brand is global and you have a team behind your brand, then you can delegate these duties. 

Tips for developing hosting skills:

• Repetition
• Focus on the core content of the show
• Have three prepared topics to cover during the live

Moreover, remember to check out the chat every time you finish one of the prepared topics.

“Let’s see what’s going on in the chat.”  – keep the phrase in mind.

42:00 – How to start experimenting with live streams?

It is better to focus on producing the show when only at the beginning of creating live stream content. Define the exact schedule, the topic that would unite all the episodes, etc. It makes people who have never heard of you or your brand want to stop and check it out. 

With such a promotional trick, you say to the audience, “Instead of looking at me, watch the product we produce.”

If you already have a big audience, the show also would work to promote your brand. It helps to develop the infostructure of your product. 

47:48 – Red flags for a new live broadcast

• Starting with “Am I live?”
• Not respecting your viewers by not checking all the settings before the show
• Waiting for more people to join
• Obscene language
• Constant switch in the mood of the show