1. Choose Your Topic
So what are you going to discuss on your stream? What are you going to showcase? A woodworking business might show off their process for different pieces they build. A web designer might review other people’s websites. You do not want to just go live and wing it. Even if it’s not scripted, you need a plan. Even an outline of notes on things you want to talk about that day can do the trick. Are you going to discuss your industry as a whole? Talk about industry news? Or are you going to focus on one specific part of your field of interest? Knowing what you want to share will affect basically every other decision you make. Finding out what viewers actually want to watch will change everything, too.2. Choose Your Format
Many streams just have one person sitting down to talk about stuff they like. Others have two or more discussing things panel-style. These two formats are by far the easiest and cheapest to produce. More complex formats with sketches, graphics packages, or what-have-you are generally best left to professionals. Another popular (and fairly easy) format is to just live stream yourself working. This is especially popular with creative work, and yes, coding counts.3. Choose Your Host/Presenter
Not everyone is made for public speaking or live streaming. I’ve done both a fair bit, and I still get nervous and choke out my words half the time. It’s a skill that takes time and effort to master. If you have anyone in your organization who already has experience with public speaking, you’re in luck. If you don’t, you’ll want to start practicing right about now. I’ve noticed that people usually don’t expect you to be orator levels of smooth. You can “ummm” and “ahhhh” a bit, but you still want to practice.4. Graphical Assets
You can start without these, but eventually you’ll want to produce some graphical assets for your stream. These include things like:- Avatars and banners for your streaming platform of choice;
- Standby graphics for when your stream is just starting, ending, or for when you need a minutes-long break;
- Graphical overlays to show extra information, or just to add a bit of personality and flavor to your stream.
5. Get a Stream Director (Maybe)
Many streams are a one-person show, and they have to do everything. It’s stressful and it’s a pain, but it is doable. However, if you have others working with you, it can help to have one person working the streaming equipment and software. If your streaming setup is any more complicated than a webcam and a microphone, you’ll almost certainly need someone for this. They can switch cameras, activate and deactivate the graphics at appropriate times, perhaps even trigger sound effects. Having an extra person around always makes streaming a bit easier. It can get real lonely when you have to do everything yourself.6. Get a Moderator (Always)
Depending on your resources, this person may or may not also be the stream director. In short, the Internet is a wonderful place that can sometimes quickly turn horrible. As your stream grows its audience, you’ll need a moderator to keep the peace in your chat room (all the major streaming services have at least one per stream). Even if your viewers are all the nicest people on Earth, you’ll need someone to sort through the large volume of information and pick out the most relevant questions and comments.7. Choose Your Platform
Now you really should decide where you want to stream, exactly. The platform you choose should be convenient enough for you, and relevant to your audience. Here are a few of the options: Twitch is mostly for gaming, but has also has categories for creative content. It’s also probably the world’s biggest streaming platform, so there’s a lot of potential viewers there, and a lot of potential competition. Then there are the social streaming platforms. Facebook actually has pretty solid streaming capabilities, and works with professional streaming apps like OBS. Instagram has integrated streaming, and Periscope integrates very closely with Twitter. These are intended for more personal streams, though, which are usually broadcast via phone. But hey, if you already have a large social media audience, you should consider these options. YouTube offers a fairly robust platform, and you can stream just about anything you want, under any topic. As a bonus, all streams get saved to your YouTube channel.8. Set a Schedule
Once you’ve tried live streaming a few times, and have gotten a feel for how much it costs you in terms of money, time, and effort to create a stream you’re proud of, it’s time to come up with a schedule. You shouldn’t stream if you have nothing to show off, share, or say, so it’s alright to have a bit of a slow-paced schedule, so long as it’s fairly regular. You should also advertise your stream via social media (and perhaps via your email list) well before you go live, and you should do it every time. This will help people get a sense of when you’re live, so they can plan accordingly.Bonus Tip: Be Ready to Suck at It
“Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sort of good at something.” Jake the Dog is right, of course. Streaming is a commitment, and it’s not easy. And chances are good that if you haven’t done it before, you’ll be terrible. But if you can stick with it, the communities built around streams can be tight-knit, loyal, and even incredibly helpful. So give it a shot, and find out if streaming is right for you.Ezequiel Bruni
Ezequiel Bruni is a web/UX designer, blogger, and aspiring photographer living in Mexico. When he’s not up to his finely-chiselled ears in wire-frames and front-end code, or ranting about the same, he indulges in beer, pizza, fantasy novels, and stand-up comedy.
Read Next
LimeWire Developer APIs Herald a New Era of AI Integration
Generative AI is a fascinating technology. Far from the design killer some people feared, it is an empowering and…
By WDD Staff
20 Best New Websites, March 2024
Welcome to our pick of sites for March. This month’s collection tends towards the simple and clean, which goes to show…
Exciting New Tools for Designers, March 2024
The fast-paced world of design never stops turning, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for creatives. As…
Web Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 and Beyond
It hardly seems possible given the radical transformations we’ve seen over the last few decades, but the web design…
By Louise North
6 Best AI Productivity Apps in 2024
There’s no escaping it: if you want to be successful, you need to be productive. The more you work, the more you…
By Simon Sterne
3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024
From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to…
Surviving the Leap from College to Real-World Design
So, you’ve finished college and are ready to showcase your design skills to the world. This is a pivotal moment that…
By Simon Sterne
20 Mind-Bending Illusions That Will Make You Question Reality
Mind-bending videos. Divisive Images. Eye-straining visuals. This list of optical illusions has it all. Join us as we…
By Max Walton
15 Best New Fonts, February 2024
Welcome to February’s roundup of the best new fonts for designers. This month’s compilation includes some innovative…
By Ben Moss
The 10 Best WordPress Quiz Plugins in 2024
Whether it’s boosting your organic search visibility or collecting data for targeted email marketing campaigns, a great…
By Robert Reeve
20 Best New Websites, February 2024
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, so this latest collection is a billet-doux celebrating the best of the web this month.
Everything You Need to Know About Image Formats In 2024
Always trying to walk the tightrope between image quality and file size? Looking to branch out from JPGs and PNGs this…
By Robert Reeve