Important YouTube Livestreaming Tips (2023)

1. Plan your stream
   Make a plan of the things you want to do, want to talk and ask about and in which order. Setting up bullet points is great to stick to the plan. The stream will look professional, is likely more entertaining and you won’t end up in a situation where you don’t know what to do. Of course it happens that you deviate from the plan a bit, but make sure you come back to the topic.
   
   
2. Keep a consistent schedule
   Keeping a consistent schedule lets viewers know when you’re online and gives them something to look forward to. This can be at the same day, same time every single week or every single day. As long as it is consistent and your audience can count on you. Do NOT miss your schedule!
   
   
3. Ask questions
   Talk with your audience and ask them questions to engage in interaction with them. The interaction is very important for how YouTube shares your livestreams with a wider audience. Get your audience talking as early as possible. The easiest way to start a conversation is to ask your audience where they are from and have a little discussion if you have ever visited, etc. Do not forget to return the subject, because that is why most people, early on, are checking your stream.
   
   
4. Talk to your audience
   Have some questions ready that are on topic and you can ask your viewers directly. Occasionally pick a viewer from your audience to ask a question to and use their actual name, expecting some of a response or a response from others. Keep the interaction going, talk directly to them, use their names, bring up points they mentioned before. The more conversation, the more your livestream gets shared and the faster you grow.
   
   
5. Have clear chat rules & good set of mods
   Have clear rules for chat, so the conversation are clean and people feel safe speaking in your chat. Don’t ban people that have different opinions. These can spark great conversations and keep the interaction going.
   
   
6. Re-use moments
   During your streams there are going to be actions, moments or segments that people are going to really enjoy. Make note of these moments and re-use these or make them a recurring thing in your streams.
   
   
7. Add simple fun elements
   Think about elements that you can add to your stream like soundboards, face-cam or other things that make your stream a little more entertaining. This can increase interaction with your audience.
   
   
8. Create segments
   Have different segments for your stream. You can have segments like the intro segment, game segment, tutorial segment, Q&A segment, rant segment, etc. You can always test segments and see what the reaction is like. Some of these can turn into something big that works great for you and your audience.
   
   
9. Create visual variety
   Have different visuals to keep the stream interesting to look at. You can make different overlays for different segments for example.
   
   
10. Focus on entertaining
    Even if you don’t use any of the tips above and you’re entertaining, people will come back for you and you will grow! So make sure you are entertaining them. Don’t wait for people to talk to you & don’t have long silences, you are in control of entertainment.
    
    
11. Be positive
    People are attracted to other people that are positive. Turning negativity into something positive will be inspiring to your viewers and have them come back. Of course you can have rants, but these will be entertaining for only a small period so keep them in your rant segment. Having rants constantly will have your viewers connect you with negativity and hurt your stream in the long run. Positivity will always win in the end.
    
    
12. Be yourself
    People will accept you or reject you, no matter who you are. So be yourself and be okay with yourself, because most people want to know who you are. Building a genuine connection with your audience is what matters.
    
    
13. Re-watch your streams
    This will be absolute suffering, but… You want to re-watch your streams to see why people are watching your streams, what works, what you can do better, things you missed, etc.
    
    
14. Don’t go longer than scheduled
    You don’t want to go longer than you can keep the stream’s entertaining and attention. You don’t have to stream 8-10 hours every stream. If you can only keep up the entertainment for an hour, then that is completely fine too. It’s better to end on a high note.
    
    
15. Don’t give up!
    You’ve decided you want to livestream and it is not going to be easy. Building your stream and audience takes time and energy. As long as you keep streaming, self-evaluating and tweaking you will get better and grow your stream.
    
    
16. Repurpose your stream
    As soon as you turn of your stream your content stops. Turn your livestream content into video form and you’ll start growing your channel while you’re offline. Do put some effort in your editing or find someone to edit videos for you. You could make compilation videos of the funniest moments or videos of specific segments.
    
    
17. Create compelling thumbnails and titles
    You’ll need to create thumbnails and titles to lure your viewers. So spend time to think about what is going to make people click on your livestream and videos. It can be sensational or to the point. If it is not interesting they’re not going to click.
    
    
18. Find a way to make all of these tips fun
    These are a lot of tips and it will be a lot of work. So find a way to make it fun so you don’t burn out from doing things you don’t want to do.

I hope this was helpful for you and wish you all the best in your YouTube Livestreaming journey! Please leave me a message with your channel you’re starting and what your plans are for it.

By the way, I am starting my own channel right now too! Curious about my journey and where I am at? Have a look at my YouTube Pursuit where I talk about my progress and thought processes.