How to Conquer Your Fear of Live Video (Once And For All)

Does the thought of being on video break you out into a cold sweat? With these 4 easy steps, you’ll conquer your fear of live video and start streaming like a pro in no time!

From Instagram to Facebook to YouTube, watching seems to be the new scrolling. And, just about everyone we follow is going on live video…broadcasting themselves to their audience and letting their fans interact with them in real time! There’s really nothing quite like live streaming– it’s fresh, it’s vulnerable, it’s quick, and fun and impactful…but it can also be SO scary!

As bloggers, most of us are already aware that live video streaming is the next big frontier, but it’s also something that a lot of us fear! What if we look silly? What if we mess up our intro? What if no one watches? Those are just a few of the fear-based questions many of us have circling around in our heads the minute someone tells us to get in front of the camera instead of behind it.

But let us tell you, it’s time to toss your fears aside and live stream like a pro! Live video streaming is SO worth it. It gives you a new way to engage with the audience that you have and helps you expand your reach quicker than ever before. Think of live streaming as the closest you’ll come to sitting down and sharing coffee with your audience. The in-the-moment interaction that live video allows, is nothing short of powerful.

Let’s face it, we all have fears holding us back, but don’t let your fear of live video streaming get in the way of your business goals and dreams.

With these 4 easy steps, you’ll conquer your fear of live streaming in no time:

Step 1: OBSERVE

Are Facebook Live’s and other methods of live streaming totally new territory for you? If so, try and observe what other people are doing and how they go about promoting and then executing their live video streams. Are other bloggers in your niche focusing on one topic during live streams? Are they coming prepared, or doing something more off the cuff?

Taking note of what others are doing can be a really useful lesson in what you’d like (or not like) to do during your own. And, don’t be afraid to even interact with your peers on their live streams, ask questions and build up relationships that can help you moving forward.

And, make sure to observe live streaming on different platforms. Instagram lives seem to be a little more informal than Facebook lives, and you can use that to your advantage. You can always dip into live streaming through Instagram first to build up a comfort level before you move over to Facebook.

Step 2: SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Ask yourself one very important question…what is your purpose for blogging in the first place? For many of us, that answer is to help people and to share our knowledge with others. Well, that is the exact same reason you should be live streaming. You’re just getting in front of a camera (or iPhone) and broadcasting yourself on live video in order to get what you know out to your audience quicker. So remember, live streaming isn’t about you, it is really about your audience and how you can help them the best. Once you shift your perspective, it should alleviate some of the pressure felt. It doesn’t matter if you mess up or don’t look 100% perfect, what matters is that you share what you know or your story with your audience, and what better way to do that than with live streaming.

For Elite Blog Academy®, lives are an amazing way for us to connect with our audience and take their temperature. We figure out what is working for our Facebook audience, and a lot of the time we figure out where their pain points live. We then try and help address these pain-points live, so that people get the immediate answers they need. What is cooler than that? Helping your audience on the fly?!

Step 3: CREATE AN OUTLINE

Since live streaming is well…live, we don’t recommend writing a script. You don’t want to come off as rehearsed or stiff. But, instead, we are big fans of creating outlines. Your outline will be just talking points that you know you want to hit during the live. And, most importantly, include your intro in that outline.

And, practice, practice, practice. Take dry runs at your live, even if it’s just practicing your intro over and over again until you feel super confident in how you sound and how you come across. If you absolutely nail your intro, the rest of the live stream will feel like a breeze. For your intro, make sure you introduce yourself. It may feel funny to do so, but you never know who is watching and chances are someone is that isn’t totally familiar with you or your story.

When it’s go time, make sure to put sticky notes in front of you, right next to your camera– that way you can quickly glance at prompts to keep you focused and on-track. And, don’t forget to breathe 🙂   

Step 4: ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME

Last, but not least, is accountability. A week or more before your live stream, announce that you will be doing one. Announce it to your email list, on your social media feeds, to your friends and family–and let all those people be your accountability partners. Even though doing a live stream might feel scary, chances are, disappointing your audience by not showing up, feels even scarier. There’s no backing out once you start spreading the word and building momentum. If you need a guideline on how to best promote your live stream, you can follow our handy guide to blog promotions to get a good idea on where to start (most of these checklist items are applicable to any kind of promotion).

We promise that doing a live is kind of like ripping off a band-aid. It might hurt for a split second, but once you do it, it feels fine. So get out there, in front of your screens, and remember to breathe, and have fun! This is such an awesome opportunity to really get to know your audience on a more personal level and to help them within a matter of seconds. And, most importantly, this is a chance for you to shine, to show your personality, and to make an audience who already feels connected to you through your writing, get to know the real person behind those words.

Getting more eyes on your blog can feel tireless and overwhelming, but it does not have to be that way!

Our 11 Ways to Boost Your Blog Reach Overnight eBook can help!

It will give you 11 quick actions you can take today to start introducing more people to your business today! Best of all, it’s completely free! Simply download it here.