Reading time: 10 minutes

Summary:

  • Live streaming is NOT enough for creators who want to grow their audience.
  • Here are 8 other marketing strategies you should consider: building a website, email marketing, long-form videos, short-form vertical videos, podcasts, collabs, webinars & courses, and social media.
  • Don’t try all of them at once — pick what's right for you based on your situation.
  • StreamYard makes content creation easy for video, podcasts, and webinars.

Live streaming is a great way to connect with people, but it's not the only way.

For content creators who want to get more viewers (and make money), there are other marketing strategies you should consider supplementing your live video content with.

In this blog post, we’ll compare 8 marketing strategies, including their pros and cons. That way, you can decide which ones are a good fit for you based on your goals, strengths, interests, and audience.

And if you don’t have time to read this, just watch (or save) the video below.

1: Build a Website for yourself

Having a website is like owning your own online shop. It's a place where you can show everyone who you are and what you do. It's where you can keep all your content together, and make it look professional. Plus, you can optimize it so that more people find you through Google.

You can even live stream to your own website — here’s how.

Pros

  • Brand authority: A website shows you mean business. It gives your brand credibility.
  • Customizability: On your website, you decide how content is displayed, how users navigate, and how they interact.
  • Monetization: You're not limited to platform-specific monetization. A website lets you make money from ads, sponsored content, and e-commerce.

Cons

  • Maintenance: Owning a website means keeping it updated, secure, and bug-free. This requires some technical skills, although tools like WordPress and Squarespace have made this a lot easier than before.
  • SEO knowledge: To attract organic traffic through Google’s search engine, you have to understand and implement SEO.

2: Build an Email List

Email isn't dead. It's old school, but it's still one of the most effective ways for live streamers to promote their live content and communicate directly with their audience.

It's easy to get started, especially once your website is up. Find a way to collect email addresses and get visitors to sign up — one way is to offer them an exclusive piece of content they can only get by signing up.

Tip: Direct your viewers to your website and newsletter whenever you go live! And vice-versa: let your email list know when you will go live — here’s how.

And unlike social media platforms, you don't have to worry about constantly changing algorithms that decide who sees your stuff.

Pros:

  • Personalized content: Emails can be customized to specific segments of your audience to be relevant.
  • Direct access to subscribers: There's no middleman. You reach out to your audience directly in their inbox.
  • High conversion rates: People joining your email list are more likely to buy from you.

Cons:

  • Conversion rates and engagement: Getting people to open your emails and buy from you requires effective copywriting, personalization, and targeted content.
  • Deliverability challenges: Ensuring that your emails reach subscribers' inboxes can be challenging. Factors such as spam filters, email client preferences, or incorrect email addresses can impact the deliverability of your messages.
  • Maintaining engagement: Regularly creating compelling content to keep your subscribers engaged can be time-consuming.

3: Long-form YouTube Videos

While live streaming offers real-time engagement, pre-recorded videos have their unique advantages. If your audience hangs out on YouTube, you should probably start a YouTube channel and create long-form, edited videos. Plus, you can go live there.

By the way, long-form doesn’t mean hours — we just mean longer than a 15-second TikTok or a 60-second YouTube Short.

Tutorials, educational videos, and how-to content are great for growing your YouTube channel, but so is storytelling content.

Pros:

  • Control: Unlike live streaming video, pre-recorded videos let you perfect your content before your target audience sees it.
  • Editing: You can enhance video quality, add effects, or cut unwanted parts. This is key for keeping your watch time up.
  • Viewer convenience: Not all viewers can attend your YouTube streams. Pre-recorded videos can be watched anytime, offering convenience to your audience.

Cons:

  • Less real-time interaction: You’ll miss the live interaction that comes with live video.
  • Video editing: Pre-recorded content often requires more time for editing and post-production.
  • The thumbnail game: Great thumbnails will get you more views. But this is a specialized skill that will require you to pick up some graphic design skills and learn thumbnail best practices.

4: Short-form Videos

Short-form videos like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts can help you promote your long-form content, especially if you’re a beginner live streamer. And because of the lower barrier to entry, it’s easier to be consistent when uploading videos.

The downside is that you can't squeeze a lot of content or personality into a short-form video, and it can be hard for viewers to get to know you.

Don't overinvest in short-form video content. But do use it to supplement your marketing efforts and draw in new viewers.

The low-effort, high-reward way to create short-form videos is to extract clips from your live videos and long-form video content such as podcasts. And then post them to social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. StreamYard makes this easy with its Shorts & Reels feature.

Pros:

  • High engagement: Because they’re short, short-form videos are a great way to grab your audience’s attention.
  • Shareability: Their concise format makes them easy to share on social platforms, increasing your content's reach.
  • Viral potential: Because they’re engaging and shareable, they have a high potential for viral spread.
  • Economical: If you clip short-form videos from your YouTube live streams or Twitch streams, you don’t have to create new content — and they can drive viewers back to your streams, promoting channel growth.

Cons:

  • Limited timeframe: Packing a compelling message into just a few seconds or minutes can be challenging.
  • High competition: The popularity of short-form videos means the competition is fierce.
  • Highly algorithm-driven: This leads to often unpredictable reach, unlike SEO or email marketing.

5: Podcasts

Podcasts offer a unique and intimate way to connect with audiences that can tune in while on the go. And they’re a great supplement to YouTube live streams because you can repurpose a lot of your live content into a podcast with StreamYard by simply downloading your MP3 file and editing it slightly if needed.

Plus, YouTube has been rolling out features that let you build podcast playlists on your channel where you can include your live streams! For an example of this, check out our YouTube channel.

If you create video podcasts, you must invest in video quality — just like you would for live video and recorded videos. That means investing in the right equipment: a high-quality webcam and some lighting. A stable internet connection helps too, but local recordings can help bypass internet issues.

If you’re looking for podcast recording software, try StreamYard.

Pros:

  • Accessibility: Podcasts can be consumed anywhere, anytime. And listeners can multitask while they're listening - perfect for today's busy audiences.
  • Community-building: Regular podcast listeners often feel a strong connection to the host and other listeners, building a sense of community.
  • Builds your network: Hosting guests from your industry can help you grow your audience. But it can also help you make new friends!
  • In-depth discussions: Unlike video content, podcasts don't require undivided attention, allowing listeners to multitask.

Cons:

  • Competitive space: There is a lot of competition in the podcasting space. There are millions of podcasts out there, so it can be hard to stand out from the crowd.
  • Your setup matters: Good-quality podcasting requires the right equipment. For beginners getting into video podcasting, we recommend a dynamic microphone, a webcam, and a basic streaming key light.
  • Hard to measure results: You can track things like listens/downloads and subscribers, but it can be hard to say how these translate into sales or leads.
  • Discoverability is tough: This problem hasn’t been solved yet. The best tactic to overcome this right now is to post compelling clips from your podcast onto platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. StreamYard lets you do this easily with the Shorts & Reels feature.

6: Collaborations

Start streaming with guests. Or invite guests onto your podcast.

Alternatively, appear as a guest on someone else’s live show or podcast.

This helps you reach new audiences and build your network because part of their viewership will cross over and follow you — assuming they’re part of your target audience.

If you want to know how to live stream with a guest, try a tool that makes it easy to invite guests to your stream, like StreamYard. YouTube and Twitch don’t allow you to invite guests natively.

Pros:

  • New audiences: Collaborating with others exposes your content to their audience, helping you reach people who don’t already know you. Try streaming to your guests’ social media channels.
  • New faces: Everyone loves a little variety now and then. By bringing on guests, you can access new perspectives and content your audience doesn't normally experience.

Cons:

  • Scheduling: Coordinating collaboration times can be challenging, especially across different time zones.
  • Requires careful selection: Pay attention to “Content-Audience Fit”. Does your content align with your guest's audience's goals? If not, they might not be a great fit as a collaborator.

7: Webinars & Courses

Webinars are like live streams, except they’re private, structured, and education-focused. Because they require pre-registration, you’ll have more information about (and control over) your audience. And you get to collect email addresses, which ties back to the #2 strategy in this list: building your email list!

If you’re looking for an affordable way to host branded webinars and collect emails, try StreamYard On-Air.

Pros:

  • Establish expertise: By teaching something, you position yourself as an authority in that area.
  • Lead magnet. Free courses or content are a great way to collect email addresses and registrations.
  • Monetization potential: You can charge for access to your webinars or courses, creating a new revenue stream.

Cons:

  • Preparation: Unlike regular live streams, where you can generally get away with being more spontaneous, webinars require a lot of planning, production, and promotion.
  • Low attendance: Webinars require your audience to be there live with enough time and energy to actively learn something, which is why they often have low attendance rates.

8: Social Media

Don't be afraid to use other social media platforms to promote your content, whether it's making an Instagram post or sharing a quick tweet.

Which social platforms you choose will depend on your strengths and your audience.

If you aren't good at visuals, try Twitter. If you don't like writing, try Instagram. Want to reach a professional audience with your webinar? Use LinkedIn!

Pros:

  • Broad reach: Social media platforms have billions of users, offering a big audience for your content.
  • High engagement: Features like likes, shares, comments, and live reactions allow quick feedback and interaction.
  • Quick interaction: Social media is all about short-term communication, making it a great place to announce when you’ll go live on YouTube, Twitch, or your live streaming platform of choice.

Cons:

  • Algorithm changes: Social media platforms frequently tweak their algorithms, which can affect the visibility of your content.
  • High competition: There are millions of content creators on social media, so standing out can be challenging.
  • Privacy concerns: Social media platforms collect a lot of data about users. This data can be used for marketing purposes, but it can also be a security risk.

Evaluating The Best Strategies For You

Live video is great, but it is NOT enough. Take a look at each of the 8 strategies in this list and weigh up the pros and cons.

Which ones seem the most beneficial and easiest to implement? Which ones are aligned with your goals, strengths, and your audience?

Once you have a theory, it’s time to play around. Experiment, analyze, and iterate – that's the only way to find out what the right fit is for you.

At StreamYard, we’re big fans of strategies 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7: long-form videos, short-form vertical videos, podcasts, video collabs, and webinars.

In fact, it’s our mission to make creating those types of content as easy as possible.

So if you want to try one or more of those strategies, sign up for a free StreamYard account.

Start creating with StreamYard today

Get started - it's free!