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By now you should have an understanding of what to expect as a newbie streamer, however, the experiences and skills that you will possibly need to rack up can be daunting if you focus on them all at once. That is why I advise taking this one step at a time. Let's look at just a few things you will have to know that you will need to do all alone if you are not part of the .1% of streamers with paid staff. Buckle up!
Editor
Here's something I bet you didn't know you would have to do if you want to make a name for yourself in the streaming world, you need to record and edit your own videos.
Whether you like it or not, you will have to edit your streams or upload content to get recognized. Believe it or not, anyone can stream themselves, it is a button press away on most social medial apps and platforms. Many wide-eyed, would-be, or wannabe streamers all have this vision in their minds that all they have to do to make money online is to start streaming and this is not the case.
You have to understand that your audience wants more from you outside of streaming. In order for you to build trust among your audience you need to give them more. Yes, you can absolutely play anything or stream anything you want but that doesn't mean your audience wants that. Say for example you make interesting videos such as skits then your potential to get more eyeballs on what you really want to do, streaming, becomes more possible because you are giving your audience what they want and MAYBE in return you will start getting die-hards joining your streams.
For most, myself included, it's easier said than done especially if you can relate to the topics covered in What They Don't Tell You About Being A YouTube Streamer Part 1: Life. So Warriorenas and Warriorenes get to editing your videos.
Sound Engineer
Yup, you are expected to be a seasoned sound engineer. Of course, I exaggerate a tad bit, but not really. Sound is something you will be expected to improve on over time and trust me, even popular streamers have audio issues from time to time so don't beat yourself up over it too much as it happens to the best of us.
Unless you have people watching your first time in the wild, expect to check your own audio, on your own stream, as your streaming to ensure you can hear yourself clearly.
For my first few videos, before I started streaming, I used either my Corsair RGB Gaming Headset or my first microphone which has since been discontinued. As of the date of this writing, I use two Razer Seiren Mini USB Condenser Microphone(s) while I stream and chat with friends.
To this day, be it a habit or just to make sure, I always check my stream to ensure my audience can hear me. Too often I streamed for an entire hour or more only to discover after the stream ended that my audio was off. This is why I say you have to be a sound engineer because as a newbie streamer your not going to always have the support there in the chat to let you know, "Hey, we can't hear you Warriorene!"
So do your due diligence and ensure your audio and background noise is to your specification and liking.
Lighting Expert
Have you ever noticed how the best videos on YouTube seem to POP! at you with their clarity, vibrant colors, and the person(s) in the video looking High Def AF?
That's because their lighting is on-point! For myself, lighting is my weak point. I'm always fiddling with my lighting especially when I run green screen content (which is all the time). Lighting is one of those things that unless you can get it right and leave it alone and just press Go Live, this will be an ongoing battle.
Some days you'll have ridiculously dark videos and other times you'll look like you're going toward the light (pun intended, lol). My point is, lighting can be tricky and you will be expected to get better at this over time as well.
I use the Softbox Lighting Kit for my lighting and this Green Screen Backdrop with Stand Kit, choose your size accordingly if your interested in working with green screens.
Conclusion
So there you have it, just a taste of a few things you are going to have to come to terms with if you want to become a streamer. Don't let any of this discourage you, remember Rome wasn't built in a day and you shouldn't beat yourself up about learning all of this at once. It's a learning experience through trial and error. Each failure is a lesson on how not to do something so learn from it and do 1% better the next time around.
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