Will we discover how @dlive allows us to live stream on Steem and why getting started today is ideal at dlive.io because this might be the opportunity many of us have been searching for to reach that illusive next level? I am creating this as a live stream with @dlive at https://www.dlive.io/@jerrybanfield after several years of live streaming with other services such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, and SmashCast.

My live stream is at DLive

Live streaming with @dlive today provides the ideal combination of ease in getting started, availability of new followers, ability to earn rewards, and projections for huge growth because https://www.dlive.io/ is an application built on the Steem blockchain which is still relatively new while having millions of dollars worth of funding via delegated Steem power. With user growth surging for Steem, interest high in cryptocurrencies, and a high ratio of available rewards for live streamers on @dlive compared to the number of live streams, @dlive presents a rare opportunity for many of us that want to take our creative activity online to the next level!

New or Never Considered Live Streaming?

Have you been posting online, blogging, podcasting, and/or producing videos without considering live streaming? Live streaming is the highest form of media available online and is growing rapidly in terms of viewers and live streamers. Facebook, Google/YouTube, Amazon/Twitch, Twitter/Periscope, and Microsoft/Mixer all are making huge investments in having their own live streaming platform. Meanwhile, blogging, podcasts, and uploading videos are extremely competitive because so many of us online can do that. Live streaming is still so new that the amount of artists making live streams is relatively small compared to the amount of viewers. In other words, the live streaming space is wide open today.

#1 Secret to Next Level Results!

What has worked best for me in seven years of being self-employed with my business online is to follow the space. Go where the interest is high, the competition is low, and funding is available. The same amount of effort will often yield 10 to 1000 times the reward when applied in the right place. @dlive is the right place. Out of all I am aware of online, @dlive offers the very best combination of high interest, low competition, and available funding for creators which is why we are here talking about it! I am going all in on @dlive because of exactly what I share here with you and I hope this post makes it easier to both get motivated in getting started and shows the ideal setup.

dlive homepage.jpg

Dear Existing Live Streamers!

Already tried live streaming or been considering it? Then you likely have or will soon make the same discovery I have that the ratio of funding on the most popular live streaming websites like YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, and SmashCast is very low with even mid level popular streamers barely making enough to call it a hobby while a handful of top streamers receive almost everything. If that is not enough, platforms like Facebook have no built in monetization and every way to make money tends to involve a third party taking a big cut. Even with millions of followers online, generating even a thousand dollars in earnings was very difficult for me despite accomplishments like reaching the homepage on Twitch and having nearly a thousand viewers watching at once.

https://www.dlive.io/ offers the best chance for us as artists to share what we create with the world whether we specialize in unlocking achievements in video games, composing music, educating viewers with tutorials, stand up comedy, or all of the above in my case because the ratio of viewers to streamers is high while the competitiveness for the funding available is currently relatively low. In six months the competition will probably be 10 to 100 times higher making TODAY the day to get started.

dlive steem world.png

Where to Find the Time?

Ironically where most of us struggle is not with wanting to try something new but rather with dropping the unproductive things we are already doing that get in the way of going all in on something new. To make room for live streaming on @dlive, I am reducing my contributions elsewhere on Steem and in the rest of my business to focus on the highest experience for users and showing up where I make the most difference. To make time for Steem, I dropped almost the entire rest of my business online. I always come out ahead because I cut the low performing activities in my life. I cut the things that drain me of energy and produce very little joy and/or income in return. I maximize activities that are fun AND earn enough income for me to then be available to spend the rest of my time with my family.

I know it can be scary to give up what we do already and take a leap into the unknown. That's why I am here to help. We need help to take a leap of faith and I hope this post helps demonstrate how worthwhile it is to give up that which we would rather not do and go all in on what we love.

Sold on live streaming on DLive?

Already started streaming and become frustrated with getting it right? What follows are now technical tutorials showing the ideal setup which remove the majority of aggravation and may save you hundreds of hours of doing it inefficiently. Read more at https://dlive.io/help.

Sign Up for a Steem Account on Steemit.com!

To use @dlive, we need an account at https://signup.steemit.com/. Steemit Inc approves accounts requested through this process. Sometimes the account is approved in a day or two while other times it may take two or three weeks.

For the fastest account creation, https://anon.steem.network/ by @someguy123 creates an account generally within a few minutes while charging a fee. I created my account with Steemit Inc for free and share this link for the 1% of us not wanting to face a wait time in getting started.

What is the ideal live streaming setup?

After years of testing, what I have found is the absolute best is using a monitor with an HDMI OUT that then goes into a capture card on a computer dedicated to live streaming. I use Wirecast 8 because it allows me to live stream to as many websites at once as my computer can handle (six or seven with a Mac Pro). Most streams appear to use OBS because it is more popular and free.

The most critical part of the setup for live streaming surprisingly is the monitor because this avoids all of the messy problems of getting the video another way. The monitor I use is BenQ 24-Inch Gaming Monitor - LED 1080p HD Monitor - 1ms Response Time, Head-to-Head Console Gaming (RL2460HT) at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ITORJRQ/ because it has an HDMI OUT which is critical for making live streaming easy AND taking the stream AFTER it is viewed which reduces lag in video games.

While that monitor has been discontinued, this newer one BenQ ZOWIE 24 inch Full HD Gaming Monitor - 1080p 1ms Response Time Head-to-Head Console Gaming (RL2460) at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H5KKRLY/ is available and has an HDMI OUT which is the key requirement for a very smooth live streaming experience with any device!

With that monitor in place, there are many capture cards that will work to take the HDMI out into a USB which then can be used for the live stream. This then allows for live streaming an XBOX, PS4, and a PC all on the same monitor without changing anything other than the input source. Using any other setup can produce lag and makes switching sources difficult. I learned this the hard way by discovering my XBOX to capture card to monitor setup was causing me enough lag to lower my KD in Call of Duty significantly. As soon as I switched setups, my kill to death ratio went from around 1 to close to 2 which is probably a standard deviation in improvement and a massive difference to my team :) It had dropped significantly when I started live streaming which I thought was because I was distracted but actually was because the capture card added some lag before it went to the video screen.

Good Equipment = Great Stream!

Investing in good equipment for live streaming is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED because those extra minutes and performance problems add up fast. I use a Mac Pro because I can then handle live streaming with Wirecast to DLive, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Periscope, and SmashCast at the same time along with recording the stream. While this level of performance is unnecessary getting started, being able to do at least two websites at once is a very good idea for building a following. I started on the iMac I am typing this on with live streaming just on one or two websites at once which worked great for building a following but not so much for income. That's why @dlive is awesome because it also can help with the income right away.

How to actually create the stream on @dlive?

With the HDMI out setup to a PC or Mac, the Wirecast or OBS settings can stay the same every time which makes streaming to @dlive easy using the tutorials at https://dlive.io/#/help. The OBS setup seems fairly straightforward. Sometimes @dlive takes a minute to connect. Just keep letting it connect and it will happen! On Wirecast, the one weird setting is to switch to the authentication to FME/2.5 instead of the default because the other settings would not work to connect.

dlive launch.jpg

How to succeed in building followers and earning rewards on @dlive?

Just keep streaming and engaging with followers! One person commenting is enough. Do a stream that you would love to do even if no one watches. I am doing mainly music live streams now where I compose original music in Ableton Live. If no one watches, it does not matter because I enjoy what I am doing anyway. I started streaming video games like Call of Duty and League of Legends. No one watched in the beginning and I still had a lot of fun.

What I did poorly in the beginning was interacting with the people that did comment. When I watched some other streamers just a bit ahead of me with 5 or 10 viewers instead of zero, I noticed they did really well interacting. They shouted out everyone that watched and had conversations back and forth. These conversations build a following.

1 True Fan = Enough!

Ultimately for total success streaming all we need is a foundation of people that keep watching our streams. Word of mouth referrals to streams are critical. When we are grateful for any comment or viewer and we combine that with consistent streaming, we will naturally grow. Do well with making one true fan and more will come!

Let's Do This!

Thank you for learning about DLive with me today! I am available for questions on the live stream today and will demonstrate I believe what I am saying with live streams on DLive several days each week!

Love,
Jerry Banfield

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