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“Start your own business”, they said.
“It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.”
Now you’re in. You’ve got your website, your logo, and maybe a few small gigs here and there.
But… where are the clients? How does one get clients, to start with?
Booking clients who pay for live video isn’t easy when you’re just starting out, but it can be done. I’ll help you with the basic strategy and pricing, but you have to put in the work and the hours. You have to put in the effort.
The first problem you might have is that you do not know who your clients are.
I’ve got good and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?
Awesome, let’s go with the bad ones: I cannot tell you who your clients are.
But… here is the good news: You can find out easily if you do your homework.
Figuring out who your clients are
Straight to the point. Did you book any live streams? If so, who booked you?
The answer to that question could be a demographic, an institution, or even a dead end.
If a school booked you to live stream a graduation ceremony, maybe you can offer other services to them. Or offer the same service to other schools. They could even book you for the same event every year.
Was it a couple for a wedding? Most engaged couples have friends who are also getting engaged and married soon. Reach out to them asking for referrals.
Depending on your background, your area, and the people you hang out with, you have access to a different market. If you’re surrounded by professionals, their companies might need to live stream a conference, a seminar, or even a training program.
Are you surrounded by videographers or photographers? They can upsell live streaming for the events they have and you’re the live streaming guy/gal.
For the sake of this experiment, let’s assume you don’t have a circle of people who can help you get started. In this case, reaching out to venues in your area is the first step. Wedding venues, funeral homes, local theatres, dance schools, … the list is endless.
You can call them, but walking there and talking to a manager or planner could be more effective in smaller towns.
What if this doesn’t sound like you?
Maybe you’re a people person, not a salesperson. In that case, find out who the event planners in your area are, and approach them. Not to sell, but to build a relationship. You can do this in person (if you have people skills) or online, if they’re not too busy. You need to meet the right people to book the right jobs.
Don’t love the idea? Try local talent instead. Chefs, teachers, coaches, yoga instructors. They might already have an audience, and you can help them share their message to the world.
Think about the expertise you can bring to all of these businesses, and try to collaborate with them. Think about other people you can help: non-profits. They’re looking for ways to get more donations, you’re looking to grow your business.
Figure out who your clients are first.
Show your talent and expertise
If you haven’t streamed enough in the past, you need to create some content. You can do it at paid jobs, but I’d recommend you polish little things before going all-in.
Set up your equipment. Broadcast something for your friends, family, or any local business that needs some help. Non-profit or local charities are always great to meet people, have events regularly and will love if someone donates / volunteers to live stream.
Once you have something to show, build a small but polished portfolio.
Nobody needs to see dozens of videos to decide whether they want to hire you. They need to see at least two or three samples of previous work, and it needs to be good.
When live streaming to EventLive, you can edit the footage, fix audio/video problems and re-upload the edited video to the live stream page. New clients will only see the best version of your work.
If you have a website, you can embed your live streams using EventLive directly into your pages. If you don’t have a website yet, you can upload your logo to your event pages and send them to your clients.
The most important thing is to show that you’re qualified for the job. When they see a neat video from previous clients, they will imagine the possibilities of what you can do for them.
Another great way to show expertise is to show the behind-the-scenes, especially if you’re managing multiple pieces of equipment.
You can show expertise by telling them how to prepare for a live stream over social media, Instagram stories, or even by creating a TikTok series explaining the results you got for other clients.
Creating an Offer
Here’s where creatives get lost. As a wedding photographer, I struggled with this at first too.
Creating an offer is more a formula than it is an art. It looks something like this:
- Be clear: What's your offer?
- Give value before pricing
- Pricing
Be clear
How does your offer help them? Why should they buy it? What are you selling?
Good examples:
- “Allow family and friends to be there on your wedding day. They can attend virtually from anywhere in the world”
- “Bring your family together, no matter where they are. They can watch your virtual wedding with a single click”
- “Reach more customers with live streaming”
- “Share your expertise with your audience in real-time. Increase your reach, boost your sales”
- “Show your venue, increase your word of mouth. Bring your events online”
Bad examples: “Live Streaming for your business”, “Broadcast your ideas” and other vague promises.
Value before pricing
Before telling me how much is it going to cost, convince me that I need it.
Tell your clients what live streaming can do for them and how you’re going to help them achieve that. Some good ways to boost the value of your offer comes from pointing out everything they’re going to get.
When using EventLive, you can use some of these benefits:
- HD/Full-HD Live Stream
- Private event page
- Automatic event reminders
- Playing music allowed (Unlike YouTube or Facebook)
- One-click access
- Instant replay for 365 days
- Live stream recording available for Download
- Digital Guestbook or Chat included
- Unlimited Viewers
- Can be watched on every device, including Phones, Computers, and TVs.
- No registration, ads, or interruptions
- Professional Platform (Not social media)
Benefits over features.
When you establish who your client is, think about the benefits you can offer to them, more than the features of the live stream itself. What do they care about? How can you emphasize on their needs while selling to them?
Wedding clients really enjoy the Guestbook feature. For Funerals, it is called a Tribute wall.
For business presentations, the Chat can replace the guestbook to create an engaging conversation.
Weddings and musical concerts can benefit from the ability to play any famous songs without being blocked, while event reminders might be important for a webinar or corporate event.
Pricing and Packages
Typing your price is the easy part. Convincing someone to pay you on the spot is the tricky one.
First of all, define your pricing. Based on your area and your market, you might have to adapt your offer.
We have streamers charging anywhere from 250 to 1250 USD for Funerals, 375 to 2500 USD for Weddings, and 120-250 USD per hour for other events. You should also consider recitals, theatre plays, concerts, corporate events, religious ceremonies, and so on.
I’d recommend you to come up with two or three options, and no more than four. Here are a few packages for Weddings, which you can copy and modify to use for your own business:
Ceremony Coverage
- Guests arrival, Wedding Setup, and Ceremony Live stream (up to one hour).
- Professional audio for your virtual guests
- Private link to share with family and friends
- Virtual Guestbook that you can download
- Replay available for one year
- Full Video Recording of your live stream
– $450
Optional: Add a second camera angle for 350 USD.
Ceremony, Photoshoot, and Speeches
- Up to 4 Hours of coverage: Guests arrival, Wedding Setup, Ceremony, Couple photoshoot or Cocktail hour, First Dance, Speeches
- Professional audio for your virtual guests
- Private link to share with family and friends
- Virtual Guestbook that you can download
- Replay available for one year
- Full Video Recording of your live stream
– $800
Wedding Day
- Up to 6 Hours of coverage: Guests arrival, Wedding Setup, Ceremony, Couple photoshoot or Cocktail hour, First Dance, Speeches, Reception
- Professional audio for your virtual guests
- Private link to share with family and friends
- Virtual Guestbook that you can download
- Replay available for one year
- Full Video Recording of your live stream
– $1200
Final Comments
Some people are uncomfortable with selling. In many cases, this one included, selling is helping.
You don't need to push your offer, you just need to show them how beneficial it is for them to work with you. It's all about finding the right angle to explain it, answer their concerns and making sure that you do a great job with the live stream.
If you still need help, you can book a free strategy session with us. Contact us at support@eventlive.pro. We'll help you book more clients, embed the live streams on your website, create packages, and grow a successful live streaming business.
At EventLive, we're constantly looking to develop strong relationships with our streamers. We can't wait to hear from you.
