“I wish I could be as comfortable on camera as you!”
This has been said to me over and over again in recent months.
You guys, I need let you in on something… something that might surprise you quite a bit: I WAS TERRIFIED OF LIVE VIDEO when I first started.
(And yes, I’m using all caps. But that statement deserves all caps! Some people are terrified of snakes or spiders or tornadoes… Me? I would have chosen to kill a snack or spider or live through a tornado over going live on video any day!)
I Avoided Anything LIVE for Years
I avoided anything to do with live for years. Live presentations, live TV, live radio, live video… if it didn’t have an edit button, I was OUT.
I turned down lots of opportunities because of this fear. And I let it hold me back.
But, slowly ever so slowly, I decided to punch fear in the face and started getting brave and doing things like public speaking, despite the fact that it made me ill for weeks in advance. The more I did it, the less it freaked me out and the more comfortable I got with it.
I was still scared, but I had moved from the vomiting-inducing terror level to just being shaky and having a pit in my stomach.
Talk about progress! 🙂
So, with this newfound confidence, I ventured into a completely new territory… live video!
It feels like a lifetime ago, but it was actually only a few years ago (live video hasn’t been around that long, after all!)
I Worked Up the Courage to Go Live
After watching some various online entrepreneurs use live video so effectively, I challenged myself to get brave and hit the “go live” button
Now, I need you to know that this wasn’t just a decision I made one day on a whim.
Oh no! Trust me, I’m not that brave at all. In reality, it took me a full month of watching other live videos to work up my courage to actually go live myself.
And when I finally did work up the courage, my hands were shaking, I was a nervous wreck internally, and I was super uncomfortable the entire time I was live.
I Committed to Do It Every Week Day for a Month
But I had made a commitment to stick with it for 4 weeks and, so that I wouldn’t chicken out (!), I publicly told people I would go live every single weekday morning for a month.
It’s a good thing I had made that commitment, because, let me tell you, I sure wanted to chicken out!
Just like anything in life, live video takes practice to get comfortable with. But unlike many things in life, when you practice live video, you’re practicing in front of a LIVE audience! And that’s quite scary!
I Stuck With It — And I Couldn’t Believe What Happened!
But I did it… I stuck with my one-month commitment to go live every weekday morning. And I’m so glad that I did, because something big happened that month.
I started getting emails from longtime readers saying things like, “I’ve read your blog for 8 years and I’ve never connected with you like I have in the past three weeks I’ve been watching your live videos.”
OR, “I always felt like you were so perfect and I could never be like you. But then I started watching your live videos and I realized that you’re just like me! I love you so much!”
And on and on the emails started pouring in.
I’m Still in Shock at How Effective Live Video Is
Not only were the emails pouring in, but we started noticing a marked uptick in our engagement online and in our sales. When I would promote something on live video — be that a deal or one of my own products that was launching or just a link — people were responding to those types of things in droves and begging for more!
I felt like I uncovered this goldmine of possibilities for connecting with my readers in a way I never though would be possible! And, as I continued to go live, I’ve slowly fallen in love with the live video medium.
I love it not just because it’s so easy to produce content (and I can often then re-use this same content for YouTube videos or other posts!), but mostly because it’s been one of the most effective tools ever to fostering deep trust and relationship with my audience.
I Want to Help You Succeed at Live Video, Too!
I want you to discover the same incredible power that I did that live video will give you for building your audience, boosting your engagement, and increasing your income.
And that’s why I’m teaching a class on 10 Strategies to Master Facebook Live next Thursday evening. It will be a 2-hour class where I’ll pull back the curtain and share all of my best tips and tricks and tactics for being successful on Facebook Live.
Trust me, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I’ve learned a lot of things the hard way… and I don’t want you to have to make the same mistakes I have!
I’ll be a completely open book in this class and will likely share things you’ve never heard shared before anywhere. Because I’ve discovered a lot of things that I don’t hear anybody else teaching or talking about — and they really work!
You don’t want to miss it! Sign up here.
I hope you can make it! And, more than that, I hope it will inspire you to find the same success and joy from live video that I have found!
What You Can Expect From This Class
I won’t be trying to sell you anything in the class! It will be two hours of me sharing my best tips, my hard-won strategies, and my top-secret tactics — most that I haven’t talked about anywhere else until now!
There will also be time for me to dive deep into your questions and give you proven help to make the most of your live videos!
Register for your ticket to this exclusive class here.
(Oh and everyone who registers will get a really cool bonus PDF with lots of extra goodies, too!)