How You Can Make Money Livestreaming With Ross Brand

How You Can Make Money Livestreaming With Ross Brand

===

Jim Fuhs: [: 00:00:00

Chris Stone: The live streaming legend Ross Brand has made the transition from radio broadcaster to a leader in the live streaming industry.

Ross started live streaming in the early days of Blab and has stayed on top of the continuing changes in the industry. He also tells you how anyone who puts forth the effort can make money on their live streaming show.

Jim Fuhs: So get out your notebook and prepare to get some money making tips.

Ross Brand: What's up, Ross?

ally wonderful what you guys [: 00:01:00

You've been pioneers and you've really created a show out of it and made an art format of going live on Amazon. Anybody can go on and say, you know, Hey, you want a mouse? Here's a mouse here. You want a glass of water? Right. Okay. I'll say, but to go on and entertain people and, and inform them about.

Different areas and different products and actually talk to the people who create those products. It's really, really wonderful what you guys have done and you've really carved out a space for yourself as, as leaders in the live streaming community through your work here on Amazon. So I, I'm really excited to be here and.

Nothing was gonna get in my way today.

an impact on someone. 'cause [: 00:02:00

You just never know. Sometimes it takes years to hear something back, but I always feel like it's important to let that person know that they did that. Because, you know, as a, as a live streamer, as a podcaster, you know, sometimes that little I. Thank you or that little, Hey, this, this touched me, this, this made an impact on me.

This allowed me to do this. It, it sometimes means the world to people.

Ross Brand: Well, you know what? It, it just really means a lot just watching that you were able to take the video and, and go with it, and then everything you've done from that point on has been your own initiative and your own consistency and just, I think I.

g. Now I can take everything [: 00:03:00

And it's also a less crowded in many ways because on Facebook Live and YouTube live, lots of shows, lots of interviews. To bring that skillset over to Amazon Live where a lot of people were just doing their product rundown. Let's flip through the carousel. And there's nothing wrong with that, by the way.

People gotta learn how to sell and they gotta learn how to communicate about products 'cause that's probably how we're gonna be doing business. But bringing over the show concept here, it's really. It's just been amazing to watch. So I, again, congratulations on everything you've done. You guys have, have really set the the pace for other people to look to and say.

ible on Amazon Live. You can [: 00:04:00

Possible. I recommended it. Go ahead. Right. These guys deserve, these guys deserve the commission. Go keep selling Ross, keep you go.

Jim Fuhs: Yeah. Well, and, and you know, Ross, it, it, it, I tell you what's fun, right? Like, we, like we're having this interview with you and, and the folks that are watching, you know, 'cause part of it, like Chris and I have talked about since the beginning was we wanted to be different and we want to teach people.

ight, maybe for some people, [: 00:05:00

If they, they had a built-in audience somewhere else, but I think. You know, on the flip side, you, you know, like Chris and I had a blast the other night 'cause it was just the two of us and so we, we can kind of play with formats. So we were, you know, I had an Oculus quest on my head and we were live streaming it to a Facebook group and then bringing that live stream in through Streamy Yard into the presentation.

And so people are watching me do a three, you know, do the whole 360 virtual reality thing. You know, three years ago when I started live streaming, I would've never imagined that I would be doing something like that on Amazon. And uh, so, you know, we all have these opportunities to learn. I mean, you're always diving into to new stuff, better stuff.

ut fellow creators like Phil [: 00:06:00

We see what people are doing. Phil Hill, I don't know, uh, Ross, if you knew this, he may be the first guy to live stream to Amazon while riding a Harley. Oh, wow. So, you know, people are getting really, really creative with, uh, with these things. And, uh. This whole like, you know, this whole live shopping thing is, it's in, in the US right?

It's already big over in, in, uh, Asia is, I think we're just scratching the surface. And so, you know, live streamers, you know, deserve to, you know, earn a living, especially if they're doing this as much as some people are doing. And I think that's where I think this new program that you've created, this new vision you have is, uh.

Is very timely.

an event or a show and say, [: 00:07:00

I mean, it's expensive to do. It's time consuming and people are good at it and they're providing value. The platforms are making money. The services we subscribe to, you gotta get internet, gotta gotta have a streaming service, gotta have, uh, gear. You've gotta have a lot of different things. And, uh, of course the platforms are taking our content and they're monetizing that with ads.

as a host or as a producer. [: 00:08:00

Uh, you know, there's so many different ways people can use live streaming. You write a book, you can talk about the book on live streaming, but you can also use live streaming to create a book, uh, by creating the content and then come back to the live stream and sell it. So, you know, we got, we're gonna go at the event.

says, this is what you do in: 2021

books and articles and shows [: 00:09:00

What changes are the platforms, how the audience responds to new features? Do they embrace it? Do they not embrace it? Do they, like when you sell products on a certain platform, do they not want to hear about that? That you have to kind of feel, but the the, the ability to do a show, I mean, like I was saying before.

tand out. You guys stand out [: 00:10:00

Buy products and, and you make money from it. And, and so I think because live streaming has been a lifeline for a lot of brick and mortar businesses, that would've gone outta business. I mean, there, there are a lot of businesses where the, the business owner never thought about cameras and microphones and any of this stuff.

You know, our, our customers come into the store and we talk to them and we show them the product. Well, what happens when there's a lockdown and the customer can't come into the store or is afraid to come into the store? And pe-people are, are really creative and they came up with all different ways to put entertainment out there and at the same time interest people in in their products.

eaming. It's gotta work on a [: 00:11:00

And I, I think they're a little, we're all little bit behind because. We don't have it. The built in system that the platform has for making money that the, the, the businesses that have been around and are creating, you know, um, physical tools or service, you know, SaaS products or whatever, how do you, how do you monetize your creativity?

ways to get the skills they [: 00:12:00

Right. Because I know for me, it's like my first thing is always, was it a good show? Not how many units did I sell or did anybody join my email list? Like did I deliver from my audience? But then we also have to look at business metrics, right? Not how many views, not how many shares, not how many comments, but did we, did we get closer to landing a client?

million.[: 00:13:00

What they're gonna care about is, did somebody buy something? Did somebody. Convert or did you raise the awareness to an audience so that then in the future when they need that product or that service, they know where to go to get it? And that's, that's a value in a live stream where you may not sell, but you've raised major awareness of what's out there for people who need it, and you built that relationship with them.

So. I feel a little preachy here, but I just feel like don't wanna preach, preach it, preach it,

Jim Fuhs: preach. I, I, I

Ross Brand: feel like, you know, and I'm learning myself. Right. It's, it's, it's something we all like. I don't, I don't wanna be salesy. I don't want say that. I don't wanna write that letter like that, you know, I've just, everything wants to be pure and art and everything else.

ould have an advantage. This [: 00:14:00

Chris Stone: God, there's so much to unpack there. And I, I want to go back to some, some of what you said Ross was, was so important and what you're, what you're talking about here in, in your live summit that's coming up that, uh, we're gonna go to and, and just so, just so everyone knows, this is coming up on the 15th, right?

And it is. You can go and it's free. And it's monetized live video. You're also going to get a playbook, which I thought was awesome. Uh, which we, we should, we should also do, but it, you know, Ross, I, you know, what you were talking about was, you know, and we talked about this with Mitch Jackson when he had, uh, when we had him on the show, who's also speaking at this, this event when he wrote, um, the Guide to Social Media.

Was something that you could [: 00:15:00

And I think that's what you're talking about here is you've been in, you've been doing live streaming since I. The webcam was invented. And so, you know, a lot of people, a lot of people need to know that a lot of people need to go to livestream universe and just understand that the gentleman on our screen, um, has, you know, a won awards and has done, you know, you're too humble to to, to say this.

I know Ross, but, um, you've seen. Uh, probably three gazillion microphones being talked about being the best microphone ever and everybody thinks about the tech and our show's called Don't Fear the Gear because too many people are thinking about hosting platforms and, uh, cameras and, and all of these things, and they're forgetting about what you just talked about, which was the content.

It's the most important thing. But

ing the gear. I started with [: 00:16:00

That's so it's not the gear, right? As long as your audio is understandable and clear. I, I would say if you do nothing else, get a decent microphone, right? Put on some headphones or earbuds. And you're probably most of the way where you need to go. Now with everybody doing this now and everybody kind of stepping up their their game a little bit, you might want to get an external webcam.

vel or, you know, use a past [: 00:17:00

Better than any webcam you'll get at the store.

Jim Fuhs: Absolutely. And, and Ross, you know, I think too, right? 'cause you started in radio, correct? Mm-hmm. And so you were, you were already kind of used to producing shows, but you, you know, you weren't in front of a camera yet. And what I think that we're not all. Have come to the realization of like, and, and every once in a while Chris and I sit back and like, wow, we literally have a channel like deal casters live channel on Amazon, right?

njoying and coming, watching [: 00:18:00

You can, you know, that's, that's the, I think the excitement to me about this and the fact that, uh. You've gathered all these really, uh, amazing people to, to talk to us and all. 'cause you know, like you said, we're always learning, right? If this is the thing about live streaming, it's, it's as much as the fundamentals, right?

It's the audio, it's the, the cameras and the, you know, you know, the better internet you can have, you know, the better your, you don't have to worry about other things, but it's still, it's fundamentals, right? And how do you get better at the fundamentals? It's like, you know. At least the three of us will know who John Wooden is, right?

at your, the tapes. I mean, [: 00:19:00

And I think, you know, you've seen it. I mean, you've been, you've been a pioneer in, in, in your own right with this stuff. I mean, you had a great, uh, show, you know, streamy Yard Connect, uh, that, uh, you know, used to enjoy watching and you had some amazing guests on there. I mean, so, uh, I think it's exciting, Ross, that you're, you know, you're continuing to do that by taking this next step with, uh.

The monetize, uh, live video program.

Ross Brand: Yeah. There's so much room for everybody to grow because when you think about tv, even even radio, although radio's a little more, much more, do it yourself than TV is. But in terms of the gear and things like that, the average on air person isn't like, oh, I want this microphone, I want my compression turned to here.

I mean, you, you go whatever [: 00:20:00

They're setting it up for the whole station and what works and for how people listen in their cars. It's, and then you get to TV and. You've got people handling every aspect of it other than perhaps your writing, perhaps depending on what type of station you work for, you may be doing some of your own shooting, but.

e've got the background. You [: 00:21:00

And somebody else who does the graphics like just puts the logo. Where it's supposed to go. And you know the text for a specific guest, every single thing you're seeing that's a part of this. Unless you guys are hiding a team somewhere, you guys are doing it all. I'm doing it all. And so of course there's always room to learn and always room to grow.

last year on the video side, [: 00:22:00

I've still got a ways to go. Still gotta look at that camera a little bit more than I do, but it's all a work in progress. Yeah. And, and that's it. And, and even at the highest levels of broadcasting, it's often trade offs. We use this microphone, it picks up their voice better, but then it'll also pick up some room noise.

If we use this microphone, we won't get any room noise, but their voice doesn't spar. You know, everything's a trade off. Right.

Chris Stone: I think it's important 'cause you're, I, I believe you're building a community here too, and, and what you're talking about so important to. 'cause sometimes as a podcaster or live streamer things, you can almost feel lonely sometimes.

pport you, but give you some [: 00:23:00

Like you're saying, get yourself. Get the reps in, surround yourself, uh, with people like that, and also be a lifelong learner on this stuff. You know, uh, go to monetize live video and, and get a free summit from some of the best speakers on the planet that can talk about this stuff. And why not do that and take the time to do that, to get better.

Then you're not worried about, um, your content as much and you're getting that rep, those reps in. So I love, I love what you're building here. Can we talk a little bit about the summit? Can we talk about ly the speakers Absolutely. That you got. Absolutely. Because I'm like, we haven't gotten there yet, and this is like a huge laundry list of people that, um, God, I'm gonna, I'm gonna let you talk about who you'd love to talk about, uh, here, Ross.

But I mean, this is a, this is a laundry list of, of folks that are just massive in the, in the live streaming industry.

em. They're all, they're all [: 00:24:00

She goes live, I think almost every day. Yeah. Or every week. Yeah, sounds about right. With nasdaq. She's a host for NASDAQ tv and. She's also one of the Forbes' top women wealth advisors in the country working with high net worth clients. So she's a perfect person who understands live streaming and understands the monetization side of business and what it takes to build a business and what it takes to build wealth and keep wealth online.

I, I enjoy doing a show to. [: 00:25:00

Um, another person who I was, my very first guest that I ever had on a show is Jennifer Quinn, and she's somebody else, Jenny Q, who just dove into it and learned on the fly. She had never done anything like this before and she was going live every single day doing interviews. And since then, you know, from all that experience, she then went over to Facebook Live when that came along and did the first variety show on Facebook Live.

On the business side, she's [: 00:26:00

So there's that aspect of it. Uh, Phil k Kuba, who I went live with today, I connected with him through Live U, which is a hardware encoder that you see live streamers sometimes and people in the broadcasting business take with them. Instead of bringing a satellite truck, like in the old days, you just take the live view and you, you send it, you send it right from your camera and microphone right on back to a station, or you send it back to live view and they boost it out to, to social media.

reaming. It's not always the [: 00:27:00

It's okay, we're gonna have a band release a video. How do we use live streaming to get people to show up for that premiere, get them excited that they can have some engagement with the band and the. The other fans and so forth. So there's, there's, but, but, so that's another possibility, right? You've been, you guys have been live streaming for a long time.

Jim, I know has moved into producing live streams for other people as I have, uh, advising people on how they can use it on behalf of their business. So Phil's a great resource on that. Jenny Q's gonna talk about that. Mitch, who you mentioned. Is is a perfect example of a business professional who shouldn't be live streaming, right?

Everybody's a lawyer doesn't. Right? Hey, wait

Chris Stone: a minute. Look at Mitch Jackson on the phone.

you gotta go into court and [: 00:28:00

He also has other business interests. He's always kind of trying to stay on the forefront of things and by, by diving into the social media live streaming area, he also has become known all around the world and people say, Hmm, I need a, a lawyer in California. Mitch Jackson knows, or I need somebody to talk about some social media issue that I don't know anything about and neither do any of these other.

te their law firm so. That's [: 00:29:00

And he started with like $5,000, I think it was. And without taking VC money, without spending a lot on marketing, he grew that business to uh, I think a hundred million or nearly a hundred million in revenue. In a fairly short time and sold it, and now he's back running a, a company called Nimble and, and that's something that integrates for the, you know.

ocial selling and influencer [: 00:30:00

You know, either be the influencer marketer or use these social connections and the influence of others to spread the word about your business. I mean, so many talented people. Um, Louise McDonald, I'll just mention another thing people don't think of a lot of times fundraising through live streaming, she raised $35,000 in one live stream.

Wow. So there's potential there for that, in that area. Um, and if, if you wanna throw out a name or somebody, I'm happy to hit, I don't, I don't have the, the graphic in front of me, but I'm happy to talk about what they're gonna talk about or you Right. You have a subject. No, I, of course. Yeah, I think of course you screen, you screen Just joined us as, as a sponsor.

netization, helping creators [: 00:31:00

And also the role of live streaming can play in lead generation. So that's another phenomenal speaker who I can't wait to hear from. Somebody else who's got a book that just came out recently is Jan K. He's from Germany, and he wrote a, he wrote the book on, on virtual summits. In fact, I read his book as I was.

him. And virtual summits, I [: 00:32:00

It's, it's an also another opportunity to, to perhaps monetize or. It's a, it's a link in that chain that, you know, you get known, you get emails, you make connections, you meet influential folks, and then maybe you have a different strategy to monetize at the end. But it's, it's definitely something that moves people along and it's why as much as I can, I always say yes when somebody asks me to speak at a, at a virtual summit, because it's just a great way to get your name out there.

amazing in person, but it's.[: 00:33:00

It's pretty darn amazing online too. Yeah, I, I mean, you talk about somebody who's, Chris Zos has pulled together so many of the elements of the in-person event using tools and apps and community things that, things like the Hoover app, which is probably a very premium solution, but then using Zoom and live streaming and, and, and.

You know, meetups in all different ways. Mm-hmm. You know, letting people take, take control and set up their own sessions, their own meetups, and, and so there's a lot that goes on with that community and I think it's a great place to look as well for, for, for ideas. Yeah.

Chris Stone: You touched on, uh, you know, the, the, just a wide variance of, of people and it's just, there's so much to unpack there, which is, which is great.

t as well. So, you know, you [: 00:34:00

Right, right, right. Earlier this week, I, I was doing, I was on a show and we were interviewing, um, an insurance salesman who has branded himself with live streaming, mostly on LinkedIn. Um, and is, you know, basically. Does hip hop, um, and, you know, was a, was an mc and, um, he has taken his personal brand and applied it to live streaming.

And, and I think in the same way, I think a lot of people sort of say, I sell insurance and so I'm in this box, right? I'm a lawyer, I'm in this box. But they treat it. Mitch and, uh, Darrell, who we, we spoke earlier, uh, this week. Uh, the bow tie guy, the notorious VTG, um, they treat it as. Like they're an influencer.

, you know, I may work for a [: 00:35:00

'cause it'll get it, you know, while you're talking about all these people, it's generating ideas for a lot of people that are like, well, geez, I didn't know I could do that. I'm this, well, yeah, you could do that. You just fire up your camera and do what, uh, you know, a lot of people are doing already.

Ross Brand: Yeah. I mean there, everybody's kind of come from a different background in this.

Mm-hmm. Um, you have somebody like Michael Kinney who's speaking who. Has 30 years in in broadcast television. He's been an actor. He's been a documentary filmmaker. I think if there's a role in video and television and film, Michael's had it at some point, so I. There's, there's you, you see the talent just pours out, right?

I mean, there's no [: 00:36:00

can tune in and see how she [: 00:37:00

And you know, she's grown to where she's then added coaching programs and events and, and now does group coaching and membership and, you know, so that she can serve many more people. And her business ha has grown. And then you have a guy like Dale Roberts who's. All over social media. He's, he's a live streamer, he's a podcaster, he's a YouTube star, I, I would say.

ink, and a lot of the skills [: 00:38:00

I, I probably couldn't, you know, go do surgery tomorrow or something like that. Well, if you sedated a holiday in express, you'd be right. Yes. That, that is true. And, um, well. You know, I, there's a funny story about that, but I'll, I'll let the other, uh, our mutual contact tell that story if you hadn't heard it.

But there actually is a story about somebody, Jim and I know who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and then was actually called into, uh, playing a role that a doctor might play and everything. It turned out pretty good, but I, I don't know that I should tell that story so well, Jim, and I'll talk off the air.

Chris Stone: And so it's, uh, I guess livestream universe is where, um, people will go. Uh, is that,

s where we're spending time. [: 00:39:00

But just all things live streaming and monetization. It's, um, called Mo Monetize Live Streaming. Now, see, it's a mouthful for me, so I've been using face facebook.com/group/monetize live. So at Monetize Live or Monetize Live. Is probably the easiest way to find it. And if not, just send me a message anywhere on social or email me or whatever.

Alright,

Chris Stone: I've

Ross Brand: got, I've got

Chris Stone: one last easy question for Ross Brand. Okay. Livestream. One word or two.

Ross Brand: Wow. So I started with it as one word. I'll tell you why. Startup right was start and up. Then it became start dash up and finally just became a startup as one word. So I figured live streaming would go that way.

And so I started doing it as [: 00:40:00

It's already kind of long monetized live streaming now. So I went with the three words. So now I'm back to using live streaming mostly as one word, but I will still throw it in as two words. Because there's that Google thing, and you know, that YouTube algorithm and all that. And I think using it as two words is a little more search friendly.

are doing as one word, but. [: 00:41:00

Right. I even started writing livestream, not the company, but at the, when I would say, I'm, you know, I'm going to livestream later or something. I even started writing that as two words at one point, and that I thought I never did, but, so I'm back in the camp of one at least Oh, okay. For a little while, and we'll see.

Well, I think, um, it's one is a

Jim Fuhs: hashtag, right?

Chris Stone: Yeah, yeah. Oh, the hashtag's always gotta be no choice. One choice, right? Yeah. And so, yeah, the chat, uh, is uh, like team one word. So, um, excellent. Excellent. I think, I think we're going with one word. We've decided it here. Um, this is the moment where livestream becomes one word.

Um, but yeah, I

Ross Brand: moved off, I moved off of it for a while, but I'm back in the one word camp and you know, I'm with my peeps here, so this, it's all good. So, so Ross Fi, final

m, sure. Because you, you're [: 00:42:00

Do you, do you like the direction it's going? What, what are some things you think you could see maybe coming up in say, the next year that people should be, uh, considering and thinking about?

Ross Brand: Uh, I think what you guys are doing and where you're doing it is where the future is going. It may not be Amazon Live, but it's certainly the merger of e-commerce and live streaming and Amazon.

You've got that cart there that, uh, carousel, right? You can click on the item while you're watching. The live stream goes right into your cart. You buy, I think that's coming in some capacity to every platform. And those that don't have it are going to start to fall behind. It's going to be expected. I think it's, you know, it's like super chat on steroids, right?

y of opportunities for that, [: 00:43:00

They ask you questions, they assume they know what you want to know, and you, you go through that dance. I think it's gonna be like, I'm interested in shopping at deal casters, uh, winner, winner, our Jim and Chris going live. Uh, they'll probably talk about that new product that came in or whatever, and I'll just watch 'em and see if it sounds like something that would work for me or not.

e streaming is. Right. It'll [: 00:44:00

And it won't be like, I'm doing an unboxing and you watch it and it's entertaining as I flub through and I try and figure out what this piece is and how, you know. Yeah. But it'll be more like, you know. I just tried this. It's amazing, not just a review where you then go to the store and buy it, or you buy it with my affiliate link, but like you fall in love with the product right away.

ng from everyday products to [: 00:45:00

But we'll see. We'll have to see how that. How that develops. Well, I know Usually I'm the one asking for predictions.

Jim Fuhs: Yeah. But yeah, that's true. And I, I did get, I was, I was honored to be on your prediction show last year, but I will say, you know, definitely for those of you, uh, that have unmuted, you need to follow this man everywhere he's at because he, I.

He's definitely in the know, he, he gets out ahead of things. I know. I continue to, to learn from you, Ross. Appreciate your, your friendship. I appreciate you, uh, joining us and, uh, excited for what you're doing with, uh, monetize Live video.

Ross Brand: Well, thanks a lot guys. This was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.

And, uh. Look forward to, to doing more shows together. And, and yeah, this is just a blast. So thank you for having me. Thank you. Absolutely.

Chris Stone: Thanks Ross. And for those of you who are, who've just joined us, I see a bunch. I see Christina Nietzche in the, and Barb, who's also an Amazon Live influencer, has joined as well as Ryan Akia.

[: 00:46:00

Uh, thanks as always. Thanks, uh, uh, my partner, Jim, uh, in crime, uh, for a great show and Ross Brand. Thank you once again for thank you guys. The reason why we're here, we appreciate it. And as always, don't fear the gear.

Jim Fuhs: Thanks for listening to deal casters. Congratulations, you've taken another step forward.

In your content creation journey, please don't forget to hit the subscribe or follow button here in your favorite podcast player so you can be reminded every time we drop an episode,

g to watch our shows live on [: 00:47:00

Follow us on Twitter. Or subscribe to our YouTube channel where we also included added content that you cannot find anywhere else.

Jim Fuhs: If you have questions about this episode or have something you want us to review, you could also email us at deal casters@dealcasters.live. Thanks again for listening and you know the deal.

Don't fear the.