Our Guides

5 Livestream Fails You Don’t Know You’re Making

We host (and watch) a lot of Livestreams each week. We’ve seen our fair share of incredible hosts…and our fair share of Livestream fails. Heck, we’ve even committed our own fair share of Livestream fails! It’s a hard format to master, but you don’t have to worry about making mistakes anymore.

In this article, we’ll be sharing five of the most common livestream fails and how to fix them!

1. Not Setting the Mood 🎶

A lot of creators just set up their phone and jump into the livestream. But a few minutes of prep can really improve your livestream – if not for your viewers, then for yourself! Spend a little time making sure your phone is steady, and we can clearly see you. Maybe put on a little music for background noise.

What you do depends on you and your livestream. But there are a few elements we recommend including in your setup.

  • A sturdy place to set your camera (we recommend a tripod)
  • An appealing background; try a white wall or fun tapestry
  • Decent lighting, so we can clearly see you
  • Reliable sound; we need to be able to hear you
  • Everything you’ll need, like water, art supplies, and any props

The last is especially important and is something we see a lot of creators forget. Be sure to have whatever you’re likely to need on hand. Grab a glass of water (or wine, we don’t judge), your chapstick, a charger, or anything you might reach for during your live. Nothing kills the vibe like the host getting up for a few minutes.

2. Forgetting a Schedule 📝

A lot of creators go into livestreams without a plan; they hit “start” and go with the flow. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this plan, but it can cause problems. We recommend going live for at least an hour. Without some kind of agenda or order of events, that hour can drag on and on. It’s boring for you and certainly boring for your viewers.

So, come up with some kind of plan! You don’t have to script your livestream down to the second, but have a clear idea of what you want to do. If you’re doing a cook with me livestream, that might look like warming up the live for five minutes, explaining what you’ll be doing for another five, cooking for fifteen, and chatting for ten. That gives you (and your viewers) a clear idea of what’s going to happen when.

3. Not Adding Moderators 🎙️

Sometimes moderating a livestream chat feels like herding cats.

It’s hard for the host to control that and keep the livestream entertaining. There may have been fights, someone saying something inappropriate, or just unruly viewers in general. That’s where moderators come in handy! Moderators are viewers the host assigns to help manage the chat. They can remove people, engage with viewers, and help you keep the live on track. Moderators will do the legwork of keeping the chat in check while you focus on hosting an engaging live.

If you’ve never assigned moderators before, it can be a little daunting. For the most part, you can’t really go wrong with your selection. But there are a few creators we recommend prioritizing.

  • Creators who join your lives often
  • A long-time or really engaged follower
  • One of your mutuals
  • A creator you’ve gone live with

You can either ask creators before you live to moderate, or ask them during the livestream. If a viewer is offering to moderate during your live, they might be a good option too!

For the tea on moderators and how to assign them, check out this article.

4. Ignoring the Chat 💬

A lot of viewers go live without ever looking at the chat. It can be overwhelming to try to keep up with all the questions and comments, but it has to be done! Your moderators will help out a lot, but you should also make a point to check the chat.

You can either take a quick glance at the chat throughout your live and answer questions or respond to comments as you go, or designate specific times when you’ll check the chat. Maybe as you switch from one activity to the other, or every ten minutes. There’s no wrong way to do it; just keep an eye on the chat as you go!

5. Not Trying New Formats 📸

Clapper has more than one Livestream mode, which you can start using right away. A lot of creators never venture out of a typical Live, but we have three Livestream formats that are so fun. Both for you and for your viewers! Let’s talk about them.

  • Multi Live: With Multi Live, you can go Live with up to eight other creators. This is perfect for group yap sessions, creator speed dating, virtual Zumba, and any other group activity. Multi Live bingo, anyone?
  • PK Battles: A community favorite, PK Battles let you go head-to-head with another creator. These competition-style livestreams have creators competing to see who can receive the most gifts from their community. Longtime creators will remember our Rocktoberfest Chicken Dance bracket, Spooky Fashion Show, and Luck of the Irish jig challenge.
  • Paid Multi Lives: Also called Spotlights, Paid Multi Lives let you go live with a viewer for a fee. You create a mini listing for what you and the viewer will do, assign a price, and creators who want to join you will “buy” the listing. They’ll come up for a minute, and you’ll share the spotlight.

And don’t worry if you’ve made all five of these livestream fails. Our team has too! A large part of content creation is trying new things, failing, and trying again. As long as you’re growing and learning, you’re not really failing.

Want more insider tips to ace your next Clapper Livestream? Check out our Livestream 101 article and our five Livestream hosting essentials.

The Clapper app is a short-form video and Livestream app for creators 17+. Our goal is to give creators a platform to build communities and express themselves freely without judgment and censorship. To learn more, download the app or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.