How to spend your money on your business and improve your traffic
This video just reminded me of some really important things. I've made some silly purchases over the years that really weren't necessary, and there's also some stuff I've missed particularly in regards to branding. This covers both equipment and getting more traffic so very topical for most of us at the moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ezlpN6mdG0&app=desktop
Re: How to spend your money on your business and improve your traffic
This is true! I find it very important to use the latest techology, if you want to make good money nowadays. Yes, I know, the good ol' C920/ C930e was something, but it's time to move on from it and get a webcam that actually can stream 720p clearly.
I will never look at money when it comes about investing in my business. Camming isn't cheap anymore, it doesn't really work like it was before, unfortunately. The good part is that, what u invest is what you get and in most of the times, you get 100x more :))
Oh, and it's good to always save something, for investing/ upgrading/ changing the pc/ webcam, because the technology is moving forward faster than before. If 5 years ago, you could have bought an intel core i7 and stream 5 years with it, now you need to upgrade the pc every 2-3 years. The sites are "eating" more and more resources, for a clean stream, so we have to be up to it.
From my experience, the decor is the last thing to invest in. If you have a clean camming space, it's enough (there are tons of budget decor on pinterest). Men don't give af if you stream from a luxurious bed or a chair. I bought an $1000 bed, to have a nice luxurious camming space and I make more money streaming from my office chair (Imo, camming from a bed became outdated. I am looking forward for creating a corner with a nice chic sofa and keeping it simple).
But, when I invested in lights, webcam and computer, the earnings increased. Always.
PS: It's important to invest in a top technology computer, because we can't rely on a single site anymore (unless you're one of the 20% in this industry who can make a decent living on a single site). Split camming is essential, to survive as cammers and still make decent money. And for split camming, we need powerful desktop systems.
I also believe laptops aren't a good investment anymore, because they are ridiculously expensive. That's my 2 cents. I mean, if you're tight on money, but want a new camming station and don't dig desktop systems, you might have to still get one and save for the dreamy laptop, because an intel core i9 9900k rocket desktop system is about $1500 (or even less if you go for AMD), while a decent laptop with those specs, is over $2500.
PS: If you can't afford a change right now, but need it and can't wait long enough to save, getting a loan would be an option. Afterall, is an investment that's gonna bring you money and you will be able to pay it back in no time. I remember I did this with my first decent pc, back in 2012. I couldn't afford $1000, so I got a 6 months loan (Was going to pay about $200 ish/ month back). I managed to pay everything back in a month.
Re: How to spend your money on your business and improve your traffic
Yup, doesn't matter now adult streamer or regular streamer. we all got to make money and keep up with the industry.
I've been trying to figure out how to design my room and eventually my living room, so I can make the same level of money I did when I got started.
I am not borrowing money at the moment. I did stupid last year and I am still paying for it with this high interest pay advance loan. Borrowing you have to make the payments whether you make money or not. So the less I borrow the better.
The slow days on cam when you have monthly payments on a loan can really stress you out. So now I am thinking $5 or $10 every pay goes to the upgrade/self employed savings account until I paid off this damn pay advance loan.
I even thought about taking the PC technician certificate course at the local college, so I would know more about computers and repairing them. who knows might make some YouTube videos on tech stuff. But really I can get a lot done just telling a computer store what I want and not have them think too much about it since gaming and youtube streams have blown up.
The lighting in my room drives me nuts, but I am also worried I will blow a fuse if I have too many things plugged in. the room only got two outlets one is packed with two desktops, tiny laptop, two monitors and a tv. Been looking at the PTZ conference cameras they run off AC adapter plug-in power The hunt is on how can I get my set up done and not have electric problems.
https://www.whiteboxpc.com/ follows my twitter. so I get the vibe if I need a new machine I could order one from them. they claim to ship world wide.
Re: How to spend your money on your business and improve your traffic
Adobe Cloud is the best investment I've ever made. it is a monthly payment, but worth it.
In general, I replace laptops about every 2 to 3 years & have 2 at all times. One is for camming & social media, the other is a more expensive unit that I use for editing. Depending upon the video & all that I put in it. Some vids take several hours to render, especially around Halloween time.
Constantly redecorating but luckily for me, lots of art work, lamps & such make it to the dumpsters here & it is all free for me. Found a gorgeous stylish desk, a cute Queens Ann chair, huge stately lamps. Also love photography backdrops to mix it up. Have customers who log onto my cam room, just to see how I have redecorated.
Re: How to spend your money on your business and improve your traffic
I also want to mention Photo and Video editors for those who can't afford or don't really need Adobe for now.
I have been using Fotor for years. https://www.fotor.com It's $40/ year.
I couldn't be happier with it. You have hundreds of templates/ stickers and backgrounds, to make banners and logos. YES. You can make your own logo/ watermark or as many as you want (I just discovered this few days ago, after so many years of using it, wtf, stupid me).
I also love it for photo editing. It has wrinkle/ blemish remover, teeth whitening, eyes popping, you can even add makeup. All sorts of tools.
A great investment, since I edit my selfies and they don't have that obvious filter effect (you can control the blur and any kind of intensity regarding editing).
And speaking of watermark, I just made myself a cute logo, that I already sticked it to the OBS and I am gonna use it on all of my clips (I used Filmora for now, to add the watermark)
For video editing, I am using Filmora for now. https://filmora.wondershare.com I have the Filmora9 version, I paid $60 for a lifetime plan. Is extremely easy to use it, for creating clips. You can also add some effects from it's library or buy more effect packages of any kind, from titles, to emoji, visual effects, sound effects, themes of all kind (such as christmas themes, thanksgiving, easter, etc). They are at an extra cost, but it's probably worth it, if you are into adding effects.
You can also record clips with it, if you're interested. I use the logitech software or the OBS, but I will give this a try as well!
Once you get used to the basic version and need to go deeper, they have FilmoraPro version, wich is $150 for lifetime, if you haven't purchased a Filmora9 lifetime plan. If you did, you get the Pro version lifetime plan at a discounted price.
I haven't done it yet, but I will, in the future.
Here's a link with the difference between Filmora9 and FilmoraPro, for those interested https://filmora.wondershare.com/how-...ilmorapro.html