On the 97th episode of Speedify LIVE we have a returning guest, as we’re joined by Julie Riley from StreamYard, the browser-based studio that lets you easily host professional livestreams and interviews.

We chat about Julie’s upgraded streaming setup, what features are new in StreamYard and what’s coming soon, and get some useful advice on engaging an audience and overcoming streaming challenges.

Here are our 5 takeaways from our chat with Julie Riley:

1. Julie has upgraded her stream setup since we last had her as a guest: a 24” iMac M1, having upgraded from a loud MacBook Pro laptop; has a Sony A6000 camera plugged into an ATEM Mini, having upgraded from an Elgato Camlink; and uses a Shure MV7 microphone, having upgraded from a Blue Yeti. She also has some Elgato Key Lights, and MEE clear earphones that she can easily hide under her hair. 
2. StreamYard listens to their users and has a long list of feature requests from them that they follow through with as much as they can, given that they still fall under their three pillars of ease of use, reliability, and creating professional looking streams. 
3. When it comes to keeping your audience engaged, Julie says you just have to start talking to them: get questions, and build your content and conversations on those questions. You should also plan things out ahead of time, promote your streams, let people know when and how they can find you; while you can also use tools such as StreamYard’s giveaway tool to grow engagement. 
4. StreamYard is not only good for video livestreaming, but Podcasting as well! Now you can download separate audio files of each person on stream, adjust the audio levels separately if needed, and repurpose that for your podcasts easier than ever. 
5. Julie’s advice to new streamers: don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis, don’t overthink, don’t get stuck on whether you have equipment, etc. Decide what your content is going to be about, make a plan for when, where and how often you will go live, whether it’s solo or with guests, follow that plan and start building your show.