Some of you are already comfortable with using video, and that s great.

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1 Your friends at Curiosity Quills Press are writing this guide from our headquarters on a secret island where androids have their own houses because we want you to join the future and find more readers. We want you to try live-streaming videos on Facebook Live. Some of you are already comfortable with using video, and that s great. Some of you are deeply uncomfortable with the prospect of doing any video, and I am definitely in your camp. Plus, it s LIVE. Eek. Gah. Blerg. But you know what? Live is more freedom. If you re critical of yourself, you would edit a video down to a fraction of a second. But if it s live, you get comfortable with the imperfection and the messiness. That s what people want to see, anyway. So I believe it s worth trying. It s worth trying because you want to reach more readers.

2 It s worth trying because you want to form a stronger emotional connection with your readers. It s worth trying because you can more closely interact with readers, talk directly to them, and let them get to know you. And it s worth trying because it could bring you opportunities. You have a support network here at Curiosity Quills, and can choose to broadcast to just the people in our private Facebook group. Only CQ staff and other authors will see it, and we ll give you all the encouragement and feedback you want. It s not mandatory, but we know your readers will love it, we know you ll get comfortable with it (and maybe even start to love it?), and we know you ll reach more readers. And then (yes, there s more), we want you to make a video once a week for at least a month. Read on to learn how and some other reasons why. Okay, but can you give me some numbers? Good reasons to try Facebook Live: Facebook Live videos are more likely to appear higher in News Feed when those videos are actually live. Millennials say feeds are the primary way they discover content online, according to Sharethrough. Socialbaker reports that videos offer a 135% increase in organic reach, on average, when you post a video instead of a photo. According to Facebook, people comment 10x more on Facebook Live videos than on regular videos. The results of a recent Sharethrough survey show the primacy of video:

3 71 percent of Gen Z use their phone to watch video each day 74 percent of Gen Z watch more than 30 minutes of mobile video each day 58% of Gen Z say they watch video on Facebook and YouTube each day There are 69M Gen Z in the US 22% of the population. And according to Pew Research Center's "Social Media Update 2016," 79% of Americans who are online now use Facebook, more than double the share that uses Twitter (24%), Pinterest (31%), Instagram (32%) or LinkedIn (29%). Good reasons to NOT try Facebook Live: You are in the Witness Protection Program Your electromagnetic field shorts out the camera You look like static-y dryer lint, a fuzzy default-profile head, or a stormy cloud (It s probably worth trying even if that last one applies.) What do I say? First, make sure you have a good signal, or your video will look like Max Headroom (look it up, kids). At the start of each video, just introduce yourself with your name, what you do, and what you ll be doing in this video. You could say, Hi, my name is Chipsy von Pferdekoppel, and I m an author with Curiosity Quills Press. Today I ll be showing you how to make puff pastry in the shape of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. (But, you know, probably not that exact thing.) When you re done, say something like Thanks for watching see you next week, same time! What do I do? Do whatever you re interested in, but have a general strategy going in.

4 What do you usually do every week? Scour estate sales for vintage cereal boxes, do woodworking, put tiny costumes on your cats? Talk about it. You could interview someone, make a how-to video, or film your reactions to your favorite TV series. You could have a glass of wine with a friend and talk. If you do a signing, reading, panel appearance, or other event, you could broadcast afterwards with a recap. Ask your viewers questions and ask for their opinions to keep them engaged. Live Reactions animate on top of the video. And from what I ve seen with FB Lives, people love it if you admit to a mistake or say that your dog wandered into the room or flub something. I ve seen hearts stream across the screen every single time that happens. That s how Live creates connections between people. That s why you will love it.

5 There are a ton of possibilities, and if you need any help or ideas, let us know. And hey, don t be stupid. Safety first. (Also, don t forget to wear a shirt.) Embrace Imperfection So many things seem perfect and stylized. It s hard to genuinely connect with that. In a Google case study, Grace Helbig's videos prove that "unrehearsed and relatable can mean massive success on YouTube and beyond." Be yourself as much as possible. Have a basic strategy for your video and your intro, but don t worry about how your house looks or how much of a dork you think you are. Think of it as inviting over a good friend someone who just wants to hang out with you. Be Consistent I can t stress this enough. Consistency is so important. It builds trust. People want to depend on you, and when you show that you re there for them every single week, they will trust that, and trust you. Let your viewers know they can rely on you being there.

6 A Google case study of Nerdy Nummies said, "To accelerate the early success of her cooking show, Rosanna built up a library of episodes and established a consistent brand and schedule on which her audience could rely." Can I schedule a video in advance? Yes, you can build anticipation by scheduling a live broadcast up to one week in advance. This will publish an announcement to your News Feed. Use a Headline You can add a description to your video, and you can use this description as a headline. According to Sharethrough, 70% of Millennials acknowledge reading the headline while watching the video, and 1 in 5 Millennials say that they only read the headlines when browsing social or content feeds.

7 Include a call to action Give your viewers one thing to do during or after your video, whether that s to sign up for your newsletter, check out your web site or a blog post, look for your latest book, or share with a friend. Focus on one call to action for each video. And during your video, remind your viewers that if they like what you re doing, they should follow you to get notified for next time. How long should my video be? Facebook recommends ten minutes or longer. The longer you broadcast, the more likely people are to discover and share your video with their friends on Facebook. How will people know I m on? Your followers can receive notifications when you go live, and you can spread the word on social media the day before.

8 And this is cool you can see everyone who s broadcasting on a world map, and view their broadcast when you hover on the dot. Check out the Live Map. You can make sure your video appears on there on it by tagging your location. Can I customize my videos? Yes! You can do the following (and probably more): Restrict audience by public/private, age, and other categories Manage your Video Library Monitor Live Viewers (as opposed to zombies) and Total Views during your broadcast See what your best-performing videos are Upload captions Invite friends to watch your video What about the sound? Did you know that 94% of video views are without sound? Facebook recently made an update, however, as of February Now, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed. If your phone is set to silent, videos will not play with sound. This means that your first five seconds should be strong and that you should consider adding a minute or so of silent action before your intro to pull in viewers. Facebook does have an automatic video captioning tool. When you upload a video, click on the Generate button in the editor or above the feed to add subtitles, which you can edit before saving. You can upload captions to your videos after they ve finished streaming. If you ve uploaded captions, and people are watching your video with their sound turned off, they ll automatically see them. You can add captions using the SubRip (.srt) file format. Do I need any special equipment?

9 Nope. But at some point, you may want to get a tripod for your phone, and maybe a good mic. Lighting is the easiest thing to adjust. Be sure there s a lot of light in front of you and none behind you. If you have another person helping you, they can respond to commenters if you re busy using a lathe or have your arms full of a triumphant haul of vintage, monster-themed cereal boxes. You talked me into it, and I kind of hate you for that. But how does it work? Again, make sure you have a strong signal. According to Facebook, WiFi tends to work best, but if you can't find a nearby WiFi network, you'll want a 4G connection. The red icon at the top left-hand corner of the video indicates that it s a live video. For iphone: To start a live broadcast: 1. Tap at the top of your News Feed or Page 2. Tap Live 3. Write an optional description/headline for your broadcast 4. Tap Go Live to begin your broadcast

10 For Android: Tap Live at the top of your News Feed or Page Write an optional description/headline for your broadcast Tap Go Live to begin your broadcast When you want to end your broadcast, tap Finish. For more how-to instructions, check out the Facebook Live site. Once you feel comfortable with showing your videos to people outside of friends or a private group, you can let anyone on Facebook follow your updates. Don t forget! Strategy ( Today I m going to show you how to make a wine rack in 622 easy steps ) Headline ( How to make a wine rack in 622 easy steps ) Messiness (Be yourself, like you re hanging out with a good friend) Consistency (The same day every week, and maybe even the same time or part of the day) Find more great resources at curiosityquills.com