Lex DeVille
Sweeping Shadows From Dreams
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EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
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A couple months ago I ran an experiment with my secret YouTube channel (no that's not a hook, I won't be sharing that channel ever). I wanted to learn how livestream donations work, what the user experience is like, and what happens as a result of donating via livestreams from the perspective of a contributor.
For a while I followed several influencer's livestreams. I watched how people donated and noticed they like to give small amounts of $2 - $10. There's usually 2 ways they can give:
1) Via YouTube Super Chat where they donate directly through YouTube (influencer gets hit with extra fees)
2) StreamLabs which takes the user to a third party site (influencer does NOT get hit with extra fees)
When viewers donate, they usually get to add a comment or question for the influencer. Then a notification pops up on the livestream showing the donor name and amount along with their comment. The influencer stops what they're doing, and gives priority to the donor. They respond to any comments, then they say a little, "thanks man, I really appreciate it." Then they move on.
In most streams, donations seem sporadic and one-off. In some streams there are loyal followers who are serial donors (usually donating in increments of $2-5) and I noticed serial donors seem to get a little more attention and recognition.
This had me wondering what would happen if someone dropped a much bigger number.
My Donor Experience
After watching livestreams for several weeks, I chose an upcoming influencer who was closing in on 6k subs. He had at least 1 serial donor and a number of sporadic donors. I assume most of these people are slowlaners.
So I joined a livestream and waited until about halfway through. Others had already donated. The serial donor was already donating and getting kudos for being the "big" kahuna with multiple $2-5 donations. Then I donated $100, along with a few comments of appreciation, and that's when things got interesting...
Instead of the usual "thanks man..." the livestream froze in time. Silence. The chat started filling up with people saying "woah!" and "holy sh*t" and stuff like that. The influencer didn't know what to say. It was the biggest donation he'd ever received.
It took him a while to catch his breath. Several minutes. When he finally came around, he gave my question priority, a big thanks, and invited me to chat privately after the stream was over (which we did).
In the meantime, discussion erupted in the chat about who was the new donation king. The old guy was out and I was in, and rumors of donation wars spread fast. At least one person visited my channel, and watched my vids and then returned to the livestream and shared with others in the chat.
In the click of a button, I went from just another face in a crowd, to being a name people recognized.
After That...
When the livestream was over, I had a good feel for what it was like to donate as a donor, and I gotta say, there's a certain adrenaline rush you get when you push that button, but I wasn't done yet. I returned for the following livestream to see if people would remember.
First thing I noticed was my name scrolling across the top of the stream with my donation amount next to it. Other donors names were there too, but nobody else had donated over $15. My username also showed up in Streamlabs as the highest donor of the month.
During the livestream people brought up the donor wars again. They seemed to already know my name and were asking where I was. Eventually I turned up, donated $100 again, and let the influencer sit dumbfounded again for a while. This really seemed to boost the hype around me.
After that stream I waited a few streams before returning. My name was mentioned in every stream. When I finally returned, I donated only $5. People seemed surprised. The former big kahuna donor called me out, and I donated another $100. Similar effect as before. People asked where I get that kind of money like it was the holy grail or something...
Fast Forward 2 Months
I haven't actively participated in this influencer's livestreams since the last time I donated. But since then, I've had multiple videos get viral views on my channel without any additional promotion. I've also listened to his livestreams (but not live at the time) and discovered my username is regularly brought up when people want to know, "whatever happened to that XXXX guy???"
This leads the influencer to mention me by username. He makes some jokes about how I'm the only one who can rival the other guy. Then he says something like, "I hope that guy's okay. I haven't seen him in a while." Today I checked again. Listened to a livestream. It's been over 2 months and people still address me by username and ask where I am.
Some Conclusions
1) Donating integrates you into the community really fast and I get the feeling it comes across as more authentic than paying the influencer directly for an advertisement. It's also more YOU FOCUSED than a paid ad.
2) Because the donation was larger than others, it stood out in a chat with thousands of viewers, and unlike paid ads, my username stayed visible next to my donation amount at the top of all upcoming streams for more than a month. In addition, the hype was experienced by any new subs the channel got who watched the older livestreams.
3) As soon as I donated and people got over the shock of the amount, they either looked up my name, or clicked on it and made their way back to my channel, leading to at least 3 of my videos gaining minor virality.
4) Donating makes influencers want to get to know you.
5) There was an addictive element to this. After donating the first time, I felt pulled to donate more. I suspect this is the lure of serial donors. It's almost a challenge to be able to be a repeat donor and meet audience expectations.
So yeah, that's pretty much it. I think this could work great for some of you who sell digital or physical products who are trying to gain exposure through YouTube. Since you can set your channel up to lead back into your web funnels, this could be a great way to promote yourself and get your name out while coming across as a valuable contributor.
Moving forward I'll attempt this experiment again soon with my main YT channel, and will also consider it for my ecom business once it's up and running.
Anyone else ever tried something like this? How did it go for you? How else could you add value in a situation like this for a big ROI? Thoughts?
For a while I followed several influencer's livestreams. I watched how people donated and noticed they like to give small amounts of $2 - $10. There's usually 2 ways they can give:
1) Via YouTube Super Chat where they donate directly through YouTube (influencer gets hit with extra fees)
2) StreamLabs which takes the user to a third party site (influencer does NOT get hit with extra fees)
When viewers donate, they usually get to add a comment or question for the influencer. Then a notification pops up on the livestream showing the donor name and amount along with their comment. The influencer stops what they're doing, and gives priority to the donor. They respond to any comments, then they say a little, "thanks man, I really appreciate it." Then they move on.
In most streams, donations seem sporadic and one-off. In some streams there are loyal followers who are serial donors (usually donating in increments of $2-5) and I noticed serial donors seem to get a little more attention and recognition.
This had me wondering what would happen if someone dropped a much bigger number.
My Donor Experience
After watching livestreams for several weeks, I chose an upcoming influencer who was closing in on 6k subs. He had at least 1 serial donor and a number of sporadic donors. I assume most of these people are slowlaners.
So I joined a livestream and waited until about halfway through. Others had already donated. The serial donor was already donating and getting kudos for being the "big" kahuna with multiple $2-5 donations. Then I donated $100, along with a few comments of appreciation, and that's when things got interesting...
Instead of the usual "thanks man..." the livestream froze in time. Silence. The chat started filling up with people saying "woah!" and "holy sh*t" and stuff like that. The influencer didn't know what to say. It was the biggest donation he'd ever received.
It took him a while to catch his breath. Several minutes. When he finally came around, he gave my question priority, a big thanks, and invited me to chat privately after the stream was over (which we did).
In the meantime, discussion erupted in the chat about who was the new donation king. The old guy was out and I was in, and rumors of donation wars spread fast. At least one person visited my channel, and watched my vids and then returned to the livestream and shared with others in the chat.
In the click of a button, I went from just another face in a crowd, to being a name people recognized.
After That...
When the livestream was over, I had a good feel for what it was like to donate as a donor, and I gotta say, there's a certain adrenaline rush you get when you push that button, but I wasn't done yet. I returned for the following livestream to see if people would remember.
First thing I noticed was my name scrolling across the top of the stream with my donation amount next to it. Other donors names were there too, but nobody else had donated over $15. My username also showed up in Streamlabs as the highest donor of the month.
During the livestream people brought up the donor wars again. They seemed to already know my name and were asking where I was. Eventually I turned up, donated $100 again, and let the influencer sit dumbfounded again for a while. This really seemed to boost the hype around me.
After that stream I waited a few streams before returning. My name was mentioned in every stream. When I finally returned, I donated only $5. People seemed surprised. The former big kahuna donor called me out, and I donated another $100. Similar effect as before. People asked where I get that kind of money like it was the holy grail or something...
Fast Forward 2 Months
I haven't actively participated in this influencer's livestreams since the last time I donated. But since then, I've had multiple videos get viral views on my channel without any additional promotion. I've also listened to his livestreams (but not live at the time) and discovered my username is regularly brought up when people want to know, "whatever happened to that XXXX guy???"
This leads the influencer to mention me by username. He makes some jokes about how I'm the only one who can rival the other guy. Then he says something like, "I hope that guy's okay. I haven't seen him in a while." Today I checked again. Listened to a livestream. It's been over 2 months and people still address me by username and ask where I am.
Some Conclusions
1) Donating integrates you into the community really fast and I get the feeling it comes across as more authentic than paying the influencer directly for an advertisement. It's also more YOU FOCUSED than a paid ad.
2) Because the donation was larger than others, it stood out in a chat with thousands of viewers, and unlike paid ads, my username stayed visible next to my donation amount at the top of all upcoming streams for more than a month. In addition, the hype was experienced by any new subs the channel got who watched the older livestreams.
3) As soon as I donated and people got over the shock of the amount, they either looked up my name, or clicked on it and made their way back to my channel, leading to at least 3 of my videos gaining minor virality.
4) Donating makes influencers want to get to know you.
5) There was an addictive element to this. After donating the first time, I felt pulled to donate more. I suspect this is the lure of serial donors. It's almost a challenge to be able to be a repeat donor and meet audience expectations.
So yeah, that's pretty much it. I think this could work great for some of you who sell digital or physical products who are trying to gain exposure through YouTube. Since you can set your channel up to lead back into your web funnels, this could be a great way to promote yourself and get your name out while coming across as a valuable contributor.
Moving forward I'll attempt this experiment again soon with my main YT channel, and will also consider it for my ecom business once it's up and running.
Anyone else ever tried something like this? How did it go for you? How else could you add value in a situation like this for a big ROI? Thoughts?
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