Live streaming has taken the internet by storm. Whether you're a gamer, a musician, or even just chatting with your audience, live streams are an awesome way to build a community. But here's the kicker: Your live streams don’t have to live and die after the stream ends.
You can create highlights after live streams on YouTube and make money while at it. If you're wondering how to livestream on YouTube, turning your streams into highlight reels is a great way to extend their life and increase your revenue.
You can edit your live streams and video content into highlights and make money while you’re at it. The secret? Turning those long streams into bite-sized, attention-grabbing highlights that can be repurposed across platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
In this blog, we'll explain how to livestream on YouTube and turn your livestream content into profitable highlights. Plus, we’ll showcase examples from gamers and other livestream creators who have perfected the art of creating engaging highlights that drive views and revenue.
Why You Should Edit Your Live Streams Into Highlights
Before we dive into the how, let’s talk about the why. Editing your live streams into highlights is not just a time-saver; it’s a smart content strategy for how to livestream on YouTube. Here’s why:
Maximize your content
One live stream could give you multiple pieces of content to use across different platforms.
Reach a broader audience
Live streams are awesome, but not everyone has time to watch a 3-hour session. A 2-minute highlight reel? Now that’s digestible.
Increase your revenue
You can create highlights after live streams on YouTube and make money. More highlights = more views = more potential ad revenue, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing opportunities, helping you figure out how to get monetized on YouTube.
Boost engagement
Short, punchy clips keep your audience engaged and can even go viral.
Leverage multiple platforms
Highlight clips can be shared across platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, each with its own monetization opportunities, giving you more ways to earn and helping you understand how to get monetized on YouTube.
How to Edit Your Live Streams Into Highlights
Plan Your Stream With Highlights in Mind
The first step to editing your live streams into highlights starts before you even hit that “go live” button. You can create highlights after live streams on YouTube by planning your stream with potential highlights in mind. This is part of how to livestream on YouTube effectively.
For example, if you’re a gamer, know when the most intense moments are coming, like boss battles or epic comebacks.
If you’re a creator, think about the most engaging parts of your session, whether it’s a key discussion, a funny moment, or a viewer Q&A. By keeping these moments in mind, you can easily capture and edit them into shareable, click-worthy highlights that maximize your content's potential and help you learn how to get monetized on YouTube.
Time Stamp Your Best Moments
During or after your stream, take notes or timestamp moments you think would make great highlights. Most platforms, like YouTube and Twitch, make it easy to go back and check your stream. This step is crucial for saving time later on during the editing process.
- Example: Twitch streamers often clip their best moments live, making it easy to access those clips later.
- Tip: Ask your chat or community to help! Twitch chat, for instance, can clip moments in real-time, giving you a curated selection of highlight-worthy content. This is especially helpful when you're figuring out how to livestream on YouTube and want to make the most out of your content.
Examples of Gamers and Creators Who Are Killing It With Highlights
Ninja (Tyler Blevins)
Ninja, one of the most recognizable names in the gaming world, has made a massive fortune from live streaming and gaming highlights. After streaming live on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, Ninja takes the best, most entertaining parts of his stream, a sick kill in Fortnite or a hilarious moment with his viewers—and uploads them as highlights on YouTube.
His channel boasts millions of subscribers, and his highlights rack up thousands of views, translating into significant ad revenue and sponsorships. This is a prime example of how to livestream on YouTube and effectively turn your content into profitable highlights.
Valkyrae (Rachell Hofstetter)
Valkyrae is another powerhouse in the gaming community. Known for her Among Us streams, she edits them into hilarious and intense highlight reels that go viral on YouTube and Twitter.
Valkyrae’s success shows that highlights can grow your audience beyond your livestream followers. Her highlights consistently hit millions of views, generating income from YouTube ads and brand deals. This is a great example of how to livestream on YouTube and use your highlights to reach a broader audience and boost revenue.
DrLupo (Ben Lupo)
DrLupo is another streamer who maximizes his content by editing his Twitch streams into short, entertaining YouTube videos. Whether it’s insane plays or emotional moments with his fans, he knows how to cut the most impactful parts of his streams.
Not only does this strategy boost his YouTube ad revenue, but he also attracts sponsorships from major brands like State Farm. This is a great example of how to livestream on YouTube and turn your streams into highlight reels that drive both views and revenue.
Pokimane (Imane Anys)
Pokimane is a top-tier streamer known for League of Legends and variety gaming. She’s built an empire around her brand, and her highlights are a massive part of her success.
Her team clips the best moments, whether it’s gameplay or personal interactions with fans, and uploads them to YouTube. These clips help her build an even bigger audience and generate ad revenue, sponsorship deals, and donations. This is a perfect example of how to livestream on YouTube and leverage highlights to grow your brand and boost your income.
TimTheTatman (Timothy Betar)
TimTheTatman is another gamer who thrives on repurposing his live streams into highlight videos. Known for his Call of Duty: Warzone streams, Tim takes the best moments of his live gaming sessions, often focusing on high-energy, funny, or ridiculous moments, and posts them as highlights.
These videos consistently bring in views, engagement, and ad revenue, helping him grow his channel beyond live viewers.
Non-Gaming Creators Who Are Slaying With Live Stream Highlights
Lizzo
Yes, even musicians are getting in on the highlight game. Lizzo has used live streams during album releases or behind-the-scenes moments, and she’s turned those sessions into quick, engaging clips.
Posting highlights from her livestream performances or Q&As to platforms like Instagram and TikTok has helped her reach a younger audience, creating more engagement and monetization opportunities through sponsorships and partnerships.
GaryVee (Gary Vaynerchuk)
GaryVee is the master of repurposing content. He often takes live streams from his shows, conferences, or Q&As and transforms them into short highlights, which he then posts across all his platforms.
This guy doesn’t let any content go to waste, and those highlights generate ad revenue from YouTube, create engagement on Instagram, and even drive traffic to his main content like books or podcasts.
Megan Thee Stallion
During the pandemic, Megan Thee Stallion was known for her fun and interactive live streams, which she later repurposed into bite-sized clips on Instagram and TikTok.
Those highlights went viral, increasing her merch sales and helping her connect with her fans more personally. These other elements helped boost her reach and provided valuable insight on how to get monetized on YouTube by turning live stream content into shareable, profitable highlights.
How to Monetize Your Highlights
Now that you can edit your live streams into highlights, let’s discuss how to get monetized on YouTube. Here are the top ways to monetize your highlight clips:
YouTube Ad Revenue
If you’re uploading highlights to YouTube, ads can be your bread and butter. YouTube pays creators based on the number of views they get and how long viewers stay on their videos. The more highlights you upload, the higher your chances of building a steady revenue stream.
Sponsorships
Brands love working with content creators who can make short, engaging content. Reach out to sponsors or include brand mentions in your highlight reels. Companies will pay to feature their products in your videos if your highlights get enough views.
Affiliate Marketing
Include affiliate links in the description of your highlight videos. Whether it's the control gear you’re using, the game you’re playing, or a product you recommend, you can earn commissions every time someone purchases something through your links. This is one easy way to how to get monetized on YouTube.
Merch Sales
Promote your merchandise within your highlight reels. If you’ve built a strong brand, people will want to buy t-shirts, hats, or even mugs with your logo or catchphrase on it.
Patreon or Subscription
Platforms like Patreon or YouTube memberships allow your fans to support you directly. In exchange for a monthly subscription fee, you can offer them exclusive highlights or behind-the-scenes content.
How AI Helps You Craft the Perfect Highlight
Creating the perfect highlights from your live streams can be a time-consuming task; selecting the footage and then sitting down to edit could be a hassle, but what if you use AI to craft the perfect highlights?
Say goodbye to endless editing and hello to Rizzle! The AI-powered highlights creation lets you effortlessly extract the best moments from your live-stream videos.
Rizzle’s AI can take your live streams and curate highlights for you. Rizzle’s AI identifies the most engaging moments from your live stream and edits them into ready-to-share clips in just a few clicks.
This feature is especially useful for editing video podcasts, gameplay videos, and live streams. Rizzle's AI image generator gives you high-quality images in your highlights, ensuring they stand out.
Rizzle's THCs feature has a smart scene selection, so you can turn epic moments from your live streams into the most engaging highlights.
Why stress over format and optimization? Rizzle's got you covered, making it easier to turn your content into shareable, monetizable moments, and helping you understand how to get monetized on YouTube.
AI-Powered Clip Creation
Rizzle's video editing software effortlessly extracts the best moments from your live streams
Smart Scene Selection
Capture epic highlights with precision.
Multi-Platform Magic
Perfectly optimized highlights of video podcast clips and livestream highlights for every social media platform.
Real-Time Preview
Get it right on the first try with instant feedback
