Let’s Go Live

Getting organic listeners for your first show can be difficult, even if your show format is (obviously) awesome. Before going live for the first time, establish a “crew” of people that will attend. Reach out to friends, family, and your social network to let them know when your show time and what you’ll be talking about. Make sure to include your profile or show link! Tap the share icon found on your profile page, then distribute widely.

Encourage people to follow you and enable notifications. This way, Amp will send them a reminder as soon as you go live.

Pro tip: to add some sizzle to your show promo, check out these made-for-social assets that you can download and use for free.

Not to worry, you can go live on Amp with nothing more than the app on your phone. But for the best audio quality and experience, we recommend using line-in or Bluetooth headphones to minimize outside noise. Even basic headphones do a great job of limiting ambient noise and sound clear to your listeners. If you’re curious about really leveling-up your audio game with soundboards and professional microphones, you can read up on the Audio Guide for Amp here.

Ensure your device is fully-charged, set to Do Not Disturb (if possible), and that you have strong WiFi or cellular connection. Once you’re ready, tap Go Live Now.

Starting with an intro song is a great way for the listeners to begin filing into your show. You can play up to three solo jams to set the vibe before your first listener joins the show, and you can pause the music at any time to begin speaking.

Note: the music quality is reduced on the creator’s side. Don’t worry if you hear stuttering or latency during song playback, your listeners will hear it perfectly!

Audience participation is a fundamental way to keep the conversation going during your show. Chat is automatically enabled during show setup, but you’ll need to enable call-ins once you’re live. Opening the phone lines, then encouraging your listeners to chat and call in, helps drive engagement and builds community.

Lean into these features. This is where you can take song requests, ask for advice or hot takes, or encourage community activities (like follow-backs) with your listeners. And since not everyone will be able to call-in, chat can also be a great way to engage and help all your listeners feel a part of the action.

Note: As the host, you have the power to accept or deny callers, as well as mute or remove them once they’re in. You can also remove users from chat.

You’ve put a lot of thought into the format of the show, and you should feel empowered to run it the way you’d like. But here are some tips to keep in mind.

• If it’s a music show, play 3 to 4 songs between speaking. Your audience is here to vibe, so keep the tunes going! Think about how a radio DJ spins a few records, chats for a minute, then plays some more.
• If it’s a talk show, have music breaks prepared. Pause to collect your thoughts, prepare for the next segment, or get callers into the show. In general, a one-hour show should have one or two song breaks.
• Directly address the comments in chat. Listeners will engage more if they feel part of the show, and it will give you ideas for the show if you need them.

Everything good must come to an end. When you’re ready to wrap up, it’s as simple as hitting “End Show,” and you’re outta there. But before you go, think about how you’re encouraging your audience to come back for the next one.

• Did you remind them to follow you and be notified?
• Did you call out when your next show will be?
• Did you follow a few audience members? This can help with community-building.

At the end of the show, Amp will provide you with a few stats on how you performed. This includes total likes, the number of peak listeners (which refers to the highest number of concurrent listeners, not total), and how long you were live.

With the first show under your belt, you’ve likely got plenty of ideas for the next one. For tips on how to double-down and grow your show, check out the Building An Audience lesson.