12 “nom” tips: Getting the most from your live cooking shows

New to nom.com? Looking for some tips on getting more “love” on Nom?

Let’s dive right in.

Here’s my ultimate guide to nom.com; a guide for getting more subscribers, using it to drive traffic, and building your brand.

Why you should trust me

I’ve used these principles to build this website from scratch. Are there Nom channels with more subscribers than me? Certainly. But the tactics below are for making genuine, high-quality relationships. These, I’ve found, are quite rewarding (and profitable).

Who this is for

This ultimate guide to nom.com is for anyone looking to get more from their live cooking shows on Nom.

• More subscribers.
• More Nomcast viewers.
• Higher return on investment.

You probably already have an account on nom.com and are following a few high-quality channels.

If not, here’s our channel. Subscribe if you’re so inclined.

How to get started with Nom.com

A few quick tips

Okay, here are a few quick-hit tips to get started. Feel free to jump down if you’re well past this stage of live streaming on Nom.

Quick tip 1) Set your Nom username (labeled “full name”) to be the same as your channel name. This way, when you comment on others’ Nomcasts, your channel name appears. For example, I first signed up with username “Lenny Gale” and named my first channel “Life is NOYOKE”. My comments showed up as “Lenny Gale” until I changed my username to Life is NOYOKE. Now it’s all Life is NOYOKE, all of the time.

Quick tip 2) Place the name of your channel in the middle of your banner photo. This way, it’s always visible and more likely you’ll be featured by the Nom editors.

Quick tip 3) Nomcasts (live streams) are the best way to engage and get new subscribers. But it’s tough to get new subscribers if your channel page is blank. To fix this, add “posts” to your channel in the form of pictures and video. Don’t recreate the wheel, though. Feel free to use media you already have on your website, other social media, etc.

Okay, on to the Nom tips.

What is Nom.com (and why knowing this is vital)

Embracing Nom.com’s pathos

Can nom.com be used as an effective tool to build your brand?

Sure!

But that’s not why the platform was created.

Steve Chen, founder of Nom.com, built it to be “a place for food lovers.” A place for creators to inspire other creators.

Because what’s creation without inspiration?

So be inspiring!

• To other Nomcasters.
• To view-only Nom users.
• To casual observers who are considering giving Nom a try.

It’s a circle that feeds upon itself.

Start by embracing the pathos of nom.com. Then, the rest of the steps below will come easily.

Finding your pathos

Now that you’ve embraced the nom.com pathos, it’s time to find yours.

Yes, nom.com, in and of itself, is very niche. Live-stream cooking shows.

But you need to find your niche within the niche.

How does the quote go? If you try to be something to everyone you won’t be anything to anyone.

Our Nom channel, Life is NOYOKE, is dedicated to vegan Vitamix recipes.

You can do the same thing! There’s plenty of room for more quality Vitamix affiliates.

Or, do your own thing

Here are a few other channels who’ve carved out a niche for themselves.

• Well and full – Adventures in a plant-based kitchen
• Wit and vinegar – Food design and nonsense
• The Icing Artist – Cake decorating

Okay, so now that you’ve found your Nom channel’s pathos, let’s discuss the hard part.

How to get viewers for your live shows on Nom

Scheduling, committing and being consistent

These three things are the toughest for any content creator. Scheduling, committing, and staying consistent.

But here’s the deal.

These things are THE MOST IMPORTANT. Nothing else brings you more viewers, subscribers, and devoted fans.

Think about it: Have you ever had a TV show that you love?

When did it air? You can probably remember the day and time your shows was (or still is) on TV.

So give people what they want regularly and consistently. Then, they’ll do your marketing for you.

Our show is 6pm CST on (most) Thursdays. Is this good for all Nom users across all time zones? Of course not.

But we’ve picked a time that works for us and have stuck with it.

So now that you’ve scheduled your Nomcast, it’s time to alert the masses.

Promoting your Nomcasts

You have a huge network already.

Use it!

Email your list. Give them specific instructions on how to signup and what to expect.

Post on Facebook. Some people use Facebook as their primary source of news. Tell them. Then, tell them again.

Text your family. Nomcasting to an empty room is no fun at all. Be sure to get some family to attend your first few Nomcasts. We had my parents at our first one and it gave us a ton of confidence. And, it was fun interacting with them, too.

Tweet your friends. My blogger pal, Blending with Henry, surprised us on our second Nomcast. He saw the Tweet and logged in.  So fun to have him there.

Remind the Nom community. Use the “post” feature on nom.com to share a new image and remind people of your upcoming show. They’ll appreciate the new media (and the reminder!).

Okay, you have your shows scheduled and you have your first few viewers lined up. Now what?

How to engage viewers during your Nom shows

Outlining your shows

Live cooking shows on Nom are all about the live, genuine, unscripted moments.

But here’s the deal:

People want to be entertained. Read: Not be bored.

So outline your show!

Each show should have a beginning, middle, and end.

Make distinct “segments” that last just a few minutes.

Give people a break from listening and let them be heard.

Really, you want to continually be shifting gears and keeping people wanting more. Of course, do that all with purpose.

With an outline!

And within that outline, you should have a few spots dedicated to sharing some media.

How?

From the media tray!

Preparing the media tray

Live streaming cooking shows on nom.com are not meant to replace well-produced YouTube videos. (Yes, I’m implying mine are great.)

Heck, you’re broadcasting from a webcam!

So since the quality might be lacking a bit, use the media tray to pepper in some high quality media.

• Photos.
• Gifs.
• Videos.

You don’t want to rely too much on the media tray during your Nomcast.

But having a few things to spruce up your Nomcast goes a long way.

So you have some media. Anything else you should prepare?

Yup!

Preparing links to share

You can add a lot of value to a Nomcast viewer’s experience with some relevant links.

• The full recipe.
• A link to the appliance you’re using.
• A link to the original YouTube video.

The nice thing is these links, which you’ll put into the comments, are visible during Nomcast replays. So they’re there for people who don’t watch live.

Be careful with your links, though.

People (and, therefore, Google) don’t appreciate being spammed by an overload of links.

A golden rule of spam, I think applies here, is this: Would they miss it if it were not there?

If the answer is no, it’s spam.

Example: We link to the full recipe and maybe one or two other things (like an in-depth Vitamix review or giveaway we’re currently running).

Got it? Okay.

So we’re prepared from a content standpoint. But what about the hardware?

Investing in the right equipment

It’s live streaming on Nom, so you’re not expected to have perfect video, light, and sound.

But they should be quality.

And getting a huge step up from your computer’s built-in camera and mic is not terribly expensive. Yet, it makes a HUGE difference.

Here are three things you should get.

1) An external camera ensures your audience sees a sharp picture. And, they’ll benefit from better camera angles. We use this logitech one. (We tried two cheaper versions and they were actually worse quality than the built-in camera.)

2) A external microphone can separate you from the pack. You can have the best picture. But it’s meaningless if the sound doesn’t match its quality. We use this Yeti one. It’s pretty standard consensus, pound-for-pound best mic for the money.

3) A tripod is one of those things that’s tough to Jimmy rig. If you can find a way to mount and stabilize your camera without a tripod, go ahead. But we use a basic tripod like this. Well worth it.

Studio lights are the optional 4th item. They’re not necessary right away, though. Yes, our lights are KEY to quality videos if you’re shooting with DSLR. But for Nomcasting, they’re just a nice-to-have. And given they’re generally a big investment, okay to wait on.

Okay, so you have the equipment. Let’s make sure it works.

Testing your equipment

Off-the-cuff moments are wonderful during Nomcasts.

But technical difficulties do NOT make for good live TV.

Test your camera.

• How’s the lighting?
• How’s the shot composed?
• What angles are you gonna use?

And test your microphone. Nom does a nice job of adjusting sound levels for you. (Check out our first nom in which we blend but still have clear voiceover levels.) But you still want to be sure your mic is connected and nom is using the right source (not the built-in mic).

Here’s the article from nom on how to test your camera (and sound).

The next thing you need to test should have already been tested.

Testing your recipe

This goes without saying, but there should be no surprises with the recipe you’re making. You’re putting on a show, and it should be well-rehearsed.

Okay, it seems like we’re totally ready to go live. Here are some nom tips for once we’ve hit “Start Cast”.

Sticking to the outline

It’s really fun to interact with every comment and every @host comment.

And funny stories will come to mind that you feel like you MUST share.

But rambling is boring.

People want to be taken on a journey. They don’t want to follow around someone who’s lost.

Make your recipe. Plug your website. Say hi to some super fans.

But stick to the outline.

And while you do, here’s where you should be looking.

Staring down the barrel of our camera

It’s tempting to look at the video of yourself broadcasting. It’s like looking in the mirror.

(In fact, the presenter’s view of the Nomcast is a mirror image. This makes it easier for anyone who’s not a weatherman.)

But people want connection.

And to do that, you gotta look at them. At the camera.

And smile.

Smile early and smile often.

You should be excited to be doing a live cooking show. If you’re not, you probably shouldn’t even be reading this article.

And so if you’re excited, you’re naturally going to be having fun.

Having fun and being real during your show

You cannot fake this.

And if you do, you’re screwed forever.

You have to be true to who you are from the first moment your nom channel exists.

Try to be someone you’re not, and you might get some fans in the short run.

But soon you’ll grow tired of “acting” as the character you play on your channel.

Be real. Be you.

And naturally, you’ll have tons of fun.

And it will be so easy to master the delicate art of asking for what you want.

How to get subscribers to your Nom channel

Asking, (without being annoying)

You, as a host on Nom, want more subscribers, comments, and hearts on your channel. And to some extent, you have to ask for those things.

But do NOT be annoying.

If you have to ask whether or not you’re being annoying, the answer is undoubtedly yes.

• Sound desperate? Annoying.
• Treating your audience like they’re dumb? Annoying.
• Appear selfish. No, thank you. Super annoying.

It’s like being in a bar, people.

Be the person (or people) who are having fun doing what they love to do. Don’t be the person (or people) who are desperate for attention.

Saying, “I want to know how many people in here LOVE sushi!” is great.

Saying, “Hit that subscribe button to see if it works!”? Not so much.

People should want to be friends with you.

So treat them like it.

Befriending your viewers on Nom

Get to know the people who watch your shows.

Be their friend!

Call them by name. Appreciate their friendship.

Create a signature something you only share with them. Something like a secret handshake (except one that that can be done over live video).

Again, Nomcasting is all about connection. Genuine connection.

So connect!

They’ll be your most loyal fans. And as I said before, they’ll do your marketing for you.

And like any good friend, you make decisions together, right?

Letting your audience direct

Give them what they want. Always.

But chances are, you have no clue what they want.

So what do you do?

“Yes / no” questions work great.

• You guys wanna see this up close?
• You guys wanna see Lenny cry?
• You guys think we should add some more raisins?

If their answer is “yes”, they’ll comment or press heart or thumbs up. Fun!

You can do multiple choice, too.

Aright guys, we’re making detox salad tonight. But the dressing is your choice. Thumbs up for Asian. “LOL” for American. Heart for avocado lime. “Yum” for Italian.

Normal cooking shows lack this “choose your own adventure” aspect.

Nomcasts, however, get to use this to everyone’s advantage.

Okay, now that your show is done, now what do you do?

Befriending (engaging with!) other Nomcasters

Problogger Darren Rouse likes to tell his readers to “get off your own blog”.

Same for Nom.

You should be spending more time on other people’s channels than yours. You’re one Nomcaster; there are thousands out there.

• Watch their shows.
• Ask good questions.
• Add value in a way you know you’d appreciate if you were in their shoes.

Why go through the effort? Well, aside from it being fun, this is how you’ll build a following on Nom!

Become a respected member of a niche within a niche (Nom!).

Give, give, give.

For every Nomcast you broadcast, you should tune-in to ten others. At least!

If you’re entering these Nom relationships for selfish reasons you can forget it. People see right through it.

But if you’re genuinely interested in other people’s work, they’ll be genuinely interested in yours.

Last tip: playing the waiting game

It takes time to build a genuine, loyal subscriber base on Nom. So be patient.

We are still new at this, just like you.

But if you’re in it for the right reasons, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to get more subscribers, viewers, and “love” on nom.com.

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The list

I don’t send businessy posts like this to people’s inboxs. But I DO send an easy, healthy and quick recipe (almost) every Sunday. You can get it here. 

Related to this nom tips post:

Here’s the deal with the Vitamix affiliate program – https://lifeisnoyoke.com/vitamix-affiliate-program/

A replay of a live Vitamix demonstration we did – https://lifeisnoyoke.com/vitamix-demonstration/