Vimeo On Demand: Selling Videos on Vimeo

Is Vimeo On Demand right for me?

The short answer is: It depends! On what you make, how you want to distribute, and a few other things.

Vimeo On Demand is designed primarily to help creators sell films and episodic series. If you make those, Vimeo On Demand can definitely help. However, we don’t restrict the type of work you can distribute, with the exception of explicit content, which is not permitted. If you have a question about whether your work is suitable for Vimeo On Demand, please contact us and we’ll talk you through it!

Also, as you may have suspected, Vimeo On Demand is strictly a digital distribution platform. It can’t burn DVDs and send them to festivals on your behalf. :)

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How do I sell my video using Vimeo On Demand?

Vimeo On Demand makes self-distribution simple for Vimeo PRO members. Once you are a PRO member, head to Creator Services, click Vimeo On Demand, then Get Started.

From there, you can upload videos into a customizable On Demand page, which you can design to perfectly match your work. Add a trailer, extra features, and a poster. Decide if you want to offer your work for Rent, to Buy, or both. Set your prices, choose any additional settings (such as rental period or available regions), and you’re ready to publish!

Spread the word by telling people about your Vimeo On Demand page via your favorite social media channels, email, flyers stapled to telephone poles, skywriting, and whatever other methods you devise. The marketing part is up to you, so make sure to get the word out! When someone makes a purchase, we’ll let you know.

Want some more guidance for setting up your On Demand page? Check out our best practices guide.

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What’s the difference between “Rent” and “Buy” options for Vimeo On Demand?

With Vimeo On Demand, you can sell in two ways:

Rent: Viewers can rent your videos for a time period that you select, anywhere from 1 day to 1 year. People who rent your work can stream it during this time frame, but cannot download it.

Buy: Buyers can watch the work for as long as it remains on Vimeo, and download it to their computers and devices DRM-free.

You can to choose Rent, Buy, or both for all Vimeo On Demand videos. If you chose to sell it both ways, you would typically set a higher price for the Buy option.

To set your prices, head to the Price tab on your Vimeo On Demand page’s Settings.

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Can I use Vimeo On Demand to sell videos in a series?

Yes, Vimeo On Demand lets you sell videos individually, or in a series. You’ll be prompted to select one of the two options when you’re setting up your Vimeo On Demand page.

For videos sold in a series, you can set individual prices per episode and add a “Rent All” or “Buy All” option if you wish.

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What do “Rent All” and “Buy All” mean?

If you add a "Rent All" option to your Vimeo On Demand page, it gives buyers access to any videos you've added to the VOD page as well as any additional videos you add during the specified viewing period (anywhere from 1 day to 1 year from the date of the purchase).

If you add a “Buy All” option to your Vimeo On Demand page, it gives buyers access to any videos you add to your VOD page for as long as it remains online.

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How do I manage my Vimeo On Demand pages?

Once you’re logged in, head to your Profile and click “VOD” in the upper right hand section of the page.

There you’ll find all of your published and unpublished On Demand pages. Click the Settings gear icon in the upper right hand corner of the VOD page you wish to edit, then make any desired changes.

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I got an error when connecting my PayPal account to my On Demand page. What gives?

First of all, make sure your PayPal account is verified — if it’s not, you will not be able to connect it to your Vimeo account.

You will also need to make sure that you entered your first and last name exactly as they appear on your PayPal account.

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How do I get paid through Vimeo On Demand?

Any purchases you receive will be accrued throughout the calendar month and then transferred to your PayPal account in one lump payment. You will receive this payment in USD, approximately 30 days after the month’s end. (For example, a payment for all the purchases you receive in the month of June will be transferred from Vimeo to your PayPal account on or around July 30.)

You keep 90% of revenue after transaction fees, and we cover all delivery costs. When the payment is processed, a statement reflecting the amount paid will be sent to the email address associated with your Vimeo account.

You will need a verified PayPal account in order to withdraw your payments. (Learn more about PayPal’s verification process in their FAQ.)

Please be aware that the payment will not necessarily appear in your PayPal account immediately — it may take up to 30 additional days for the payment to appear in your account after it has been processed by Vimeo. Please contact PayPal to inquire about the status of any pending payments after Vimeo has processed them.

You can review our full Payment Addendum.

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Do Vimeo On Demand uploads count against my PRO storage space?

Yes. Any videos uploaded to your Vimeo On Demand page will be counted against your weekly quota. You can upload up to 20GB of video per week.

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How large can my Vimeo On Demand video files be?

As Vimeo PRO member, you can upload video files up to 20GB as long as you have enough space in your weekly quota.

We strongly recommend exporting your video files according to our Video Compression Guidelines before uploading them. This will maximize your storage space and ensure that the videos will look awesome on Vimeo.

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How do I set up a custom domain for Vimeo On Demand?

You can sell your Vimeo On Demand (VOD) videos directly through vimeo.com/ondemand and/or on a custom domain on your own website.

You can use a domain that you already own (http://my-rad-site.com), set up a sub-domain on your existing website (http://movies.my-rad-site.com), or purchase a new domain to use (http://my-new-site.com).

Step 1: Set up your domain

Purchase a domain from a registrar such as DreamHost.com, name.com, or 1and1.com.
Alternately, you can set up a subdomain on your existing site. (Contact your registrar or hosting service for instructions.)

Step 2: Update your A-Record or CNAME Record

If you want your VOD page to live on your top-level domain (http://my-rad-site.com), follow your domain registrar’s instructions to set the domain’s A-Record to 107.162.132.21. (Note: This IP will be changing soon. We will email you with further instructions.)
If you want your VOD page to live on a subdomain (http://movies.my-rad-site.com), you will need to follow your registrar's instructions for updating your CNAME Record so that it points to vimeopro.com.
Note: It may take up to 72 hours for these changes to take effect across the Interwebs.

Step 3: Update your VOD Settings

On the Advanced tab of your VOD Settings page, enter your domain or subdomain into the "Enter Domain" field, then save your changes.

Step 4: Test your new VOD page

Open a new browser window and navigate to the domain or subdomain you just set up. You should now see your VOD page! If you don't see your page, and it has been more than 72 hours since you updated your A-Record or CNAME Record, contact your domain registrar for further assistance.

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Someone left a bad rating on my video. Can I delete it?

It’s not possible for you to delete ratings. However, if you feel that someone has left an off-topic, irrelevant, or abusive comment on your video, please contact us so that we can take a look.

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How are transaction costs calculated?

Transaction costs range from 4% to 17%, depending on factors such as the price you set for your work and the purchaser's payment method.

If the purchase is made in Euros, we convert it to US Dollars using real-time exchange rates provided by openexchangerates.org.

If you’d like a more thorough estimate of transaction costs based off your work’s specifications, feel free to reach out to us! We are always working to make transactions more favorable for creators.

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What currencies does Vimeo On Demand support?

All Vimeo On Demand titles are available in US dollars (USD) by default. However, you may choose to accept other currencies when your title is viewed in regions where currencies other than USD are used. At this time, we support USD and Euro. (We’ll be introducing more options in the future.)

To accept Euro purchases, go to the Price section in your VOD Settings and check “Accept Euro.” From there, you will find customizable price fields for all available purchase options, including a suggested Euro price based off the up-to-date exchange rate.

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I want my video to be available only in certain regions. How do I do that?

Head to the Basic Info tab in your VOD Settings and scroll down to the “Viewing Options” section. Under “Distribution regions” you’ll be able to choose where you want to distribute your work. We strongly recommend worldwide!

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What analytics do I get with Vimeo On Demand?

You'll be able to see all the juicy Advanced Stats you get with your PRO membership at vimeo.com/stats. You can also track this information for each Vimeo On Demand work from the VOD Dashboard at the top of its page.

Your VOD Dashboard displays stats broken down by sales, gross revenue, and country, as well as a list of the top websites that have referred audiences to your work. You can organize your stats chronologically, by the day, month, year, or all-time.

In addition, we offer Google Analytics integration to capture glorious insights about the traffic your custom-hosted VOD pages are receiving. If you're hosting your VOD page on your own URL, you can enable Google Analytics on the Advanced tab of the VOD Settings page. Click Add a custom domain if you haven't already, then click Track traffic with Google Analytics and provide us with your Google Analytics ID. Insights from your hosted VOD page will start appearing in your Google Analytics account. Google Analytics will only track traffic on your hosted VOD page and not on vimeo.com.

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I'm a Vimeo Plus member, but I really want to use Vimeo On Demand. What should I do?

In order to use Vimeo On Demand, you’ll need to become a PRO member. But don’t worry; being a PRO member is totally rad!

If you’re a Plus member on a monthly renewal cycle, or you’re in the first month of your annual subscription, you can log in to your current Plus account and head to vimeo.com/pro to make your purchase.

If you’re farther into your annual Plus subscription, contact us so that we can help you make the transition.

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How should I compress my videos for Vimeo On Demand?

Please make sure you’ve compressed your videos according to our recommended settings. Not only will getting these settings right make it easier for you to upload your video, it ensures that your video will look its absolute best on Vimeo!

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What dimensions should I use for my Vimeo On Demand poster? What about the thumbnail image?

You’ll have the best results uploading a JPG or PNG poster that is 500px by 750px. Your thumbnail should be a JPG, GIF, or PNG file that is the same resolution as your video.

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I made a mistake! How do I delete a Vimeo On Demand page?

Once you publish a Vimeo On Demand page, it can no longer be deleted by you (even if it was only published for a brief period). To remove a published or unpublished VOD page from your account, shoot us a note so that we can help you out!

If you've got a Vimeo On Demand draft that you'd like to get rid of, head to the VOD section of your profile, then click the red X in the upper-right corner of that draft. Delete with caution because this action cannot be undone!

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If I add one of my existing videos to a Vimeo On Demand page, what will change?

Adding an existing video to a Vimeo On Demand page means that the video is no longer available to be viewed for free. Its video page will be accessible only to you, meaning all the likes and comments it received previously will be hidden from the world. However, your VOD page will start gathering likes and reviews of its own!

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Can I customize my Vimeo On Demand page?

Of course! Head to the Appearance tab in your Vimeo On Demand page settings to select your theme and choose a color scheme to match your video. From here, you can also upload a background image, if you’d like.

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How do I know when someone purchases my work?

You can track purchases on Vimeo On Demand videos in the Performance tab of the Vimeo On Demand Settings page.

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Does the "Buy All" option give viewers access to videos added after their purchase?

If you add a "Buy All" option to your Vimeo On Demand page, it gives buyers access to any videos currently available on the VOD page as well as any additional videos you add in the future.

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Where do I see Stats for my On Demand videos?

You've got options! If you’re logged in, you can view your On Demand stats right at the very top of the page for each VOD work, providing a quick overview or recent performance.

Dive deeper by clicking the speedometer icon in the upper right corner to open your VOD Dashboard.

You can also get the juicy details by shimmying over to vimeo.com/stats, or in the Performance tab of your VOD Settings.

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Can I see Stats on videos I've removed from my Vimeo On Demand pages?

When you delete your VOD page or remove a video from it, you will see a line item on your VOD Stats pages for "Purchases of removed videos." Here you can see the total number of plays, purchases, and revenue associated with all videos that have been removed from that VOD page.

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Why do my Vimeo On Demand Stats show more loads and plays than Purchases?

Don't worry — this is normal! When a viewer purchases your work, they are able to watch your video as many times as they like during the viewing period that you have specified. During the viewing period, some folks may refresh the page, or choose to revisit it later.

Each time a viewer revisits or refreshes one of your Vimeo On Demand pages, another Load is counted in your Stats because the video player is re-loaded on the page. Whenever a viewer clicks the play button, whether it is to rewatch the video entirely or simply revisit a certain part that they particularly like, another Play is counted.

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Why am I seeing "Unknown" embed stats?

When we record a load, play, or purchase of your VOD work from a website that fails to give us its full referrer URL, we count it toward your total embed stats under "Unknown."

Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do to recover additional data from those visits. It simply isn't available to us!

If you've set up domain-level privacy, we can assure you that any stats listed as "Unknown" are only coming from the domains you've chosen to allow.

Ultimately, when it comes to displaying stats for your work, we give you as much information as possible. If we didn’t include "Unknown" stats; otherwise, you wouldn’t know how many people visited or purchased your work.

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What happens to the Vimeo On Demand videos I’ve sold if I delete my videos or account?

If you delete your Vimeo On Demand videos or your Vimeo account, Vimeo will immediately cease to make the videos available to new viewers. However, we will continue to provide access to anyone who has already bought or rented the videos per these terms:

Rentals: Your renters will have access to the videos until their rental period expires.

Buys: Your buyers will be able to watch or download the videos for 30 days after you delete them from the site. They will receive an email from Vimeo encouraging them to back up their purchase while the content is still available.

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How do I set up preorders for my Vimeo On Demand work?

Setting up your Vimeo On Demand Preorder

To start selling your work before it’s released, head to the Basic Info tab of your Vimeo On Demand Settings, check the box next to “Make my work available for preorder,” and set your release date. (Your release date must be no more than 90 days from the date that you make your work available for preorder.)

Once you’ve uploaded a poster and a trailer, click Start Preorder!

From that point on, viewers will be able to preorder your work. When someone preorders, Vimeo authorizes the purchase so that we can charge the card upon the release of your video.

You can change your preorder release date up to 3 times. When you do this, people who have already bought your work will receive an email.

Publishing on your release date

Once your release date rolls around, you must return to your Vimeo On Demand Settings to upload the work within 48 hours.

Simply upload the video (or videos), and click Publish.

Once you do this, your preorder customers will be charged, and they'll receive an email informing them that your work is ready to view. Content will also be available to them when they visit the VOD page, in their Watch Later queue, and in their VOD Browse page.

If you do not Publish your video or change the release date within 48 hours of your original release date, all of your preorders will be released and the buyers will receive an email saying the preorder has been cancelled.

Cancelling preorders

If you need to cancel your Vimeo On Demand preorder page, head to its Settings page and click Advanced >> Manage VOD >> Cancel Preorder.

This will unpublish your Vimeo On Demand preorder page, release any purchases that have been made, and trigger an email to your buyers explaining that the order has been cancelled.

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Can I create promo codes for my Vimeo On Demand work?

Absolutely! You can offer promo codes for free or discounted rentals and purchases of your work. You choose the discount, either by percentage or specific US dollar amount. You can also set custom start and end dates for each code — this is especially handy for press screeners or special sales.

To add a code, head to your Vimeo On Demand Settings and click on the Promotions tab. Under “Do you want to offer promo codes?” select “Add a single code.”

In the text field under “Code,” enter the exact text viewers should use to redeem your promo code. Codes are case-sensitive, may only contain letters and numbers, and may include up to 32 characters. Under “Limit,” specify how many times this particular promo code can be used by entering a number between 1 and 1,000.

From there, select what kind of discount you’d like to offer and whether it applies to rentals, purchases, or both. For the creators of a series, you have the option to offer promo codes toward rentals / purchases of single episodes* or your entire series.

Finally, you can decide when your promo code will be active. Under “Start/End Dates,” click the calendar icon to select a start date for your code. Check “Expires” to set an end date. All promo codes default to “Does not expire.”

When you’re all done, click Add to save your code.

You can generate up to 100 codes per Vimeo On Demand title. Unused codes may be edited or deleted. Once a code has been used, it can be disabled but not deleted. When a code’s limit is hit, it will be disabled automatically.

*Please note that, though you can set a promo code for single episodes within a series, you cannot specify which episode can be accessed with that code. Your viewers will be able to apply this code to the episode of their choosing.

At this time, only percent-off promo codes can be applied toward purchases made in currencies other than USD.

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What are Vimeo On Demand Content Ratings?

Content Ratings help us keep Vimeo On Demand titles accessible to as many people as possible.

We ask creators to tell us if their VOD works contain nudity, violence, profanity, or drug/alcohol references. Based on the categories selected — or not selected — one of the following badges will appear on the Vimeo On Demand page: All Audiences, Mature, or Not Yet Rated.

When setting up your VOD page, you will be asked to rate the work you’re selling. The rating you choose should apply to all the work you’re selling. Choose the appropriate rating ("All audiences" or "Mature"), then, if applicable, select one or more of the mature content categories. This rating will be applied to your VOD page. You can return to your VOD settings at any time to update your rating.

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Can I sell Vimeo On Demand works through videos embedded on other websites?

Yes indeedy! If you embed the videos from your VOD page on other websites, viewers will be able to rent or buy the videos right then and there using the "Purchase from" prompt in the top right corner of the player.

If you're selling a Feature, we recommend embedding your Main Video. That way, viewers will see the trailer when they visit the page, and then they'll be able to watch the feature from that same spot once they make the purchase. (They can also watch it on Vimeo.com or from your VOD page, of course.)

If you're selling a Series, we recommend embedding your trailer or your first episode and then directing viewers to your VOD page (where the other episodes can be accessed).

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