.png)
.png)
We are writing this article in March of 2020. COVID-19 has swept across the globe and has affected millions of people. It has affected trainers, gyms, and yoga studios. An industry that depends on people coming to your physical location. Many coaches and instructors are out of work and have been scrambling to come up with a solution to create revenue in this uncertain time.
This might be a good time to step back and look at your model as a whole and identify if there are any opportunities to deliver value and community to your clients. In this article, we will walk you through how you can use your smartphone's camera and Vimeo OTT to create an online digital studio.
Vimeo OTT is an online video platform that allows you to sell your videos and subscriptions. What this means is you can sell individual videos or create collections of videos on a subscription basis.
Vimeo OTT features offers 3 different tier offerings. It is also a revenue sharing platform, so with the Standard Tier there are no upfront costs. You can look at the pricing breakdown here. Today we will be talking about the standard tier–– the option most users select:
You will need to create an account. We would suggest you pass on the branded app in the sign-up process if you are trying to get this up and running on a budget. If you want to create one and learn more about that process, comment below and we can put together a completely separate guide for that.
Next, you will be asked to name your project. We suggest using the name of your company, as this will reference back to the site that host your videos.
Before we go any further, you need to have videos that you can upload to Vimeo OTT. Your videos could feature training classes, yoga sessions, or sit-down videos where you are providing tips on nutrition. If you do not have any pre-recorded videos and are planning on creating some, always remember to shoot with your phone in landscape mode (horizontally). This will make all your videos look better and will fit the preferred 16:9 screen.
Don't worry, we'll wait while you create those videos...
Ok, perfect! Now that you have some videos that you shot on your phone, let's transfer them over to your computer. You can drop it in a file share program like Google Drive or Dropbox. If you have Apple products you can airdrop them.
Now that you have your videos on your computer we can start by uploading them into Vimeo OTT.
You can either select "Start uploading" or you can always go to the Content tab and upload from there. You can drag and drop video files or go into your computer's finder window and select one or multiple. For our example, we are just uploading one, but if you shot multiple videos you might as well upload them all.
To sell anything you will need to create a product. Products on Vimeo OTT are separated into 2 different categories.
First, let's talk about "Buy and rent". The name is self-explanatory, but this product type offers a few interesting features. Once you select "buy and rent," you will be directed to input some basic information.
.gif)
Before you get into any of that let's talk about how you can think about creating products. Your products can be whatever you want them to be. It can be one video (ex. a fitness class) or it can house multiple videos (ex. multiple fitness classes). Yoga classes, nutrition videos, the possibilities are endless.
So, going back to setting up your buy and rent product. Once you add in the title, description, and upload the thumbnail you will want to select "content". This is where you will add the appropriate videos that you have already uploaded to Vimeo. Note: Vimeo allows you to disable downloads–– this won't allow anyone who is watching to download your content onto their computers or phones.
.gif)
After you add your content you will want to pick the distribution. You can choose Pre-order or Ready to sell. We would suggest going right to ready to sell. You've created the videos, uploaded them to Vimeo and are ready to go!
We have a few different options here as well. You can choose to make this product a rental price, a fixed cost, or both.
You might want to create a fixed priced product if it is content that your client would watch more than once. (Example: A 4-week progressive bodyweight program for a fixed cost of $49.99)
Rentals are beneficial in that you can create consistent content regularly. (Example: One 10 minute yoga flow for $3.99)
If you decide to make it both rental and fixed pricing you will need to make sure you're rental price is less than your fixed purchase price.
.gif)
Rental Period: Along with choosing rental, you will also need to determine the rental period. Vimeo gives you a range of 3 days to 356 days.
Pay What You Want: "Pay what you want" is also a feature that you can enable. This means you would set your minimum price but your clients can choose to pay more.
Once you have set your pricing, you only have a couple more optional steps. The first one is called "Extras." This is where you can upload files. For trainers, this could be a PDF version of the workout(s) or if you are going to teach a nutrition program, this could be handouts for clients to follow along with or fill out.
.gif)
The second optional step is to create your custom email receipt message. At SimplerX, we are are all about creating an amazing experience for clients, so we highly recommend sending a welcome and thank you message to anyone who will be purchasing or renting your digital products.
.gif)
The other type of product you can create with Vimeo OTT is subscriptions. This is a great option if you are planning on regularly adding new content offerings. Reoccurring revenue is critical for any business in allowing them to predict more accurately how much and when money is coming in.
Let's dive into setting up subscriptions.
This is the same as the basic info you would fill out for the "buy and rent" products. Be sure to use the description to give your customers insight into why this is a subscription. If you are going to be adding content on a weekly or monthly basis, let them know. Being completely upfront and transparent with your clients and future customers is the most important part of creating lasting client relationships.
.gif)
Once you get to the content section, this will look familiar to the "buy and rent" content, but there is a difference. When you add content to the "buy and rent" product, you pick individual videos. In the "subscriptions" product, you add in collections.
Collections are a group of videos––this is how you sell with subscriptions. So, let's create a collection. If you have already created a collection, add in the collections you want and skip to step 4.
.gif)
Click on "Create" under the Add Collections button. First enter the title of the collection, if it's a Power Yoga series, type in "Power Yoga Series" and select "Series".
From there you will complete all of the basic info fields. The content section is where you can add in all the power yoga videos (replace that with what you are selling) in the order you want them to be played. The other important note when creating collections is that when you get to distribution you will need to decide if you want it published or private.
Published means you're subscribers will be able to view that content in the subscription we will make. Private means only you will be able to use it. We will leave that up to you to decide. There are a few other options following this step, but we'll let you decide how you want to navigate those options.
.gif)
You have three options here. You can charge a monthly price, an annual price, or both. You also have the option to create a free trial along with determining how long that free trial will last.
.gif)
Target specific countries or sell worldwide
Again, here is where you can create a custom message. Thanking your customers for their business is always the right thing to do.
Now we need to set up your live site so people can watch and use your videos.
To accept money and get paid, you will need to add your personal, business, and bank account info.
.gif)
You will also need to add in a credit card so that Vimeo can charge you for their fees. For the standard tier, you only pay $1/month per subscriber + 2.5% + 30 cent transaction fee.
.gif)
Once you have all that filled out the last thing you will need to do is make sure the site is published. You can find that by going into "Settings" again and clicking "Site". If the site is not published you will see a blue button in the bottom left corner that says "Publish site."
On the same page, you will see the link to your digital space. Be sure that it looks the way you want it and share that with your clients and the world! You are ready to start providing services while also creating passive income.
*With these trying times due to COVID-19, we believe that it takes sacrifice and giving back for all of us to come out of this stronger. With that being said we are extending our helping hand in personally helping you if you need it to get up and running on Vimeo OTT with your service based business. Please reach out to bobby@simpler-x.com to get in touch. From everyone at SimplerX: we're thinking of you and committed to helping you stay connected to your clients.
Don't forget to comment with any feedback or questions where we can release follow up articles to help you even further!
.png)
