Selling On Demand videos requires a Vimeo Standard and higher or Vimeo Pro and higher membership.
You can offer promo codes for free or discounted rentals, subscriptions, and purchases of your work. You choose the discount, either by percentage or specific U.S. dollar amount. You can also set custom start and end dates for each code — this is especially handy for press screeners or special sales.
You can create single promo codes, or create a batch of unique promo codes. You can also create VIP access codes for offering advance access or custom access to your title. You can read more about creating each type of code below.
In this article:
Single codes
To add a single promo code:
- Hover over your profile picture that appears the top right of any vimeo.com page to bring up a menu, then select On Demand pages.
- Click the gear icon on your title's thumbnail to head to its Vimeo On Demand Settings, select the Promotions tab, then click Add a new promo code.
- Under Type, select Single, and in the text field under Code, enter the exact text viewers should use to redeem your promo code. Codes are not case-sensitive, but they may only contain letters and numbers, and can include up to 32 characters.
- Under Total, specify how many times this particular promo code can be used by entering a number between 1 and 5,000.
- Under Discount, 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*, toward a monthly subscription, or toward your entire series. (Please note: at this time, only percent-off promo codes can be applied toward purchases made in currencies other than USD.)
- 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 the setting Does not expire.
- When you’re all done, click Create promo code to save your code.
⚠️Note: Though you can set a promo code for single episodes within a series, you cannot specify which episode can be accessed with that code. If a viewer clicks the promo code link, the system will choose an episode for them. If a viewer wants to apply the promo code to a specific episode, they will need to open that specific episode and apply the code (not the link) at checkout.
Batch codes
The batch code option allows you to create a batch of unique, single-use codes. Once you create a batch promo code, we will automatically generate a downloadable .csv file that contains the individual codes for you to share with your viewers.
To create a batch code:
- Hover over your profile picture that appears the top right of any vimeo.com page to bring up a menu, then select On Demand pages.
- Click the gear icon on your title's thumbnail to head to its Vimeo On Demand Settings, select the Promotion tab, then click Add a new promo code.
- For type, select Batch, and enter a batch name for your promo code. Please note: the batch name is not what viewers will use to redeem their promo code — they must use a unique code from the .csv file that you can download once you create your code.
- Under Total, specify how many times this particular promo code can be used by entering a number between 1 and 5,000.
- Under Discount, 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*, toward a monthly subscription, or toward your entire series. (Please note: at this time, only percent-off promo codes can be applied toward purchases made in currencies other than USD.)
- 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 the setting Does not expire.
- Click Create promo code to save your code.
- Click Get codes to download a .csv containing your batch of unique codes (including unique code links), and share these individual codes with your viewers.
⚠️Note: 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.
VIP access codes
You can give people exclusive access to your title before (or after) it’s released to the general public with VIP access codes. These codes allow you to give advance access to any crowdfunding backers, press, or family and friends. Even after you release your title, you can still create VIP access codes as needed to give certain viewers exclusive, custom access to your title. For each code you create, you can specify the type of access you want to grant, regardless of the actual purchase options you offer for your title.
If you want to create a VIP access code while your title is in pre-order, you must have a main feature added to your Vimeo On Demand (if you’re selling a series, you must add at least one episode).
To create a VIP access code:
- Hover over your profile picture that appears the top right of any vimeo.com page to bring up a menu, then select On Demand pages.
- Click on the gear icon on your title's thumbnail to head to its Vimeo On Demand Settings, select the Promotion tab, then click Add a new VIP access code.
- Enter a name for your VIP access code. Please note: this code name is not what viewers will use to redeem their VIP access code — they must use a unique code from the .csv file that you can download once you create your code.
- Under Limit, specify how many VIP codes you want to be created by entering a number between 1 and 5,000.
- Under Access type, select how long you’d like to give your VIP viewers access to the VOD. Please note that you cannot change the access type for a code after you’ve created it.
- Finally, you can decide when your VIP 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, which would be the last day a buyer can apply the code and receive the free access. All VIP codes default to the setting Does not expire.
- Click Create VIP access code to save your code.
- Click Get codes to download a .csv containing your corresponding list of VIP access codes (including direct code links), and share these individual codes with your VIP viewers.
⚠️Note: You may not sell promo or VIP codes or otherwise use them to distribute your film in exchange for payment or other consideration except in connection with crowdfunding or Vimeo’s prior written consent.
⚠️Note: Only VIP promo codes are applicable for gifting more than one month of free/discounted viewing with Subscription-VODs. Standard promo codes for those VODs are only applicable towards one month of free/discounted viewing. After that, buyers will be charged the normal monthly subscription price.
Code Limits
You can create up to 100 different codes per Vimeo On Demand title, and the total number of uses across all codes made for one VOD cannot exceed 5,000. 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.