Zenamu doesn't host videos. Instead, you give it a video link to a video you already have on Vimeo or YouTube. Zenamu takes care of playback, access, and the record of purchases.

1. Where to get the video

We support two providers:

Vimeo — works even with a private link that contains a security hash.
YouTube — including videos set to Unlisted.

Important: We don't support YouTube Shorts. Use a regular YouTube video.

2. Adding a video

In the Videos section, click Add video.
Paste the full video link into the Video link (YouTube or Vimeo) field.
Zenamu tries to fetch the video details automatically: the title, the duration, and the thumbnail. The fetched title pre-fills the Title field if you haven't filled it in yourself yet.
Fill in the rest of the details (see below) and click Save.

In the Publishing and selling section you can add the video to playlists right away as you add it (if you already have some created), offer it as a one-time purchase, and publish it immediately. You can also set all of this up later from the video's actions menu.

Sometimes Vimeo won't provide the title, thumbnail, or duration for a video (this happens with videos hidden from Vimeo). You can still save and publish such a video without any problem: you fill in the title and thumbnail by hand, and the duration just won't show on the video. But if the video can't be fetched at all (it's private, deleted, or the link is invalid), you'll see a warning that explains why. You can then save the video as a draft, but you won't be able to publish it until the video details can be fetched. Zenamu will try again when you publish. Every time you change the link, the video details are fetched from scratch.

3. What to fill in for a video

Title — required. Clients see it in the library.
Description — a short summary of what the video is about: the content, who it's for, what to prepare (max. 2000 characters).
Free video — turn this on if the video is a sample that anyone can play without a membership or purchase.

A free video and a one-time purchase are mutually exclusive. As long as the video has an active one-time purchase offer (or one ticked in the form), you can't mark it as free. Cancel the offer first. And the other way round: you can't set up a one-time purchase offer for a free video until you clear the Free video option. You can clear that option at any time.

Advanced settings

Once you open Advanced settings, you can fill in:

Instructor — who leads the session. You pick from the studio's instructors.
Level — Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced.
Custom thumbnail — if you don't upload one, Zenamu uses the thumbnail from the video provider. We recommend a custom thumbnail. It looks better, and for YouTube videos it also lowers the risk of someone tracing the original link (see below).

4. Recommended settings against misuse

Your videos live on Vimeo or YouTube, not inside Zenamu. So set up access at the provider in a way that keeps the video from being played easily outside your library.

Vimeo

Vimeo offers the best protection:

Set the privacy to Only people with the link.
In the embed settings, allow only specific domains and add zenamu.com to the list.
Disable downloading of the video.

YouTube

YouTube doesn't offer protection like that. Even if you set the video to Unlisted, anyone who has the link can play it. Keep that in mind. So:

For YouTube videos, upload a custom thumbnail. The YouTube thumbnail contains the video identifier, which can be used to reconstruct the video link.
If you really need to protect the content, go with Vimeo.

Privacy settings: what plays for clients

Platform	Video setting	Plays for clients?	Note
Vimeo	Public	Yes	The only usable option on free Vimeo. The video is findable on Vimeo, though.
Vimeo	Unlisted	Yes	Paid Vimeo only. Add the link to Zenamu including the protection code.
Vimeo	Hide from Vimeo	Yes	Paid Vimeo only. Vimeo won't provide the title, thumbnail, or duration — you fill them in by hand.
Vimeo	Password	Asks for a password	The player asks your clients for the password too — don't use it for selling.
Vimeo	Private	No	Won't play at all.
YouTube	Public	Yes	The video is findable on YouTube.
YouTube	Unlisted	Yes	The recommended setting.
YouTube	Private	No	Won't play at all.

Free Vimeo: A free account only offers Private and Public for a video. So for selling in Zenamu the video has to be Public, or you need paid Vimeo (Unlisted / Hide from Vimeo).

Zenamu warns you about a problematic setting right when you add the video. For a private video you'll see a warning with instructions on what to switch on Vimeo or YouTube. If the video gets a new link after the change (for example, a Vimeo unlisted link with a code in the address), add it to the video in Zenamu and the video details will be fetched again.

5. Video states

A video goes through several states:

State	What it means
Draft	A video still in progress. No one but you can play it — not even clients who bought it earlier or have access through a membership.
Published	The video is live. It shows in the library according to the access you've set.
Hidden	A published video that you've hidden from the library and the public offering. Anyone who already has access (through a purchase or a membership) can keep playing it.
Trash	A deleted video. It doesn't show in the library and membership access ends. Anyone with an active one-time purchase keeps their access. You can restore the video from the trash.

There are three ways to pull a video from the offering, and they differ in how they affect clients:

Hide — the gentlest. The video disappears from the offering, but it keeps working for everyone who already has access (purchases and memberships).
Move to trash — membership access ends; active one-time purchases keep running until they expire.
Unpublish — the emergency brake. The video stops playing for everyone, including paying clients. Use it when something is wrong with the content (the wrong video, copyright). Zenamu asks you to confirm before this action.

Tip: Before you publish a video for the first time, review it in Draft. You can keep editing it after publishing, but clients see the changes straight away.

Changing the link of a published video

If you change the link of an already published video, clients will see the new content. Zenamu warns you about this. When you want to keep the history and statistics of the original video, it's better to create a new video.

6. Moving a video to trash

A deleted video moves to the trash:

It disappears from the library.
Anyone with an active one-time purchase keeps their access. The video keeps playing for them.
You can restore the video from the trash at any time.
To remove it completely, it's a good idea to refund active purchases first (outside the Zenamu system).