It depends on what content format (Livestream vs Video on Demand) you're using! We've got articles to walk you through How to Set Up a Livestream Event Instance and How to Set Up a Video On Demand Event Instance, so check that out after you decide what format you're using.

You sure can! For something like an audiobook, you can use the Video on Demand Event Instance format, and link out to your content wherever it lives.

If your virtual experience takes place at a specific date/time, consider using the Livestream format instead. You can still use any external link.

Nope - Shoot for the moon and sell as many tickets as you can!

This is what you'll use for regular, in-person Event Instances.

You can build virtual events into a subscription package just like any other kind of event!

Each virtual event gets its own ticket, just as each seat at a live performance gets its own ticket. And, just as an in-person subscriber would receive a separate ticket to each show, a virtual events subscriber will receive a separate ticket that will link them through to view each virtual event at the appropriate time.

Our recommended best practice is to set up Automated Pre-Show Emails so all of your ticket buyers - and especially your subscribers - receive an additional email an hour before a livestream starts with their unique ticket link in it. This will help your subscribers easily find their link at showtime; no one wants to dig through email frantically for the link they need.

We recommend a model where one ticket is good for one viewing device. If two patrons live together, they'll likely watch your virtual event on the same screen (or virtual "seat").

Great question. The answer depends on the type of content:

• For VOD content: When you set up your Event Instance, you should:
  1. Insert a placeholder link (e.g. to your YouTube channel or your website)
  2. Set global availability to the date you plan to publish the video
  3. Make sure to set the Allocation view limit to start from "first-viewed date" (rather than from "purchase date")
  4. Remember to update the link to your video on the Event Instance before the availability window opens
• For Livestreamed content:
  1. Insert a placeholder link (e.g. to your YouTube channel or your website)
  2. Update the link to point to the real livestream more than one hour before the Instance Date

The process here is the same as for any other kind of Event. We recommend using Discount Codes tied to Benefit Levels if you use Portal, or Passcodes (with or without Portal) to give your members discounted access while still selling full-priced tickets to non-members.

You can send automatic post-show emails for livestreamed events! And because PatronManager automatically tracks attendance for virtual events, you can use the option to only send post-show emails to attendees if you wish.

Automatic post-show emails are not compatible with Video on Demand Event Instances. If you choose to send outreach to these patrons manually, the date the patron first viewed the content is available for reporting in the "Entry Date" field on the Ticket Order Item.

You've got a few options, depending on what you need:

• If you're just sending the ticket links of a single order (i.e. to a single patron), you can follow these instructions.
• If you need to resend the ticket links to everyone who purchased a ticket to the virtual Event Instance you can use the Ad-Hoc Alert function of Automated Communications (be sure to include the Mobile Ticket Link merge field).

PatronManager Virtual Events have two layers of gating:

1. Ticket purchase gating: your patron must purchase a ticket to receive their access link
2. Ticket validation gating: the link to view your virtual event will only appear on the ticket page if their ticket is valid at that time (in other words, a ticket that has been refunded will not give the patron access to the virtual event link)

Technically, yes - once the patron clicks through to view the livestream or VOD, they are no longer on PatronManager's platform and they would be able to share the URL of that virtual event page with someone else.

It is also technically possible for a patron to share their ticket link with someone else. You could put language in the various Mobile Ticket fields, or use the reseller warning, to deter this behavior if you wish.

Just like any other performance! The Automated Communications feature is fully compatible with tickets sold to virtual livestreamed events, and pre-show reminder emails are highly recommended!

You can also add a merge field to include a button with the patron's link to view the livestream in their pre-show reminder email:

Great question! You'd need to set up two separate Event Instances: one with the "Standard" content format for the in-person show, and a separate Event Instance for the livestream. Your Standard Event Instance might have reserved seating or attendance caps, while the livestream may have different pricing, details, and capacity.

The details depend on the content format you choose. Check out this article for more.

We have some best practices for you; from a dress rehearsal to a stage manager, we've got you covered in this article.

We highly recommend using Zoom for panel discussions or webinars for livestreams!

Use the Livestream Content Format and set all your prices/fees to $0.

Let's say you're doing a set of art classes using Zoom and the Livestream option. These classes will happen weekly on Wednesdays at 6pm for 8 weeks. How should you set this up?

It depends! Here are a few things to consider.

1. Do you want to be able to keep selling tickets after the first session and/or sell classes individually?
   • If so, you should set up the classes as separate Event Instances, and consider building them into subscription packages (all 8 classes, 7 classes, etc).
2. Do you want to automatically track attendance in PatronManager for each class separately?
   • If so, you'll need to set up a separate Event Instance for each class.
3. Were the answers to questions 1 and 2 "no"? Will the external (i.e. Zoom) link be the same for every class?
   • You could set up a single Event Instance with the Instance Date as the first class start time and the Instance End Date as the last class end time.
   • Patrons will be able to use their ticket links to click through the player page to the external stream link as many times as they need to during that range.

Your patrons will receive the link they need to access the your livestream in their Order Confirmation email immediately after they purchase a ticket. 

However, our recommended best practice is also send them an email just before the show with the same link - it's no fun to sift through your inbox for a link to a show you paid for. You can do this easily with Automated Communications!

1. Set up automated communications if you haven't done so already
2. Create a pre-show email template that contains the Ticket Order Item merge field "MobileTicketLink" (again, if you haven't done so already)
3. Set that template as the pre-show email, either:
   1. On your Automated Communications Settings, if you want to use that template for all your Ticketable Events
   2. On the specific Ticketable Event, if it's more specialized
   3. On the Livestream Event Instance, for the most granular level of detail
4. Make sure the email is set to go out an hour before the show (again, either in your Automated Communications Settings or on the Ticketable Event)

Here's what that email might look like:

Direct them back to their email and have them click their ticket link again, just as they did to join the stream originally.

Alternately, you could send them the direct link to the livestream.

You can do one or both of the following:

1. To sell tickets to the recording of the livestream, you can create a separate Video on Demand Event Instance. You can even have it on sale at the same time as the livestream, just set the Video Availability Start Date late enough that you'll have time to upload the video and update the link.
2. To allow patrons who purchased tickets to the livestream to access the recording after the fact, you could use PatronManager's post-show email feature to send them the direct link to the recording you upload after the livestream. Or, you could send them a 100% off discount code for a ticket to the Video on Demand Event Instance if you choose to sell that separately.

Our Client Community has a whole group of organizations like yours who are streaming content - we recommend asking them what they've tried and liked so far!

If you haven't joined the Virtual Events Community Group yet, it's the last step in enabling the feature for your organization.

Our best practice recommendation is to go with a Livestream Event Instance instead. It's the best way to make it "seem" like it's a live performance, or emulate something like a TV special.

Resetting a VOD ticket's validity depends on how the tickets are set up:

• "First-Viewed Date" validity: go to the patron's Ticket Order in PMBO, open the "Print" tab, and clear the "Attendance" for that ticket
• "Purchased Date" validity: exchange the ticket for a new one, and send the patron the automatic exchange confirmation email (this will contain their new ticket link)