Getting started with hosting OnZoom events

OnZoom is an immersive platform where consumers can search for and enjoy new interactive and engaging virtual experiences from creators of all sizes, from large media organizations to creative individual hosts.

Hosts can easily create, list, and monetize their OnZoom events where new audiences can find them. Events can be free, paid, or be a hybrid with both free and paid tickets available for registration. Hosts can use Zoom’s platform to engage with their attendees during live events. 

OnZoom is available to hosts with a paid Zoom account and a billing address within the United States. Attendance to OnZoom events is also limited to registrants joining from within the United States. 

Requirements for hosting OnZoom events

Note: You must have the Zoom Webinar license to have the option to cloud record and to use other related cloud recording options.

Table of Contents

How to become an OnZoom host

Only a Zoom account owner, admin, or Zoom user (with approval of their account’s owner or admin) can be a host.

To become an OnZoom host:

  1. Access OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Become a Host and review the Become a Host page.
  3. Click the Sign In button using the Zoom account that you want to host OnZoom events with.
  4. Read the disclaimer to understand if you have a paid US account and are pre-approved to be a Host.
    Note: Your account owner or admin must pre-approve you to be an OnZoom host to proceed to the next step.
  5. Answer the questions in the application process.

After submitting an application, you can view the approval status on the same web page, and will be notified of one of the statuses below:

If your host application has been approved, you are invited to finish the onboarding steps, which include watching the introduction videos about OnZoom, before you will be able to create events.

How to complete the first-time setup

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Read and review the Acceptable Use Guidelines.
  4. Select the check box next to I have read and agree to the Acceptable Use Guidelines.
  5. Click Accept.
  6. On the next page, under your profile picture, click Change if you want to upload a new profile picture. This can be updated within your profile at a later time.
  7. Double-check that the Host Name and Contact Email are correct. Enter a new name and email address if they are incorrect.
  8. (Optional) Add a Host Description.
  9. Click Continue.
  10. (Optional) Link a Stripe or PayPal Business account.
  11. (Optional) On the Billing address page, enter the billing address for your organization or business.
    Note: While not required to host events, this is required for hosting paid events.
  12. (Optional) If your organization qualifies for tax exemption, submit your tax-exemption information.
  13. Click Save.

Once the initial setup is complete, you will be taken to the event creation page and can begin creating your first event.

How to create a test event

After you have set up your OnZoom Host account, you can create your first OnZoom event. The first time you click Create on the homepage, a pop-up window will ask if you would like to create a test event.

A test event is a published event, but it does not show up in the public directory and search results. Creating a test event gives you the opportunity to create an event, and to host that event without a public audience.

While the event is hidden from the public and not open for registration, you will be able to register for your test event. This allows you to go through the ticket-registration and ticking-gifting processes. After you have gifted tickets to friends, you can host a live event—at your own pace—to familiarize yourself with all of the functionalities available to you when hosting an event.

Note: If the title of an event you are creating contains the word "test", you will be asked if you want to create a test event.

How to create an event

Complete the Event Card section

Note: The OnZoom events that you host when using a Zoom Basic Webinars license:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. Click Create.
  3. (Optional) Click Convert an Existing Zoom Meeting / Webinar to an OnZoom Event.
  4. Enter the basic information for the event:
  5. Under Select the event type you want to create, select Webinar or Meeting. The event type cannot be changed after the event has been published.
  6. Under Select if this is a Free or Paid event, select Free or Paid.
    Note: Tickets to your event will be limited to users located in the US only.
  7. Under Date and Time:
    1. Select One-time.
      Note
      : You can also create and schedule a recurring event series.
    2. Set the Start Time of the event.
    3. Set the Duration of the event.
    4. Select the Time Zone for the event.
      Note: By default, the time zone set in your Zoom profile will be used.
  8. Click Save & Continue.

Complete the Event Profile section

In this section, you can add images, video links, and a description of your event.

To complete the event profile in the Main Event Media section:

  1. Under Cover Image, click +Add Cover to upload a mandatory cover image or video for your event.
    Notes:
  2. (Optional) Click the + icon to upload up to two more images to the event profile.
  3. (Optional) Under YouTube Link, enter the URL of a YouTube video you want to add to the event page.
  4. (Optional) Under About Event, enter any additional details about the event.

To complete the event profile in the Contact Info section:

  1. Under Contact Name, enter the contact name that will be displayed on the event page.
    Note: By default your display name on your Zoom profile page will be used.
  2. (Optional) Change your Contact Email by clicking Change.
  3. (Optional) Click the Fundraiser toggle to enable it to On to raise funds for a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization within the event.
  4. Click Save & Continue.

Complete the Event Options section

  1. Under Event discoverability and registration access, select the level of visibility you want for the event:
  2. Under Advanced Options, click the toggle to enable or disable the advanced options:
    Note: The default settings are set to the highest level of security to help prevent disruptions to your event.
  3. Click Save & Continue.

Complete the Tickets section

Notes:

Reserved Tickets

The tickets that were assigned to each role as you created the event will be displayed under this section. These are reserved tickets for the special roles of alternative hosts and panelists. As long as the user has an Alternative Host or Panelist role, this user will receive a special role ticket. This ticket has access to all sessions.

Alternative Hosts can start the meeting on the Host's behalf. Panelists have video, chat, and screen-share permissions.

Under Reserved Tickets for Special Roles, to reserve tickets for special roles:

  1. (Optional) To the right of Panelists, click + Add.
  2. (Optional) To the right of Alternative Hosts, click+ Add.
    1. Enter the alternative host's Name.
    2. Enter the alternative host's email address.
    3. Click Add.
    4. (Optional) Repeat to invite another alternative host.
    5. (Optional) Write a message to send with your alternative host invitation.
    6. Click Save.

To see who has been assigned a ticket for a role, click View Details.

Once your event is published, email invitations to panelists and alternative hosts will be sent.

Tickets for attendees

  1. Under the Tickets for Registration (paid) or Free Tickets (free) section:
  2. For paid events, at the top of the Create Ticket box, select if the ticket will be Free or Paid.
  3. (Optional) Enter the ticket cost under Price per Ticket if the event is a Paid event.
  4. In Ticket Quantity for Each Event, set the number of tickets available.
    Notes:
  5. Enter the Ticket Type Name (for example, Early Bird, General Admission, and so on).
  6. (Optional) Click + Add Description to add a description for the type of ticket or a message for your Attendees.
  7. Under Registration/Sale Starts, set the start date and time of when the tickets will be available for purchase.
    Notes:
  8. (Optional) Click Customize... to set the ending date and time of when the ticket sale will stop. Click Default to set the Registration/Sale Ends time back to End of each occurrence of this series.
  9. In the Set Visibility Rules section, select one of the following options for your ticket type:
  10. If you selected Private, manage who can register for your event:
    Note: Designated users are limited to 1 registration per user and cannot register on behalf of other users.
  11. Click Save.
    After you click Save:
  12. (Optional) Click + Add Ticket to add more ticket types.
  13. (Optional) Enter a Message for confirmation email for your registrants.
  14. If this is a paid event, set the ticket cancellation policy. By default, it will use the policies set in the ticket Cancellation Policy section of your account.
  15. Click Publish to publish the event to the event page or click Save to save the event as a draft.
    Note: If you want to publish your event to see a preview of the listing and you are not yet ready for the public to see and register for your event:
    1. Return to the Event Options section.
    2. Under Event discoverability and registration access, select the Exclude from Directory and Search or Private Event Restricted to Invitees on the Guest List Only.
    3. Return to the Tickets section and click Publish.

How to start an event

Notes:

To start hosting an event:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. On the left side of the page, click Events.
  4. Click the Upcoming.
  5. To the right of the event you want to start, click Start.

How to add tickets to an event

If you want to increase the number of tickets available for your event after you have already created the event, you will need to add an additional ticket type (Drop-In or Entire Series) to do so.

Notes:

To add additional tickets to an event:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. Click Upcoming.
  4. To the right of the upcoming event, click the Edit button.
  5. At the top of the page, click Tickets.
  6. Click + Add Ticket.
  7. Enter the required ticket information.

How to add Alternative Hosts to an event

You can add alternative hosts to an event when you create an event or after an event has already been published.

Note: You can add any Zoom user—even those that do not belong to the same Zoom account as you—to be Alternative Hosts for your OnZoom events.

Add Alternative Hosts when you create an event

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Create.
  3. Enter the required information in the Event Card section.
  4. Enter the required information in the Event Profile section.
  5. In the Alternative Host Ticket box in the Tickets section, click the icon.
  6. Enter the Alternative Host's email.
  7. Click Add.
  8. (Optional) Repeat steps 3-5 to add another Alternative Host's email.
  9. (Optional) Enter a message to be sent with the Alternative Host's invitation email.
  10. Click Save.
  11. Enter the required information for the rest of the Ticket section.
  12. Click Publish to publish the event to the event page, or click Save to save the event as a draft.

Add Alternative Hosts to an existing event

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. Click Upcoming to add an Alternative Host to a published event, or click Drafts to add an Alternative Host to an event that has not been published yet.
  4. To the right of the event you want to edit, click the Edit button.
  5. (Optional) Update the required information in the Event Card section.
  6. (Optional) Update the required information in the Event Profile section.
  7. In the Alternative Host Ticket box in the Tickets section, click the icon.
  8. Enter the Alternative Host's email.
  9. Click Add.
  10. (Optional) Repeat steps 3-5 to add another Alternative Host's email.
  11. (Optional) Enter a message to be sent with the Alternative Host's invitation email.
  12. Click Save.
  13. Enter the required information for the rest of the Ticket section.
  14. Click Publish to publish the event to the event page, or click Save to save the event as a draft.

How to add Panelists to an event

You can add panelists to a spectator event when you create an event or after an event has been published. Your Panelists can join as soon as you start the event.

Add Panelists when you create an event

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Create.
  3. Enter the required information in the Event Card section.
  4. Enter the required information in the Event Profile section.
  5. In the Panelist Ticket box in the Tickets section, click the icon.
  6. Enter the Panelist's email.
  7. Click Add.
  8. (Optional) Repeat steps 3-5 to add another Panelist's email.
  9. (Optional) Enter a message to be sent with the Panelist's invitation email.
  10. Click Save.
  11. Enter the required information for the rest of the Ticket section.
  12. Click Publish to publish the event to the event page, or click Save to save the event as a draft.

Add Panelists to an existing event

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. Click Upcoming to add a Panelist to a published event, or click Drafts to add a Panelist to an event that has not been published yet.
  4. To the right of the event you want to edit, click the Edit button.
  5. (Optional) Update the required information in the Event Card section
  6. (Optional) Update the required information in the Event Profile section.
  7. In the Panelist Ticket box in the Tickets section, click the icon.
  8. Enter the Panelist's email.
  9. Click Add.
  10. (Optional) Repeat steps 3-5 to add another Panelist's email.
  11. (Optional) Enter a message to be sent with the Panelist's invitation email.
  12. Click Save.
  13. Enter the required information for the rest of the Ticket section.
  14. Click Publish to publish the event to the event page, or click Save to save the event as a draft.

How to duplicate an event

Note: When you duplicate an event, all the previous settings from the original event remain the same for the duplicated event, except for the date and time (which will be adjusted automatically to the current date). Review your duplicated event to ensure that it has correct, up-to-date event information.

You can duplicate a past or upcoming event, and modify it with a new start time as well as any other changes needed for the new event.

To duplicate an event:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. Click Manage, then Events.
  3. Click theicon next to the event you want to duplicate.
  4. Click Duplicate.
  5. Modify the new event, starting with the Event Card.

How to cancel an OnZoom event

Hosts can cancel a live event from the Events page, resulting in sessions ending immediately and the canceled event being removed from the web portal.

Additionally, Attendees will see a message that the event was canceled followed by an email notification that informs them the event has been canceled and they will receive a full refund if the canceled event was a paid event.

To cancel an event:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. Click Manage, then Events.
  3. Click the Upcoming tab.
  4. Next to the event you want to cancel, click the ellipses more-button.png.
  5. Click Cancel Event.
    A confirmation window will appear.
  6. In the confirmation window, click Cancel Event to confirm.
    Note: Once you cancel this event, it will be removed from the OnZoom events directory.

Cancel an occurrence in an event series

You can cancel any occurrence scheduled in an event series without canceling or affecting the other occurrences in the event series.

To cancel an occurrence in an event series:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. Click Manage, then Events.
  3. Click the more-button.png icon next to the event series containing the occurrence you want to cancel.
  4. Click Cancel an Occurrence.
    A pop-up window will appear.
  5. From the Select an Occurrence drop-down menu, click the occurrence you want to cancel.
  6. Click Cancel Occurrence.
    A confirmation window will appear.
    Note: This action cannot be undone.
  7. In the confirmation window, click Cancel Occurrence to confirm.
    Note: Once you cancel this occurrence, it will be removed from the OnZoom events directory.

How to cancel an order for an event

Hosts can initiate cancellation of registrants’ orders for free or paid events.

To cancel an order for an event:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top right corner, click Manage.
  3. In the left navigation menu, click Events.
  4. Click the Upcoming tab.
  5. Next to the event you want to manage, click the ellipses more-button.png.
  6. Click Manage Registration.
  7. Click the Orders tab.
  8. Find the order you want to cancel.
  9. Under their registration Status, click Cancel Order.
    A verification window will appear.
  10. In the verification window under Message to your registrant, enter a message to the Attendee to complete the order cancellation.
  11. Click Cancel Order.

Tickets that are associated with the entire order will be canceled, and an email notification will be sent to the registrant. For paid events, the full refund will be processed.

How to delete an event draft

You can delete an event draft as long as the event has not been published.

Note: A published event can only be canceled, it cannot be deleted.

To delete an event draft:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. At the top of the page, click Manage.
  3. Click Drafts.
  4. Click the more-button.png icon next to the event draft you want to delete.
  5. Click Delete.
  6. In the pop-up window, click Delete.

How to send an event-wide message to all registrants

You can send an event-wide message—prior to the start of an event or after an event ends—to everyone who has registered for that specific event if you have an important announcement to broadcast. You can also send one pre-event and one post-event event-wide message per occurrence in an event series.

Note: You can only use this feature twice per published event/occurrence: once before the event starts and once after the event has ended.

Send an event-wide message for a one-time event

To send an event-wide message to all the registrants before an event starts:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. Under the Upcoming tab, find the event series that you want to send a message in and click the ... icon to the right of that event series.
  4. Click Send Message to Registrants.
    Note: This option will not appear in the menu again after you send an event-wide message to all registrants before the event starts.
  5. Select the event occurrence you want to send a message to.
  6. Write your message to the event's registrants, then click Send.

To send an event-wide message to all registrants after an event has ended:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. Click the Past tab.
  4. Find the event series that you need to want to a message in and click the ... icon to the right of that event.
  5. Click Send Post-Event Message to Registrants.
    Note: This option will not appear in the menu again after you send an event-wide message to all registrants after the event has ended.
  6. Select the event occurrence you want to send a message to.
  7. Write your message to the event's registrants, then click Send.

Send an event-wide message for an occurrence in an event series

To send an event-wide message to all the registrants of a specific occurrence in an event series before the event starts:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. Under the Upcoming tab, find the event series that you want to send a message in and click the ... icon to the right of that event.
  4. Click Send Message to Registrants.
  5. From the drop-down menu, select the occurrence you want to send a message to.
    Note: The selected occurrence will not appear in the drop-down menu again once you have sent a message to the registrants of that occurrence.
  6. Write your message to the event's registrants, then click Send.

To send an event-wide message to all the registrants of a specific occurrence in an event series after the event has ended:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Manage.
  3. Click the Past tab.
  4. Find the event series that you want to send a message in and click the ... icon to the right of that event.
  5. Click Send Post-Event Message to Registrants.
  6. From the drop-down menu, select the occurrence you want to send a message to.
    Note: The selected occurrence will not appear in the drop-down menu again once you have sent a message to the registrants of that occurrence.
  7. Write your message to the event's registrants, then click Send.

How to host an event from a Zoom Rooms system

You will need a Zoom Rooms setup, and you will need to sign into your room system to host OnZoom events using Zoom Rooms.

How to host an event from a Zoom for Home device

You will need a Zoom for Home-compatible device to host OnZoom events using Zoom for Home.

How to manage your account

From the Manage section of your account, you can manage your profile information, edit your billing information, and review reports about your events and income from those events. For more information, see our instructions for managing your account.

Note: When attendees register for one of your events, OnZoom does not send a notification to you about an attendee's registration. However, as the host of the event, you will be able to see the registrants' screen name by viewing the Event Summary.

How to access the Host Forum

The Host Forum is the community for all registered OnZoom Hosts to gather, share, and discover information for anything related to OnZoom, such as learning event best-practices, how to better leverage OnZoom's features, and following platform updates for OnZoom.

To access the Host Forum from within OnZoom:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click your profile picture.
  3. Click Host Forum.

Payouts and fees

Payouts from ticket revenue to the connected PayPal Business or Stripe account follows the respective service's payout schedule. PayPal and Stripe’s transaction fees are determined by your agreement with either service and are deducted from your ticket revenue prior to payout. Please visit PayPal or Stripe for more details.

In addition, sales tax will be deducted as well before payout to the Host’s Paypal Business or Stripe account.

Note: If you receive Instant Payment Notification (IPN) messages from PayPal, sign in to your PayPal Business account to disable the IPN messages.

How to submit your taxes and tax exemption certificate

Zoom is required to collect certain taxes and fees in addition to the listed ticket price in certain jurisdictions. If your event is subject to taxes and fees based upon the designated host location of your event, ticket purchasers will see estimated taxes and fees added to the overall ticket price.

If your organization qualifies for a tax exemption, you will need to submit a support ticket through the link below and attach your tax exemption certificate (or other documentation) for review. Once approved, your OnZoom account will be updated to remove all applicable taxes and fees from future ticket sales.

If you have questions on whether your organization qualifies for a tax exemption, please review with a tax professional.

To submit your tax-exemption certificate for review:

  1. Sign in to OnZoom.
  2. Click Manage.
  3. Click Payments & Billing.
  4. Under Billing Address, click submit your tax exemption certificate.
  5. Enter the following information in your form:
  6. Yeah Click Submit.

For more information, please see our tax exemption FAQ.

How to enable donations

Hosts can enable and add a fundraiser to their event so that it goes live on the event page once it is published; it will be accessible from the Attendee ticket dashboard for upcoming and past events. 100% of the funds raised go to the selected nonprofit 501(c)(3). Zoom will cover all transaction costs.