Virtual events and classes
Corsizio allows you to accept registrations and payments for your events and classes, whether these take place in a physical location or online on a virtual platform.
Virtual events can provide many advantages and are a good way to offer and run your events in case of any health, weather, or other disruptions that may occur in your area, which would prevent you from hosting your events in person or at any specific physical location.
How to offer virtual events using Corsizio
A virtual online event will generally be configured like a physical event. The main difference is that, as part of Step 1 - Main Details, you would not configure the location to have an address and a map.
For virtual events, you can do one of two things:
- Use the "+ Add new location" option but only use the Location Name field to label the virtual or online location and do not add any physical address. For example, "Virtual Online" or "Zoom Meeting," etc.
- Or, choose the "No location" option to not display any location. You can then provide public info about the virtual event as part of Step 3 - Description & Content.
After configuring the event and creating the event registration page, share it with your audience in your preferred manner, just like any other event. This can be through social media, a newsletter, or links on your website. Refer to the help doc Website embed and links to your events for more info.
You can then send registered individuals a unique link to the virtual event directly through Corsizio using the automated process explained below or outside of Corsizio through email or a private social media group.
How to share a virtual meeting or private webinar link
OPTION 1: As part of Step 1 - Main Details, you will see a dedicated input area named Virtual Meeting Link & Info.
You can use this area to enter the private virtual meeting info and link you want to include in the automated confirmation and reminder emails and their attached iCal .ics file.
This area can be used for links to Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or any other web meeting service you may be using.
OPTION 2: As part of Step 5 - Filters & Settings, use the custom email communication message area included in confirmation and reminder emails if you don't want to use the primary way of including details for virtual events. Refer to the help doc Custom messages on email receipts and reminders. This is generally not needed if you use the primary approach described above.
This will ensure you provide the most up-to-date information for your attendees to access the virtual event. This is especially important if the virtual event meeting link or its password changes between the time of registration and the start of the event, in which case the reminder email will include the most accurate link and password.
How to keep virtual event links private
Both of the above options ensure that the private link and virtual event info are only sent to the registered person's email address as part of their automated registration emails and are not visible anywhere publicly.
You do not want to include any private information on public event pages, as this would allow anyone who sees these pages to join the virtual event without registering.
A short segment of the first paragraph from the event description that you provide as part of Step 3 - Description & Content is included as part of the .ics file when the public "Add to Calendar" function is used, and this is considered public information. Read the help doc to learn How the "Add to Calendar" function works. The public event page description should never contain any private information. It should only contain general information about the virtual event, such as sharing that the event is virtual and taking place on "your chosen" virtual event platform.
Option 1 and/or 2 above rely on the attendee getting these private details only after registering and immediately as part of their confirmation receipt email. The attendees should rely on this to have the necessary details to join the online event. Inside the confirmation and reminder emails, the attached .ics file will also include the virtual meeting info you configured for the event, or the registrant could copy and paste these details manually from the email content and into their personal calendar.
Virtual event platform options
Below are some third-party online video meetings and conferencing platforms that provide a unique link to a web meeting you set up on their platform. This unique event link is what you would then share with your registered attendees, as mentioned above, in the manner of your choosing so that they can attend the virtual event.
Some of these services integrate with Zapier, just like Corsizio does, enabling you to send data to other external apps or web services you may be using. For example, they can send the attendee's name and email address upon registration to your Zoom account or meeting.
This service provides free and paid plans to host group video and audio sessions. They allow your participants to join a web video session from their web browser or their dedicated app without needing an account in some cases.
If you already have and use Google Workspaces or even just a personal Google account, you already have access to their Google Meet video conferencing service, which you can use to host group video sessions.
Fully free and web-based video and audio meeting and conferencing solution. You or any participants do not need to download anything or create accounts to have online meetings.
Other large providers that offer web conferencing services:
NOTE — Treat a virtual event the same way you would a physical event when taking attendance or ensuring that only those who have registered and paid are present. You can also use the virtual meeting platform's features you have chosen to restrict access to the virtual meeting.