Writing on connected TV and video marketing

Our story

Vimeo went from about $25 a month to $8,600 a year. So I built my own video platform.

The true story behind Blue Flame Media: a Vimeo bill that jumped from roughly $25 a month to $8,600 a year, no help from Vimeo, and a better, simpler platform built in response.

Switching

Looking for a Vimeo alternative? What to check before you move

A plain-English checklist for choosing a Vimeo alternative: published prices, bandwidth rules, notice periods, importing your library and getting a real answer from support.

Vimeo help

Got a Vimeo bandwidth limit warning? What it means and what to do

What a Vimeo bandwidth warning means, why it often comes with a demand to upgrade to a custom plan, and practical steps to protect your videos before any deadline.

Vimeo help

Vimeo says upgrade to a custom plan within 7 days? Read this first

Vimeo asking you to sign a custom or enterprise plan on a short deadline? What other customers were offered, how prices came down when they pushed back, and how to protect yourself.

Research

What Vimeo's 1-star Trustpilot reviews say about price rises

A fair summary of Vimeo's 1-star reviews on Trustpilot: forced plan changes, bandwidth deadlines, surprise renewals and cancellation trouble, quoted word for word with links.

Vimeo help

Vimeo pricing: the costs that aren't on the pricing page

Vimeo's plan prices are only part of the story. Bandwidth limits, custom plans, plan reclassification and auto-renewal can change what you actually pay. Here's what to check.

Vimeo help

How to cancel Vimeo and avoid an unwanted renewal

Practical steps for cancelling a Vimeo subscription, turning off auto-renewal, keeping proof and what to do if you are charged anyway, with real experiences from Trustpilot reviewers.

Vimeo help

Charged by Vimeo after a trial or renewal? How to ask for a refund

Charged by Vimeo after a free trial or an unexpected renewal? What to send, what other customers experienced, and your options if a refund is refused.

Vimeo help

Can't get help from Vimeo customer service? Your options

Stuck waiting on Vimeo customer service about a bill, bandwidth warning or cancellation? How to get a written answer, what to keep, and how to move your videos meanwhile.

Switching

How to move all your videos off Vimeo without losing your folders

A step-by-step plan for moving a whole Vimeo library to a new host: listing embeds, importing videos with their folders, checking playback and switching pages over.

Vimeo help

Vimeo paused or suspended your account? What to do in the next 7 days

Vimeo has paused, suspended or threatened to suspend your account over bandwidth? A day-by-day plan to keep your videos online and your options open.

Switching

Cheaper than Vimeo: private video hosting for small businesses

Private video hosting for small businesses without surprise enterprise quotes: what you actually need, what you can skip, and how Blue Flame Media compares.

Comparisons

Vimeo vs YouTube for business videos: which should you use?

Vimeo vs YouTube for a business: adverts, privacy, branding, cost and control compared in plain English, plus a third option if neither fits.

Pricing

Vimeo plans explained: what to check before you pick one

A plain-English guide to choosing a Vimeo plan: what the plan pages cover, what they don't, and the questions about bandwidth, renewals and custom plans to ask first.

Comparisons

Vimeo OTT alternative: putting your videos on TV without enterprise pricing

Looking for a Vimeo OTT alternative? What a TV channel for your business really needs, what drives the cost, and how to get your videos onto connected TVs.

Switching

Video hosting for business: a buyer's checklist that avoids surprise bills

How to choose video hosting for a business: privacy, branded player, bandwidth, pricing transparency, importing and exporting, all in a simple checklist.

Switching

Video hosting for online courses: what course creators need

Choosing video hosting for an online course: privacy so lessons can't be shared, a clean player, subtitles, folders per course and pricing that doesn't punish success.

How-to

How to download your own videos from Vimeo before you leave

Leaving Vimeo? How to back up your own videos first, what to collect besides the files, and a way to move your whole library without downloading everything by hand.

Pricing

Pushed toward Vimeo Enterprise? Questions to ask before you sign

If Vimeo says you need an Enterprise or custom plan, here are the questions to ask, the deadlines to watch, and how to compare the quote with published alternatives.

Comparisons

Comparing Vimeo, Wistia and other business video hosts: what really matters

Vimeo, Wistia or something else? How to compare business video hosts fairly on player, privacy, analytics, pricing transparency and the freedom to leave.

Connected Television

What is Connected TV and how does it work?

The plain-English explanation: what a connected TV actually is, how channels get onto Roku and Fire TV, and why the cost is nothing like traditional television.

Real Estate

Selling real estate using Connected Television

How estate agencies use their own channel to put property walkthroughs in front of buyers sitting on the sofa, instead of paying per click for attention.

Events

Music and events

Live music, festivals and ticketed events have a second life on television. Here is how promoters keep earning from footage after the night is over.

Real Estate

Traffic for real estate companies

Where property enquiries actually come from once you stop bidding against every other agency for the same search terms.

Hospitality

Hotel room television is old news - there is a new way of using TV for bigger profits

The in-room television is not the opportunity. The televisions in your past guests' living rooms are, and they cost you nothing per view.

Connected Television

The power of television

Why television still moves people to buy in a way no other medium manages, and how a small business can now afford the same effect.

Connected Television

The effectiveness of businesses owning a connected TV channel

What owning the channel changes: authority, repeat custom, and an audience that belongs to you rather than to a platform.