How to Create and Promote an Event on the Action Network

 

How to Create an Event on Action Network

Welcome! And thanks for hosting an event with Swing Left Greater Boston! This guide will walk you through everything you need to create an Action Network event and customize Action Network options.

Attention Previous Hosts: Duplicate Previous Event        2

Why List Your Event on Action Network?        2

What Events Qualify?        2

FOR FIRST-TIMERS ONLY -- JOIN THE RIGHT GROUPS        2

Join the Event Host Google Group        2

Create an Action Network Account        3

Become an Action Network Group Organizer        3

Creating an Action Network Event        4

Get Started with the Right Event Creation Link        4

Items to Customize        4

Event Registration Page        4

Attend this Event Registration Form        6

Sponsor/Co-Sponsored By        7

RSVP Landing Page        8

Response Options        9

Receive Email Notifications When Someone RSVPs        11

Sharing Options (Optional)        12

Social Media        12

Invitation Email        15

RSVPs        16

Event RSVPs        16

How to Limit Event RSVPs/Attendees        17

Need Help?        17

Appendix        18

Swing Left Fundraisers and Personal Fundraising Pages        18

Attention Previous Hosts: Duplicate Previous Event

No need to relive the Action Network fun! If you already created an event, and are hosting a similar event, just duplicate the event and change the details.

  1. Log-in to Action Network.
  2. Go to the Action tab https://actionnetwork.org/groups/swingleftgreaterboston/manage#tab_actions.
  3. Scroll down to your event.
  4. Click Duplicate button (to the right of the event title).
  5. Click OK to bypass the host directions and go to the event details.
  6. Edit the event details, responses, and sharing options. Make sure you check any references date or location references!
  7. Save Draft or Publish.

Why List Your Event on Action Network?

  • Swing Left Greater Boston can post the event on the SLGB calendar
  • Your event will be listed on the National Swing Left Calendar.
  • Action Network provides an easy way to communicate with your guests---before the event and after the event.
  • Send automatic 24 hour reminders before the event.
  • RSVPs are documented in the Swing Left database, which is critical for organizing and future contact.
  • No worries, if do not want to list your home address. You can click private, put RSVP for address, or host your event at a public venue.

What Events Qualify?

Events posted on the Swing Left calendar must fulfill these criteria:

  • Aimed at winning the US Senate, the White House, a state level race critical to redistricting, or US House race that was won by 5% or less in 2018
  • Focused on voter contact activities like voter registration, voter persuasion, voter ID, etc.
  • Friendly and welcoming to new volunteers
  • Free from any specific political endorsements of primary candidates

FOR FIRST-TIMERS ONLY -- JOIN THE RIGHT GROUPS

Join the Event Host Google Group

Join the event host Google couple, connect with other members of the SLGB event host community, and gain access to all our campaign checklists!

  1. Join http://swingleft.org/group/ma-hosts.
  2. Here is the signup process for the event host Google group, and what new subscribers see.
  3. After you chat with one of our event coaches, you will be moved from a basic member to a core member so you can see the other members of the group

Create an Action Network Account

  1. Before you create an Action Network event, you must create an Action Network account.
  2. Complete the fields at https://actionnetwork.org/users/sign_up, complete the ReCaptcha, agree to the terms and conditions, and click the red Let’s Go button.
  3. Check your email for a confirmation link.
  4. Check out the Action Network navigation tutorial.
  5. Go to the Action Network icon (blue circle with design on the upper right side of the screen), add a little bit about yourself, and turn on two-factor authentication (strongly recommended if you manage a group, or have advanced permissions in your group).

  1. Edit your profile. You can change your photo (Avatar) here, if you like.

  1. Click Save Changes on the bottom right side of the screen.

Become an Action Network Group Organizer

Go to https://actionnetwork.org/groups/swingleftgreaterboston/join and sign up to be an organizer on the Swing Left Greater Boston Action Network group. Note: this does not prevent you from creating your own Action Network group---you can belong to as many groups as you like. See Sponsors/Co-Sponsors for more information.

Creating an Action Network Event

Get Started with the Right Event Creation Link

Go to http://swingleft.org/group/ma-hosts to find the checklists for our latest campaigns.

Want to start from scratch?  Go to:  https://swingleft.org/events page for current Action Network URLs. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and select house party, fundraiser, canvass, or letter-writing party.

 If you do not start from a correct  link, your event will not appear on the Swing Left map.

Items to Customize

This following directions will walk you through customizing:

  • Event registration page
  • Attend this Event registration form
  • RSVP landing page
  • RSVP response email
  • RSVP notification via email
  • 24-hour reminder email
  • Sharing options (Facebook, Twitter, Email)

Event Registration Page

Here is an example of a completed event registration page.

  1. Administrative title: YYYYMMDD | Event Name | City | Host Name (e.g., 20190415 GA Voter Registration Cambridge Laura Smith.)  That help us keep events  organized in Action Network.
  2. Event Title: If it is a letter writing event, you can enter something like Get Out the Florida Vote Postcard Party at Laura’s House. If your event is not open to the public, add Private Event to the title.
  3. Click Has an End Time, and choose the end date and time.
  4. If you do not want to list your home address, you can write Address Provided with RSVP, or use a public venue. See our Greater Boston Area Event Venue Guide for some ideas on public venues. Here is an example of RSVP for address:

  1. Host contact. Include your name and email address. You can list first name and last initial.
  2. Images. Click Add Banner image or insert an image into the text (under Add Banner). See our image and graphics library on the public resources drive for an assortment of images. It is fine to leave out the image, no worries.
  3. Sponsored by: If you don’t have your own group, add Swing Left Greater Boston as a sponsor.
  4. Check the box if it is a private event. If you select this box, it will not show up on the Swing Left map and Swing Left Greater Boston will not list the event on our calendar.
  5. Maximum number of attendees. Once your RSVP list reaches this number, additional guests cannot register. Swing Left estimates that 25% of the guests will not show. We suggest following up with RSVPs a week to few days before the party, so you can invite more people, if necessary.

Examples of Action Network events:

Attend this Event Registration Form

The registration form is on the right under the heading Attend This Event. It is fine to leave the default form. Let us know if you would like help customizing the form to collect other information.

Sponsor/Co-Sponsored By

Once you are a Swing Left Greater Boston organizer in Action Network, you will be able to pull down the Sponsored By menu and select Swing Left Greater Boston. (Note, if you are an organizer of another group in Action Network, you will be able to select that group.) When you select a sponsor, you will get a warning that custom HTML options will be destroyed. You can ignore this warning. When you are finished, click Save and Go to Next Step. Saving does not publish the event. It will remain as a draft until you click Publish.

Co-Sponsoring/Action Network Partnerships

If you have your own Action Network group, you will add your own group as the sponsor. (See above.) If you become an Action Network partner ($10/month) you can add Swing Left Greater Boston and other groups as co-sponsors.

Here are some possible co-sponsors:

  • Swing Left Greater Boston
  • Indivisible MA Statewide (Will be added automatically to their event calendar!)
  • Swing Left North Shore
  • Swing Left Pioneer Valley
  • Swing Left Maine
  • Lower Cape Indivisible
  • Swing Left

Interested in being an Action Network partner? This page provides explains the membership levels.

If you are an Action Network partner, you have option to add co-sponsors on the Manage page. Otherwise, the option will not appear.

To become a partner, email partners@actionnetwork.org . Include the name of your group and specify that your group plans to send less than 1,000 emails per month.

RSVP Landing Page

This is the page people see after they click the RSVP button. This is under Event Thank You on the right side of the navigator menu:

  1. Please repeat the time/location and essential information. The 24 hour automatic reminder emails contain links that take guests back to the RSVP landing page.
  2. Click Save when you are finished.

Examples:

Response Options

  1. After you save your event, you will return to the Event Management Page. You may now customize the two automatic emails that your guests will receive after they RSVP.  

Please customize the Auto-Response and the 24-Hour Response emails your attendees will automatically receive after RSVPing for the event.

Here is an example of a party host who added some additional information on public transit and parking in the auto response email. Add your phone number!

Receive Email Notifications When Someone RSVPs

After you’ve customized the auto-response emails, scroll down to the bottom of the page. There is one more very important item to add if you would like to receive a notification every time someone RSVP’s for your event. (And who wouldn’t want to know this important information?)

Check the box under the "Notifications" heading at the bottom of the "Responses" tab and enter one or more email addresses, comma separated. After saving, every time an activist takes this action those email addresses will be notified.

Don’t forget to click “Save Responses” when you are done.

Note for Advanced Users:

Here is an explanation of two other options in the Responses section. It is fine to leave them blank.

  • Thank You Redirect Link. This option allows you to bypass the “Thank You” page after your guests RSVP by redirecting them to your website.
  • Unpublished Redirect Link. This option lets you redirect the user to another website after the event is expired or cancelled.

Sharing Options (Optional)

Action Network allows hosts to customize sharing options via Facebook, Twitter, and email. All of these options can be customized, which can be a useful recruitment feature.  

To check them out:

Social Media

Action Network has a "Like on Facebook" or “Share on Twitter” option. Make sure you test the image that goes with the Facebook post, if you customize the image. You may need to upload a Facebook optimized image.

Pro Tip: When you share on Facebook, you can tag friends  typing @ and their name into the message. Here is a YouTube video that shows you how https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHYMMuWqWyk.

Be sure to Save Options when you are finished.

Here is an example of how one letter-writing host configured the Facebook, Twitter, and email sharing options:

Here is an example of simpler text:

Sample:  https://actionnetwork.org/events/meet-ken-harbaugh-oh-7/manage#tab_sharing

Invitation Email

You can customize Email to a Friend text (box on right). This lets guests easily email friends an RSVP link.

Be sure to Save Options when you are finished.

RSVPs

Event RSVPs

The event party coach will email you a PDF of your RSVPs prior to the event.

Follow these directions if you are an experienced Action Network user, or want to learn how to access the RSVPs on your own.

  1. Log-in to Action Network.
  2. Scroll down to your event and click Manage.
  3. Click Edit Event
  4. Scroll down until you see a line of greyed out text. Click RSVPs (under Page Wrapper/Save Page Wrapper). It is easy to miss it.
  5. Click the green button, Generate New Report.
  6. Click red Download CSV button (this means comma separated file).
  7. You will receive an email when the report is ready to download. It might take a few minutes. Do check your Promotion and Spam folder.
  8. Click here to download data.
  9. Open with Excel (default)
  10. Click OK.
  11. Default download location is download folder.
  12. You can hold the mouse down on the right edge of the column to expand the columns.
  13. If you want to save the file, go to File > Save As. We suggest saving it as an Excel 97-2003 worksheet to preserve formatting and with the download date and name of event e.g., 20190130 swing left kick off party rsvp (see image below).
  14. If you want to hide a spreadsheet column, click on it, right click with your mouse, and select Hide.

If you need to...

How to Limit Event RSVPs/Attendees

  1. Log-in to Action Network.
  2. Scroll down to your event and click Manage.
  3. Click Edit Event.
  4. Scroll down to bottom of the page. Pull down menu to Maximum Number of Attendees.
  5. Click Save and Go to Next Step.
  6. Click Save.

Need Help?

Schedule a call with a friendly Swing Left Greater Boston event coach.

Still confused? We made a video on how to create an event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyxDtvTH8f8&feature=youtu.be.

We plan to create shorter YouTube videos that focus on various parts of the process.

Appendix

Swing Left Fundraisers and Personal Fundraising Pages

If your event has a fundraising component, you may use a personal fundraising page and add it to the Action Network event. You can also put ?refcode=sl_group_slgb at the end of any Swing Left fund; this will allow SLGB to track SLGB fundraising for that fund. Any Swing Left Google group can do this.

See the fundraising manual for more information, how to, and list of fundraising URLs.

Under the Add Banner Image, click Insert, highlight the relevant text (Please donate), add the relevant URL (in this case, https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sl_kentucky_senate_fund?refcode=sl_group_slgb)