Inviting People to an RSVP Event
What is ActevaRSVP?
ActevaRSVP is a Salesforce app that provides a complete event registration solution.
How does ActevaRSVP work?
You set up an RSVP event and invite leads and contacts directly from Salesforce. ActevaRSVP provides an RSVP registration page for each person you invite, pre-filled with their contact information. You can add simple questions to the page to learn more about your invitees. ActevaRSVP puts the registration data in your Salesforce account, so you can see who is coming, and more.
Can I use ActevaRSVP for webinars?
Yes! You do not need to specify a venue for an RSVP event. In addition, you can include a link to the webinar in any email you send from ActevaRSVP.
What is involved in setting up an RSVP event?
You fill in a form with the event name, description and time. You can optionally specify a venue, capacity and questions to ask the invitees. You can also link the RSVP Event to a campaign to update the status of invited campaign members with their registration status. ActevaRSVP uses the familiar Salesforce look and feel to make the process simple.
How do I put graphics on the RSVP Event page?
The RSVP Event form includes an "Event Logo" field, where you can enter a link (URL) to a logo image for the event, or your organization's logo. The graphic goes at the top of the registration page for that RSVP event.
You can also include graphics in the Event Details section of the registration page. The event details editor provides a way to put images in the details as well. When you click the "Edit Details" button in the Event Details field, the editor includes a button at the top center for inserting an image in the details. When you click that button, you get a new window asking for the image URL, and some optional attributes, such as the image size.
How do I get an image from my computer into the logo or event details?
First, upload the image from your computer to your organization's web site, or to an image hosting service such as ImageShack. In either case, you will get a link (URL) to the image, which you can put in the event logo box or in the event details editor image form.
I scheduled an event in a different time zone, and the time is incorrect. What's wrong?
You enter the RSVP event start and end times through Salesforce, which always treats time as your local time. If you enter the time for when the event occurs in your local time zone, it will come out correctly. For example, if you are in U.S. Eastern time and are setting up an event in U.S. Pacific time, set the start and end times three hours later than when the event occurs in Pacific time.
How do I invite people to an RSVP event?
You can invite people by sending personalized invitations to contacts or leads in Salesforce, you can publish an RSVP link to the event, or both. Sending invitations via ActevaRSVP group email enables you to include a personalized registration link in the invitation email. When the recipient clicks the link, they get your event registration page with their contact information pre-filled from Salesforce. The registration link is a merge field that you put in an ActevaRSVP email template.
The RSVP link enables you to link to the registration page from a web site, or email outside of ActevaRSVP. When someone clicks the link, they get the registration page with empty fields for their contact information. Anyone with access to the RSVP link can register for your event.
Can I invite campaign members to an RSVP event?
Yes, when you add invitees, click the "Select and add Campaign Members" button and choose the campaign.
How can I invite a person if I'm not sure they are a contact or lead?
When you add invitees, click the "Search Contacts and Leads to add" button, then enter text that identifies the person you want to invite. The search facility works like Salesforce search.
If I add a contact or lead to the invitee list more than once, will it be duplicated on the list?
No. ActevaRSVP will add a contact or lead to the invitation list only once. If you add someone again, it uses the original invitation. If you invite a lead, convert that lead to a contact and invite the contact, the person will only appear once in the list as an invited contact. If you invite a campaign, then add members to the campaign, you can safely invite the new members by inviting the campaign again.
How many people can I invite to an RSVP event?
You can invite up to 8,000 leads or contacts. We recommend adding 2,000 invitees at a time for best performance
What is "Invite Friend OK" on the RSVP Event page? How does it work?
Check the "Invite Friend OK" box to enable your invitees to invite their friends. When an invitee finishes registering, they can invite a friend by providing their name, email and company. The friend receives the same email invitation and registers online (then they can invite a friend as well). RSVP Status will show "Invited by Friend".
An invitee has opted out from RSVP email and now wants to get invitations again. How do I opt the invitee back in?
The following steps will opt the invitee back in so he or she can get RSVP email.
Can I compose an email template in Microsoft Word and use it with RSVP group email?
Yes! Following these steps should provide the best results.
I sent RSVP Group Email to new invitees, but their status remains "New (not invited yet)." Why is their status not "Invitation Sent"?
When you send RSVP Group Email to new invitees based on a template that does not have the registration link, ActevaRSVP will not treat that email as an invitation. The first email you send to a new invitee with the registration link is an invitation, because it offers registration for the invitee.
I am not certain than an invitee received my invitation. What can I do to make sure they got the invitation?
First, make sure that you have the latest status from the ActevaRSVP registration server. Go to the RSVP event page and find the section labeled "Registration Server". Wait until that section shows Sync Status / Update Web Page and the RSVP Event Link under the heading. If the invitee opened the invitation since the last time you viewed the event page, then the invitee status should no longer show "Invitation Sent".
If the invitee has opened the invitation, but has disabled viewing images in their email program, their status will remain at "Invitation Sent" until they register or decline the event from the registration page. ActevaRSVP embeds a small image in the email to determine if the email was opened.
If you contact the invitee and they have not received the invitation, have them check their junk mail or spam folder. If they find the invitation there, ask if they can add "rsvp@actevarsvp.com" to their address book or email white list.
I sent myself a test message and it went into my junk folder. What happened?
Your organization's mail system may have flagged your message as junk because it saw a problem with the address in the "Email From" box on the RSVP Group email page. Try sending the email again, entering an email address outside of your organization in the "Email From" box. For example, if your email addresses end with "@myorg.com", enter an "Email From" address that does not end with "@myorg.com".
What kind of branding can I put on the RSVP registration page?
You can put an image, such as your logo, at the top of the page. You can also match the registration page color to your company color.
What kind of questions can I add to the RSVP registration page?
You can add multiple-choice questions where the invitee can choose only one answer, multiple-choice questions where the invitee can choose any number of answers, or open ended questions.
How many questions can I add to the RSVP registration page?
You can add as many questions as you think your invitees will answer.
Can I create a stand-alone event registration web page?
Yes! Under the "Registration Server" section on your RSVP Event page is a link to the registration page labeled RSVP Link. You can copy the link to a web site or into an email. When someone clicks the link, they get the registration page for your event.
How does ActevaRSVP put the registration data in my Salesforce account?
ActevaRSVP collects each invitee's RSVP status and answers on an Acteva registration server. ActevaRSVP automatically gets the registration data into your Salesforce account when you access the RVSP Event page. You can also get it on demand with a single click. This process also puts any changes you make to an RSVP event on the registration server.
Can I manually update an invitee's registration status?
Yes! Simply follow these steps:
What does "Confirmation requested" status mean?
A registered participant gets "Confirmation requested" status when the event organizer sends a follow up email to the participant with an registration link. The registration link reads "Click to Confirm" because the participant has already registered. The organizer is requesting that the registered participant confirm their registration.
How can I close registration for an event?
You can stop additional registrations by setting the regular capacity to the total number of participations with "Registered", "Confirmation requested" and "Confirmed" status. You can get these status counts from the "Invitee by Status" report. Once you have set the regular capacity and left wait list capacity at zero, anyone attempting to register will see an "event full" page instead of the registration page.
When does ActevaRSVP generate new leads?
ActevaRSVP generates a new lead under the following circumstances:
If an invitee updates their information on the registration page, ActevaRSVP creates a new lead record with the invitee’s updated information.
I see duplicate leads in Salesforce. Is ActevaRSVP generating duplicate leads?
You could see duplicate leads when more than one invitee invites the same friend, or if an invited lead adds or changes contact information on the registration page. If a lead in your Salesforce organization registers through the RSVP Link, you can get another lead for that person.
I invited a lead to an event and they changed their information when registering, causing ActevaRVSP to create a new lead. I want to merge that new lead with the lead I invited. Which lead should I use as a "master" for the merge?
Merge the updated information into the lead that you originally invited.
How does ActevaRSVP know where to put new leads?
Leads created by ActevaRSVP are by default owned by the person that created the RSVP event. You can assign these leads to a lead queue by going to the RSVP Manager tab, clicking the Administration button at the bottom of the page, and choosing a lead queue on the Administration page.
I notice that ActevaRSVP generates a lead when someone registers through the RSVP link. If I already have a record for that person in Salesforce. Can ActevaRSVP use that record instead?
Yes! If you invite someone to an RSVP event and they register through the RSVP Link, providing the same email address you have in their contact or lead record, ActevaRSVP will use the invited person's record instead of creating a new lead.
What is the Campaign field on the RSVP Event page?
The Campaign field enables you to link a campaign to your RSVP event. Once you link a campaign to your RSVP event, the campaign member status of invited members shows their registration status.
I added invitees from a campaign, then later added more members to the campaign. How do I add the new campaign members to the invitation list?
Simply add the invitees from the campaign again. Only the new members will be added to the invitation list.
What does the Add Attendees to Campaign link do?
After you take attendance for your event, Add Attendees to Campaign will add all participants with "Attended" status to a campaign that you choose.
Can I add event participants besides attendees to a campaign?
Yes, you can add them from the Contact RSVP Activities report, Lead RSVP Activities report or both. Each report shows all RSVP activities such Invitation Sent and Opened, as well as Registered or Declined. You will likely need to customize the report and select criteria to show only the event and status you want. When the report shows all the contacts or leads that you want to add to the campaign, click the "Add to Campaign" button.
I linked a campaign to more than one RSVP Event and now I am getting warnings saying that the campaign is linked to the first RSVP Event. What does that mean?
If you link a campaign to more than one RSVP Event and invite a campaign member to more than one of the linked events, then you would not know which RSVP Event the member's status refers to. If you invite each campaign member to only one RSVP Event, you can safely ignore the warning.
What is the Regular Capacity field on the RSVP Event page?
Regular Capacity enables you to specify the number of people who can register for your RSVP event. When the number of registered participants reaches the capacity, the next person attempting to register will get an "event full" page if the wait list reserve is zero. If the wait list reserve is above zero, the person can add himself or herself to the wait list.
What is the Wait List Reserve field on the RSVP Event page?
Wait List Reserve works in conjunction with the Regular Capacity field. When an event has a capacity limit and the wait list reserve field contains a value greater than zero, then someone registering for an RSVP event filled to regular capacity will get a page offering to add them to the wait list. People adding themselves to the wait list will have "Wait Listed, Registration Eligible" status until their number equals the wait list reserve value. Everyone added to the wait list after that will have "Wait Listed, Registration Ineligible" status.
How do I offer registration to someone on the wait list?
You can offer registration to wait listed people by sending RSVP group email to those with "Wait Listed, Registration Eligible" status. The email should include the registration link.
What does the Manage Wait List link do?
The Manage Wait List link displays the wait list with a check box next to each wait listed person. You can check the box next to a person to make their status "Wait Listed, Registration Eligible" and uncheck a box to give that person "Wait Listed, Registration Ineligible" status. Note that that the number of people with "Wait Listed, Registration Eligible" cannot exceed the wait list reserve.
How do I change the registration acknowledgement message?
First create an email template for the registration acknowledgement message. It can include merge fields for the invitee and event. Then go to the RSVP Manager tab, and click the Administration button in the lower right corner of the page. Find the heading Choose a Template for Registration Acknowledgement and choose the template you created for the registration acknowledgement.
How do I keep ActevaRSVP from sending registration acknowledgement messages?
Go to the RSVP Manager tab, and click the Administration button in the lower right corner of the page. Find the heading Choose a Template for Registration Acknowledgement and choose -- No Acknowledgement --.
How do I change the sender ("From:" address) registration acknowledgement message?
The ActevaRSVP registration acknowledgement email comes from the Salesforce user that owns the RSVP event. You can change the owner by editing the RVSP Event page if your Salesforce administrator has added the "Owner" field to the page. The ActevaRSVP Customization Guide shows how to add the owner field to the RSVP Event page.
How do I change the color scheme of the registration page?
Go to the RSVP Manager tab, then click the Administration button in the lower right corner of the page. Click the Color selection page link on the Administration page. Choose your color on the Color Selection page.
Can I add custom fields to the Event Detail area?
Yes. You can add fields to RSVP Event custom object.
Can I report on these custom fields?
Yes. You can create reports that show your custom fields.
Will custom fields show up on the RSVP Event Registration web page that my invitees see?
No. You will need to populate your custom fields from within Salesforce.
When upgrading ActevaRSVP, why do I sometimes need to change page layouts?
You change page layouts when upgrading ActevaRSVP to reveal new features added in the upgrade. The upgrade process cannot change the page layouts because you may have made your own changes to them.
We just installed ActevaRSVP, but only our Salesforce administrator can use it. What's wrong?
This happens if ActevaRSVP was not deployed at installation, or was installed for only administrator access. The administrator can resolve this with the following steps:
Contact RSVP Activities
Lead RSVP Activities
Email Templates
Participants
Participation Answers
Participation Email
Participations
RSVP Events
RSVP Event Venues
RSVP Questions
I get a "Session Timeout" or "Invalid Session" message from Salesforce when I access my RSVP Event page or try to subscribe to ActevaRSVP. What's wrong?
This results from a specific Salesforce configuration. Your Salesforce Administrator can make a simple configuration change to fix this problem. Here are the steps: