How do I create and manage 'Invitations' for my event?

What are 'Invitations'?

The 'Invitations' feature is exactly that - a feature that allows you to create personalized email invitations for your event, which are sent to either individual or groups of attendees. You can even import an entire attendee list using our CSV uploader, allowing you to easily create invitations for your event without the leg work!

Your Invitations area

The Invitations area of your event is available by clicking the 'Invitations' option on your Event Dashboard. Once you arrive, you will see an index of all current attendees that have been invited and 4 options at the top right of the page - 'Import Invitation', 'New Invitation', 'Preview Invitation' and 'Export Invitations to CSV'.

The main index allows you to view information such as the invitee's name, email address and their registration status. You also have the ability to Edit, Resend or Delete an Invite if required - this can be found on the last column of the table.

Creating individual Invitations

To create an invitation for an attendee, enter your 'Invitations' area and click on the 'New Invitation' option. You will be taken to a new area, where you will be asked to provide the following:

Email - the email address of the attendee you wish to invite.
First Name/Last Name - the name of the attendee you wish to invite.
Message - this is an optional field that allows you to add a custom message to your invite email.

Once you are happy to proceed, click on the Create And Send Invitation - you will be returned to the 'Invitations' area and your new invitee will displayed on the Invitations index. To check whether your email has been sent, see the 'Status' column on this index - you can also track if they have accepted your invitation by viewing the 'Registered' column.

Please note, more than one invitee cannot share the same email address - each attendee must have their own individual address to login and receive notifications for their registration with your event.

What will an attendee see when they receive an invite from my event?

The attendee receiving an invite will receive an invite headed 'You are invited to [EVENT NAME]' - the sender name will either be whoever you have set in your 'Represents' field for your event or the default name. The email will contain the event title and running dates, your personal message (if set), and links to the registration form and event microsite for your event. Clicking on the registration link will take the invitee directly to the registration form to begin creating their registration. If you have set your event to be 'Invite Only', the links on this email will be the only way that the attendee can access the event and form, so make sure you let them know to keep it somewhere safe once they have registered!

Importing multiple attendees to Invitations

To begin importing a list of attendees to be invited to your event, select the 'Import Invitations' button. Following this, you will be taken to the Import Invitations area where you can upload your CSV - there is a template available to be downloaded from this page by clicking on the 'Download CSV Template'.

Simply add your attendees details to this CSV in the columns provided and when you're ready to upload, click on the 'Browse' button to choose your CSV file. Once uploaded, select the 'Import CSV' button - this will return you to the main 'Invitations' area.

Please note that any attendee rows added to this form that have any of the following conditions will not be imported:

Do not have an email address provided
Do not have a first name provided
Do not have a last name provided
Have the same email address as another attendee on the form
Have an email address that matches an attendee that has already registered for your event

Once you are returned to the 'Invitations' area, you will see a new option available at the top right of the page - 'Pending Invitations'. This option will also display a number indicating how many invites are waiting to be sent - this will equal the number of attendees you have just imported, unless you have other imported attendees added previously outstanding. To send your invitations for these attendees, click on this button and the invites will be sent out immediately - you can check the delivery status by refreshing the page and viewing the 'Status' column on your Invitations list.

Managing your Invitations

When viewing your Invitations area, you will see the following columns:

Email address - this is the email address you have provided for the attendee.
First/Last Name - this is the name you have provided for the attendee.
Status - this is delivery status of your invitation for the attendee. Pending means that the invite is yet to be sent, Sent indicates that it has been delivered.
Invite Link - this is the personalized link generated for the attendee in the email. Where your event has been set to 'Invite Only', the attendee will need this link to be able to access the event and registration form.
Sent - this is the date that the invite email was dispatched.
Registered - this column displays the registration status of the invited attendee, and will update when the invitation is accepted and a registration has been created for the attendee.
Actions - this area allows you to amend, resend and delete an invited attendee from the list. If an attendee has registered for your event, deleting their invitation row will not affect their registration status.

You can easily sort your 'Invitations' index by clicking on a column header - if you wish to filter any column, enter a search word into the 'Type Word...' box displayed below the column header.

If you wish to edit an invitee, click on the adjacent 'Edit' option on the 'Actions' column for their entry - this will allow you to edit their email address, name and any custom message you have created previously for the attendee. To resend the invite email, it's as easy as clicking the 'Resend' button under the same column - the attendee will receive a new email fresh in their inbox! To remove the invitee, click on the 'Delete' option and then confirm on the following pop-up window.

Previewing an Invitations email for your event

If you wish to preview how an invitational email looks when received by an attendee, you can select the 'Preview Invitation' option and send a preview version to an email address of your choice.

When you select this option, you will see the form displayed in the screenshot above. To send a preview, simply complete the fields provided and click on the 'Create And Send Invitation' button. The preview email will be sent to your specified email address - don't worry, this will not create any actual invitations within your event, this feature is for preview purposes only!

Exporting your Invitations

If you wish to download a list of all your current Invitations, you can do so by clicking on the 'Export Invitations To CSV' button (as shown above). By selecting this option, getregistered® will create a CSV file containing all of the information available in the Invitations index for your invitees, and deliver it to you via your current browser. Please note that this is for information purposes only - you cannot amend and re-upload this CSV to amend invitees, this must be done manually by selecting the 'Edit' button found at the end of the row corresponding with the invitee you wish to edit or remove.