How do I create an Event RSVP form?

One of Mailboto's power features is the ability for you to create event RSVP or Guestlist sign-up forms.  An Event RSVP sign-up form takes about 10 minutes to setup.  Once you have created one RSVP page, it is very easy to replicate the steps.  Please note the steps below (some are optional):

1) Create a New List

a) Click on the Create Tab at the top of the page.  Scroll down to Mailing List, and select From Scratch.  You will see the landing page come for configuring a new list appear.

b) On this Landing Page, give your new list (which will be your guestlist) a relevant Mailing List Reference Name and Public Name.  Click the Next button at the bottom of the page.

c) [OPTIONAL] Now you are on the List Defaults Page: If you require your list to Open at a certain time or Close at a certain time, you can specify those times and dates in the section titled List Open/Closed Dates.  The email address field is the person that will receive the entire list 20 minutes after it closes.  We will send all relevant data collected to this email address automatically.  When someone tries to signup after the list as closed or before the list was open, you will receive a notice as shown in the box "Enter message you should receive when a subscription is declined."  When configured, click Next at the bottom of the page.

NOTE: If you want your list to be open for sign-ups immediately after creation, and if you will let your subscribers know what time the list will close by typing that information on your sign-up form, you do NOT need to do Step 1c.

d) [OPTIONAL] On the list settings on the left of the page, click and configure Welcome Message.  Change "Send Welcome Message" to yes, and enter the message the message that the subscriber will be emailed when they signup for your list.  They will receive this sign-up confirmation immediately after submitting their information.  Click Next at the bottom of the page.

2) Create your Custom Form Fields

Custom Form Fields can be used to collect additional data on your event signup-forms like "# of Guests", Zip Code, Gender, and other data.  For the purpose of this example, we will use "# of Guests" and Gender as additional form fields to collect.

a) Click on the Create Tab at the top of the page.  In the pull down menu, scroll down to New Subscription Form and then Create Custom Form Fields and then select the list with name you provided in Step 1b. 

b) On the next page, you can enter the custom questions and possible responses that you want to enable in your forms.  See the image below:

3) Build your Sign-Up Form

a) Click on the Create Tab at the top of the page.  In the pull down menu, scroll down to New Subscription Form and then select Standard Form. 

b) On this page, select the list you named in Step 1b.  At the bottom of the page, provide a name for your form.  This is an internal reference name for your sign-up form.  Click Next.

c) On this page [title = Stock Form Fields], select the fields you would like to collect in your form like email address, first name, last name, cell number, birthday...Don't change any of the Captch code advanced settings unless you are having a problem with web spiders on your site.  Be sure to select the custom fields listed at the bottom of the page as you added in Step 2b.  Click Next.  Handy Tip: If you collect birthdays, you can use the birthday autoresponder message feature dynamically on this data or on whichever list within Mailboto that you copy your sign-up data to.

d) On this page [title = Select Form Type], you can decide if your form is going to be a popup or embedded in a page.  For beginners, we generally suggest leaving this setting as is and clicking Next at the bottom of the page.  If you decide to use a popup, you can configure the size of the popup window and other settings.

e) On this page [title = When Form is Submitted...],  you can decide if your Thank You/Confirmation message should be a popup or should appear in the same window as your form.  For beginners, we generally suggest leaving this setting as is and clicking Next at the bottom of the page.  If you decide to use a popup, you can configure the size of the popup window and other settings.  Click Next.

f) On this page, you are able to design your form.  All form field validation is automatically done by the Mailboto system.  You can bring in images, text, and change the alignment of the table cells.  Handy Tip: Right-Click on the table to change alignment, background color and more.  You can also click on the Source button and move the source into your favorite HTML Editor (Dreamweaver/FrontPage) to customize the look and feel even further!  When done, click Next.

g) On this page [title=Upon Successful Subscription], you need to configure the sign-up form's redirect when a subscriber submits data.  You can display default messaging, redirect to a webpage of your choosing, or enter in a custom message to show on screen when a sign-up is taken.  NOTE: You only need to configure the top-most box as Double Opt In is switched off.
 

h) On this page, select "Test This Form" so you can test and access what you have just created.

i) On this page, click the light gray "Code" link next to the form that you have just created.  Scroll to the bottom of the page.  You will be presented with a few different methods for accessing your form.  The link to your form is available through Method 3, and Method 4 allows you to save as a web page and embed the form directly onto your own website.  You can utilize the link in Method 3 in your email campaigns and other marketing.

5) Exporting Data

To export the data collected to text, web, or csv, go to the Subscribers Tab, scroll down to Export, and select the list name from Step 1b. On the page that appears, select the fields you want to export and then press the Export Subscribers button.

4) Saving Time and Managing Forms for Re-Use

At any time, you can edit your form by accessing it through your Edit Tab within Mailboto [Edit Tab --> Subscription Forms --> Standard Forms (select form name)].  You should click directly on the Design Form link on the left to alter the look and feel of the form.  Handy Tip: Forms are completely re-usable!  After your event is completed, you can Copy the Subscribers to a different mailing list [Subscribers Tab --> Copy Subscribers (select the list)] and then Purge out the names from the list so you can take new sign-ups.  This is accomplished in the following way:   Edit Tab --> Mailing Lists (Select View All).  At the top right of the next page, you will see Delete Mailing List link.  Click that link.  On the next page, select this Sign-Up list.  On the next page, set the Deletion Action to Purge (NOT DELETE).  This will keep the list and the sign-up forms intact, and will just remove the subscribers.  The list can be re-used!