Events Usecase for Custom Objects

About this Usecase

Applies to: ONTRAPORT Pro and above.

This usecase is designed to automate the process of people signing up for events and receiving emails about the event. This build is perfect if you have multiple events throughout the year and don't want to manually check who's attending what. On top of that, this build automates sending event details to the contacts who are attending! We will be creating a one to many relationship between Contacts and Events, with Events being the parent. Additionally we can create multiple one to many relationships between contacts and events without severing the relationship of the original event the contact attended. The additional relationships are what allows us to have one contact tied to multiple events.

The relationships will be set up in the following way:

Events Relationship:

• One to many with Contacts
• Events Object as Parent
• Multiple One to many with Contacts (optional)

Create the Events Object

1. Navigate to Profile Icon > Administration > Data Tab > Custom Objects.
   
   
2. Click the + New Object button.
   
   
3. In the "Name new object" field, type the new object name such as “Events” and add in the same word in the Singular field. Subsequent fields will populate. Ensure that the names are correct.
   
   
4. Click the Next button in the upper right corner.

Add or Create Fields in the New Object

1. The Field Editor is the next screen you will see for the new object. In the Field Editor, click on the + ADD NEW SECTION button.
   
   
2. Click on where it says "UNTITLED" and rename the section to "Event Details". The section name will appear once complete.
3. Click the + Add Field link to create fields for the object. You can always return to the object's field editor to add more fields in the future. Add the following fields:
   • Event Name - Text Field
   • Event Location - Text Field
   • Event Time - Text Field
   • Event Date - Date Field
     Event Coordinator - Text Field
4. Click Next in the top right.

Create the relationship

This is where you will relate the Events Object back to the Contacts Object. This step allows ONTRAPORT to keep track of which contacts are attending which event. Keep in mind that the "What should we call this relationship" fields are going to be what the Relational Fields are named in the records.

1. Click + New Relationship.
2. Create the relationship between the Contacts object and Events object by selecting Contacts from the "Event is related to" dropdown menu. Select the relationship type as one to many in the second dropdown menu.
3. Set up the remaining items like this:
   
   
   
   

   Here's what each of those questions mean:

   • Event is related to: Indicates what object the new object related to. In this case, Contacts.
   • Relationship Type: This indicates what the type of relationship will be between the two objects. Since a contact can attend multiple events, the relationship in this instance will be one to many.
   • This Event is: The Event is the Parent in this case, since there will be many contacts attending one event.
   • Where should we put the other object in the Event's record?: This asks where the contact's information will appear within the Events Object.
   • Where should we put the Event in the other object's record?: This asks where the event's information will appear within the Contact Object.
   • What should we call this relationship in the Event record?: This asks what the header will appear as in the Event's Object.
   • What should we call this relationship in the Contact record?: This asks what the header will appear as in the Contact's Object.
4. Click next to configure the Object Settings'

Configure the Object Settings

1. Create the settings for how you would like the Events Object to display when you click on the Events record. For reference, Contacts display as "[First Name] [Last Name] [Email]" but in this case you are able to choose how the label will show.
2. Click the Insert Merge Field dropdown to insert Merge Fields. We suggest setting it up something like this:
   
   
   
   If you used the above information, when clicking an Event Object record, the dropdown field settings created above would appear like this:
   
   
3. In the Navigation settings panel, add the Events Object to the Navigation Menu. Select the icon and color associated with the object. Use the up/down arrows to move the location of the object into the desired location.
   
   

Create your first Event

In order to continue the build, we will need to create one Event.

1. Click on Events from the navigation menu.
2. Click New Event.
3. Now you'll need to fill in the Event fields that we created previously. Fill in the fields how you see fit.

How Contacts can sign up for an Event

In order to allow contacts to sign up for a specific event, as well as to have the ability to email them any necessary details, we'll need to do the following:

• Create a Form for each specific event under the Contact's Object.
• Create a Campaign in order to change the Contact's related field to the specific event they signed up for. The Campaign will be created in the Contact's Object.
• Create a Message (or multiple message) that include the Event Details. The message(s) will be created within the Event Object.
• Create a Campaign under the Event Object. This Campaign will include any emails that need to be sent out to contacts regarding the event.

Create a Form for each specific Event under the Contact's Object:

1. Hover over Contacts, then click Forms. Then click + New Form.
2. Choose either an ONTRAform or a Legacy Smartform.
3. First, name the form based upon which event it's going to be associated with. Then, add any fields you'll need to collect the desired information from the attendees.
4. Once you've added the fields and named the form, click Save in the top right.

Note: You can find instructions on adding fields to forms here.

Create a Campaign in order to change the contact's related field to the specific event they signed up for. The Campaign will be created in the Contact's Object:

1. Click Campaigns, then click + New Campaign.
2. Choose Start from Scratch.
3. Directly below the "Added to Campaign" trigger, add an End Element. The reason for this is because you have to have an element underneath this trigger, but we won't be using the "Added to Campaign" trigger to add contacts to the Campaign.
4. Next to the "Added to Campaign" trigger, click the plus symbol.
5. Click +Add Trigger, then type in "Contact submits form". Then, select the Event Form previously created from the dropdown. This is how contacts will be added to the Campaign.
   
   
6. Directly below this Trigger, click into "what happens next" and choose the "Update Contact" element.
7. In the "update the field" dropdown in the top left, choose the event we created previously. (Do not actually click the small arrow next to the event name, as that will drill down into the event. Simply click the name of the event)
   
   
8. Add an End Element directly below the Update Contact Element.
9. Name the Campaign, then click Save and Publish in the top right.

This Campaign will now relate the Contact to the specific Event. Repeat steps 4-8 for each event you have.

Create a Message (or multiple message) that include the Event Details. The message(s) will be created within the Event Object.

1. Hover over Events, then click Messages. Click + New Messages.
2. Choose either ONTRAmail or Legacy HTML Email.
3. Add any content surrounding the event. (For instructions on styling your message, see here)
4. Once you've styled your message, click Settings in the top right.
5. Make sure the field "Send email to" is shown as Event information >> Email (or whatever you named the related section between Events and Contacts).
   
   
6. Click Save in the top right.

You'll want to repeat these steps for every message that you need to send out about a certain event. Since the "Send email to" field is drilled down to the related Contact's Record, we don't need to worry about creating the messages within the Contacts Object. These messages will be placed in the Event's Campaign.

Create a Campaign under the Event Object. This Campaign will include any emails that need to be sent out to contacts regarding the event:

1. Hover over the Events in the navigation menu, then click Campaigns.
2. Click +New Campaign.
3. Underneath the "Added to Campaign" element, add a Wait Element.
4. In the Wait Element settings under "Wait here until", choose A date relative to a Event's date field arrives.
5. Under "Which Date", choose Event Date (or whatever you named the date field in your Event Object).
6. Under "How many days and when", you can choose the specific day that you'd like the email to go out. For example, you might want to send a reminder email out a day before the event. In that case, you'd choose one day before.
7. If you'd like the email to go out a certain time, click the check box next to "Then wait til the time of day is..." and choose a time.
   
   
8. Click done once you've chosen a date and time, then add a Send An Email Element below the Wait Element.
9. Choose the email you created about the event in the previous section.
10. Repeat steps 3-9 for any other emails that you'll want to send the regarding the event.
11. Once you've added all the necessary emails, click Save and Publish in the top right.

Once this Campaign is completed and you're ready to send emails out about your event, you'll simply navigate to the Event Record and subscribe them to this Campaign. Since all of the contacts will be related to that specific Campaign, they'll all receive the same messages without having to individually subscribe each contact to the Campaign.

Create Multiple Relationships between Events and Contacts

These optional instructions will allow you to have attendees be tied to several events without affecting the original relationship with their first event. This can be achieved by creating multiple relationships between Events and Contacts. To do this:

1. Navigate to Profile Icon > Administration > Data Tab > Custom Objects.
2. Click into the Events Custom Object.
3. Click Manage Relationships, then click New Relationship.
4. Choose Contacts from the "Event is related to" dropdown.
5. Choose One to many from the "Relationship type" dropdown.
6. Repeat the instructions for creating your first relationship listed above.
7. Repeat the instructions for "Create a Form for each specific Event under the Contact's Object".
8. You can use the same Campaign in the Contacts Collection in order to change the related field. You'll need to click +Add Trigger, then type in "Contact submits form". Then, select the Event form (created in step 6) from the dropdown. This is how contacts will be added to the Campaign.
9. Directly below this Trigger, click into "what happens next" and choose the "Update Contact" Element.
10. In the "update the field" dropdown in the top left, choose the newly created event. (Do not actually click the small arrow next to the event name, as that will drill down into the event. Simply click the name of the event)
11. Repeat the instructions for "Create a Message (or multiple message) that include the Event Details."
12. Lastly, you'll need to create a Campaign for each event you're going to be sending out details for. Repeat the instructions for "Create a Campaign under the Event Object".

Putting it all together

To recap, this build is designed to automate the process of people signing up for events and send emails regarding the event details to those people. We created an Event Object with a One to many relationship between Contacts. Then, we created forms that the contacts could sign up for, as well as a Campaign that will change the Contact's relational field to the specific event they signed up for. Next, we created messages about each specific event as well as the Campaign that will automate sending out the messages to contacts for each specific event they will be attending. Lastly, we created multiple One to many relationships for each event, which allows contacts to be signed up for multiple events and receive details about each of them simultaneously.

Articles in this section

• Introduction to Custom Objects
• Events Usecase for Custom Objects
• Testimonials and Surveys Usecase for Custom Objects
• Accounts and Opportunities Usecase for Custom Objects