Salsa - Forum Topics

Legislator lookup

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:39:07 -0400

This site gives a little information about the out-of-the-box legislator lookup page. http://www.salsacommons.org/o/8001/p/salsa/web/wiki/public/?reference=Legislator%20Lookup However, we have the org2 domain, so it took me a little while to figure out that we actually need to use the url http://org2.democracyinaction.org/... in order to get this to work. Might want to add this in your documentation.

Querying # of donations per donation page

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:07:52 -0400

We have multiple donation pages. There is our universal donation page, plus a few pages customized for given campaigns. Some campaigns are short, some are long. How can I run a query that tells me the number of donations I receive, each month, for each donation page?

Trying to connect to the subversion repository

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:44:26 -0400

Trying to connect to the subversion repository at: http://svn.salsacommons.org/salsa/trunk/packages/d/APPLICATIONPREFIX/ (using my application prefix of course) I'm using the TortoiseSVN client. It finds the repository but gives me this error every time: ========== Repository moved temporarily to 'http://dav.salsalabs.com/APPLICATIONPREFIX/'; please relocate The operation failed. ========== Any ideas at all would be appreciated? Thanks

What's a good open rate for an e-blast?

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:35:12 -0400

What is considered a good open rate for an email blast? I'm sending e-blasts to a list of about 32,000. The open rate seems low to me, but I'm not sure what is considered good. What do you consider a good open rate? Thanks!

update (or remove) "help" links on dashboards

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:32:07 -0400

It seems that the "[package name] help" stickies on each package dashboard that have links to help docs need updating or removal. The links in the "support" boxes/stickies seem to be up to date, so maybe these other boxes can just be removed. Example of what I mean, on the Reports tab: [Box title: reports help] [Box body: Need some assistance with the Reports & Statistics tab? Check out the Reports tab documentation [https://docs.salsa.democracyinaction.org/Reports.php] over at https://docs.salsa.democracyinaction.org.] Thanks!

Creating E-Card Actions

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:30:46 -0400

How do we create an e-card using DIA that we can send to our friends via a "Load Contacts from Email" tool?

seeking a superstar Salsa's expertise in (the new) supporter management package

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:32 -0400

We're seeking a superstar Salsa user that has created solutions for the best way to organize supporters/donors. Some of our questions include 1) the best way to manage couples with different last names 2) is the house-holding function working for you? 3)how to manage organizations/foundations (that need to be filed as an org rather than as a person 4) what to do when a supporter changes their profile by taking action (which wipes out their old info) e.g. we have- first name: John Doe and Jane, last name: Smith in the database. Then John takes action and signs just his name using an email from their joint profile and then her name gets erased. Perhaps this is a discussion worth having via this forum, but I'd love pick someone's brain (in less than an hour of time) about the best way to organize. Any takers??

One supporter, two email addresses?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:30:28 -0400

I have lots of supporters with multiple email addresses (ex. work and home). At this point, this means there are multiple records for them. If I merge these records into one record, will they still receive email at both addresses?

Cannot access Subversion

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:43:47 -0400

I should be able to go to http://svn.salsacommons.org/salsa/trunk/packages/d// and use my account and password, according to the documentation. However, this doesn't work. I have used an Eclipse plugin on other projects, but can't seem to get SVN working here. Does anyone have any updated documentation that could get me going?

Testing response/trigger/reply emails

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:53:31 -0500

I think it would be fantastic if we could send test emails for auto-response/trigger emails like we can with email blasts.

Multiple HTML Content Tags in a Template

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:46:01 -0500

Is it possible to use multiple html content tags in a single template? I'd like to use two or three of these:

Updating elected official photos for auto-targeting campaigns

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:59:47 -0500

Is there a way to submit elected official photos to Democracy In Action for use in auto-targeting campaigns? We are starting a campaign in New Jersey using Salsa's awesome system, but Governor Chris Christie doesn't yet have a picture (plus his title is "Mr. Chris Christie" and not "Hon." or "Gov."). His official photo is at http://www.state.nj.us/governor/about/

Server Includes in a Salsa Template (shtml)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:29:12 -0500

Is it possible to use server includes in a salsa template? I'd like to do something like this, but it won't work:

Household update

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:57:27 -0500

Is there a way to query if members are part of households and then update them? I am dreading having to go into several thousand individual records to check and update this.

A better way to search for organizations?

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:02:56 -0500

Are there other ways to search for organizations? I find the fields returned from the "Supporter management" "search for supporters" insufficient to identify the record I am looking for or if it is in the database at all.

Manual entry of donations

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:52:22 -0500

What is a "private donation"? When I click on that link when editing a supporter's donations it does not show entries I have made manually to log donations made through sources other than DIA. This fact makes me fearful that I have been entering these non-DIA-processed donations wrong. I've been clicking on Add a Donation and choosing Other. questions: 1. Is there a better way I should be entering donations received, for example, by check, or via Network For Good (the only option on Facebook and on Guidestar)? 2. What is a Private Donation? A search on Salsa Commons for "private donation" turns up nothing useful. 3. How do I get a report showing the total of all a supporter's donations, not just the ones they pay through DIA? (I remember reading somewhere that only donations actually made by credit card through DIA are included in the supporter's total ... do I remember that correctly?)

How can I determine page conversion rates?

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:36:09 -0500

How can I determine the page conversion for a petition? I can see the number of actions taken but not the total number of page views.

why don't we have a Subsets of Data box on eblast reports?

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:47:35 -0500

I have read the Salsa Scoop post about reporting email statistics by Group. (see http://salsacommons.org/o/8001/p/salsa/web/blog/public/entries?blog_entry_KEY=1567). But the "subsets of data" box does not exist when I go into Salsa. I am staring at the email summary page for a recent blast. The Scoop post says "Just select any Salsa group from the picklist at the very top of the page" but when we click on the Details link at the far right of a row in the "summary reports" page, we get the very same page as we get when clicking "Report" from the eblast list. And the items available at the very top of the page are, left to right, email statistics, unsubscribes, and domain breakdown. No "subsets of data" box anywhere on the page. ???

Setting up an email trigger that lets me know when someone donates

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:55:27 -0500

How can I set up a trigger that emails myself every time someone donates with all the donation information?

Using custom merge fields in autoresponse emails

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:12:13 -0500

I have to create a bunch of different events, but do not want to have to create separate autoresponse emails for each event. How do I insert custom merge fields into an autoresponse email? I've tried adding something like: to the source of the event page I have created,but it does not seem to work. Any suggestions?

Trouble accessing supporters through fields other than "email"

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:28:47 -0500

Anybody else getting booted off the site when they try to search for supporters via anything other than email address?

Customizing Sign Up Forms

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:48:59 -0500

This is a question about customization in creating a sign-up form. Generally, is there some happy medium between the tool that's provided in Salsa and creating a form from scratch (or the code provided) on our own domain? Specifically, I'd like users to have the option to opt into some groups but want them to be automatically enrolled in others. Also, I'd like to be able to play around a bit with formatting. BUT I don't want to do a separate page in HTML because I want non-techie staff to be able to easily edit group fields, etc. from the Salsa interface. Any help appreciated.

Made an Action, but your fields aren't showing up?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:50 -0500

So you have that shiny new action all ready to go, but when you preview it, you don't see any of the fields where your supporter would put their information? It may not be as big of a problem as you think. Remember to check that you have defined at least one target on the "Targets" tab. If there are no targets defined, Salsa will not show the supporter information fields on your action page because it does not know where to send any actions your supporter might take.

Event Attendess -> Email Database?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:21:40 -0500

When people sign up for events are they auto-added to your email database? I assume not. How I can let them opt-in to receive emails from us?

Here's how to include a "View As HTML" link easily in your messages

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:49:08 -0500

Have you ever been looking for an easy way to put in a VIEW AS HTML link in the top of your messages? I had been putting in a link manually to each message (blast archive), but that required pulling the message key # from the workflow and remembering to paste it into the link each time we built a newsletter. So just use this link instead, and when people click on it, it'll take them to the HTML online version of whatever message they were on when they clicked it. http://your-dia-domain-name/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=[[email_blast_KEY]] For example, here's what mine looks like: http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=[[email_blast_KEY]] Blam, no updating of link required each time you make a message. Just put the link in your message template, best above the header image, and then it's set. This answer may be buried in the documentation somewhere, but I had a hard time finding it and got the answer via support and am sharing it here.

Bulk delete target recipients?

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:38:35 -0500

Is there a way to bulk delete target recipients by type - for example, all media contacts?

I love the salsa API

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:26:41 -0500

We recently put up a flash quiz on our homepage (http://www.humanrightsfirst.org) to collect additional list members. Submitting the form through actionscript would have taken thousands of lines of code but using the API I was able to push in new subscribers, give them a tricking code I wanted, assign them to groups, and set an autoresponder all in under 20 lines of code. We came over from Convio primarily for the price but they never would have allowed us this much flexibility in using the system. Thanks

How do I figure out who has signed my petition?

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:20:32 -0500

People have started signing our on-line petition, according to the "report" under advocacy campaigns. How do I access the names of the signers?

Supporters matched to incorrect legislative district

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:06:35 -0500

If a supporter is matched to the incorrect state legislative district when taking an action is there any way to make sure they are matched to the correct district the next time they take action? I saw that you can update the congressional district field in the supporters profile, but does it pull from that information when that supporter sends and email? And, what about state legislative districts? Do other people have this problem? Any ideas?

Why is my online action/petition "no longer active?"

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:13:55 -0500

I'm creating a new online action, but when I click "view page" the content doesn't show, just a message saying "This action is no longer active. To view the current list of our active campaigns click here." This is the link: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1266/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2410 Also, all of my previous online actions are missing from the list. Can someone help? Thanks!

Is it possible to CC a target?

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:49:11 -0500

Sometimes we'd like action letters to go to Person A, and be CC'd to Person B. However, it seems the only way to do it is to have letters go equally to A and B, with neither person aware that A is the main recipient. Is CCing possible?

soft/hard bounces, need clarification

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:24:08 -0500

I've read the documentation, but am still unclear on the difference b/w soft and hard bounces and how can we get around them so that our supporters receive our emails? One supporter recently complained that she isn't receiving our emails. After reviewing her profile, it looks like she's had soft bounces all along. Please help!!

Already have domain name

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:17:27 -0500

I have already registered my domain name with GoDaddy. How do I repoint it to Salsa's nameserver? (Or do I have to reregister with Salsa?)

Font size on Action Letter

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:56:11 -0500

The letter on my action alert page is barely readable. It hardly encourages people to personalize if they can't read it. There is no option to change font-size specifically for letter content. Has anyone else run into this and what was your solution?

Distributed Event Template quirk

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:17:20 -0500

I've created a distributed event with a different web template than our default template. It all works well, except when an event leader wants to edit their event, it reverts back to the default template to edit the event. Any ideas of how to fix this?

Opt-In Subscribe Option for Donation Pages

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:21:45 -0500

Silly question, but is there a way to add an "opt-in to receive emails" check box to the donation pages? I know there's a way to auto-add them to a group, but we normally provide our donors with the option to be added to our email lists. How do other organizations work around this?

How do you set up a scoring algorithm?

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:21:35 -0500

How do you set up a scoring algorithm, I would like to start segmenting my list by activity and scoring seems the best way to do this but I don't see how in the interface any way to set up my scoring algorithm.

Donation email followup

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:59:50 -0500

Does salsa send an email to a supporter after they donate online or I manually enter a credit card donation?

Custom Events Page? Let me see it - PLEASE!

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:36:17 -0500

Does anyone have a detailed events page that they have custom designed that they like? We have our national convention coming up and I would like to create a more integrated events page with several different registration levels and an option to purchase a t-shirt. If someone has one they have created that I could look at - that would be terrific! Thanks -betsy (or if you have a custom donation page, that could give me some ideas too!)

Better advocacy campaign targets

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:13:14 -0500

Create advocacy campaign targets for Congressional committees and subcommittees. We used to be able to accomplish this by selecting multiple targets. New Actions doesn't allow that, and it really diminishes advocacy campaigns' utility.

auto populate congress persons first name, last name in an email blast

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:39:23 -0500

I'd like to have dynamic content that can auto populate congress persons first name, last name in an email blast. I had this option in another system (overall I like Salsa better). This would work when you target by district.

Dynamic content for web template Title field

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:09:53 -0500

Is it possible for the title tag in a web template to grab the public Action Name field from an advocacy campaign? So for instance I want to automatically have each advocacy page title be "Surfrider Foundation: Action Name" Is there a dynamic field code I can plug into my html to make this work? Thanks.

Text Spacing is Crazy

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:08:06 -0500

When I enter text into my web pages the spacing between lines gets messed up (i.e. very big). How can I fix this?

Pulling List of Active Members

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:22:08 -0500

How do I pull a list of people with phone numbers who have taken at least five actions in the last year in a given Congressional district.

Mobile Text Messaging Service

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:59:10 -0500

Does DIA have any plans to introduce a mobile messaging platform into DIA? We are very interested in being able to send text messages to our members for advocacy and fundraising purposes. Ideally, this service would work much like the email system currently does, were DIA would manage the subscribe/unsubscribes and track users activity. Thanks much! Jenn

A puzzle - how to remove a tagged group in a query

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:08:17 -0500

I'm trying to delete a group of tagged supporters from my email list, ie I don't want to send an email to supporters who have already signed a petition. Every time I click the (-) in the add/remove condition, the whole window/field disappears. Help!

send failed status?

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:10:59 -0500

How does the email status "send failed" relate to hard bounces, soft bounces, etc? I don't know whether or not I should remove these emails from the database.

Year-end Tax Summary Letters

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:52:03 -0500

Can the Salsa development team create a report that pulls individuals' donation histories so they can be made into letters for year-end tax reports? It would need to show: First and last name, mailing address, amounts and dates donated, and total amount. And it would need to be exportable into something that could be manipulated--RTF file or something--put on letterhead, corrected if there are errors, and then mailed. Or does something like that already exist?

Group additions

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:23:33 -0500

If I run a query for Group A in order to add Group A to Group B, is the only thing that will happen: Group B will now be listed in the group listing for supporters in Group A. My main concern: Will any other information update occur besides adding Group B to Group A's supporter group listings? Many thanks!

One Click Subscription

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:40:21 -0500

We recently ran a campaign that reached out to people who are not traditionally our supporters. The result is a large pool of people that do not fit in our traditional blast groups. I would like to make our newsletter, action alerts, etc available to them. Is there a a way to embed a link in an email that allows them to sign up for these groups in one click? Kind of like an unsubscribe button but a subscribe button instead. Sorry if this is an obvious one, the guy who normally does this stuff is on paternity leave.