Using SWEB Forms to Grow Your Local’s GetActive Mailing List
Contributed by Matt Marotta, Local 888
Although people are "plugged in" now more than ever before, reaching them in a way that encourages participation remains challenging. Building a strong contact list is a key part of using the Internet to spread the word about your activities, and to encourage your members to take action on important issues.
SEIU contracts with GetActive to provide e-mail advocacy tools. You can use GetActive to manage lists of your members and other interested parties and to dispatch a variety of materials to these groups via e-mail.
In the following article, Matt Marotta, administrator of Local 888 in Massachusetts, shares with us some insights on how he is using the tools in SWEB to feed his GetActive list, along with step-by-step instructions for you to do the same on your own site.
If you're making a form in LocalsOnline, it makes sense to use that form to grow your GetActive mailing list at the same time. The SWEB system already has this capability; you just need to fill in a few blanks during the form creation process. If you're new to forms or need a refresher, you can
find information online on how to create forms.
Gathering the info you will need to submit your form to GetActive
When filling out your form you will need three pieces of information from GetActive:
- Your GetActive URL
- Your GetActive Domain
- Your GetActive Source
Your GetActive URL
The GetActive URL is the same for everyone. Just type in http://seiuaction.org/offsite-join.tcl
Your GetActive Domain
The GetActive Domain is specific to your local. To find out what domain to type in, login to your GetActive and copy down exactly what appears after “Domain=” in the address bar. In the case of Local 888, this is seiu888. Yours will be different.
GetActive domain appears in web address after "domain= "
Your GetActive Source
The GetActive Source Code is used to track the submissions inside GetActive, so you can tell where the information came from. This will enable you to differentiate what the "source" of the submission was; especially useful when you're using GetActive to manage data from multiple campaigns simultaneously.
The Source Code must be created from within GetActive.
To create a Source Code, login to GetActive and go to Data Management, and then Data Structure.
Login. Then go to Data Management > Data Structure
From the Data Structure screen click Manage Source Codes
Click "Manage Source Codes"
When you arrive on the Manage Source Codes screen, to create a new Source Code choose "Create Source Code."
Create Source Code
Enter a name for your Source Code. For example apiwebform
Type in the name of your Source Code.
Press "Submit" to set the name of the new Source Code. You can then use this Source Code in SWEB for your GetActive form.
Changing an SWEB Form into a GetActive Form
Assuming you already have a form ready, visit the form properties tab.
What you need to enter into your Form Properties to capture information for GetActive…
When working with your form, you will set the GetActive properties on the Form Properties tab. When you are there, by default the fields are blank – with these fields blank you're not going to add anything submitted via this form to your Local's GetActive list.
Blank GetActive fields (the default)
To submit data to GetActive, you will need to check the "Submit to GetActive" checkbox and then fill out the three GetActive fields in the Form Properties tab. When completed this looks like this:
Completed – each form submission by a new person will now help grow your GetActive mailing list.
A few notes on filling out these fields:
The GetActive URL is the same for everyone. Just type in http://seiuaction.org/offsite-join.tcl
The GetActive Domain is specific to your local. To find out what domain to type in, login to your GetActive and copy down exactly what appears after “Domain=” in the address bar. In the case of Local 888, this is seiu888. Yours will be different.
The GetActive Source Code is a tag you can attach to any data submitted through the form to identify it as coming from a specific source or campaign. You do not need to have this Source Code, but without it, you'll not be able to tell where information in your GetActive account originated from. See above for instructions on creating Source Codes.
Tracking the Additions From Your LocalsOnline Form In GetActive
Login to GetActive. Then Choose Reporting, and then Membership on the submenu.
Reporting > Membership
On the Membership page, choose "Membership summary by Month"
Membership By Month
In this report, look for the column Remote Registration via API.
For the start of July, this example shows 36 new members added to the GetActive list via LocalsOnline form submissions.
Membership Report