Restricting Events as Invite-only

Invite-only events are used to restrict who can register for an event.

Rather than opening registrations to the public, you’ll invite a selected group of contacts and send them personalized invitations via e-mail. Only those invited can RSVP / sign-up.

For example, you may wish to Invite only people by creating a condition of: in a Membership group, or Current Clients group.

This guide walks through creating the event, inviting contacts, and sending invitations.

The Workflow

To run an invite-only event, follow these steps:

Create an invite-only event via Dashboard > Marketing > Events.
Invite contacts who are allowed to RSVP.
Send an e-mail invitation that includes an RSVP link.
Optionally, set up a reminder e-mail for contacts who were invited, but haven’t yet responded.

Unlike public events, invite-only events require the visitor to be logged in as an invited contact before they can RSVP. An emailed RSVP link opens the event page, but automatic login depends on the email campaign’s settings.

Creating an Invite-only Event

Navigate to Dashboard > Marketing > Events and click New Event.
Enter event details such as title, start time, end time, and time zone.
Select the RSVP Options tab.
Under Invitation required, choose Invitation Only.
(Optional) Enable Allow Alternate Guest Registration if you’d like guests to send an alternate attendee in their place.
Click Save Event.

Your invite-only event is now set up.

Inviting Contacts to the Event

Important: Inviting contacts does not automatically send invitations. It simply prepares your invite list for the next step.

After setting up your invite-only event, the next step is to define who is allowed to RSVP.

Navigate to Dashboard > Marketing > Events, and select your event.
Click Invite Contacts.
Select the conditions / create a filter to select the contacts you'd like to invite.
Invited contacts will initially appear with the attendance status "No RSVP".

Need to manually add a specific contact?

Navigate to Dashboard > Marketing > Events, and select your event.
Click Add Attendee.
Add a new contact, or search for the contact you would like to invite to the event.
Set their RSVP status - which is usually "No RSVP", to indicate they are invited but haven't yet responded. Otherwise, if you would like to manually RSVP them now, select "Attending".

Sending an Invitation E-mail

After inviting contacts, you can send a personalized invitation to RSVP.

Go to Dashboard > Marketing > Events, and select your invite-only event.
Click the E-mail button at the top of the page.
In the dialog box, choose which attendees to email - typically those with RSVP status No RSVP.
Click Create E-mail.

Oncord will generate a new campaign pre-filled with the event details.
An RSVP link is automatically included at the bottom of the message.

Before sending, review who will receive the campaign by clicking the number next to "Number of contacts to send to". Campaigns created for attendees with No RSVP initially exclude contacts with Pending or Unsubscribed email status. Other send filters, including bounce suppression, also affect the recipient list.

Creating an invitation email does not automatically enable login from its links. New campaigns inherit the account’s default Login Contacts when Links are Clicked setting, which is No unless changed. With this set to No, recipients who are not already signed in must log in as their invited contact before responding.

Check Login Settings Before Sending

Open the invitation campaign’s Settings and review Login Contacts when Links are Clicked. The options are No, Only when not forwarded and Always. Select the option appropriate for your invitation and save the settings before sending.

If you choose Always, include a notice telling recipients not to forward the invitation because it contains their unique login code. A forwarded email can give another person access to the original recipient’s profile.

Check the RSVP link using an invited test contact in a signed-out browser session before sending the invitation to your full list.

Remind Contacts to RSVP

As an optional next step - configure event reminders to prompt attendees to RSVP.