Create an Action Alert

Action Alerts are the heart of your advocacy efforts in Luminate Online. They let you connect constituents with decision-makers—whether legislators, agencies, or other targets—through personalized messages and calls to action. On this page, you’ll learn how to start a new alert, configure its content, and publish it so your supporters can make an impact. With flexible options like One-Step or Two-Step alerts, responsive design tools, and integrated reporting, creating an alert is simple and powerful.

Identify alert

1. Enter a public-facing and an internal alert name.

2. Enter a public-facing description of the alert.

3. Select a security category to control alert management permissions.

4. Optional. Enter source and subsource codes to track constituent engagement.

5. Choose the alert type. In a One Step alert, advocates provide personal contact information only. In a Two Step alert, they can also specify target recipients, a delivery method if the option is enabled, and whether to receive a copy of their message.

6. Select Next.

Alert advanced options

1. Assign a priority for the alert. When displaying multiple alerts, by default they are sorted by priority. You can also sort your alert list by priority.

2. You may also associate alerts with issues. This allows you to filter when searching for and selecting alerts to display.

3. Enter an organization email address to send alert emails to for testing and review, and one or more email addresses (separated by commas) to alert you if issues with email delivery occur.

4. If desired, select Yes, restrict by state and enter the two letter abbreviations (separated by commas) of states to include.

5. If desired, select Yes, provide a print-friendly version so advocates can easily handout or mail the information.

6. If desired, select Yes, allow multiple responses to allow advocates to take action on this alert more than once.

7. Select Next.

Alert message

1. Select a mapping topic for this alert. The topic will be mapped to the closest matching topic in the recipient webform, ensuring more reliable delivery.

2. Enter the organization name to associate with this alert. This name will be used for submitting webforms to the White House and emails to targets, but will not be visible to users.

3. Enter the organization's contact email address to associate with this alert. This email address will be used for submitting webforms to the White House and emails to targets, but will not be visible to users.

4. Enter a subject for the message header and choose whether advocates can edit it.

5. Enter the message greeting, such as Dear or To. The recipient's title and name are inserted automatically.

6. Provide an opening statement. Advocates cannot edit this text.

7. Choose whether advocates can edit the main message content. If you select Yes (required), advocates provide the full content themselves.

8. Provide default content for the main message.

9. Provide a closing statement. Advocates cannot edit this text.

10. Enter the closing text, such as Sincerely, to appear above the advocate's name in the message signature. Advocates cannot edit this text.

11. Select Next.

Select targets (Message recipients)

You may either:

• Select some or all of the standard recipient groups

  • The president, senators, representatives, and governors.

  • You may select more than one state.

  • You may also add select Add Targets to select additional recipients.

• Create custom recipients:

  • Enter contact information.

  • Select a security category to control who has access to edit and use this target.

  • Assign a target type which can be used in searches, filters, sorting, reports, and queries.

Select contact fields

1. Select the constituent information fields (optional or required) to include when an advocate responds to an action alert. Depending on the message recipient (e.g. senator or governor), some fields may be required to ensure delivery. To hide a field from constituents, clear both Optional and Required.

2. Specify how email opt-in displays and whether opt-in is automatic or optional.

   Note: A constituent that opts in to email is giving your organization to send them future emails. Several nations and states have privacy laws requiring that you both track and respect a person's right to opt-out of email communications.

Include questions

Optional. Learn more about your constituents, allow them to request additional information or join groups and events, or update their record by adding questions to your alert.

1. Select Add Question.

2. Select a question type.

3. Configure the question. See Create Survey Questions for more information on each type.

Configure autoresponder

Autoresponders are automated messages triggered by events. For example, a Thank You autoresponder may be triggered by a constituent submitting a donation.

Your site has default autoresponders. To view and edit the defaults, select Setup and Autoresponder Center.

Note: Not all administrators have access to this center. See your site administrator if you need assistance.

For each autoresponder type available, choose one of the following options.

• Do not send any version

• Send the site default version

• Send the version editable below

  This option allows you to create a new autoresponder message. See Content Editor for help.

Note: Save your message before moving on to the next step.

Thank you page options

Specify what pages to display after advocates take action on this alert.

• Thank You only

  Displays a your organization's Thank You page.

• Redirect to URL

  Enter a URL for the page you wish to display.

• Thank You + Tell-a-Friend, then Tell-a-Friend confirmation

  Display your organization's Thank You page, and add an option for the constituent to forward your message to their friends and family. Enter instructions, a message subject, and a message that will be sent from the constituent to their contacts.

• Thank You + Tell-a-Friend, then redirect to URL

  Enter a URL for the page you wish to display. Add an option for the constituent to forward your message to their friends and family. Enter instructions, a message subject, and a message that will be sent from the constituent to their contacts.

Design alert

Configure the visual elements of your message.

1. Select a Page Wrapper.

2. Select Yes, enable Layouts and Themes to add colors and images. If enabled, select a theme. See Selecting a Layout for more information.

3. Select an image from the Image Library to accompany your alert.

4. Select Next.

Configure pages

Optional. Customize web pages related to your alert. These may include Take Action Page, Thank You Page, Alert Expired Page, and more.

Preview alert

To receive a preview email of the letter as it will appear to a target recipient, enter your test email address and select Preview Alert. Complete the call to action as a constituent would to test the complete feature.

Publish alert

1. Specify when to publish this alert and make it available to constituents.

2. Specify when this alert will expire.

3. Select the URL to visit the page or copy and paste it into message for others to review and share.