What is an Open Canvassing Call to Action?

Creating Open Canvassing Calls to Action

1. Log into the Empower Web App. Click on the Calls to Action button on the left hand side of the screen.
   

1. Next, click on the New Call to Action button.
   

1. Under What kind of action will Volunteers take?, select Canvassing. Then select Open Canvassing.
   

1. Under the Content section:
   
1. Give your Open Canvassing Call to Action a title in the Title box - Such as “Collect The Information of 10 Supporters at the Pawnee Farmers Market!” Write your title like you are giving a direction to a volunteer. We recommend starting with a verb.
2. In the Subtitle box, say why this call to action is important! This should help inspire your volunteers to get started.
3. Provide additional information for your volunteers in the body section. You can provide some additional context and information for your volunteers in this section.
   
1. If you want you can use {eid} in the CTA body or in links in the CTA body and it will automatically be replaced with the EID of the person who is filling out the CTA (e.g. volunteers). 

1. Under the Content for Leaders to share, you can upload photos and links to help support your volunteers.
   

1. Under the Prompt(s) for Volunteers to talk about while they take action, you can add questions and prompts to guide volunteers as they take action.
   

1. To add a question, click on the Add Prompt button.
   
2. You can either write your own question by selecting Create new prompt. Or, you can also Use a VAN Survey Question.
   
1. It is important to note that Empower Prompts will not automatically sync to VAN through the API - however, you can export your CTA responses and bulk upload them into VAN to store that data outside of Empower.
   

1. For creating your own prompt, add the question that you would like volunteers to ask or consider when taking their action.
   
2. For the answer type, you can choose either a Single answer or Multiple answers. Select Single answer when you are only looking for one answer to the question. Select Multiple answers when there can be more than one answer to the question that your volunteers are posing.
   
3. Add your answer options in the Answer boxes.
   
4. Click Add Prompt. You will have to repeat this process for each question.
   

1. Under Scheduling and Targeting:
   
1. You can select either a Standard Call to Action or Advanced Additional Call to Action.
   
1. For a Standard Call to Action, you can select specific regions where you would like to assign this Call to Action. You can also choose whether the Call to Action will go live when you submit the form (immediately) or you can pick a specific time for the Call to Action to go live. Although Standard CTA’s have a start date, they do not have an end date! You can only have one Standard CTA live at a time per region.
   

1. For an Advanced Additional Call to Action, you can apply filters to create a more targeted group to assign your Call to Action. You can choose whether to have the Call to Action go live immediately, or set a specific time and date for the Call to Action to go live. Additionally, you can set a date and time for when the Call to Action will expire.
   

1. Under Follow Up Text, you can enter a text for volunteers to send to contacts that they meet during the Open Canvassing Call to Action. This text has to be sent manually by volunteers. If you do not want to include a follow-up text to these new contacts, uncheck the Include a Follow Up Text box. We recommend personalizing your follow up text and making it friendly and informative!
   

1. Under Automatic Mass Messages:
   
1. You can announce the Call to Action by checking the box next to Announce the call to action. In the message box, you can add a message that your volunteers will receive in the Empower App when you launch a new Call to Action. You can also select the time for the message to go out to volunteers about this new Call to Action. Select the time in the Time to send box.
   
2. You can add reminders for the calls to action. Check the Remind people that the call to action is in progress box. You can add messages for volunteers who have taken the action (in the box next to Message to people who have taken action) and volunteers who haven’t taken the action (Message to people who haven’t taken action yet). These can be important nudges to either thank someone for taking action or to encourage your volunteers who are still waiting to take action. You can select a time for these reminders to go out in the Time to send box.
   

1. Under How should messages be sent?, you can select how you would like your messages to go out. You can select Mobile App Notifications, Text Messages, and Email, or use all of them. While these mass-message nudges are important and automatic, they aren’t a replacement for person to person reminders and contact!
   

1. Click Publish Now to launch the Open Canvassing Call to Action.
   

Adding Contacts through an Open Canvasing Call to Action as an Organizer

1. Click on Actions
   

     

1. If you have both a Volunteers and Personal List tab, click on Personal List. Then click on the Add People button on the bottom of that Call to Action. 
   

1. Next you will see the background content on the Call to Action. Read more about the Call to Action and click Add Person when you are ready to add contacts.
   

1. Enter the information for the new contact that you’ve met during this Open Canvassing Call to Action. While the only required information is someone’s name, if you would like to make a new contact to receive a text message, or if you would like to follow up with them by phone in future CTA’s, you have to include a phone number. Using a nickname can be a great strategy for someone who is hesitant about sharing personal information. 
   

1. If there are any prompts that you have included in this Call to Action, you can record the new contact’s answer to these prompts. There is also room to include any notes in the Notes section, such as how you met them, or important details from your conversation! 
   

1. Click Save at the bottom of the screen to add the new contact.
   
2. Once you save a person, you will see a screen of who you have added to your contacts. You can click Add Person to add another new contact.