Simple 1-Day Conference Registration

In this tutorial, we will create a simple, yet robust, registration experience. A couple tools we will employ in this event:

• Simple Guest registration
• Speaker display
• Add an alternative, company billing address
• Clean, smooth, stylish simplicity

CASE STUDY BEGINS: SCOPING OUT THE EVENT

We have a single-day leadership coaching event. Registrants (comprised of different types of C-Suite, VP-level personnel, founders and other executives) will have their day planned out.

WHO is registering?

• CEO / Founders

WHAT will they register for?

• General registration fee
• Who is coming from your team?

WHAT information do we need from registrants?

• Company name
• Position/title
• Interested in learning about future conferences?
• Topics of interest

CREATING THE CORE REGISTRATION EXPERIENCE

Now that we have a general idea of what our conference involves, we can start building the event. Let's start with the most important functional piece of your event: the registration flow.

SCOPE OF WORK

It's always helpful to start off with the "WHO" of your event. By who, we mean what type of registrants will your event receive registrations from (e.g. "Attendees", "Exhibitors", "Volunteers", etc.). With this information, you can create custom registration forms based on who a person is. 

With our event, we expect that only type of registrant will be a Founder / CEO of organizations. If they are intending on bringing other key executives, they will have option to purchases registration passes for them inside the form, as well as enter their information at the end of registration.

Now that we've decided who will register, we can scope out what our attendees will be registering for. These are the options that will appear on the form. We call these ITEMS in our system. Items are used to represent selection options and event pricing levels, such as:

• The event registration fee
• Breakout session choices (for the whole team)
• Meals and merchandise

Since we have 1 registration form, we can start the build process by creating the options that will appear on the registration form. 

Next, we'll create a way for you to allow easy registration of additional attendees (i.e. other executives from the company joining). 

After that, we'll move into creating the form questions, or prompts (as we call them). We will also walk through how to create conditional logic amongst the prompts. 

Finally, we can recommend a few design tweaks you can make to your event website and registration form that will really make the experience stand out. 

REGISTRATION OPTIONS

Hop into the Event Builder and select the REGISTRATION tab at the top. Push the REGISTRATION ITEMS tool on the left. This is your sandbox! It is here where you will create all registration options for your form. 

Start by clicking the CREATE YOUR FIRST ITEM button. Time to get acquainted with the 2 main registration item types:

• Enhanced Item: this item is a checkbox-type item. Registrants can only select one of these per registration
• Attendee Item: this item is a dropdown-type item. Registrants can select multiple, up to the allowable limit per registrant that you set (IF you even set one...)

We need primary registration fees. Here is the breakdown of what it costs to attend this event:

• $500 for CEO/Founder attendees
• $300 for other C-suite personnel
• $150 for VP and Manager-level personnel

First, create an ENHANCED Registration item and name it "CEO/Founder Registration"

• Make the base price = $500
• Add a description and event-wide limit if you'd like to get creative!

CHALLENGE

Create the registration items for the other two levels of registrant listed above and one more alternative type (get creative!). 

Requirements:

1. The items must be Enhanced
2. There must be a base price
3. Add a description and event-wide limit

Now we have registration options created. We can organize the registration item offerings into groups now. Item groups can be used as frequently as needed and can help 1) introduce new logic to your registration form and two organize your offerings on the registration form. 

Click the + NEW GROUP button at the top right of the REGISTRATION ITEMS tool to add a new group:

• Name the group "REGISTRATION"
• Add a mini description to the group to the effect of "CEOs and Founders! Please click the checkbox below to lock in your registration. You can register your executive teammates below."

Once you've finished creating the first group, click and drag all of your registration items (click & drag using the arrows on the left of the item) right under the group header you just created.

QUICK TIP: Click into the CEO / FOUNDER item and flip the Mandatory setting to YES. Now, all registrants are required to have AT LEAST a CEO registered for the event. Another tool you can use (instead of the mandatory setting) is the Minimum rule on the item grouping. Simply click the gear icon on top of the group header and flip the Minimum dropdown to 1. 

BONUS CHALLENGE

Create a VIP alternative option for each pass type.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. The VIP option of each pass type (i.e. CEO / FOUNDER VIP Pass) must be more expensive than it's non-VIP counterpart (you can pick the premium)
2. For each pass / personnel type, the registrant may only pick 1 option... either the standard option or the VIP option
3. Feel free to rename the standard options to include the word "Standard"
4. Add a description to each VIP item explaining the perks and benefits of purchasing the VIP option over the standard option.
5. Create a new group for each pass type (i.e. CEO group, COO group, etc.). Then, include in each of those groups 1) the standard option and 2) the VIP option (you should have a group for each pass type, with two items in each of those groups).
6. Use the EXCLUDE ITEMS feature (read more about this mechanism HERE, in our Full Conference Tutorial...search the page for "Setting Up Registration Logic" and read the section) to disallow the selection of both the standard and VIP levels of each pass type.

BREAKOUT OPTIONS

Here are the business rules for this event's breakout options:

• There are 2 time blocks
• Each time block has 3 breakout options
• Only 1 selection per time block is permitted
• The CEO / Founder that is filling out the registration form will pick breakouts for the entire TEAM to attend - that means anyone else attending with the CEO will be going to the same session

First, we need to create all of our items and groupings. We need 2 groups and 6 Enhanced Registration items. 

QUICK TIP: try clicking the gear icon on one of your existing item groupings, then clicking the COPY GROUP button inside the group's settings panel. The system will not only copy the group, but the items within that group as well. Now you have a copied group with 2 items inside it. To get the third item you need, just click the duplicate icon on the far right side of one of those 2 items. Once you have a set of 3 items inside a group, just copy the (copied) group and you'll have your 2 time blocks!

Now that you have 2 groups, with 3 items each, we will need to configure and format everything.

• Rename the groups to express "TIME BLOCK __" and what the time range is (i.e 10am-11am)
• Rename the items to reflect the names of the courses (get creative!)
• Add descriptions to each of the items to describe what the course is about

Next, we can structure the business logic. We know that the CEO registering can only select 1 breakout per block. What we need to do is setup our business exclusion rules once again:

• Click open the settings panel of your first breakout in TIME BLOCK 1
• Select the Exclude Items tool on the mini-menu
• Check the other two breakouts in  TIME BLOCK 1
• CAUTION: make sure no other items are selected here - you may need to uncheck a legacy exclude since you copied another item to create this one
• Once this is done, complete the same thing for the other 2 sessions in TIME BLOCK 1 so that each of the 3 breakouts are mutually exclusive
• Now, do the same thing for TIME BLOCK 2 and you'll be finished!

TEAMMATE REGISTRATION

If you tested registration right now (go ahead and test if you please), you would notice that even after selecting registration options for the alternative personnel types (i.e. Managers), you still don't have a way of entering their information. 

That's where our GUEST SETUP TOOL comes into play.

NOTE: I'd like to clarify that a "guest" in our system is an extra registrant that is attached to what we call a "primary registration", or the first registrant in a group to execute. Our system allows you to re-classify or rename these guest registrants and that is exactly what we will do! We can call this guests "colleagues" for example. 

First, let's think about a "guest" registration - what's needed?

• 1) A way to tell the system how many "guests" you're bringing
• 2) A way to tell the system WHO those "guests" are (i.e. name, email, mobile phone...)

If you think for a moment, you will realize that we already have the first piece (a way to tell the system how many extra registrants you're bringing). Remember the items we created for the alternative personnel types?

When the system is properly configured, selecting those items will then allow the primary registrant (the CEO / Founder) to enter those teammate personnel that are attending with!

SIMPLE "PLUS X" GUEST REGISTRATION METHOD

In the REGISTRATION tab of the Event Builder, select the GUEST SETUP tool on the left main menu. Kick that switch on and let there be light!

OK - the guest tool is now activated for your event. Now, we need to configure this beast.

You'll see at the top two options for the guest accounting methodology. The FULL GUEST METHOD is more complex and not needed for this event (take a look at our Full Conference Tutorial to learn how to setup that beast). For this event, flip on the Simple "Plus X" Method. 

The first step is to designate an appropriate label for these "Guests" (remember, "guests" in our system are whomever you deem. The term "guest" is used to generally refer to our system's way of letting registrants invite other attendees). We can use "Teammate" for our event here. 

The next step is the critical step! We need to setup the TRIGGER. The trigger will tell the system how many "guest" slots to award the primary registrant upon selecting a given item.

• For example, let's say we have a ticket dropdown where attendees could purchase tickets for themselves and others;
• If the ticket item was setup as a triggering item, then selecting 3X tickets would trigger 2X guests in the system;
• 1X is for the primary registrant, 2X for the extra guests.

For our event, we need to setup each alternative registration method as a trigger. We are NOT setting the CEO registration item as a trigger. Why? Because that's the person registering! The triggers will represent ADDITIONAL people that will attend with the CEO. Triggers give the registrant a chance to fill out information for these additional registrants.

Selecting the COO item, for example, should trigger an extra slot; as should selecting any of the other types! To setup the trigger, check the box next to each alternative registration option and leave the dropdown to the right at "Registrant +1".  

WARNING: If you completed the bonus challenge above (i.e. create VIP alternatives for each registration option), you will need to set each VIP alternative (EXCEPT for the CEO options) as a trigger, with a +1 privilege, as well.

In the final step of the GUEST SETUP tool, you can decide what information to ask of these "Teammate" registrants. Go ahead and flip on whichever prompts you think would be best! Use the "Custom Prompt" spaces on the bottom right to create a question of your own (just type the question into the box). 

TESTING

We're at a great point now where we can test our registration experience. If there are issues, now is the time to address them!

Testing is such an important step in the process. We recommend to all of our clients that you thoroughly test your registration experience before releasing it to the public. Not only does testing give you the potential to reveal setup mistakes, testing also gets YOU more comfortable with your registration form. That way, when questions from registrants start hitting your inbox (they always do.....), you can quickly and confidently answer them.

ACTIVATE REGISTRATION

If you haven't already, enter the ACTIVATE REGISTRATION tab inside of the Event Builder. Scroll down and flip the switch for ATTENDEE REGISTRATION (make sure at least 1 payment method is activated below, else you won't be able to turn on registration). 

As you have most likely noticed, you may do a few other things on this page:

• Set the start/end dates and times for registration
• Activate/deactivate alternative registration methods (i.e. 3rd Party Registration and Sub-Account Registration)
  • For our event, go ahead and DISALLOW Sub-Account Registration;
  • ALLOW 3rd Party Registration
  • Read more about the methods HERE

When you're ready, hit the eyeball icon at the top right of the Builder to preview your event; click to register! Go ahead and make sure you select at least one of the additional personnel passes (along with the CEO / Founder pass).

At the checkout panel (the final step in the registration process), you will notice that the system prompts you to enter the information of your additional registrant(s)! Just like magic. 

RE-RUNNING TESTS

Our system clearly will not let the same registrant (with the same email) register for the same event more than once. 

You can delete your registration so that you may test registration again by following this quick and easy process:

• Hit the dashboard
• Open your event with the small blue carrot icon
• Push the REGISTERED ATTENDEES button
• Find yourself, then push the red "X" icon to the left of your name
• Confirm deletion

QUICK TIP: You can re-access any deleted registration on your dashboard. Click open your event, then push the red INCOMPLETE button (right next to the REGISTERED ATTENDEES button). At the top of the window, you will see an "Admin Cancelled" radio button filter. Click it and you will see all deleted registrations. You can access log entries for deleted registrants and even re-register them from this screen. 

THE FORM

Wait, haven't we been setting up the form all along? Technically, yes. You have been configuring the registration options piece of the form. Now, it's time to setup the form questions or "prompts" (as we refer to them in our system). The form setup process also includes a few extra bits and pieces, like the confirmation page and confirmation email. 

Prompts are great. They enable you to collect valuable user data on each of your registrants. Our system then allows you to report on that data. We all love data don't we?

REGISTRATION FORM TOOL

Hop into the REGISTRATION tab of the Event Builder and select the REGISTRATION FORM tool option on the left. You'll see a few options across the top and they behave as follows:

• 1) FORM PROMPTS: you will see a stock list of questions in this list that are standard across the system
  • You'll notice you can turn these on/off as well as flip the status to required/optional
  • If you don't see a prompt in this list that you need to ask on your form (highly likely....), don't fret. We will talk you through the CUSTOM PROMPT LIBRARY tool in a short bit
  • Below the prompt pick list, you will see some additional options to activate on your form (i.e. a file upload portal and an avatar upload portal)

• 2) FORM TEXT: you will see numerous fields on this tab, which allow you to further add/customize the guidance language on your form
  • Notice at the bottom, you can create a Terms & Conditions section at the end of your form! If you choose to create a disclaimer, our system will require all registrants check an "Acknowledgement of Terms" checkbox before completing registration

QUICK TIP: We love the FORM TEXT tool. Oftentimes, there are opportunities within our own registration experience that can confuse registrants. We know, you spent hours making it SO. SIMPLE. But we're often too close to our own events to realize where certain pain points may arise. That why we use the FORM TEXT tool - it can help remove confusion within the registration form. Spell out the proper steps to help eliminate doubt! Preparation is the mother of success!

• 3) CONFIRMATION PAGE: the tab allows you to customize your confirmation page, which is presented to the registrant immediately after checking out
  • These options are self-explanatory, so please experiment around with these options

• 4) CONFIRMATION EMAIL: easy enough right? Customize your confirmation email that is sent to all registrants here
  • Take a look at the top of this page... notice that bulleted list? That's what is already included in every confirmation email. We do generate the most essential pieces to the confirmation email to ensure that nothing critical is missing (i.e. the invoice)

• 5) EMAIL IMAGE: here, you can decide what banner image and logo to place within your confirmation email
  • With the EMAIL IMAGE tab, you can:
    • Match the confirmation email banner graphic to the event's banner graphic
    • Upload a custom banner graphic [to display in the confirmation email]
    • Select a default banner graphic [to display in the confirmation email]

CHALLENGE

Build out the foundation for your registration form. HERE is a help article on using the Registration Form tool; HERE is a help article on using the Custom Prompt Library.

Requirements:

1. Must add at least 1 required prompt and 1 optional prompt of your choosing
2. Create at least 1 custom prompt in the Custom Prompt Library, then activate it
3. Turn on the file upload ability and ask that registrants upload their company logo (HINT: it's within the Form Prompts section in the Registration Form tool)
4. Add instructions (HINT: it's within the Form Text section inside the Registration Form Tool) to the Item Selection area that describes how to register additional teammates and themselves (remember, registrants must first pick the pass type for any particular teammate... entering their information doesn't come until the checkout process)
5. Send the registrants to an important link on the confirmation page
6. Rename the invoice to "CONFERENCE PASS RECEIPT"
7. Add custom language to the confirmation email that instructs the registrant on what to do come check-in day (feel free to be creative!)

SPEAKERS

There are 2 keys way to capture speakers (click HERE for our full help article on creating speakers). Here is the "manual method".

Hop into the Agenda tab of the Event Builder and select the Speaker Manager tool on the left side. Push the + ADD SPEAKER button in the upper right - a modal will appear. Click "I don't see my speaker. Create now."

QUICK TIP: You can add an email address to this speaker, which would create a use account for the speaker in our system. With this user account, they can login to the system. However, this is not required.  

After creating the speaker, the speaker is now added to your ORGANIZATION account and available for you to reuse on future events! Up to this point, we have only created the speaker in the system; now, you'll need to add them to the event (within the same initial + Add Speaker modal that you see above). 

Use the dropdown to the right of your new speaker to add them to the event (by designating a title to that speaker). You can change this title after adding them to the event. Once added to the event, you'll see their speaker block appear below - expand to see all of your custom options!

You'll see that there are a multitude of options to customize your speaker, right at your fingertips:

• Upload a headshot
• Change the designation, title and company of the speaker
• Add a program title and description
• Add a biography

At the bottom of the speaker's panel, you will see a section on speaker ratings (which you can disable for any particular speaker). You will also see options to:

• Restrict reviews to specific registrants based on the selections they made in the form
• Alter the names of any of the 5 rating categories

When a registrant is signed in AND registered for your event, they will be able to access session ratings via the mobile app, just by viewing the speaker's profile. 

You can also tag a speaker to an agenda slot, with the Agenda Setup tool.

SETTING UP THE REST

The registration experience is complete, save for a few tweaks you may decide to make. From here on out, it is all about building out your webpage and making everything look on-brand. 

Things to consider setting up from the this point:

• Add colors to your registration form elements and webpage
• Create custom marketing pages to live in the main menu of your site
• Embed images and videos
• Create an agenda
• Fill out registration item descriptions
• Customize button labels
• Show off your sponsors
• Explore more for yourself!