Introduction to ETTs

An Email to Target is used when we want our supporters to send an email to politicians or campaign targets. The target can be a postcode database provided by EN, a custom database, or a custom target/s.

There are 1-step and 2-step ETT types. 

1-step: Used when all supporters will email the same target/s.

2-step: Used when a look-up step is required, for example the supporter needs to submit their postcode in order for their local MP to be returned as the correct target from the database.

Here are the various ways your action may look:

Page settings

Target settings

EN has a detailed guide about target options. Please liaise with Digi for any custom databases, all ETT actions must go through testing.

We also have a guide to advanced target messaging.

By default, your ETT template pages are set up with a custom target: a member of the digital team. 

The target settings are found in the page settings. From the left-hand menu, select "target settings". Instructions on next steps can be found here:

• Selecting the type of target you want and using multiple targets. NB if you want to use a custom database please reach out to Digi for assistance with this
• Available databases provided by EN.
• Editing the target block display settings.
• Editing the message settings, including the subject line, message rotation and message swapping.
• Using processing rules to send different messages (conditions based on target details or supporter details submitted on page 1). This should be thoroughly tested, please reach out for support with this.

Sender settings

1 Step ETT Set Up

This requires a target block on page 1, it should be the first block in the left-hand column, followed by one of the Send & Share blocks.

Non-editable

The user can preview the message but not edit, the message is sent on the first page, it is a 2-page action in total.

This requires a hidden HTML target block that contains the letter, with all display settings un-checked.

To show the non-editable message on the page, you can use either of these library text blocks:

• ETT Send & Share non-editable letter
• ETT Send & Share non-editable letter - no numbers

These blocks will display the message in a scrolling container. The location of the letter is determined by the location of this div highlighted in yellow. The letter text sits inside this div.

See also the section on putting the letter in a pop-up.

If you don't want to include the letter in the Send & Share block, you can use either of these no message library text blocks:

• ETT Send & Share no message no numbers
• ETT Send & Share no message

Editable

The user can edit the message/s on the landing page and the message is sent on the first page with no look-up involved.

You can use a plain text or editable areas target block, the first checkbox must be ticked for this to display.

You can use either of the library text blocks:

• ETT Send & Share target block
• ETT Send & Share target block - no numbers

The target block will display where this yellow highlighted div is located.

2 Step ETT Set Up

The user can preview the message on page 1 if desired, the form on page 1 is submitted to look up their target based on their information. The user will see the message/s (editable or not) and contact/s on page 2. The message is sent on page 2, it is a 3-page action in total.

Page 1

Page 1 can have no message, a pop-up, or a non-editable letter in a scrolling container, depending on your preference. These can follow the same instructions for the 1-step non-editable ETT above.

You will also likely need to use a form that requests the supporter address and set some mandatory rules for those address fields. This ensures that the information needed to look up the target is submitted by the supporter. This is done by:

1. Adding the form block ETT Full Form (Address & Phone) from the library (do not edit any of the form fields settings): 
2. Adding the code block Action Variable - Additional Mandatory Fields to the page, from the library.

Page 2

Page 2 for 2-step ETTs is very similar to page 1 and has the same column structure. 

• The background image follows the same rules as page 1, but it cannot have a video block.
• The right-hand column form title is library text block 'ETT page 2 RH column title (narrow)'.
• The introduction below is library text block 'ETT page 2 Form introduction'.
• The form does not require any fields, only a submit button. There is a form block is 'ETT page 2 Form submit button'.

Following this, the first item in the left-hand column should always be a target block. The set up depends on whether your action is editable or non-editable:

Editable - page 2

The target block should be set to plain text or editable areas. 

The block after the target block should be:

• ETT page 2 Edit & Send target block

The editable target block will display within the text block where this yellow highlighted div is located.

Non-editable - page 2

This needs a hidden HTML target block that contains the letter, with all display settings un-checked, following the same settings as described for the 1-step action above. The letter is visible via the text panel instead, using this block from the library:

• ETT page 2 Edit & Send non-editable letter

Following the same steps as for page 1, the yellow highlighted <div> is where the target block will display.

Column layout

By default the right-hand column on this page is narrower to give room for the letter or target block. 

The columns on this page also sit at the same height using class 'parent-1-shifted-up' in the right-hand column title text block.

Editing target photos

When using a block with a target photo, you can replace the image URL in the src attribute:

<img class="img-fluid mt-lg-n3 ml-lg-2 mb-3 w-75 mx-auto w-lg-auto" src="https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/7433957/ farm-animals-pig-header.jpg" width="150" /></div>

Testing an ETT action

With the correct targets or database in place in the page settings, you are still able to test the action properly without sending an email to the target/s. Using the magnifying glass (preview button) you can view the page as if it were live. The page is shown in a new tab in “DEMO” mode (which you can confirm by viewing the URL – it will end with “?mode=DEMO”).

When the page is in demo mode, it means you can complete it without it emailing your targets. Instead it will email the supporter email address you enter in the form. So if you are testing for yourself, you should receive two emails – one as if you were the supporter receiving the auto-responder, and one as if you were the target, receiving the email from the supporter.

In this way you can confirm that the action is working exactly how you want it to.

US ETT Actions

Address fields

As with any address related look-up ETTs, when using an the EN provided US postal databases, you need to request address details from the supporter, in order to return the relevant target.

When using the Senate databse, use this form from the library:

• ETT Form: Address Title for Senate DO NOT EDIT FIELDS

When using any other US database, use this form from the library:

• ETT Form: Use for non-senate US databases DO NOT EDIT FIELDS

If these forms require edits to the fields, ask Digi. You may unlink the form in order to change the submit button text.

Then also include this code block from the library, at the bottom of the page to make the necessary fields mandatory:

• Action Variable - Additional Mandatory Fields

Title fields

When utilising the Senator database for an ETT, it is necessary to pass a value in for Title. This is due to limitations with the API offered by the Senate, not EN.

Use the form library block mentioned above.

How the title field is set up (for Digi reference only):

1. The title field must be included as a select field (not select with input)
2. It must have at least one of these values Mr.; Mrs.; Miss; Ms.; Dr.
3. No default value should be selected
4. We suggest that the first option in the list should be "Select".
   Important: the label should be Select, the value field should be empty. 
   This means that supporters do not need to choose a value if they do not want to. In this case the value of Dr. will be passed to the Api by EN, but no value will be written to the supporter record.
   NB: EN copies the text that you enter in the label field across to the value field, as soon as you click out of the label field. You need to delete the text that appears in the value field before saving.
5. If you want to allow Mx to be selected, you can use this as the label for one of the options, but the value that is sent must be "Dr." and this will be the value on the supporter's record. If using this you need to be sure that you won't refer to this value in any supporter communications, as Dr will not be correct.

US Look Up Database Settings

US ETTs must always have the Address Look Up setting turned on when an existing lookup database is being used (it should be off for custom databases). This is located in Page Settings.

If it is not turned on then supporters cannot use their short form of Zip code to submit the action and it will not verify the address correctly.

Current EN bug: If you find that US forms won't accept the short version of zip code, remove the target, save, and re-add the target, save. This happens mostly with the senate databases.