Action Network for XR

XRUK's mailing system containing separate 'email lists' for Nations & Regions, Local Groups, Campaigns, Volunteers, Talks and Training, all connected in one big 'network'. This book contains guidance for how to become an admin of a list, to send emails, how to sign up potential rebels to your list and more complex tasks too.

Start Here

Overview, training, admin access and contact details

Start Here

Overview

What is Action Network?

It is the tool that XRUK uses for sending emails out to the movement. It is funded centrally and available to all local groups, and organises groups by Region/Nation. People can join either at the 'top' (i.e. at the XRUK level) by signing up on the website - or at the 'bottom' by searching for their Local Group of the LGmap.

How Local Groups fit in to XR's Action Network

You may be familiar with other email lists such at Mailchimp - so to point out the main difference with Action Network (and it may sound obvious!) is that it is a NETWORK! Here is a little smapshot to explain...

For example : if someone joins the Birmingham email list, they automatically get subscribed 'UP' the network (to Midlands and UK lists). The benefit of this is that as more and more Local Groups use Action Network to recruit, then all these new subscribers end up on the XRUK list too - allowing for communication to the whole movement within the UK with a single email.

Also in this example this person will be on the 'Midlands' list which allows regional level organising too.

Campaign and Community Groups

Not shown on the diagram above are groups such as 'Deep Water', 'Digital Rebellion' or 'XR Walkers' - these also have separate emails list that sit just below the UK list and therefore also feed in to the total numbers of subscribers on the UK list. These lists are not utilised as much as they could be, so if you are in a community group and would like support to use your Action Network list, please get in touch.

There is a huge opportunity to grow the UK list

If 200 sub-groups (either Local Groups, Campaigns or Community groups) each recruited 25 new subscribers a month - that would be an additional 5000 people on the UK list per month.




Start Here

Why use Action Network?

Why would a group choose to use XR's Action Network account, rather than alternatives such as Mailchimp?

Benefits

Growing the list

As well as your own outreach work to get subscribers locally, being part of this network helps you pick up more subscribers because you lists is promoted via:

Barriers/Issues

Migrating to Action Network

If you currently use a list of emails in your 'contacts' or another mailing system like Mailchimp and want to migrate to using Action Network, there is support available to do this in a GDPR compliant way.

Start Here

Training Request

Request training for yourself (or a small group) using this form

We provide:

Start Here

Before Training Starts...

If you are accessing Action Network for the first time, this document will help you get the most out of the first training session.

If your group is already using Action Network, some of the following may already have been done.

Who are your admins?

Confirm the email address of those people requiring ‘Admin’ access to Action Network. You must use a personal email address and not a shared email account for this.

All admins will need to have signed the XR Volunteer Agreement, with the email addresses they will use as admins.

Contact email for your group

You must also have a group contact email address. Action Network software sends emails, but you still need an official address for people to reply to.

If you are part of a Local Group, this email should be listed on the Local Group Map. If the email (or other info) isn't correct, or your group isn't listed then contact map@extinctionrebellion.uk.

If you have lost access to your group email or would like a new one setting up in the style xxxx@extinctionrebellion.uk you can find about how to apply for a extinctionrebellion.uk email on this page

Note: please don't set up proton.me addresses (details of why). Protonmail.com addresses are fine.

Your Existing Mailing List

If you have an existing list of emails addresses - then we need to transfer that into Action Network, preferably before training. Let us know if you want to do this and we'll support you through this process.

Have something ready to send

When we meet you online for your training session we will want to take you through the entire process of writing and sending an email to your group. If would be beneficial to have some words already written regarding an upcoming event or action, that you are happy to be sent out during the training.

If you have an event coming up, that's ideal, if not then you could find pictures from previous actions or outline more general future plans.

Your local group welcome message

It is advised to have an email that gets sent automatically when someone new joins your list. We will set up a simple message for you before the training. You will be able to view and edit this during the training.

Is anybody out there?

For geographically based groups, we may be able to identify supporters who have signed up via the XRUK website with a postcode near you, but not yet joined your Local Group.

If you can, prepare a list of the first part of the postcode that provides the catchment for your Local Group (e.g. NG1-NG10). Here are two tools that might help with this task: Doogal postcode finder or this Google maps based tool

You're all set

You should now be ready to book in the training session, which is about an hour and by the end of it you will have created and sent out a mailing to your group.



Contact the Action Network Data Team

Get in touch

Make sure you let us know what local group or email list your query is refering to.

This team sits within the Digital Team and looks after XR's Action Network both in the UK and globally.

Unsubscribe from your XR Email Lists

Requesting changes to your email list subscriptions

Unsubscribe
Search for the last XRUK email you recieved - use the link at the bottom that says 'View or unsubscribe from your XR email lists'.

This shows you ALL the lists that you are on. Choose which ones to unsubsribe from e.g. you may wish to remain on the XRUK list, but leave a Local Group list because you've moved house.

Updating your personal details
For all updates (except email address itself) go to the 2nd to last link on all XRUK emails 'Update your details (moved house/new phone no?)' Note: this doesn't automatically subscribe to a new Local Group.

Subscribing to a new Local Group list If you want to contact to a new Local Group, use the Local Group Map

Updating your email address
To update your email address, but keep all your current subscriptions, contact datateam@extinctionrebellion.uk

Full data deletion requests

For full removal of your email address and other personal data, from ALL our services (The Hub, Forums, Cloud, Mattermost, Volunteer website, Rebel Toolkit, Rebellion Academy, CRM systems, The Vault and Action Network), contact tech@rebellion.earth

Admin access to email lists

Introduction

Anyone wanting to be an admin of any Action Network list must adhere to current policies (as maintained, monitored and implemented by the Action Network Data Team):

1 - Sign the XR UK VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT
It doesn't matter if you don't remember if you've done this and sign it twice. More information on the volunteer agreement is HERE

2 - XR Admins List
You will be automatically subscribed the the 'XR Admins' email list where you will be kept up to date with any important info and updates relevant to your role as admin.

3 - Sign in regularly
You must have signed in and out of your account at least once in the last 12 months to retain your admin permissions. You will be emailed after 11 months inactivity to warn you of this. You will have your admin permissions removed after 12 months inactivity (6 months inactivity for XR UK group admins) and you will be notified by email once this has been done.

4 - What email address to use
The email address that you will use to log in to Action Network must be a personal one (not a generic Local Group email address) and you shouldn't share your password with anyone else. You can have more than one person as Admin on an email list and everyone should have their own individual log in.

Applying to be admin for a Local, Regional/National email list

Admins at these levels (e.g. region, county, town, university) are managed locally, usually by asking your LG coordinator, regional coodinator, or 'Gardener'.

You can be an admin on more than one XR email list. (e.g. 2 different LG lists, or a campaign list)

If you don't know who to ask in your area contact the Action Network Data Team.

How to add another admin to your list

If you are already an admin yourself and want to grant access to someone new, go to this page here for instructions

Applying to be Admin on the XRUK list or XR Global newsletter The Action Network Data Team manages applications from people who need to have admin access to the larger lists the full UK and Global newsletter lists. To request this please contact the Data Team by email datateam@extinctionrebellion.uk


Adding Subscribers

Adding Subscribers

How do subscribers join the email list?

XRUK List

Pointing people to the UK website extinctionrebellion.uk is the very simplest way to get someone on to Action Network. The 'Join Us' form is near the top.

Local Groups

This Local Group Map is a list of all known XR groups in the UK. Most have Action Network email lists. When you click on the map pin and then click 'JOIN GROUP' you will be taken to a form allowing you to be subscribed to that particular Local Group. (If they don't have a list, then the subscription defaults to the Nation/Region list).

Local Groups can now have a dedicated shortlink in the style of joinxr.uk/localgroupname - see the Local Group Sign ups page for more information.

All subscriptions cascade 'up' the geographical list structure i.e. if you sign up to Birmingham, you will also be signed up to the Midlands and UK lists.

The map can be viewed at extinctionrebellion.uk/act-now/local-groups on the XRUK website, and also can be accessed directly at map.extinctionrebellion.uk

Request updates to the Local Group map by clicking the Add or Update button on the bottom left of the map

Adding Subscribers

Local Group Sign-ups

Action Network is the software system used for the XR UK’s email list. As the name suggests it really is a ‘network’. If you use Action Network and sign someone up to your Local Group, they will automatically be signed up to regional and UK lists. This means Local Groups can have a huge impact on the total numbers on the UK email list. The more Local Groups that use Action Network, the stronger XR becomes as a whole.

For Outreach Volunteers

There should be a tailored link for every local group in the style joinxr.uk/xxxxx
e.g. joinxr.uk/cardiff, joinxr.uk/edinburgh
If it's working it will lead you to a pale blue form.
If your link isn't set up yet get in touch

Remember your short link wherever you are
Anyone can enter this shortlink in to their browser on a phone, tablet or computer to find the sign up form for you group.

Paper Sign-Ups and QR Codes
In this folder - you can find GDPR compliant paper sign up forms and QR codes that point to your local group. Also templates for printing simple posters.

For Local Group Organisers

This map shows all the known Local Groups within XR UK. Most of these have an Action Network email list (although not all groups are using their list!). You can update this map if you have any info to add or change by emailing map@extinctionrebellion.uk.

If you need help accessing or using your own Local Group email list, and you have a rebel willing to take on that role you can request an Action Network training session.

You may already have an email list that isn’t on Action Network, but using the XR UK network is really important for mass mobilisation, so get in touch!

Bonus opportunity: XR UK mailing list currently with 180,000+ people signed up, some of these people have given us their postcodes, but haven’t found their way to a local group yet! By requesting training on Action Network, you can also request a search of postcodes in your area to find these ‘floating rebels’.



Adding Subscribers

UK List Sign-ups

For big rebellions (e.g. in London) there are many opportunities for outreach and the usual ask is for people to join the UK email list.

Flyers are available to order that point to XRUK website.

Also you can find GDPR compliant paper forms and a poster to put on the back of clipboards that points to the UK website in this folder.

At big events/actions clipboards will be delivered to Outreach hubs and collected at the end of the day so that the data can be entered. It is very important to write the information VERY neatly and clearly as someone else will have to read your handwriting. This is preferable to the public writing their own information as names/emails are very likely to be written in haste and therefore illegible.

Adding Subscribers

Can I move my existing email list to Action Network?

Your Existing Mailing List

If you have been using mailing list management software, like MailChimp or have a list of addresses stored on Gmail, you won't want to lose contact with those people.

The only email addresses that we'll be able to move across immediately to Action Network are people who have also signed up to the XRUK list. Contact the Action Network Data Team so we can transfer this data in a GDPR compliant way.

Once this first step is done, the easiest way to continue this process is to send out an email to everyone who wasn't transferred to encourage them to join the AN list e.g.

We are moving to a new email system and will no longer be sending out news and announcements from this system/address. To opt into this new mailing system just visit http://joinxr.uk/your_LGname_here* and enter your details.

*If this hasn't been set up for your group yet, read more about this tailored short link.

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Technical, style, content and accessibility advice. Plus automatic welcome emails.

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Introduction to writing emails

Start here for a quick overview


If you don't have access to your email list yet click here

This chapter contains guidance on technical aspects of sending emails, advice on content, style, common errors and positive adjustments you can make to increase accessibility of what you send.

There are two ways to create an email on Action Network 'Drag and Drop' or 'Visual/HTML'.

The Action Network training team support the use of 'Drag and Drop' for various reasons, but mostly because it provides layout control and features such as buttons, without you needing any html skills. The training that you can request is based on this method.
You can set your default email writing method to drag and drop style by following the instructions below.
  1. Click on your profile icon in the top right

email-style-default-1.png

  1. Edit your profile

email-style-default-2.png

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and switch the toggle to 'drag and drop' and then 'save changes'

email-style-default-3.png


Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Write and send an email

Start a new email

Go to the right hand side menu and pick 'Email'

Email.png

Next steps

1: Skip to step 2 if you've already changed your default settings

2: You should see the default XR template layout here (2022 Simple Email Layout) - if not contact the Action Network Team.

3: Complete the following...
Subject - a simple 5ish word title which makes the subject of the email clear and appealing,
From - your group name e.g. XR Sheffield
Reply To - your public contact email for people to reply and ask questions.

3b: Also you should complete the Preview text with some extra words of encouragement. This can be about 10 words long and it will show up on some people's phones before they open the email. So think of it as some extra bit of information to tempt them in to opening it.

4: Then write your email. The safest way is to type straight in to here. If you copy and paste from a Word or Google doc, the formatting can also copy over which creates problems. Either copy from a plain text editor or paste without formatting. Help on how to do this

5: Adding extra content boxes. The most common things to add would be the items circled in the following image. You drag them over to your email layout and use them as you wish.


6: You may now want to add a photograph or graphic either at the top or within your email - details of how to add images here. This also contains very important guidance on accesibility and resizing of images.

Target and Send your email

Before sending the email out to your list, you can send yourself a test email. It is always good to proofread your email on a phone as well as on a computer to see what it looks like.

When you are happy with your email - click 'SAVE AND TARGET YOUR EMAIL'

You can now see the targeting page. You can just skip this and click SAVE, PREVIEW and SEND.

A warning appears advising you NOT to send to your whole list. With a small list (under 5000) it's probably still ok to send to all, but if you want to know more about targeting there is information about the warning message here

The next page shows a preview of your email. Scroll down to the bottom and you will see Action Network calculating how many 'activists' to send to.

When it's finished you'll see how many activists you are about to send the email to. You can now either schedule (you have to minus 5hrs, due to this being set up for EST time zone e.g. if you want to send at 9am, then schedule for 4am EST) or if you want to send immediately, use the red button.

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Targeting an email

There is a new warning message on Action Network (as of 2024) that looks like this:

warning_message.png

With smaller lists (less than 5000 subscribers) it's probably still ok to send to everyone on your list - just tick the box and proceed. But if you are getting low open rates (less than 40%) for any sized list, then perhaps read on for advice....

How to target the more active subscribers on your list

To do this in a quick and simple way you can target using this option:

target_actives.png

This will then only send an email to someone who has newly subscribed, opened, clicked or taken and 'action' (that means filling in a form or event) in the last year.

The will probably reduce the number of people you email to about 70-80% of your full list. If you do this regularly, it is supposed to help make sure emails go to inboxes and not spam. Your list looks more 'engaged' when a higher percentage of people open the emails. An email coming from an engaged and active list is more likely to end up in somones inbox than in spam.

It would then be good practice to email EVERYONE a couple of times a year, to try to 'wake up' those inactive people.

There are many other options in targeting emails, and you'll see the ? sign next to each item to explain what it is. There are too many options to explain here, so if you need help - contact the Action Network Data Team

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Tips for writing effective content

How to improve open rates and increase involvement from people subscribed to your list.

Subject lines

Write engaging subject lines to catch people's attention. This could be by that implying someone's participation is valuable and needed; pitching your event as new and exciting; or tailoring an email to be as local as it can be. e.g.

Preview text

This is added in the header of your email and is shown to some of your readers. It provides space for about 10-15 more words that could help tempt someone to open the email. e.g.

Email body

Sometimes you want to cover a lot of information in an email because there is a lot happening and giving choice to your readers will help them find the thing that interests them.
BUT... if you have something important that you really want as many people as possible to do, whether this is signing up to a zoom, or attending a meeting or action, then a single focused email is far more effective. These are suggestions to help create a focused email:

More resources

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Deliverability - making sure your email doesn't look like spam

Reading and acting on the advice below will reduce the number of emails getting caught by spam filters and will more email anre actually delivered to your subscribers inboxes.

Alt tags on Images

Use 'alt' tags on images. Just click the image after you've added it into an email and write a description for the 'alt/title' e.g. Rebel holding pink banner reading Act Now. This is good practice for accessibility for people with visual impairments who use screen readers, but could also help with deliverability.

Image sizes

Don't use images over 600px wide. You can change the size after you've added it to the email. Guidance on adding images is here.

The reason for this seems to be that people that send spam email often hide links behind shortlinks and so they make your make email look suspicious.

Private data embeded in links

VERY IMPORTANT - don't use links that you've copied out of other emails. Links from Action Network emails contain tracking links and people's personal Action Network ID's etc. You will get an error message if you do this of "You appear to have a link with an Action Network ID attached" - read details of this error message.

Reply-to email address

Instead of using e.g gmail or protonmail as your Local Group's contact email - you will get more emails delivered to your subscribers inboxes if you use LocalGroupName@extinctionrebellion.uk - guidance on how to request one of these email address is here. This is now essential for groups with list sizes over 5000. The techy details of why this works is part of the trainings listed below.

Warning message when targeting emails

This warning is documented on the Targeting and email page.

Engagement

Extra guidance can be read in the AN Deliverability Checklist and the full Deliverability Training (15min) video. If you watch these and feel out of your depth, then reach out to the Action Network Data Team for support.

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Formatting, readability and accessibility

Writing clear, readable emails for everyone and with focus on readers with visual impairments, dyslexia etc.

Text and Style guide

Use sans serif fonts (such as Arial and Calibri). Once you have chosen a font it's best to stick to it; don't mix fonts in an e-mail.

Avoid using italics, capitals, underlines, or colour for emphasis. Instead, use bold text for emphasis.

Font size should be at least 14 point or equivalent.

Use simple language that is clear and easy to understand. Use shorter sentences and avoid using abbreviations and jargon.

Some more general guidance on text, style, colour and layout.

Images

Include alternative (alt) text to describe images, tables, and graphics for people using screen readers. Just click the image after you've imported it into an email and write a description for the 'alt/title' e.g. Rebel holding pink banner reading Act Now.

Paste without formatting!

Particularly when using the drag and drop email editor, there can be significant problems copying text from a program such as Word or Google Docs into Action Network. Luckily, there is an easy fix!

Windows users
When pasting, use the shorcut Ctrl+Shift+V instead of Ctrl+V. This pastes just the simple text, rather than the text plus formatting. You can also see this option on the context menu you get when right-clicking.

Screenshot-2023-05-24-141754.png

Mac users
Try Cmd+Option+Shift+V

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Optimal layout tips for phones

Sending test emails to yourself and reading them on your phone, is the best way to experience how a large proportion of your readership will be viewing your email.

Things to consider

Here is an example of what an email looked like when viewing on a phone - all the information is visible as soon as you open the email. This is done by keeping the word count low and the top image height small.

TrainingV2.jpg

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Inserting images into your Action Network e-mail

Including images can really help with reader engagement, but there are couple of things to keep in mind. First is that images need to be relevant and mean something, and secondly they must resized to suit emails.

If you are someone that uses photo/graphics software, just make sure your exported .png or .jpg is 600px wide. But don't worry if this isn't your thing - you can change the size after you've added the image.

Drag and Drop interface

For those using the 'html' interface skip to here

  1. Add a image content block to your email.

  1. Add alt text - something descriptive like 'rebel holding banner reading climate emergency' in the alt text - this is for accessibility reasons and also reduces the chance of your email being caught in spam filters.

  1. Click Upload Image or just drag an image across from your desktop.

  2. To help reduce the overall size of your email you can now reduce the image size.
    The file size of this image is 2164 kb which is unnecessarily big.
    By resizing to 600 pixels wide, the image will be much smaller but still be large enough for your email.
    Use the Apply Effects button.

image-size-1.png

  1. Click on the resize button and set the width to 600

resize-image.png

set-width.png

  1. Click Apply top right of this screen, then Save.
    Now you can see that the size of the image is much reduced (down from 2164 kb to 150 kb)

size-changed.png

Note : your images are available to use again and can be accessed again from More Images/Uploads.


HTML email interface

If you want to add images to html email - avoid copy and pasting - this can cause and error that will reduce the number of emails getting to inboxes.

Insert the image using the 'image' option on the toolbox

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Automatic welcome email for your group

So, you’ve got your group up and running and people are signing up via the LGmap or the UK website page or your shortlink (joinxr.uk/localgroupname) or via your own tailor made sign up forms. Nice! Questions? - head to this page.

But how will they know when your meetings are and get introduced to your group? A welcome email when they have joined the group is a great way of making first contact, particularly for people who found out about your group through the website.

You can request help or training for this or you can follow the instructions below.

Steps 1 and 2 below are about setting up your auto-email
Step 3 explains how to view and edit it.

Step 1 - Set up a ladder

A ladder in Action Network allows you to set things in motion when something happens. For this situation the 'trigger' is that someone is new to your list and the 'action' is to send them an email.

Select Ladder in the right hand menu.

Ladder button location

Then start a new ladder...

Select Blank Ladder, NOT Email Welcome

Edit ladder dialog screen

Check that the current group (top right) is correct and enter a title and description. Now click the “ADD NEW RUNG” button. This brings up a new screen to Add a Rung & Trigger. The trigger is what sets the ladder in motion. For a welcome email, it is when an activist first subscribes to your group. Click the dropdown and choose "Subscribed To Email List".

Edit a rung & trigger dialog with "Subscribed to Email List" highlighted

Once you have that option selected, click "Save Rung & Trigger". This takes you back to the Ladder. You now want to add an action. Hover over the red plus and pick Action.

Add action from ladder dialog

Then choose Send An Email.

Step 2 - Create your welcome email

Choose an email wrapper (2023 Karla font - no graphics is currently recommended) and set up the other info; Subject, From, Reply-to, Preview Text. Find a template welcome email here and advice on good subjects and preview text here.

e.g.:

In the email body you can give information about your local group, when and where you meet and how to get involved. Something quite short and simple is fine. e.g.:

ps. if you like the graphic, the request a tailormade one from LGsupport@extinctionrebellion.uk

Then make sure you save the email you've created AND then save the Ladder itself

It can be either left in draft or published immediately.

Remember that once you have set this ladder in motion it will keep running until you stop it. So remember to check it occasionally to make sure it's up-to-date.

Step 3 - View and/or edit your auto-email

To edit your welcome email, you need to view the ladder. Click on 'People' in the top menu row.

Click on the icon next to the word 'Ladders'

Note: If you are an admin of more than one email list, double check you are looking at the right group (this should be e.g. the name of your local group) and then click 'Manage' on the Ladder you want to edit.

Here you can 'edit' and update your email (as well as viewing some stats). First, click on 'Edit Ladder'.

Scroll down and click the pencil icon for the section you want to edit.

Important : Then click 'Save Action' and then also 'Save'

Writing and Sending Emails on Action Network

Buttons and hyperlinks

Note: In Action Network when adding either hyperlinks or buttons, you should always use full original URLs and not 'shortlinks' - an explainer of why is here.

What are buttons and hyperlinks?

What text to put on your button or hyperlink

Don't be tempted to use 'Click here' as the text within a hyperlink or button. For hyperlinks, try to highlight words that make sense within the sentence, and for Buttons, try to use individual words that make it clear where the button goes. .
For example- Don't use:
'More information is on the XRUK website - if you'd like to learn more click here'
Instead, use something like this:
"If you'd like to learn more go to the XRUK website"

Creating hyperlinks in 'drag and drop' mode

Highlight the text you want to link, click the link icon and add your link URL.

Creating hyperlinks in 'Visual/HTML' mode

Highlight the text you want to link, click the word 'link' and add your link URL and tick 'open link in new tab'

Creating buttons in 'drag and drop' email writing mode

  1. Click on the square that states ‘Button’ and drag it into the editing square to the left.

1-image.PNG

  1. Click on the Button you have just created in the Editing Window (on the left). This will bring up option in the right window to enable you to change the text in the button, add a URL link, change the colour and form of the button etc.

2-image.PNG

Creating buttons in 'Visual/HTML' email writing mode

  1. First you'll need an image that you want to become the button. Here is an example of a donate button.

  1. Add Image to the email as shown below

3a-image.png

  1. Click on the image you have just added into the email body, and the window shown below will open. Add the link that you want to open when you click the button to the 'Link' field shown below.

Reports and Viewing Activist Data

Information on how to access and collect data on rebels in the Action Network system

Reports and Viewing Activist Data

Create reports on Action Network

Creating reports in Action Network lets you see what data subscribers have provided, and what actions* they have taken.

*actions is Action Network jargon for interaction with emails, forms or events created in Action Network.

To view current reports or create a new one


Add a title and choose criteria from various categories


For example - people who have signed up to your list in the last 7 days

Click 'SAVE AND SELECT DATA'

Blue button on the bottom right of the screen.

Choose data to view

There are the core fields of email, name, postcode, phone. But also you can choose to view extra bits of data e.g. the date they subscribed to your list. Also you can rearranged these data field using the 6 little dots to pick up and reorder.


Click 'SAVE AND GET RESULTS'


Remember to REFRESH

When you view reports you always need to 'refresh' to get the latest data. This is very important for a report like 'last 7 days'


Mass Operation and Recurring Reports

If you need support on these options, then please get in touch with the Action Network Data Team

Note that, once you have created a report you will see a link in red, bottom right; CREATE AN EMAIL BASED ON THIS REPORT.


Reports and Viewing Activist Data

Monitor your forms or events

You may want to learn more about forms and events before reading this page.

Here are three ways to keep an eye on your sign up forms (or other data collection forms).

  1. View the last 100 activists who signed up
  2. Get an email every time someone uses your form/event
  3. Make a report of all who have signed up on your form/event

1. View the last 100 activists who signed up

Step 1: Go to the 'Actions' tab
actions.png

Step 2: Choose 'manage' next to your form
manage.png

Step 2: Click form answers
form-answers.png

2. Get an email EVERY time someone uses your form

Follow step 1 and 2 above
responses.png

Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom and tick the box 'Send an email notification when someone submits the form', type in your email address, and click 'Save Responses' notifications.png

3. Make a report of all who have signed up

Step 1: Click on Report

report.png

Step 2: Give it a name

reportname.png

Step 3: On the left hand 'Include' column find your report - just start typing its name into the field labelled 'Actions' and you should find it (ignore the number that just means in this case it's the 1925th form on the system!) - you just need to know what your form is called and search for that.

find-report.png

Step 4: Click 'Save and select data' blue button on bottom right.

Step 5: Choose which fields you'd like to see in your report and what order you'd like to see them

Step 6: Click 'Save and get results' button

Remember if you come back to view this report another time - you have to refresh to get the lastest information.

Reports and Viewing Activist Data

Monitor new subscribers with a weekly report

This report will pick up all new subscriptions to your email list.

  1. Click on 'Report'

report.png

  1. Give the report a name
    reportname.png

  2. Scroll further down the left hand column and pick (for example) all sign ups in the last 7 days.

last7days.png

  1. Click 'Save and select data' blue button on bottom right.

  2. Choose which fields you'd like to see in your report and what order you'd like to see them

  3. Click 'Save and get results' button
    Note : This may take some time to load!

  4. Then set up a recurring report to be run automatically and emailed to you...

report-email.png

Reports and Viewing Activist Data

View Activist Tags

View which tags have been added to a email list subscriber

  1. On the top menu - click People and from the drop-down menu and click on the work Activists.

  2. Type in the name or email address of the person who you are enquiring about and click SEARCH.

  3. If this person is on your email list they should now be listed below the search box and you can now click VIEW RECORD.

  4. Then click on Tags.

    Only 10 tags are shown at one time, so if the person has more than 10 tags, you need to click on the number 2 (or 3!) to see more of their tags.

Example : Has someone signed the volunteer agreement?

The tag you are looking for is:

XR_May2021_Volunteer_Agreement

If they don't have this tag, you should ask them to sign the Volunteer Agreement here.

Events and Forms

These are called 'actions' in Action Network jargon.

Events and Forms

What are event and forms for?

Events and forms are called 'actions' on Action Network.

Why use them?
They are a way of getting the subscribers on your list to interact and respond. Instead of sending them away from Action Network (e.g. to read a newspaper article or to sign up to a zoom) you keep them inside Action Network and therefore track responses.

You can use forms to do surveys, ask questions or collect more data on interests or skills.

You can use events for both in-person events with a physical location or for online talks, meetings, training etc.

If people fill in your form or event, you'll be able to see their response and learn more about the people on your list.

A list of useful ready-made standard questions are available for you to use.

Events and Forms

Creating a form

Forms are for collecting extra information or feedback from your list. E.g

To start a new form - start here

From the Create a sponsored action menu on the right hand side, choose Form

Start a new form

To edit a current form - start here

Click on Actions then either Manage for a published form OR Edit for a form still in draft. Follow the same instructions below, but obviously some things may have already been set up.

edit a current form



1. Title and description

Give your form a short and clear title (and optionally a more descriptive different title for internal use only) and also a description/instructions written clearly for the person you want to fill in the form.

Form title and description

2. More settings

You can let people know how many other people have taken the action of filling out the form by leaving the Progress Bar on, but usually this is turned off. Then you need a short Form Heading and at the is you can update the text that appears on the submit button depending on what kind of form this is. This could be e.g. 'Update', 'Submit Info' or 'Register'.

3. Edit Form

Then click Edit Form (as seen just above), which takes you to a drag and drop type page to add or remove questions from your form.

This part is hard to describe in words and images - so you need to just have a go. You can drag and drop any fields you don't want for your event (it's up to you). Just click on them and drag away from the left and let go.

In this example the surname and postcode have been removed and the GDPR field is being picked up and moved in to the form.

The fields can then be set to 'Required' if they are mandatory.

NOTE: Historically all admins could create questions and we've ended up with hundreds of questions with lots of overlap. So we are documenting a list of some standard XRUK questions that you can use.

You could also add your own questions at this stage, but note that the information will only be stored within the form answers, not with their activist record. It might be worth requesting some training from the Action Network Data Team to explain how all this works in more depth.

In the bottom right click 'SAVE AND PREVIEW' and 'SAVE AND GO TO NEXT STEP'.

4. Thank You page

To keep things simple - turn off the sharing options (you can investigate this later), and change the title to something that suits your form.

5. Write a short message

6. Click 'Save and Publish'

You form is now live, some last things to do are:

7. Promote

Lear more about advertising your event in regards to URLs, preview images and tracking where sign ups have come from.

If you need help with setting up a Form, please book a training or coaching session via our Training Request Form, or contact the Action Network Data Team.

Events and Forms

Online events

Guidance below focuses on events that point to a zoom link.

The zoom meeting link should be one that doesn't require the person to register (otherwise they'll end up having to register on the AN event AND again on the zoom link).

There are benefits to using Action Network events instead of sending people direct to a zoom registration. It enables you to easily see who has registered without having to download details from Zoom. Also it makes it easier to set up auto-reply emails, 24hr reminders and follow up emails.

This page covers how to:


1. Create an Event



2. Add the key details

Title, start and end time, zoom link and timezone

3. Add some short text about the event and upload graphic

Write something a little shorter than you might do on a Facebook event or other advert - because by the time they've reached this registration page - they should already know something about what they are signing up for.



4. Then the graphic



5. Update the form data entry details

Check the button to 'Register' and then click 'Edit Form'

6. Choose data fields

This part is hard to describe in words and images - so you need to just have a go. You can drag and drop any fields you don't want for your event (it's up to you). Just click on them and drag away from the left and let go.

In this example the surname and postcode have been removed and the GDPR field is being picked up and moved in to the form.

The fields can then be set to 'Required' if they are mandatory.

NOTE: Historically all admins could create questions and we've ended up with hundreds of questions with lots of overlap. So we are documenting a list of some standard XRUK questions that you can use.

You could also add your own questions at this stage, but note that the information will only be stored within the form answers, not with their activist record. It might be worth requesting some training from the Action Network Data Team to explain how all this works in more depth.

In the bottom right clock 'SAVE AND PREVIEW' and 'SAVE AND GO TO NEXT STEP'.

7. Thank You page

To keep things simple - turn off the sharing options (you can investigate this later), and change the title.

8. Also you can write a message here e.g.

9. Click 'Save and Publish'

You event is now live, some last things to do are:

10. Promote

Lear more about advertising your event in regards to URLs, preview images and tracking where sign ups have come from.

Events and Forms

In-person events

The guidance for creating an in-person event is very similar to creating an online event - but in step 2 you just need to give the physical location of the event.


If you need help on this, please book time on our Training Request Form, or contact the Action Network Data Team.

Events and Forms

Page Wrappers

The default for any new event or form is for it to have Action Network branding at the top and the bottom. You can easily remove this by applying a 'page wrapper'. There is an XR wrapper created for you to use (with and you apply it once your event or form is published by going to 'manage' the event/form and you'll see the open to apply the wrapper...

This changes your form from looking like this:

To looking like this:

Viewing on a phone

The effect of a page wrapper is even better when viewing on a phone, because it removes very distracting 'login or sign up' at the top. This option is attempting to get someone to sign up for an Action Network account - which is entirely unnecessary and a huge distraction from your own action/form/event sign up.

Events and Forms

Useful fields and questions

All these questions are available to all groups using the the XRUK network

When you use these questions in your forms/events the data you collect will be added to subscribers record.

You can also create your own questions in a form or event, but these will just be held within the 'action' itself (this is more suited to temporary information e.g. to ask people what shifts they could cover when stewarding for an action with options of 12-2pm,2-4pm, 4-6pm)

If you need help on this, please book time on our Training Request Form, or contact the Action Network Data Team.

Commonly used questions

If you have an idea for a question that could be useful system-wide then get in touch. If you feel like you need the freedom to create your own questions, read more here

QUESTIONS

A shortlist of most useful questions. These are questions that can be added to forms or events.

CUSTOM FIELDS

A shortlist of most useful custom fields. You can view the data in custom fields via reports or by looking at an individual activist record.

Contact the Action Network Data Team if you are looking for a question to use on your form that you can't find.

Events and Forms

Advertising your event

URLs, adding preview graphics and tracking sign ups

After you've set up your event (or form) - you can find it's URL which you can see when clicking 'View Event'.

You can use this link to adveritise your event.

For Action Network emails use the full link: https://actionnetwork.org/events/yourevent

But beware of copying links out of an email you've been sent - some info on a major issue if you copy links from one email to another.

For sharing on social media or Telegram/WhatsApp chats etc
You can turn this URL in to a shortlink - but it is not recommended to use this shortlinks within AN emails, just hyperlink the orginal URL.

Preview graphics

This is the image that will automatically show through to channels such at Telegram or WhatsApp as a kind of thumbnail image when you post the URL link.

The image preview for your form comes from the 'Sharing and Tracking' tab. If you add an image to the Facebook sharing information. It's particularly important to check this if you've duplicated a form, as the previous information/image will still be in this 'Facebook' sharing info.
Click 'SAVE OPTIONS' after updating.

Here is some advice for if you've already shared a link on Telegram before fixing this and need to refresh the graphic preview.

Tracking

If you are interested in knowing WHERE your signs up have come from then read on

You can add a paramater called 'source' to the end of your URL and using the example above, this would look like https://actionnetwork.org/events/yourevent?source=UKemail

The source parameter can then be seen when you are 'managing' your event by looking at the 'RSVPs'.

If you'd like monitor the effectiveness of advertising between your email list, facebook, website and your group chat you could use different source codes.

?source=email
?source=chat
?source=facebook
?source=website

Events and Forms

Pre-fill data in a form

This will only work with custom fields in your form (not core fields or action-only fields)

A current example of this is the volunteer form for Upgrade Democracy and here is a URL that allows for the first question to be auto-filled.

The custom field is ASUD_PrefRole and the url mechanism is

source=ASUD_PrefRole=Steward

Here is the full URL (with an extra source parameter showing the person is signing up from the Rebel Toolkit):

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/upgrade-democracy-crew-signup?source=RTUDCrew&ASUD_PrefRole=Steward&

You can see this and various other pre-selected choices on the Upgrade Democracy volunteering page

More information on custom fields is here

Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Sending to your full list is not best practice

This new warning message is documented on the Targeting an email page.

Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Email fails domain authentication

Error message seen, sometimes in conjunction with an email going in to junk email.

'This email has failed its domain's authentication requirements. It may be spoofed or improperly forwarded!'

How you would notice

You've drafted your email and send a test to your own email (protonmail.com is particularly sensitive to this error), and you have this error message shown above. Your test email may have also gone into your Junk/Spam folder

Reason

Something wrong with the reply-to email. In particular proton.me email addresses are not recommended

Temporary fix

Try sending another test with noreply@extinctionrebellion.uk in the 'Reply-to Email' field. If this works - then that is a sign that the system (or the internet!) doesn't like your reply-to email address.

Permanant fix

Use a different reply-to email address. If you are part of an XRUK central team, campaign group or local group you can apply for an xxxx@extinctionrebellion.uk email address which should work much better for you as we have registered 'extinctionrebellion.uk' with Action Network as a valid 'domain' to stop this kind of problem.



Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Action Network ID attached

This is very important: links copied from other Action Network emails contain tracking links; people's personal Action Network ID's etc.

The error you get is a pop-up box list this...

you appear to have a link with an Action Network ID attached

The cause

Using this example:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CZZX5DN?link_id=2&can_id=071ccc07c7xxxxxxxxxxxxxd003

If you copied the link from an Action Network email that you had previously received - the link will have your personal ID attached (the &can_id=xxx part). You don't need any of the information after the question mark.

The solution

In this case you would just use https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CZZX5DN

This goes for other links with user info embedded - eg. some Google links or links to Facebook or a fundraiser. Just cut out the question mark and everything after, make sure the links still works and just use that instead.

Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Photos not loading

Note : Protonmail seems to be the most sensitive to errors like this, so sending [test] emails to a protonmail address is a good way to test for errors.

Filename glitch

Glitch noticed Apr 2022 : If photos look like they've been added to your email, but when you do a test email they appear blank with only the alt-text showing.... then check the file name.

It was found that file names with a + sign were being problematic.

Fix:

Change the filename to something simpler. Add the image to the email again and do another test to yourself to check.

Size glitch

It is good practice to optimise your images within an email. Smaller files load faster and have a smaller carbon footprint! Also it has been noted that some email providers aren't loading large images. You can reduce the size of your graphics and images, preferably to 600px or 700px wide. You can either do this in graphics software before you upload OR you can do this after you've uploaded to your Action Network email. The instructions on this are on this page here.

Alt text glitch

Don't use quotation marks in the alt-text. This makes images fail to load in protonmail (and maybe other emails too)

Glitch in html style emails

Don't copy and paste images in to emails, this will cause problems for a lot of your email recipients who's email provider won't interpret what you've pasted as an image and instead print 100s of rows of code instead.
Read the guidance here on how to add safetly to an email written in the html mode.

Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp join links

The very best thing to do to avoid glitches like the ones described below is to ALWAYS send yourself test emails before sending to a whole email list.

These errors change over time, so testing is your best friend!

Be sure to read your test emails both on a computer AND a phone. Then click on every link in your email to check it's working.

It has been noted that Telegram invite links (ones with + signs in them, not the public ones like Rebellion Broadcast, they are fine) don't work when reading an email on a phone.

Current work-around (which goes against advice about shortlinks!) is to turn the Telegram join link in to an short link, before then hyperlinking it in an email. e.g.

Fix for signal join links not working is to add the suffix of ?no_rewrite=true to the end or the URL - which stops the Action Network tracking link and seems to help.

No known issues.

Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Proton.me domain

Major problems using proton.me as the 'reply-to email'

We are seeing very substantially reduced delivery and open rates if using a proton.me domain email address as a reply-to address when sending Action Network emails.

Action Network have been informed, but no change as yet for this issue.(Aug 2023).

For now it is just best to avoid using this domain.

No issues noticed with the older protonmail.com email addresses.

Note: Local Groups, XRUK or Nation/Region circles, or other people holding roles in the movement can apply for an xxxx@extinctionrebellion.uk email address

Known Issues and Error Messages with Action Network

Not receiving emails from XR?

There may be a few reasons why this might happen and the fix is different for different cases.

Not receiving ANY emails from XR?

Please check your junk email folder, and if you find emails in there do some or all of the following (email software is different, so here are a few options):

If this doesn't help, then please contact the Action Network Data Team. We can check to see if there is a problem with your subscription and may be able to help.

Problems when signing up for events or using other forms

1 - Check junk email

The first step is always to check your junk email. If there isn't anything in there, then one reason could be the settings in your Action Network account. You may have created an account years ago and forgotten, so this is how you check...

2 - Log in to Action Network

ANlogin.png

If you know your password, log straight in and jump to step 3.

If you aren't sure if you have an account, try the 'Forgot your password?' link. This will either

3 - Then check your settings

Click on the icon in very the top right of the screen and then click 'Edit Subscriptions'

ANsettings.png

On the right of the screen is some information about 'Transactional Emails' - scroll down and check to see if you are opted-in or out.

If you have deliberately or accidentally opted-out, then click this button to opt-in again. This should fix your issues.

ANoptin.png

Advanced

Extra information for people wanting to dig a little deeper in to what Action Network is capable of.

Advanced

Giving someone admin access

The following instructions are aimed at people who are already Admins (and have the permission level of 'settings'). If you feel like you should have this ability then contact the Action Network Data Team

So if you are still reading - you are probably someone that has been using AN for a while and now would like to give another person Admin access to your AN email list.

Step One

Make sure they've signed the volunteer agreement. You can check they have by looking at their activist record* and noting that they have the tag XR_May2021_Volunteer_Agreement.

*You can find an activist quickly by using the top menu People then choosing Activists and entering their email address to find them.

Step Two

Give them access by clicking on 'Administrators' (find this menu item along the middle blue bar of options) - click '+ Add'

Then type in their email address, click 'Send Invite'. They will be sent and email and they are immediately added as an 'Organiser'.

Step Three

Organiser doesn't allow anyone to do anything useful - so immediately promote them to 'Admin' by clicking 'Make User Admin', then you will be prompted to pick the permission to give to someone.

permissions.png

If you just want them to be able to see and report on current activists on the list, then choose 'reports' and 'activists'. If you want them to be able to send out emails to the list, then also add 'Launch Email'.

Only give them the 'settings' permissions if you think they will need to make other people admins on a regular basis. The other permissions lower down the list are not normally required.

Step Four

Connect them to this Rebel Toolkit book.
Add them to the two mattermost channels for support (see here for those links.)
Give them some training yourself, get them to request training or ask the Action Network Data Team for help.

Advanced

Using and exporting data

Occasionally, you may wish to use data outside of AN, for example, to make a list of phone numbers available to a trusted team of volunteers to make some calls.

The basic rule for this is that it's always better to keep data within Action Network. Below we explain why that's the case, and suggest some ways to share data with your team without downloading it to your own computers.

Why does this matter?

Action Network is designed to keep rebels' data secure. It uses a combination of security measures including data encryption, regular software updates, firewalls and scanning tools which makes it a much safer online space than a domestic computer.

Every time you download Rebels' data to your own computer, there's an increased risk that it can be accessed or leaked. For that reason, we'd strongly encourage you to follow some simple principles in using data outside Action Network:

Sharing data without downloading

In Action Network, build a report to identify the data you need. Remember to only include relevant fields.

On the lowest blue toolbar, select 'Report Access' and use the Email Invitation box to invite others to view the data within Action Network.

ReportShare.png

Be aware that anyone you invite will be able to download the report. If they're not already familiar with data protection guidance, encourage them to read through this advice or ask them not to download it.

Anyone you share a report with should also have signed the Volunteer Agreement.

When the duration of your campaign is over, revoke this report access.

If you need to download data

Occasionally you may decide there's no alternative but to download data from Action Network. If that's the case, you can download any report using the toolbar on the right hand side of the results.

Before you begin, make sure:

Ideally, keep the data as a cloud-based document, preferable our own XR Cloud on the Comms Hub, or Cryptpad rather than sharing multiple copies of the same Excel file by email. You'll probably need to download one copy to your own computer first, and then upload it to the cloud to share with others.

Avoid storing data on any portable device such as a USB drive, which can be easily mislaid.

When you've finished using the data, make sure it's deleted from:

If you have any questions, please contact the Action Network Support Team or the GDPR and security team.

Advanced

Merging or deleting a email list

You may wish to merge or delete an email list if:

For any requests like this, please contact the Action Network Data Team

Please don't struggle trying to download and re-upload email address. This can be done in a quicker and easier way by the Action Network Data Team. Don't be afraid to ask for help on things like this. We're here to help.

Advanced

Installing DKIM, SPF and DMARC records

You only need to do this if you have your own domain. e.g. xrnottingham.org

Setting this up helps improve the delivery rates to inboxes (rather than going to junk/spam).

This is highly recommended for lists over 5000 in size.

The extinctionrebellion.uk domain has already been set up. So if you use an email address on this domain as your reply-to email, then you don't need to do anything.

More info on how to get and use @extinctionrebellion email addresses here.

It is not possible to set up DKIM/SPF/DMARC for gmail/hotmail/aol/outlook etc. These should already be recognised domains.

Advanced

Postcode searches

Adding UK list subscribers to Local Group lists

There are many subscribers on the UK list who have entered their postcode, but are not yet connected to a Local Group (LG). If you are from an active LG and what to find out if there are 'floating' rebels in your area, then contact the Action Network Data Team (ANDT) for help in finding them and getting them added to your list.

Advanced

Requesting question creation permission

In the XR Action Network system, it is possible to use forms to request information from rebels. Where possible, please use existing questions in your form to match data that is already in the system. If you need to create new questions, please contact the Data Team.

When creating questions please consider GDPR implications.

The best things you can do to keep both you as the collector and the people participating in direct action safe is to:

More guidance from the GDPR and Security team can be found in their page here.

Advanced

Further training resources

Action Network help pages

You can browe the Action Network Knowledge Base for more guidance.

Also there are also Action Network training sessions to sign up to.

Please be aware for both of the above, some features may not be relevant or even available on the XR UK network (in particular 'Action Builder' and 'Mobile Messaging' are not features we currently pay for).


Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth (FoE) have produced a good number of training videos and other training documentation to help FoE groups get to grips with using Action Network.

These FoE training materials cover a wider range of Action Network's functions than the emailing functionality currently in general use by XR groups. This includes creating petitions, letter campaigns, events and forms.

Please be aware that not all this advice will be relevant to XR email lists and also that Action Network upgrade their software regularly, so some of the older videos may a little out-of-date.

An overview of the FoE Action Network training materials is on their Action Network group page here: https://actionnetwork.org/groups/friendsoftheearth.

Advanced

Sending Attachments

You cannot attatch files to an Action Network email but you can store it on in an online drive like Google Drive and link to it. If you don't have your own drive you can store it on Action Network and add a download link to your email.

Click the ACTIONS button on the top navigation tool bar

Screenshot 2022-11-23 at 10.34.04.png

From the dropdown menu that appears, move your cursor over Files, and click on the plus (+) icon.

Screenshot 2024-07-22 162616.png

You can now upload and add your file.

Screenshot 2024-07-22 163409.png

Give your file a name, and a description. Descriptions are optional, but are useful in helping others find what they need. Once you have added the file you will be taken to the file list. Image1.jpg

Remember that all files posted this way are publicly accessible.

Advanced

Refresh a form or event preview graphic

Telegram graphic preview refresh

If a url has been shared previously the preview is cached and will not update automatically. To force a fresh link preview, 3 options:

  1. shorten the url
  2. change the url by adding dummy parameters at the end (?V=1 say)
  3. go to https://t.me/WebpageBot and submit the url to force a refresh across Telegram