After you build your relational list, create the messages your volunteers will use. Volunteers texting their friends use a Text. Volunteers talking to neighbors use a Survey.
đĄ Here at Numinar we try to keep things simple. Relational texts and surveys are built the same way as regular ones. The only difference: relational texts go out from each volunteer's own phone to people they know, so you don't need opt-out language or a "Paid for by" line.
Step 1: Go to Messages and create a new text
In the left menu, click Messages (1). Click New Message (2), then choose Text (3).
Step 2: Name your text
Give it a name your team will recognize, like "Relational - Ballot Request", (1), and click Create Text (2).
Step 3: Write your message and click Save
Type the message your volunteers will send (1). Add {first_name} anywhere you want the person's first name to appear. You can also click Upload Media (2) to attach a .png, .jpg, or .mp4 under 525 KB. Click Save (3) when you're done.
âď¸ In relational texts, {first_name} fills in the first word of the name the volunteer saved in their phone. A contact saved as "Dave Ellis" gets "Hey Dave!", but one saved as "Aunt Carol" gets "Hey Aunt!". Volunteers can fix the greeting before they send. Only the first {first_name} in a relational text is filled in, so use it once.
Tips for writing a relational text
Write it like a friend would. The message comes from the volunteer, so keep it personal and casual.
Keep it short. One or two sentences and one clear ask, like "Want me to send you the link to request your ballot?"
Give volunteers options. You can attach more than one text to a project, and volunteers pick the one that fits each person.
Send different messages to different voters. A Conditional Text picks the message based on how a voter is tagged. Watch this demonstration video on Conditional Texts for more details.
For more on texts, check out our text message guide.
Surveys (optional)
Surveys are optional for texting projects, and required for Contact Your Neighbors. Build them exactly like a canvassing survey. Check out our Canvass Survey guide.
Texting your friends: add the survey to your relational texting project. Volunteers will see a Survey tab next to Text for each contact.
Contacting your neighbors: choose the survey in Settings â Organization â Canvassing Nearby Voters Settings.
đ¨ Avoid applying geofences to Relational Organizing lists. This will restrict your list greatly, defeating the purpose of this feature.
Next step
Once your texts are ready, build your relational texting project.