Events are a popular membership benefit for many associations, and they can also be a great source of revenue! Hosting your event registration in Novi gives you the added benefit of:
Linking registrations to member records in Novi
Syncing payments with QuickBooks
Limiting visibility and/or ability to purchase tickets (optional)
Selling and tracking Product Add-ons
Tracking Continuing Education Credits
This article covers the steps to create a new event. If you need to edit an existing event, skip ahead to step 5 below.
In this article:
How To Setup a New Event in Novi
Here's a quick video guide to creating new events in Novi! For written steps and additional details, continue reading below.
Note: In order to open registration for an event, you'll need to create tickets next.
Create or Review Your Event Categories
Before creating a new event, check the Event Categories list to see if needed category is available or create a new event category (e.g. Signature Events, Committee Meetings, etc.).
Confirm that category is set to Active (green checkmark) to allow it to display on the frontend.
Create New Event
1. Go to the Events tab on the backend of Novi.
2. Click the Add Event button.
3. In the New Event modal that appears, add the following details:
Required
Title (255 character limit)
Category
Date & Time (with option to make recurring) - The default time zone displayed is based on the association's time zone, not the location of the event. You can change the time zone to match the location by selecting from the Event Time Zone drop-down.
Event Location - There are several options for location, including private online event/webinar.
Search Engine Optimization: Page Title - This is the title that will be displayed in search engine results. Learn more about SEO.
Search Engine Optimization: Friendly File Name - This is the end of the URL for the event.
Optional
Overview (Short Description)
Logo
Featured Image/Photo - If an image is uploaded here, it will override the default image from Association Settings or event category.
Primary Details (Long Description) - On the frontend, this content will be displayed on the left side of the event page.
Secondary Details (Optional Right Side Content) - On the frontend, this content will be displayed on the right side of the event page.
Event Contact - Select one of the following options to display on left side of event:
Association Staff - Populates association admins to select from
Association Office - Populates association's address from Association Settings
Individual or Company Member - Select any record in database
Non-Member - Manually add information about contact
None - No contact information displayed
Post Registration (Additional Details) - This content will be displayed after the user submits their event registration.
Budgeted Attendance
Budgeted Revenue
Search Engine Optimization: Description - This is a summary of the event and will be displayed by search engines.
4. Click the Save & Close button.
5. Go to the Events tab and find the event. Click the Edit link to open the new event on the backend.
📌 Note: New events will automatically open on the Tickets tab. Once a ticket has been created, the next time you click "Edit" it will open on the Attendees tab.
6. Create Tickets for the event (i.e. registration items).
7. After creating tickets, update the display order as needed. Novi offers two options - all tickets in one section, or tickets grouped by categories.
8. Go to the Details tab of the event. Most of this info was entered above in step #3, but there are two additional options:
9. To add Ecommerce products to the event registration, go to the Product Add-ons tab of the event. More info on how to add products to events.
10. Create any promo codes for the event, go to the Promo Codes tab. More info on how to add and setup a promo code.
11. Head to the Settings tab to dial in the event even further:
Event Emails
Integrations
Sync or unsync attendees to MailChimp or Constant Contact by using the toggle.
Optional checkbox to automatically unsync attendee event list 30 days after event ends.
Event Display Options
Enter a future date for the event to be published on the frontend.
Note: Events will stop showing on the frontend calendar once the End Time has passed - this is based on the day and time, not just the day. For example, an event that ends on November 19 at 5:00 pm will no longer show on the calendar at 5:01 pm.
Check the box to Show Attendees to logged-in members with benefits on the frontend of Novi website.
Check the box to Hide on frontend calendar. This means the event will not be displayed on the events calendar or list view. To invite members to register for a hidden event, send them the direct link for the event's details page. To get the link, click "View on Frontend" and copy the URL from your browser or copy and paste the Register link under the Settings tab.
Visibility of events can be...
Public
Only accessible to logged in members with benefits, or
Locked down to specific Groups or Committees. If this option is selected, the event will only appear to these segments in the following places:
Events List
Events Calendar
Homepage Top Featured
Homepage Slider
Homepage Upcoming Events
If needed, add Override Links for the event details page and/or registration page.
Event Capacity
An Event Capacity can be set, to limit the number of tickets sold overall.
There's also an option to "Show remaining availability after X% of tickets are sold".
Registration Options
Choose if your event registrations path will be ticket based or attendee based.
Set a date to close the registration. After this date, users can still see the event details page on the frontend, but the Registration button will be replaced with a message (e.g. * Registration open until 6/30/20XX at 12:00 AM EST). This message only appears when the event has a capacity set and the event is not sold out.
Set the event to "Offline Registration Only" if only admins can add registrants. This means users will be able to see the event details on the frontend website, but there will not be a register button.
Update text that will appear on the attendee and tickets page of registration.
12. Now that all of the settings have been dialed in and the tickets have been created, click the View on Frontend link.
💡 Novi Tip: We recommend formatting the event description/details on the frontend. Learn more about formatting content.
13. Head to the Notes tab to add any internal only notes to an event with content editor functionality. Bonus - these notes are available in custom event reports!
Be sure to Save!
14. Once the event is ready to go live, don't forget to switch the event to Active.
This can be done on the backend from the top right of the event or from the main Event list
15. Review the event from the frontend one more time, using a mobile device to see if there are any formatting issues.
16. You're all set! Now you can start sending marketing communications for the event!
More Info on Events