Overview
Campaigns & Invites
Email campaigns built for 150 carefully chosen recipients, not 50,000. Version history, mail merge, templates, CC/BCC for compliance, and emails that look like they came from Outlook.
The Campaign Editor
Section titled “The Campaign Editor”Start a new campaign from the Campaigns tab in any event or list.
Starting a New Campaign
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Click Create Campaign from the Campaigns tab.
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Give it an internal name for tracking.
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Choose your sender from the dropdown.
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Select your mode: Draft or Campaign.
Draft mode is faster. Recipients and content appear in the same window. Good for quick sends.
Campaign mode is safer. Content is locked separately from recipients, so no one accidentally changes the message while adding people.
Subject Line and Attachments
Type your subject line in the field at the top.
Click the paperclip icon to add attachments: PDFs, images, documents.
For confidential materials, enable watermarking on PDFs. Each recipient’s copy shows their name.
Advanced Options (Three Dots Menu)
Click the three dots menu for additional features.
Version History
View all previous versions. Restore if needed.
Reply-To
Set where replies go. Can be different from the sender address.
CC/BCC Teammates
Add team members to every email sent. Useful for compliance or keeping stakeholders informed.
Preview Text
The snippet that appears in inbox previews.
Load Template
Start from a saved template instead of blank.
Attach Calendar File
Add a .ics file to the email.
Attach QR Code
Include the guest’s check-in QR code.
Save as Template
Save this campaign for future reuse.
Email Styles
Section titled “Email Styles”Two modes in the bottom-right corner. Basic looks like a regular email. Marketing adds backgrounds and centered layouts.
Basic Style (Recommended)
Left-aligned text, no background colors, minimal styling. Looks like it came from Gmail or Outlook.
A three-line email with an RSVP link outperforms a designed email for personal invitations. Your recipients get dozens of marketing emails a day. They open the ones that look like they’re from a real person.
Marketing Style
Inset layout with background colors. Fixed width at 600px.
Better for newsletters or emails with multiple images where you want a polished, designed look. Options include margins, foreground color, and background color. The content sits in a centered container.
Mail Merge and Personalization
Section titled “Mail Merge and Personalization”“Dear Member” doesn’t cut it when you know these people by name. But writing 150 individual emails isn’t realistic either.
Click the + icon in the bottom left to insert merge fields. Each email becomes unique for each recipient.
Name and Standard Fields
The basics for personalized greetings.
- First Name: Their first name
- Last Name: Their last name
Start with “Hi [First Name]” instead of “Dear Guest.”
RSVP Links
Each guest gets a unique link. Their information pre-fills when they click. Non-transferable.
We recommend adding this line: “This is a non-transferable invite for [First Name] [Last Name].”
That sets expectations. If Thomas shares his link with Sarah, Sarah registers as Thomas. The explicit language prevents confusion.
For transferable invites, include the public link instead. Anyone can register. No pre-fill.
Custom Field Merge (Deep Personalization)
Create a custom field called “Personal Notes.” Add details like “Hope to catch up on your son’s college search” or “Looking forward to discussing the Series B.”
The recipient sees “Hope to catch up on your son’s college search” and assumes you wrote that line just for them. You need the notes in your contact records first, but the payoff is an email that reads like you sat down and typed it.
Event Details
Pull event information automatically.
- Date: The event date
- Location: The event address
- Unsubscribe Link: Not required, but follow local laws
- Add to Calendar Link: Usually unnecessary. See FAQ for why.
Version History and Collaboration
Section titled “Version History and Collaboration”Works like Google Docs. You see cursors with names showing where teammates are working.
Viewing and Restoring Versions
Click Last Saved X Ago to open version history. Every previous version is listed.
Click Restore This Version to revert.
Example: the GP edits your draft and deletes the venue directions. Instead of trying to remember what was there, restore the previous version.
Real-Time Collaboration
When multiple people are in the draft, you see their cursors. Each cursor shows the teammate’s name.
You know where colleagues are working before you start editing.
Templates
Section titled “Templates”With a template, you can load it, swaps the details, and send.
Global vs Campaign Templates
Global templates are available across all events and lists. Quarterly meeting formats, thank-you emails, anything you reuse.
Campaign templates live only in the specific event where you created them. Event-specific messages that don’t need to travel.
Creating Templates
From an existing campaign:
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Open the campaign.
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Click the three dots menu.
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Select Save as Template.
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Name it and choose Global or Campaign.
From the templates page:
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Go to the Templates section.
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Click + to create new.
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Build your message.
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Save.
Using Templates
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Start a new campaign.
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Click the three dots menu.
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Select Load Template.
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Choose your template.
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Customize the content.
Check the global template library for examples to start from.
Adding Recipients
Section titled “Adding Recipients”Two ways to add recipients. From the campaign, filter by RSVP status. From the guest list, select specific people.
From a Draft Campaign
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Click Add Recipients in the campaign.
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Filter by status: All, Accepted, Declined, Maybe, or Pending.
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Select individuals or add all.
Best for status-based sends. “Send to all accepted guests.”
From the Guest List
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Go to your guest list.
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Select the guests you want.
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Click Send Message.
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Choose an existing campaign or start a new one.
Best for targeted sends by relationship owner, wave, or specific criteria.
Segmentation Strategies
Use guest list sections to organize by relationship owner or send wave.
Filter by RSVP status, tags, or custom fields for targeted follow-ups.
Build views to stage follow-up campaigns. A “Q1 Follow-Up” view with pending guests from specific firms keeps your next send ready.
Contact Method Groups
Section titled “Contact Method Groups”Send to multiple email addresses per contact or CC assistants automatically. Set it once on the contact profile and it applies to every campaign.
What Contact Method Groups Do
Send to multiple emails for one contact. Auto-CC assistants or stakeholders on every email.
Example: Executive + EA. The executive receives the email. The EA is CC’d automatically.
Example: Principal + Associate. Both stay informed without forwarding.
Setting Up Contact Method Groups
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Open the contact profile.
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Find the Contact Method Group section.
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Click Add Another Group.
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Name it descriptively. “With EA” or “Full Team.”
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Add the primary email address.
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Add CC emails.
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Save.
Using in Campaigns
When you add a recipient, click the dropdown arrow next to their name.
Select which contact method group to use.
Default sends to their primary email only. Select a group to include others.
Event-Level Settings
Set a default contact method group for the entire event. Every send uses it unless you override per recipient.
You can also disable CC’ing associated contacts. Useful for newsletters where the EA doesn’t need a copy.
Tracking Who Received What
Section titled “Tracking Who Received What”Every sent campaign shows exactly who received it, who didn’t, and what happened.
Campaign Status Tabs
Click into any sent campaign to see the breakdown.
- Sent: Successfully delivered
- Bounced: Rejected by recipient’s server
- Failed: Something went wrong during send
- Blocked: Gatsby prevented send due to previous bounce
- Not Sent To: Guests who weren’t included
Status Definitions
Sent means delivered to their server.
Bounced means rejected. Bad email address, full inbox, or server issues.
Blocked means Gatsby stopped the send, usually because that address bounced before. This protects your sender reputation.
Opened means the tracking pixel loaded. Not fully reliable. Some email clients block images, and financial services contacts often can’t load external images at all.
Unsubscribed means they clicked the unsubscribe link.
Not Sent To Feature
See who didn’t receive a specific campaign. Late additions to the guest list, or people you skipped initially.
Click Not Sent To, select recipients, send the same message or create a new one. Good for catching up after adding guests.
Open Tracking
Enable the tracking pixel in team settings. You’ll see who opened.
Not fully reliable. Blocked images mean no tracking data. Financial services and government contacts often can’t load external images at all. Treat open tracking as one data point, not proof.
Guest List Campaign Columns
Add campaign fields to your guest list view. See every email sent to each guest.
Filter by campaign receipt status. “Show me everyone who didn’t receive the reminder.”
Testing Before You Send
Section titled “Testing Before You Send”Once an email goes to real people, there’s no undo.
Quick test sends the email to you so you can check formatting. Final test sends it to you as a real guest, so you see the RSVP link, the auto-fill, and the confirmation email fire.
Quick Test (Design Review)
Click Send Test next to the Send button. Goes to you or teammates.
RSVP links are replaced with test links. They work but don’t save any data.
Check formatting, links, dark mode, and mobile.
Test links don’t save responses. Don’t let anyone forward test emails to real guests. They’d click, think they registered, and nothing would happen.
Final Test (Real Send)
Add yourself and your team as guests on the guest list.
Send the actual campaign to yourselves as if you were real guests. You’ll see the auto-fill, the conditional logic, and the confirmation email fire.
Use Not Sent To afterward to send to everyone else.
Quick test shows the email. Final test shows the full registration journey.
When Things Go Wrong
Found errors after the final test?
Duplicate the campaign. Fix the issues. Send to your test recipient again.
Once it’s right, use Not Sent To to send to the full list.
Scheduling and Timing
Section titled “Scheduling and Timing”Schedule campaigns for a specific date and time. The recipient list locks when you schedule.
Scheduling a Campaign
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Click the dropdown arrow next to the Send button.
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Select Schedule Campaign.
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Set the date and time.
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Choose the time zone.
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Confirm.
The recipient list locks when you schedule. No changes to who receives it after that point.
Best for initial invites. Not good for RSVP status basis where people might cancel or change their RSVP status.
Modifying Scheduled Campaigns
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Open the scheduled campaign.
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Go to the Scheduled tab.
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Select recipients to modify.
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Click Cancel Scheduling or Reschedule Campaign.
Adding to Scheduled Campaigns
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Open the scheduled campaign.
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Go to the Not Sent To tab.
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Select the new recipients.
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Click Schedule Campaign to add them to the existing schedule.
They’ll receive the email at the same scheduled time.
Campaigns vs Confirmation Emails
Section titled “Campaigns vs Confirmation Emails”“Why didn’t my guests get calendar invites?”
Because calendar invites attach to confirmation emails, which fire automatically after registration. Campaigns are manual sends that go out before registration. Different tools, different timing.
| Campaigns | Confirmation Emails | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Manual send | Automatic after RSVP |
| Purpose | Invitations, reminders, follow-ups | Registration acknowledgment |
| Calendar invite | Optional attachment | Primary delivery method |
| Design | Full control | Template-based |
When to Use Each
Use campaigns for:
- Initial invitation with RSVP link
- Reminders to non-responders
- Follow-up information
- Newsletters and updates
Use confirmation emails for:
- Registration acknowledgment
- Calendar invite delivery
- Automatic thank-you messages
Cross-Reference
Confirmation email settings live in the Registration section, not here.
That’s where you customize the message guests receive after they RSVP and where you attach the calendar invite.
Common Questions
Section titled “Common Questions” Should I attach calendar files to invitation campaigns?
Usually no.
Calendar invites auto-attach to confirmation emails after registration. Attaching them to invitations creates confusion: guests might end up with two calendar entries, or add the event to their calendar before confirming.
Exceptions: meetings without RSVP required, or calendar updates to already-confirmed guests.
Can I send RSVP links to multiple events in one email?
No. Gatsby flags this to prevent mistakes.
For multi-event selection, use a survey form. Let guests choose which events they want to attend.
Or use a parent event with child events. Guests register for the parent and select children via survey questions.
What if someone forwards their personal RSVP link?
The person who clicks registers as the original recipient.
Sarah forwards her link to Thomas. Thomas clicks and registers as Sarah.
Include “This is a non-transferable invite for [First Name] [Last Name]” in your emails to set expectations. For transferable invites, include the public link too.
My contacts work in financial services and can't load images. Will tracking work?
Open tracking won’t work for them. It relies on a tracking pixel, and no image loading means no tracking data.
You’ll still see Sent status confirming the email was delivered. Treat open tracking as one data point, not the full picture.
How do I CC the EA on every email to an executive?
Set up a contact method group on the executive’s contact profile. Include the EA’s email as CC.
When you add the executive as a recipient, select that contact method group. Every email to them includes the EA automatically.
What file types can I attach? Are there size limits?
Most common types work: PDFs, images, Word documents, presentations.
Attachment limits
- 24MB total per email
- Individual files under 10MB recommended
- PDFs can be watermarked
Can I mail merge event-specific data like table assignments?
Currently only custom fields work with mail merge, not custom columns.
Workaround: export the event-level data, import it as a custom field on the contact, then mail merge.
How do I send an invite?
Add the guest to the guest list. Create a campaign, include the {rsvpLink} merge tag, and send.
How do I resend the same invite to more people?
Use the Not Sent To tab in the original campaign to send the same email to new additions on your guest list.
How can I follow-up with guests who haven't RSVP'd?
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Filter by Status
Use guest list filters to find guests with “Invited” or “Clicked” RSVP status. These guests received an invitation but haven’t responded.
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Send Targeted Follow-Up
Select those guests and create a reminder campaign with their RSVP link. Expect to send 2-3 follow-ups. Include a deadline to RSVP.
Email design modes: Basic vs Marketing
Basic Mode
Looks like regular email from Outlook or Gmail. No background colors. Full width. Best for deliverability and personal invites.
Marketing Mode
600px centered design (or full-width). Background and foreground colors. Best for emails with images.
Switch between them with the dropdown in the campaign editor.
Can I undo sending an email?
No.
Once sent, there’s no recall. If sent in error, follow up immediately with a correction.
Prevention tips
- Always send the email to yourself first as a guest on the guest list
- Double-check recipient selection
- Review subject line for typos
Can I see who opened my emails?
Enable the tracking pixel in Team Settings under Know when users open your invites. You’ll see “Opened” status in campaign reports when images load.
Email clients block tracking pixels, so real open rates are higher than reported. Click data is more reliable.