Ballots enable you to run engaging registration campaigns to drive growth. As an alternative to General Entry registration for your event, you can choose to allocate a limited number of entry spots using a Ballot draw process. For events that are predicted to sell out, a ballot can:
build hype for your event
increase your marketing audience
promote alternative events to participants that did not secure a spot
increase the value you provide to charities and other partners
You can set up a Ballot application form for your interested participants, draw a set number of entries and set up entry forms for your Successful applicants to complete in order to officially register for your event. Each of your events in your Let’s Do This Dashboard can support one Ballot.
Applications, Ballots and Draws
What Applications, Ballots and Draws are in Let’s Do This, and how you can manage your registration with them.
Applications are forms that potential participants or groups can submit in order to be considered for an individual entry or group of entries. Read more about Applications in general here.
Draw is the automatic process that will assign your specified number of applicants as “successful” in the ballot.
Ballots are a type of Application, where an individual can apply and then be determined (via an automatic draw) if they were successful or not
Set up a Ballot Application for your participants
Contact your Partner Success Manager to discuss your ballot requirements, including:
timelines
application form questions
drawing criteria
number of successful applicants you would like to draw.
Our Event Support team will help enable the Ballot on your Dashboard and work with you to set up the application form for your participants. Note that each Event on your Dashboard can support one Ballot, which will fall under one of your Race categories.
💡 We recommend a two-step entry process:
A free-to-enter application form, and only asking minimum number of questions required to submit the application.
After the draw has been completed, provide a more detailed entry form for successful applicants to confirm their entry. They can purchase their entry ticket, and provide additional race details such as emergency contact, merchandise add-ons, and donations. This will increase the number of applicants and therefore the number of interested potential customers that you’ll be able to market to in the future.
💡 Consider opening the application form on the day of the previous year’s event to capitalise on maximum interest
View all your Ballot applicants in the Dashboard
First, go to the Events page within your dashboard:
Choose the Event you want to view Applications for:
Within an Event, go the Applications tab:
Select the relevant Race where your Ballot is taking place, and select your Ballot application ticket from the dropdown. The resulting table will show you a list of your Ballot Applicants.
Understanding an individual Ballot application
Each application has two Status columns:
Approval status:
Pending- Applicant has not yet been drawn a successful spotSuccessful- Applicant has been drawn a spotUnsuccessful- Applicant was not drawn a spot and the draw is now endedCancelled- Application was manually cancelled and is no longer eligible for the ballot
Application status:
Successful- The application was submittedFailed- The applicant was not successful in the drawTo be refunded- Applicant is due a refundRefunded- Applicant has been issued a refund
Modifying an individual Ballot application
For actions for applications with Pending status, you can use the Modify menu to:
Resend confirmation email (which indicates they have submitted their application)
Mark as
Successful(this will bypass the drawing process for that participant and automatically allocate them a spot)Mark as
CancelledRequest refund (Let’s Do This will then action the refund on your behalf)
Run each step of your Ballot process
From your Ballot Application table, you can access different features to manage and run your Ballot process. Press the Ballot button to access the menu.
Manage duplicate applications
Before running the draw, you may choose to cancel multiple / duplicate applications from the same applicant.
You can use the Export feature on the Ballot Application table to download all entries and review them to identify potential duplicates:
If you need assistance identifying potential duplicates, contact your Partner Success Manager and we can generate a CSV list by checking across First Name, Last Name and Email Address. We are working on a feature which will allow you to automatically generate a list of duplicates directly from the Dashboard.
Once you have prepared a CSV list of application IDs you would like to be cancelled, use the Manage Duplicates feature to re-import the CSV. You’ll then be given the option to cancel them.
Note: applicants with cancelled applications will not be notified automatically.
We’ll change the statuses of cancelled applications:
Application status: If an applicants had submitted payment in their duplicate application, this will be changed to
To be refunded(note: they won’t be given refunds automatically, so a follow up refund action will be required)Approval status:
Cancelled
Once your Ballot has been enabled for your event, you will be able to access the Run Ballot Draw feature.
⚠️ Before running the draw, ensure you close the ballot application form using the Tickets dashboard, so that applicants can no longer submit new applications.
Go to the Setup Ballot Draw feature. You’ll be able to preview the number of applicants that will be marked as Successful.
Once you’re ready to run the Ballot draw, press the Run Ballot Draw button.
Note: applicants will not be notified of their result automatically. Applicants who were not drawn a spot will remain with Pending status until you close the ballot (see below).
Close Ballot and create Reserved Entries
After running the ballot draw, the next step is to close the Ballot which will then change the status of all remaining Pending applicants to Unsuccessful. All Successful applicants will then be granted Reserved Entries so that they can claim their spot and officially be entered into the race. Learn more about Reserved Entries here. Note: this step will not notify applicants immediately.
⚠️ You’ll first need to create an entry form ticket for your Successful applicants to purchase in order to claim their spot. Our Event Support team will work with you to set up this form to collect any race-day information and add-ons like merchandise.
Once you’re ready to close the ballot, choose the Select a ballot to close option, and select your ballot ticket.
Follow the steps to name your Reserved Entry group.
Select the entry form ticket you’ve created for your Successful applicants. You can optionally add a price discount here and set a date and time window for participants to complete their entry.
The Preview panel will show you how many applicants will be changed to Unsuccessful and how many Successful applicants will be given reserved entries.
Once ready, press Close Ballot and Create Reserved Entries.
⚠️ Closing the ballot and updating the status of many applications can take several minutes. During this time, do not modify any existing applications until the ballot has been closed
Once the ballot has been closed, you’ll be given a link to view the Reserved Entries directly.
Notify Ballot Applicants
Once the ballot has been closed, you can now email all applicants to let them know their ballot result and provide next steps or alternative events to promote.
Contact your Partner Success Manager and we’ll walk you through how to:
Export email addresses for
Successfulgroup andUnsuccessfulgroupProvide the Reserved Entry links for your
Successfulapplicants to complete their entry.
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