Publish a CSV to the web and use it for New/Mode custom targeting
Custom targetting allows your supporters to contact decision-makers who are not included in New/Mode's location-based datasets. Using a Custom Spreadsheet allows you to easily upload a large list of targets, or, have users select targets from a dropdown menu by categories such as name, jurisdiction, and party.
Create your CSV and Publish to Web
Create your CSV and Publish to Web
Here's how to use a CSV spreadsheet to upload custom target data:
1. Make a copy of this Google Sheet Template and save it to your Google Drive.
2. Fill out the names and at least one piece of contact information for the targets you want your supporters to contact.
- Keep the columns where they are!
- Fill the 'jurisdiction' and 'full_name' columns along with one piece of contact information (email, phone number, or fax number).
- You can leave other columns blank, (just don't delete them!)
- If your supporters will have to select their jurisdiction, riding, or ward and there are more than 9 of them on your CSV file, add a space before the single digits (so "Ward 1" instead of "Ward 1" for wards 1-9). This will ensure that they're displayed in the correct order.
3. (Optional) Add additional columns for lookup values that your supporters can search to see targets most relevant to them.
4. Click on the Share button on the top right, and set the sheet so that 'Anyone with the link' can view it.
5. Click on File on the top bar menu, then Share, and open Publish to Web. Select your sheet and Comma-separated values (.csv) on the Publish to Web form before clicking the Publish button. Copy the provided link and you're on your way!
6. Return to the Custom Targets section of your action's Basic Configuration page, and link your spreadsheet to your action with the URL you just copied. Once copied, click outside the URL for Custom CSV Data Source textbox to import the CSV. Once done, you've imported your CSV:
If you receive an error message after importing your CSV, ensure that all necessary columns are filled out (Name, Jurisdiction, and Target Method), and that you have copied the Published Web URL, not the standard webpage URL.
7. Define the settings for your custom targets:
- Automatically Update CSV Checkbox
This box should be checked when you are importing a CSV for a new action. If you ever update or replace the CSV on an existing action, this box should be checked before you click Save on the Basic Configuration page. When this box is checked, an old CSV will be updated to include any new lookup columns or entries. Similarly, if you want to add a new custom CSV URL, it will replace the old CSV when this box is checked.
Display Options
- Provide a Search Bar: The display of this option depends on how many columns you choose in the Search By field.
- If multiple columns are chosen, we will automatically create a search bar on your action that allows your supporters you search based on the lookup values you've included in your CSV.
- If only one column is chosen, the search bar will include a dropdown, so your supporters can scroll through the values in that column of your CSV. We highly recommend using this option. - Display All Results: This option will create a list of all the contacts in your CSV on the action. This might be useful if you just have a few targets in there, but don't use it for a long list!
Search By
This is a list of the lookup columns that you created in your spreadsheet. Select the ones that you would like your supporters to be able to search by. For example, "jurisdiction," "last name," or "university."
In the action, supporters will now see a search bar (or a dropdown, if only one column was selected) that allows them to look up their representatives or relevant organization/institution.
8. Click Save & Next, then go to the View tab to see your new Search bar or dropdown on the action.
In the future, any changes that you make to your CSV data will automatically update to your action within 24 hours (if you want changes to be reflected immediately, tick the Automatically Update CSV checkbox and Save your Basic Configuration page), so once you're done setting this up, you can control lists of targets and target data from the published spreadsheet. Easy peasy!
Last updated: September 8, 2022