My Print Advertising | WhatToDo Support

Events and Specials

An Event is a specific activity or occurrence with a finite beginning and end time that has some type of entertainment value.

A Special is a promotional offer (usually some kind of cost reduction or discount) that takes place on or during a period of time.

While these two items have separate definitions, they function exactly the same in the Admin. In the Web Admin you can either create a new Event/Special or edit an existing Event/Special.

Creating a New Event/Special

From your Web Content Dashboard, choose either the button for “My Events” or “My Specials” (near bottom of menu in left-hand box)
You will be taken to a new page that lists all your Events/ Specials on a grid. Use this grid like you would use any in the WTD system (General Directions).

return_to_items

NOTE: At any point, you may return to this grid by clicking either “My Content Items” in the gray bar at the upper left of every page OR the box in the upper left corner of the form that says “Return to Items.”

In the gray bar at the top center of the page there is a place to “Choose Resort” from the drop-down menu. Choose the resort AREA in which your Event/Special takes place (or is closest to). Please Remember, they must be placed in the area where they occur or they won’t be useful to website visitors. For example, a Vail-based business might be hosting an event in Denver but it’s not applicable on WTD Vail calendar.
Next to that, the drop-down says “Choose Item.” Confirm that this is set to “Events” or “Specials,” depending on the the item you’re entering.
Click the button for “New Item” (in the center of the gray bar in the center of the page).

A popup box will open.
Confirm that the correct business appears in the “Select Business” box. (Clients with more than one business will be prompted to select among their businesses. Clients with only one business should see this as their only option. If you do not see the correct business in this dropdown, please contact WhatToDo to request that your business be added.)
Next to “Select Event/Special Type” hit the down arrow at the end of the field to select the Event/Special Type that MOST CLOSELY relates to your Event/Special – it may not be an exact description. Also, you will have the opportunity to add additional Types and categories later in this process.
Type in your “Event Title” or “Special Title.” Correct format: First Letter of Each Important Word Capitalized.

Title Tips:

* Keep the title as short as possible.
* Put the most important info first because the title may be truncated for size considerations.
* Do not use all capital letters, all lower case letters or intentional misspellings unless that is a recognizable characteristic of your brand.

Select Event Date or the start date of the Special by clicking the correct day on the calendar. Do not type the date.
Click the “Create New” button.
A new screen will open up with a mostly blank form. It should already include: Event/Special Title, Website, Phone Number and Email based on your business profile. (If any of this info is incorrect, you may correct it by clicking the “My Businesses” button from your Web Dashboard.) You also may overwrite it if, for example, you want to direct traffic to a separate event website instead of your home website.
On the form that opens, you’ll have to complete the following fields:

Optional Tag Line – your “hook.” It gives the basic info about your Event/Special and tries to generate interest. On the live site, it will appear like a subtitle under your Title.

Event Description – Provide a summary of the event, basically “what’s happening” and “why.” (Other event info – like the Title, Date/Time, Cost, Contact Info – will appear in other places, so you don’t need to include it here.) NOTE: There is no specific size/length restriction for this content, HOWEVER web visitors will not commit to reading a large amount of text about something they’re not sure they’re interested in yet. Keep this content engaging and as short as possible while still providing complete information. If you’re cutting-and-pasting this text from another source please paste it into a text-only file (such as Notepad or RichText) FIRST. THEN you can copy it and paste it into the WhatToDo form to remove all unwanted web formatting

Event Cost – enter only a numeric value here (no need to type $) if there is a cost. Leave it blank if it’s free.

Direct Link To Purchase Tickets – If there’s a separate link to purchase tickets (other than the default organization/company website listed at the top right of this form), enter it in this field.

Phone/email – Confirm that the contact phone number and email are correct. (These fields are populated automatically based on the Business Profile. If these are intentionally different from the primary company contact info, overwrite them for this specific Event/Special. The change will only affect this specific Event/Special. If they are INCORRECT, you should fix the information in the Business Profile.
NOTE: Contact info IS public. It enables web visitors to contact the business questions about the Event/Special. If you don’t want this info to be public, please remove it from the field.

Types – Under “Event/Special Type,” the box you originally selected when creating this item should show up with a check mark. If the Event/Special fits under additional Types, you may now check those as well. Please check only the Types that truly represent your Event/Special.

Date/Time – Under “Dates and Times,” the Event Date or Special start date should appear automatically based on the date you originally set in the calendar. If you need to change it, you can select a new start date on the calendar that appears when you click inside the Date box.

You can now set the Start and End Times for the Event or Special. If it’s an all-day event like a festival, click the bubble next to “All Day.” If the time has not been decided yet, you can choose “To Be Determined,” but please remember to update this info once the time is set.
Select “Yes” or “No” for Recurring Event.
If your Event is recurring, different options will appear for setting the pattern of recurrence. You can set: Repeats “daily,” “weekly” (specify day of the week), “monthly” (specify day of recurrence), or recurrences on a specific date every month
NOTE: The day the event repeats on MUST match the event start date. (For example, if your events take place on Mondays, the event start date MUST be for a Monday, NOT the Sunday before.)

Events that recur irregularly cannot be set using the Recurring option. To do this, you’ll have to fill out the form for the first occurrence. Once all the info is complete, click the “Copy Event/Special” button at the top or bottom of the form, then update Date, Time and other info for the next occurrence.

Creating New Location

Every event MUST have at least one Active Location or the listing WILL NOT appear on the live website. The Location that appears automatically in this box is based on the info in your Business Profile. If this is the correct Location for the Event, simply make sure the box at the far left of the Location is green and says “Active.” If the box is red and says “Inactive,” click it and it will change status.
If your business location is not the location for the Event/Special, click the button on the right side of the Locations box that reads “Add New.”
A new popup box will appear. You will need to “Select a Location” from the dropdown. This is a specific area/neighborhood/town within your resort area. Then enter the street address. City, state and zip will be generated automatically on the form.
Click the “Submit” button.

Updating Existing Location

If the location that appears is correct but contains an error, click on the “Edit” icon (the yellow square with the pencil image) on the right side of this field.
Revise the info in the popup box that appears. Click “Submit.”
Back on the main Event form, make sure the box to the left of the correct Location(s) is green and reads “Active.”

Print Ads

A page from the magazine showing Activity Listings with an ad.

All Advertisements must be approved by your business in order to appear in the What ToDo Magazine. To do this, click on ALL ITEMS and then click on the word ADVERTISEMENTS.

Click the EDIT button to the left of the Ad you wish to view.
On the new screen that opens up, you have several options. You can:
– Preview your ad the way that it’ll appear in the guidebook (by clicking “Preview”)
– Download the ad and save the file for your own use outside of the WhatToDo system (by clicking “Download PDF”)
– Upload a new ad that you’ve designed (by clicking “Upload New Ad”)
– Approve the ad (after you preview it) for publication.

Print Coupons

Again, all Coupons must be approved by your business in order to appear in the magazine. To do this, Click on ALL ITEMS and then click on the word COUPONS .

Click the Edit button to the left of the Coupon you wish to view.
If changes are needed write them directly into the text box. To save your changes click into another text field, and the changes to the previous field will be automatically saved.
NOTE: There are character limitations for how much you can write in these boxes. Each box has an alert above it letting you know how many characters you have available.
Next, double check the Coupon Expiration and Coupon Code.
You will need at least one (and up to four) Active Location. You make a Location active by clicking the red box next to it that says “Inactive.” The red box will turn green and change to “Active.” If the box is green, that location is already active for this Coupon, so make sure it’s correct. If it’s not correct, click the yellow box with the pencil icon at the top right of the location box, and make any changes to the location, phone number or email. Please contact your WhatToDo representative if you need assistance adding a new location.
If all the information on the Coupon form is correct, click the “Approve” button that appears at both the top and bottom of the form. You will then enter your initials and click “DONE”
If you have a problem in the Coupon approval process, click the“Contact WTD” button and email your question to us.

Print Listings

Activity Listings in the magazine

To view your existing Listings, click on ALL ITEMS and then click on the word LISTINGS.

The number that appears on the far side of this button displays how many Listings you have in various WhatToDo publications.

These Listings may currently be approved (displayed with a check mark in a green box) or unapproved (displayed with an exclamation point in a red box) by your business. To appear in the guidebook when it goes to print, your listing MUST be approved. NO UNAPPROVED LISTINGS WILL BE PRINTED.

Your job now is to approve any unapproved listings. You do this by clicking the Edit button that appears in the far left column. Please review all your information and if it’s correct, click the “Approve” button. If changes are needed write them directly into the text box. To save your changes just click into another text field, and the changes to the previous field will be saved.

The grid sort and search functions here work the same as with any WhatToDo grid for “Business Name” and “Keyword.” For a refresher on using grids, click here.

Print Dashboard

Immediately after logging in you’ll be taken to a screen with several grey buttons on the left. You should select the one that says “My Print Advertising.” This is the button to click if you are a participant in a print advertising program.

If you advertise more than one business in the WhatToDo publications, or you advertise the same business in different publications, you will need to select the publication and/or the Business in the row at the top of the dashboard:

The info you will see on your print admin dashboard includes:

All Items

The first button in the left-hand column of your print dashboard says “All Items” and lists a number next to it. This is the total number of items including Listings, Coupons and Ads that you have in the publication. You can view and/or edit any of these things by clicking this button and clicking the “Edit” button on the grid next to the individual item.

Alerts

Alerts are important reminders of incomplete information or steps you need to take before the magazine goes to print. Please address any alerts as soon as they appear, as outstanding alerts may delay the printing process or cause your company’s info to appear incorrectly or not appear at all.

Tools

Here you can Reset Password any time you want or Contact WhatToDo with questions or requests.

Upload Artwork
Use this tool to send artwork such as a logo or a PDF of your ad. In the popup, you can select the file from where you have it saved and include any notes for our graphic designer before you submit it.
NOTE: If you simply want to add an existing image or logo to your company info, please follow the media gallery instructions and guidelines.

Definitions of Print Items

Listings/Dining Listings

Short descriptions of your product or service. This is where you explain to potential customers what you offer and choose how your product is classified (i.e. how visitors will search for it)

Coupons

An offer or special discount available for a specified period of time, requiring the user to present the printed coupon to receive the discount. WhatToDo magazines offer several pages of tear-out coupons

Just like newspaper or magazine ads, these are promotions of your business that appear in a certain defined space within the guidebook. WhatToDo Ads are available in multiple sizes and placements depending on the types of products available in your area.

My Businesses (Web Content)

As a WhatToDo client, you may have more than one Business entity advertised in our system (called “Businesses”). We create one account and login for you and create separate Businesses within that account. They are visible by clicking the “My Businesses” button on your Web Dashboard. The number on the right side of this button indicates the number of businesses you have listed with WhatToDo, so please make sure that it is correct.

Whether you have just one Business or many, they will all have a Business Profile consisting of the following pages:

You will need to fill out or confirm the existing information is correct on each of the above tabs. You can move between these pages by clicking on the actual tab or by navigating with the “Next” and “Back” buttons at the top of the forms.

Details

Fill out Business Name, Business Display Name (how your name will appear on the website network), website, phone, email, country, state and General Business Description. If your business has different locations with different phone and email, you can enter that in the “Locations” page. Business “Details” should be your official, primary contact info.
Primary Contact and Primary Staff – our existing contact should appear automatically here. If the name that appears is not correct, click the blue text that says “Go To Staff Grid.” Here, you can add a new staff contact (the person who will be in charge of updating and maintaining your business’s info on the WhatToDo network) by clicking the button “Add New Staff.”
Make sure that the resort or resorts you have paid to advertise in appear in the box “Resorts.” If not, please contact WhatToDo.

Content List

The Content List is like your Table of Contents for your business info on the WhatToDo network. You’ll see the total number of:

Activity Listings
Dining Listings
Coupons
Events
Banners
Specials
Vacation Rentals
“Active” items are things that are current and are visible on the live website, but you can also access all your past items in your “Inactive or Expired Content.” This information is useful for reporting on your marketing ROI and planning future activities based on what has been successful or unsuccessful in the past. You can also reactivate expired content when you want to use it again.

From the Content List, you can change the “Active” status of your items without leaving the list.
You can view the item’s complete info (and navigate away from this page) by clicking the item’s title (in blue text).

Locations

Every Business MUST have at least one Location. If your business operates at multiple locations, please list each one separately.
The Location that appears automatically in this box is based on the info in your Business Profile. If this is the Location is incorrect click on the “Edit” icon (the yellow square with the pencil image) on the right side of this field. Click the “Submit” button.
To add a new location, click the button on the right side of the Locations box that reads “Add New.”
A new popup box will appear. You will need to “Select a Location” from the dropdown. This is a specific area/neighborhood/town within your resort area. Then enter the street address. City, state and zip will be generated automatically. You will also want to add the specific email and phone number of this location. Then click “Submit.”
You can also place your listing so it shows up where you want it on the map. You do this by clicking the map thumbtack button in the green box, then dragging the pin to map location you choose.

Media

In the Business Media page you can upload or select logos, images and videos that will be available for use in any of your listings. You can also add media to individual items (Listings, Events, Coupons) directly in those pages, but they will be available to that unique item.

Please view the Media Instructions page for more information.

Social Links

This functionality is under construction. For now, WhatToDo actively promotes all its clients on Facebook at:

WhatToDo Aspen/Glenwood

WhatToDo Summit County

WhatToDo Vail Valley

Please “Like” us on each of these pages for us to be able to promote you through social media.

On Twitter at:

@WhatToDoVail

@WhatToDoSummit

Please “follow” us on each of these pages for us to be able to promote you through social media.

Admin Instructions (Getting Started)

Login

Your username will always be the complete email you use to manage your account.
If you forget your password, use the “Forgot Password?” link in the login box and an email will be sent to the address we have on file for you.

Dashboards

Depending on what marketing products you’ve purchased or subscribed to from WhatToDo, you will have one or two dashboards available to you:

Print Dashboard – where you’ll determine everything that shows up in your select WhatToDo publication, from written content to images to artwork.

Web Dashboard – where you’ll control all your online content including listings, coupons, events, specials, banner ads and web feeds

There are two ways to get to either dashboard:

1) Immediately after logging in you’ll be taken to a screen with two grey buttons: “My Print Advertising” and “My Web Advertising.” Click on your choice.
2) Near the top of every screen – no matter where you are or what you’re doing in your account – there is text at the upper far left of the screen (right under the WTD logo/home button) that says “My Print Advertising” and “My Web Advertising.” Click on your choice. This will take you to that dashboard from anywhere in the admin.

Saving

Unless you’re specifically prompted to “Submit” your info, any content you add or change in the WTD system is automatically saved each time you move to a new informational field. So, if at any point, you’re finished or ready to move on, you can simply click your mouse in another field, and your changes will be automatically updated. You can also save by clicking the “Next” button at either the top or the bottom of this page. There is no “undo” function. If you have made a mistake or would like to change some information simply go back and make the corrections.

Cutting and Pasting

Please try not to cut and paste information into the admin fields from another website or a program like MS-Word. It may copy the hidden formatting and make your text look funny. It is best to prepare your text in a text editor like “NotePad” or Text Edit” If your text looks strange, you may want to type it in directly of try to delete the hidden spaces to remove unwanted formatting. Copying-and-pasting WITHIN the WTD system is fine.

Home

At any point, you can return to your main Dashboard by clicking the “Home” button – the WTD icon (magnifying class) in the upper left corner of the page or the words “what to do” next to it.

Alerts

Both dashboards for Print Admin and Web Content Admin include a section titled “Alerts.” It is the center of the three columns on the Dashboard page. It alerts you to pressing issues that need to be addressed in your business information. When you click the button for the Alert, you’ll be taken to a page where you can correct the identified problem or perform the required action. Please get in the habit of responding to Alerts as soon as they appear or it may cause delays and/or errors in getting your info to potential customers.

Tools

The Tools section of your dashboard is in the far right column, and offers the fastest way to do some of your most frequent or common tasks, such as contacting the WTD office with questions or requests or submitting art work. The tools available are different in the Web and Print dashboard. Both toolboxes include an option to “Reset Password” and “Contact WhatToDo.” Print includes a tool to “Upload Artwork.” Web includes an option to see or change your advertising package as well as “My Stats,” which is where you see the web traffic for your online WhatToDo items.

Using the Grids: Sorting, Searching and Creating a Custom Layout

Frequently, when you use the WTD program, your listings will appear in a grid. This is a user interface which displays the info in a series of columns. It looks similar to this:

SORTING

The positions of the grid columns are customizable depending on what information is most important for you to see and in what order. For example, if you want to see the Listing Title column first on your grid, simply hold the mouse over that column title, left click and drag the column to the position in which you’d like it to appear. A red line will be visible during this process to provide a preview of where your changes will show up.
You can also sort WITHIN the columns. If you hover your mouse over a column title and left click, a tiny arrow will appear on the right side of that column. If the arrow points UP, all listings within that column will appear in ASCENDING order by alphabet (A-Z by first letter of first word with A at the top) or by date (most recent at the top). With the arrow pointing DOWN, listings will appear in DESCENDING order by alphabet or date.

SEARCHING
There are numerous ways to search or filter for information within your grid without having to read each listing individually. Most of these search functions appear in the grey horizontal bars above the grid:

You may search and filter you items by:

Active, Inactive or All
Date Range (sometimes)
Key Word
Business.
Resort Area or Publication/Product

If you advertise in more than one resort area (or multiple magazine publications), you’ll need to select the one you want under “Choose Resort.” If you only advertise is one resort, simply confirm this field is set correctly.

The first option is to sort by “Active,” “Inactive” or “All.” You make this selection in the first dropdown option on the top left. “Active” listings are things that are current and you’ve selected to appear on the live website right now. “Inactive” listings are items that have expired or been turned off on the live website but are saved in the system for your use. They may be seasonal or past items (which you can edit and repost at a later date), or they may be listings that you’ve started but haven’t completely finished yet. Choosing “All” will display every listing (Active and Inactive) that exists in our system. In certain situations, the list will only show items over a SPECIFIED DATE RANGE (maximum 30 days).

This brings us to a second method of searching: By date. The date range is the second thing to appear on the gray bar above the grid. The program automatically selects a date range of a month, starting from today. But if, for example, you want to know what Events are scheduled next month (or last month or next year…), you can change the date range to display that information by changing the start and end dates on the calendar dropdown. The display is limited by one month, so if you need to view info over a longer period of time, you’ll need to do separate searches in 30-day increments.

The next method of searching is by business name. This is only relevant IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS listed with the WTD program. (If you have only one business with WTD, simply confirm that the field that says “Business Name” is correct for your business and skip the rest of this paragraph.) If you have more than one business in the WTD system, you may want to see listings specific to individual businesses. You do this by typing the business name in this box and/or choosing one of the suggestions that appear in the dropdown while you type.

The next option for searching is by keyword. You can type any word(s) that you think appears within the title or the content of the listing and hit “Search” and only those listings which contain that word will appear in your grid.

When you are finished searching or want to start over, click the “Reset” button.

Contact Us

In many places you’ll see options to “Contact Us.” You can use these areas for suggestions for improvement, special requests or help for questions that aren’t answered with the instructions.

My Stats

*This section ONLY applies to WEB content.

The stats section of your toolbox offers incredibly useful data and statistics about the effectiveness of your online marketing. You can use this info to direct and improve your marketing efforts and gain an immediate understanding of your Return On Investment. Paying close attention to the stats area will help you determine your most and least effective information and give you clues how to better promote your events and services.

The stats tool analyzes web activity specific to your company’s items on WTD over a specified time period and reports on those statistics that are most vital and representative of your WTD marketing. Stats reports info on WTD in general and on your company in particular. General information covers the following:
Visitors – the number of web users on the WTD network
Pageviews – the number of times a WTD page opens on a visitor’s screen
Pages per visit – the average number of pages a visitor clicks on during a single visit to WTD
Average time on site – the average amount of time a visitor spends looking at info on WTD
Company-specific stats includes the following:
Emails – the number of emails sent to an advertising business by a visitor on the WTD Network of sites
Total Impressions – the total number of times a company’s information appears on a page being viewed by a site visitor or the total number of opportunities that a site visitor has to learn more about a specific business or service
Detail Views – the total number of times a site visitor specifically clicked through to a business service or item – either by clicking a “read more” link or going directly to the particular information page
Prints – the number of times a Coupon or other info has been printed from a company’s pages
Referrals to… – the number of people who have clicked from the main WTD website to the website of the participating business
Active/Inactive Item Stats – a detailed breakdown of stats on individual Listings, Coupons, Banners, Events and Specials