The e-ticket email is often the only message a visitor reads closely before they arrive. They search their inbox for it in the parking lot, forward it to a spouse, and pull it up at the gate. So when its subject line is generic, or doesn’t name your organization the way guests know you, it’s fair to want to change it.
The short version: in many Altru setups you can edit the body of the e-ticket message far more easily than the subject line. How much control you have over the subject depends on your configuration and Altru release, so check before you promise anyone a new subject. Below is how to confirm what your site allows, what you can do inside Altru, and what your options are if the subject turns out to be fixed.
First, figure out which email you’re talking about
Staff often say “the e-ticket email” when they mean one of several messages. Before you change anything, pin down which one guests are actually getting:
- The online purchase confirmation sent after someone buys through an Altru web form. This usually comes from the web form’s confirmation email settings.
- The e-ticket delivery email that carries the barcode or a link to print-at-home tickets, sometimes sent separately from the confirmation.
- Tickets emailed from the front desk or group sales, for example when staff send tickets for an advance or group sale after the fact.
Buy a test ticket through each channel you use, ideally in a sandbox if you have one, and save the emails. Note the sender name, the subject, and which part of Altru you think produced each one. Teams regularly find two different subjects going out for what they think of as one process.
What to check inside Altru
Web form confirmation settings
Open the web form used for ticket sales and review its confirmation and email options. Some versions let you set the subject for the confirmation message there. If you see a subject field, change it, save, and run a test purchase. Don’t trust the editor preview alone. Look at what actually lands in an inbox.
Email templates and system emails
Look at the email templates your organization uses for tickets. If the subject is editable, it’ll usually sit next to the body content in the same template. If you can edit the body but see nothing for the subject, the subject is probably set by the system, not your template.
Organization name and sender details
Even when the subject wording is fixed, look at your sender name and reply-to address. Guests often find the email by searching for your organization name, so a clear sender name helps almost as much as a better subject. Check that those settings use the name visitors actually know you by, not a legal or parent-organization name.
When you can’t tell
If you’ve looked in those places and still aren’t sure whether the subject can be changed, ask Blackbaud support directly. Tell them which form or process sends the email and that you want to change the subject line specifically, not the body. That gets you a clear answer faster than poking around production settings.
If the subject line is fixed
You have three realistic paths. Each one has trade-offs.
- Live with the subject and improve everything else. Put your organization name, visit date, and a clear call to action at the top of the email body. Update your website’s FAQ so it tells guests what the email subject will say and that they should check spam. It’s not elegant, but it costs nothing.
- Send your own follow-up message. Build an Altru query of recent ticket orders with visit dates and email addresses, and send a branded “Your visit is coming up” message from your email tool with the subject you want. This works, but someone has to run the export on a schedule. Watch for duplicates and for people who bought without an email address. Guests also get two emails, so make sure the second one is clearly useful.
- Replace how e-tickets are sent. Turn off or downplay the built-in email and send e-tickets through a tool you fully control. This gives you full control over the subject, but you have to confirm the barcodes still scan correctly against your Altru sales before you switch over.
Writing a better e-ticket subject
Whatever route you end up on, the subject should do one job: help someone find the email quickly when they’re standing at your entrance. A few rules that hold up well:
- Lead with your organization’s common name, not “Order confirmation.”
- Include the visit date if your tool can merge it in. “Your tickets for Saturday, June 14” is easy to find in a crowded inbox.
- Use the word “tickets.” It’s what people type into inbox search.
- Skip promotional language. Spam filters and impatient guests both punish it.
Where a dedicated email tool fits
If you end up on the second or third path, you’re really trying to automate emails from Altru data without manual exports. Social Good’s Email Designer sends automated, branded emails, including eTickets, from Altru queries. That means you write the subject line yourself, and Altru keeps the ticket and constituent data.
Quick answers
Will changing the email body also change the subject?
Usually not. They’re often controlled in different places, so test both separately.
Can I put the visit date in the subject?
Only if your email tool can merge that field into the subject. Check this in a test send before you commit to the wording.
Should I test in production?
Use a sandbox if you have one. If you don’t, make a real test purchase with a staff email address, then refund or void it so it doesn’t skew your attendance numbers.
