Announcements

Announcements are short messages you post to your program page and (optionally) broadcast by email to every entrant on the program. They're the right channel for everything from "Entries are now open" to "Finalists announced" to "Q&A: clarification on category rules".

Where to find it

Click Announcement in the top-right of any program tab to open the Send Announcement modal. This is the same control whether you're on Categories, Entries, Voting, Results, or Settings.

Composing an announcement

Each announcement has:

• Title: shown as the headline on the program page and in the email subject
• Content: the body of the announcement (plain text)
• Published: whether it's visible on the program page banner. Announcements default to published.
• Send email: whether AwardKit should also email every entrant on the program

Past announcements are listed below the composer so you can see what you've sent and toggle older ones off when they're no longer relevant.

On the program page

Published announcements appear as a banner on the public program page and on each entrant's entry page. Visitors see the latest announcement title with a link to the full text.

Toggle an old announcement off (the Published switch on its row) to remove it from the program page without deleting it. You can re-publish it later if needed.

Email broadcasts (Pro)

Sending an announcement by email is a Pro-only feature. When Send email is on:

• AwardKit sends the announcement to every entrant on the program (one email per entrant)
• Sending happens in the background; the recipient count is shown in the toast that confirms your post
• Sent date and recipient count are recorded on the announcement record

For Free workspaces, the Send email switch is disabled with an upgrade prompt. You can still publish announcements to the program page on Free.

When to use announcements

• Entry window opens: drive submissions and remind entrants of the deadline
• Mid-cycle reminders: nudge entrants as the deadline approaches
• Q&A and FAQ updates: clarify category rules or eligibility based on common questions
• Finalist announcement: build anticipation before results
• Results published: pair this with the automatic results notification email
• Year-over-year invitations: reach last year's entrants when next year's program opens

Tips

• Lead with the action. "Entries close in 7 days" beats "Important update about entries".
• Keep email broadcasts rare. Three to five emails per program cycle is plenty. Every email costs trust if it's not useful.
• Schedule the publishing carefully. Announcement emails go to every entrant whether or not they've finished their entry. Consider whether the audience is right (it almost always is, but worth a beat to think about it).