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". Email announcements are included in the flat plan; there is nothing to enable.

Where to find it

Click Send announcement in the program sidebar to open the Send Announcement modal ("Send an announcement to [program] entrants"). The control is available from any page within a program (Overview, Categories, Entrant pages, Entries, Judging, Results).

Composing an announcement

Each announcement has:

• Title (required): shown as the headline on the program page and in the email subject ("[program name]: [title]")
• Details (optional): the body of the announcement (plain text)
• Show on program page: whether it appears as a banner on the program page. On by default.
• Email all entrants: whether AwardKit should also email every entrant on the program. The helper line counts them ("Send to all 42 registered entrants").

At least one of the two switches must be on, otherwise there's nowhere for the announcement to go and Send Announcement stays disabled.

Past announcements are listed below the composer (under Past Announcements) so you can see what you've sent and toggle older ones off when they stop being 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 show/hide control on its row in Past Announcements) to remove it from the program page without deleting it ("Announcement removed from program page"). You can re-publish it later if needed.

Email broadcasts

When Email all entrants is on:

• AwardKit emails every entrant on the program (one email per entrant). "Entrant" means anyone who submitted an entry: entrants confirm their address with a one-time code at submit, so every submitted entry has a reachable address.
• Sending happens in background batches; the toast that confirms your post shows the recipient count ("Announcement posted! Sending to 42 entrants.")
• Sent date and recipient count are recorded on the announcement

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 paid their balance or finished editing. Consider whether the audience is right (it almost always is, but worth a beat to think about it).