Free contest analysis before you commit to promotion

What should you gather before asking us to review a contest?

The most useful submission lets us see both the contest terms and the exact action a supporter must take. Gather the essentials below; extra context can help us shape advice to your situation.

• Contest page: the announcement or organizer’s main information page.
• Rules: a link, document or pasted text, including any separate voting terms.
• Your entry: a direct link, plus a short explanation of how someone finds and supports it.
• Deadline: the closing date and time, with the time zone if available.
• Your goal: for example, wider awareness, a shortlist place or a stronger chance of being considered by the jury.

Also mention whether voting has already opened, what channels you have permission to use, and whether your entry includes minors. You do not need to prepare a polished campaign plan; the point of the review is to work out what is sensible from the material you have.

If terms are spread across pages, send each address and tell us which one describes voting. For a contest with unclear restrictions, the rules and risk check can help identify what needs clarification before promotion is considered.

What does the written contest review help you decide?

The reply turns the rules and your goal into a practical recommendation: proceed, adjust the approach first, or stop before investing in promotion. Our Desk Review focuses on decisions you can make, rather than a generic overview of contest marketing.

Where it fits, we may point you toward paid promotion, creative and campaign copy, or community and email outreach. These are options, not assumptions that every contest needs a full campaign. A short deadline, an involved voting process or a rule that needs an organizer’s answer may change the recommended route.

A complete submission is usually reviewed within hours and no later than one working day. If the deadline is close, put it in your first message so the reviewer can see that context immediately.

How do contest rules shape the recommendation?

The contest’s published terms are the starting point for deciding whether and how to promote an entry. Check first for restrictions on external promotion, advertising, repeated reminders, voter eligibility and the way an entry may be presented. If something is unclear, ask the organizer rather than relying on an assumption.

Our review is a practical screen, not an organizer’s ruling: if the terms prohibit outside promotion, we recommend stopping rather than searching for a workaround. We use white-hat methods in line with platform rules and contest rules; we do not provide purchased votes, followers or engagement, and never use bots, scripts, fake accounts or click farms. The organizer decides eligibility and final standings, while each platform controls its own ad review and delivery, so we commit to the analysis and any agreed work, not votes, a ranking or an outcome.

For an entry with a mixed jury and public vote, separate what supporters can influence from what the jury assesses. For a protected voting form, explain each step honestly in your outreach; do not encourage supporters to evade verification. The broader contest marketing overview sets out the types of support available when the rules permit promotion.

What can you do after the analysis arrives?

Use the recommendation to make a deliberate next decision: take the advice and run the work yourself, ask for a scoped proposal, or pause until a concern is resolved. The review is not campaign production or ad management, and you are free to stop after receiving it.

If you want to proceed, we confirm the proposed work in writing before it starts. Any advertising spend is paid to the platform separately from the agency fee. The campaign process explains how planning and delivery fit together; if your immediate concern is wording, the vote-request templates offer a practical starting point. You can also open the campaign calendar when you need a paced plan for the time remaining.

A useful request does not need perfect materials. Send the contest page, the rules you have, the entry link, the deadline and your goal. If a document or detail is missing, say so plainly; that lets us tell you what would make the review more useful. Start with the contact page and include those five items in your message.