At some point, your association will likely need to solicit submissions of some kind. Depending on the nature of your organization, it could be for any number of things:
- Papers, abstracts, or posters for a medical conference
- Speakers or presenters for a trade show
- Nominees for your annual awards
- Scholarship or grant recipients
No matter the call, it’s important that you include all of the right information in your communication. Gathering everything up front means being able to easily manage the selection process, and revisit what went well and what could improve when the same event comes around next year. Here’s what we recommend including in any call for submissions communication:
1. Details about your organization and why you’re calling for submissions
First thing’s first: You’ll want to make it clear exactly what the submission is for, and who it’s for. Not all of your submissions will come from members so you may need to explain your organization a little. Be sure to include:
- Name of the event
- Date and location
- Purpose or objectives
- A link to the website
- Name of your organization
- Your mission
Besides that, include any information about the event that’ll make it more attractive to anyone submitting material. You may be competing for their attention!
2. Clear guidelines their submission should adhere to
Now that they know what their submission is for, they need to know what information to include. Naturally, some of your guidelines will depend on what exactly you’re looking for, but there are a few things that are important no matter the topic:
- Submission deadline, of course!
- Any particular topics or themes you may be looking for
- What formats are accepted
- Any limitations (words, presentation length, etc.)
- Where they have to submit their materials
You might also consider including dates for when you’ll notify them if their submission has been accepted.
3. Who to contact with questions — and how to reach them
Seems basic, but it’s often overlooked! Include contact information for the point person for the submission process. Or, if your event is too large for one person to be handling all of that communication, consider pointing them to a website where they can find answers to FAQs and a form they can fill out to submit any additional questions.
4. A direct link to your submission portal
You could have written the greatest call for submissions of all time, but if the actual process for making the submission is difficult, you risk losing out on a ton of potentially great material! Ensure that it’s clear on how to get to your submission portal and what to do when they get there.
Even more important, you want to make sure the portal you choose for gathering, reviewing, and sharing submissions is robust enough to handle all of your needs!
Submission review software makes submissions fun
Have you heard about ours? Custom-built by MemberClicks engineers, our Review Panel solution gives organizations the power to streamline collection and rating of submission items in need of peer review such as calls for papers, posters, and speakers, awards and scholarship management – you name it!
