Running a contest through Dapple is a great way to engage your community and manage entries in a clear, streamlined way. Below is a step-by-step guide to setting up your contest. Once done, see this article on how to manage your contest.
How to set up
Firstly, let's get everything set up to run the contest. Follow these steps:
1. Create a Dedicated Project
Start by creating a new project specifically for your contest.
Go to Projects and either duplicate an existing project or select Create Project to create a new one from scratch.
Give it a clear name (e.g., “Spring Poetry Contest 2026”).
Add a short description to let entrants know what the contest is about and include any key details or deadlines.
This dedicated project keeps your contest submissions separate from other projects and makes it easier to manage the review process.
2. Set Up Contest Stages
Stages help you track where each submission is in the process — from entry to review and final selection.
Go to the Settings > Stages within your new project.
Create clear stages such as Received, First Review, Shortlist, Final Review, and Winner Selected.
Assign each stage a status (e.g., “New,” “In Progress,” “Completed”) to keep your workflow organised.
Add what you want to display to the creator for each round. For example, "shortlisted" might actually display as "in progress" to a creator.
3. Set Up Your Submission Form
Submission forms are what the creator will need to fill out in order to enter your contest.
Go to the Settings > Forms within your new project.
Here are the instructions to create a submission form.
Once you've added all your fields, you should also customise the design.
4. Add an Entry Fee (Optional)
If your contest requires an entry fee:
Navigate to Settings > Payments. If you haven't connected your Stripe account, you'll need to do that first.
Once connected, you'll be able to create a payment within the project.
Choose your currency, amount, and make sure to specify whether the fee is required or optional.
This ensures all payments are automatically tracked alongside submissions.
5. Set Availability and End Date
You’ll want to control when entries open and close.
Go to Settings > General > Availability.
Choose a start and end date for when submissions can be accepted.
Once the end date passes, the form will automatically close to new entries.
6. Assign a Review Panel
Before submissions start coming in, set up a review team:
You'll first need to create a review panel. This can be a panel of judges that you want to send each of the entries to. You can have different panels for different rounds if necessary, so make sure you create all the panels you'll need in advance.
Once you've created your panel, go to Settings > Reviews and create your review parameters. You'll be able to select how many reviews of each submission you require, the voting and scoring parameters and direct your panel on how to judge each entry.
For more information on Review and how they work, take a look at this article.
7. Make the Submission Form Live
Once everything is ready:
Make the project live by setting to public (or private if you want the link to be active but not discoverable).
Embed or link the form directly from your own website, social media or email campaigns or add to your Dapple page (see next step).
8. Add the Project to your Listings Page
Once you've set up all the steps above, you should add the project to your Listing Page so it appears alongside any other opportunities you have.
If you're yet to set up, you'll first need to create your listings page.
You'll then need to add the newly created project to your current page and drag it into the correct order you want it show it in.
9. Test everything works!
Once you've followed all the steps above and set it live on your page, you should test everything works correctly.
Double-check all the fields are correct.
Send yourself the link and fill out the submission form as if a creator.
If there are payments, test this works correctly and that the amount is correct.
After making a submission, view your submission in the dashboard.
Next, here's how to Manage your Contest.