What would you do: Application first or straight to Submission?

I shared this ‘Trick’ in yesterday’s Trick + Treat email and this will definitely have differing opinions…

Personally, I like the application > approval > submission phases rather than straight to submission, for a few reasons:

1️⃣ Application gives you a chance to validate the bundle concept (if you don’t get enough applications you can then let them know it’s not going ahead, nbd right?)

2️⃣ Application gives you the opportunity to curate the bundle in a way that submission only doesn’t - even if you say you’re going to decline at submission stage, that’s kind of a bit rough for the contributor who doesn’t get in but still has had to set up everything as if they would (time = money). If you decline at application stage then the contributors are less invested and less effort has gone into preparation on their end. Plus of course you get to be very picky about who and what goes into your bundle (this matters more than perhaps you think).

3️⃣ You can skip Application for certain people. Having a 2 phased process allows you to send your pre-approved (VIP or past contributors) straight through, with a quick way to submit which makes them feel appreciated and important (read: more likely to promote).

Agree with me, or think Application > Approval > Submission is a waste of time?

Some people swear by the straight to submission process, and that’s great… for them. But what do you think?

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