Draft Submissions: New Feature FAQ

Submittable has begun rolling out an innovative new feature called Draft Submissions, enabling organizations to message potential submitters and applicants about their drafts-in-progress. Here’s the skinny:

What is the Draft Submissions feature?

Draft Submissions allows you to view how many individuals have begun an application or submission for each of your forms in real time. You can then contact these individuals in bulk with a reminder to complete their submission by the deadline.

Why is Submittable making this available?

If a submitter or applicant has begun to fill out a form, your organization can assume this individual is interested in your opportunity. If they have yet to complete their submission, it can be valuable to alert them about your upcoming deadline.

Not only might you be helping them avoid last-minute submissions and a potential missed deadline, but you may also encourage submitters and applicants to reach out in a more timely manner with the questions that kept them from finalizing their entry in the first place.

If you change or extend your deadline, this feature could also be a great way to let interested parties know how much time remains.

How do I use it?

Inside your account at the top left of the screen, select More > Draft Submissions. You will see a list of all your live forms that includes each opportunity’s start and end dates and the number of drafts pending. Choose the form or forms for which you’d like to contact individuals with drafts and select Send Reminder.

To protect user privacy, organizations will not have access to the content of individual draft submissions or submitter contact data.

Gif of Draft Submissions

Create a custom subject line and message, and then select the email address from which you’d like the message sent. The submitter or applicant will receive an email that contains your message and a View Draft button to link them directly with their work-in-progress. On your Draft Submissions page, you’ll see the date of your message under Reminders Sent.

Do note that each message you send will be received by all current draft-holders—this means that if you send multiple messages and individuals who received your first email still have not completed their draft, they’ll receive repeated emails from you. For this reason, it may be wise to let drafts accumulate before reaching out, or limit the number of times you do so, until fairly close to your deadline.

How do I add Draft Submissions to my account?

If you are in a Custom Plan, Draft Submissions will be automatically added to your account within the coming weeks. For all other plan types, please contact our account management team for more information on how this feature can serve you.

How do I communicate with Submittable about this feature?

We love to hear from you and are always here to help. Please be in touch, via email or chat (click the icon in the lower right).

Rachel Mindell

Rachel Mindell is a Special Projects Editor at Submittable. She also writes and teaches poetry. Connect with her on LinkedIn.