Why Your Submission Form Is the Reason You're Getting Fewer Applications

Introduction

Your open call is live. The deadline is weeks away. And submissions are trickling in at a rate that's making you nervous.

Most organisations in this position assume the problem is reach; the classic: not enough promotion, the wrong channels, a small following etc. But reach is not always the issue. The problem is usually closer to home. The moment an applicant lands on your submissions page and hits friction, they leave. If you're using an email address or a basic form with a poor setup, well it's probably a case of: "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me."

Switching from an email-based intake to a well-designed submission form is one of the few changes that directly increases both the number and the quality of applications you receive — without spending more on promotion.

Why Do Applicants Abandon Open Calls Before Submitting?

Applicants most often drop out at the point where effort exceeds enthusiasm. For most open calls running on email or basic contact forms, that point comes early.

When someone is told to send their work to a submissions@ email address they face a chain of small decisions: which file format to use, what to put in the subject line, whether they've included everything, whether their email will be acknowledged, which guidelines, too long, too short. None of these steps is difficult in isolation but together, they create a tapestry of uncertainty that dissuades a meaningful proportion of those interested to close the tab and move on.

Research from form design platforms consistently shows that multi-step form completion rates are 40–60% higher than single-input email-based processes. Forms remove ambiguity at every stage. The applicant knows exactly what's expected. They follow the path. They hit submit.

The submissions you're not getting aren't from applicants who don't care. They're from applicants who cared, started, and couldn't get across the finish line.

Does a Professional Submission Form Actually Increase Applications?

Yes absolutely. The mechanism is less obvious than most people think as it's less about convenience and more about trust.

When an applicant encounters a well-designed, clearly structured submission form, they draw conclusions about how the organisation runs. A form with specific field instructions, clear file format guidance, and a logical step-by-step flow signals that there's a considered process on the other side. There's an innate trust that their work will land in a system, not an inbox. That perceived professionalism affects their decision to submit in a measurable way.

The opposite is also true. An email-only process, or a poorly constructed form with vague instructions and no confirmation message, signals that submissions might go unanswered, that feedback is unlikely, that the organisation is probably winging it. And applicants talk. Word of mouth about an application experience tends to bounce around private chat groups or Reddit. It can shape whether people apply to future calls.

A submission form isn't just a data collection tool; it's the first impression of how you treat contributors.

What Makes a Submission Form High-Converting?

The difference between a form that gets abandoned and one that gets completed usually comes down to four things: clarity, structure, brevity, and confirmation.

Clarity means every field has a purpose and that purpose is obvious. If you're asking for a project description, say exactly how long it should be and what you want it to include. Don't make applicants guess what 'brief biography' means. Your “brief” could be totally different to someone else's.

Structure means breaking the form into logical sections or steps. Personal details, submission details, supporting materials, a payments page, declarations etc breaks up the process from one long tedious scroll. Multi-step forms consistently outperform single-page forms because they make the task feel manageable.

Brevity means only asking for what you actually need at this stage. Asking for a full portfolio, a CV, a statement of intent, and three supporting documents in one go creates decision fatigue. Capture the minimum viable information to make a shortlisting decision. You can always request more from shortlisted applicants later.

Confirmation means closing the loop. An immediate, clear confirmation message with ideally a summary of what the creator submitted, any payments and what happens next. It immediately eliminates the anxiety of 'did it go through?' and sets expectations for the review timeline. This is the single most overlooked element of submission experience design.

How Does a Better Submission Process Affect the Quality of Applications?

This is the part most organisations don't anticipate: structured forms don't just increase submission volume, they improve what comes in.

When you guide applicants through a specific sequence of fields, you get responses in a format that's actually usable. When you leave it to email, you get seventeen different interpretations of your brief. Some are far too long, some are missing required materials, some sent as Google Drive links that have the wrong sharing permissions, some are in the wrong format. The list goes on and every variation creates manual processing work before anyone can even start reviewing.

A well-structured form enforces your brief at the point of submission. It ensures that every application arrives complete, in the right format, with all required elements. It means your review panel can start reviewing immediately instead of spending the first day chasing missing files.

Organisations using structured submission forms report spending 40–60% less time on pre-review admin compared to email-based intake. That's not a marginal efficiency gain but it's the difference between a process that works and one that exhausts the team that runs it.

Is It Difficult to Build a Submission Form for an Open Call?

Building a well-structured submission form used to take significant time — particularly on platforms that required you to configure every field, logic branch, and confirmation email manually.

Platforms built specifically for open calls, awards, and creative programmes have changed this considerably. Using Dapple, you can describe your open call in a smart form generator and receive a fully structured form — fields, instructions, file upload specifications, steps and confirmation settings in under a few seconds. There's also a template library of pre-built projects and forms designed for multiple different industries. It then just become a process of tweaking. What used to take hours now becomes minutes.

For organisations running multiple calls per year, the efficiency compounds further: templates built from previous calls carry forward, and historical submission data is accessible without rebuilding spreadsheets from scratch.

The practical barrier to running a professional submission process is now lower than the barrier to setting up a well-organised email inbox.

Quick Comparison: Email Intake vs. Structured Submission Form

The Submissions You're Missing Are Already Interested

The applicants who abandoned your process before submitting probably didn't decide your opportunity wasn't worth their time. It's more likely they encountered a point of friction at the worst possible moment - when their intent was highest.

A well-designed submission form closes that gap. It doesn't replace promotion or outreach. It protects the conversion you've already earned.

If your next open call is accepting applications by email, there's a good chance you'll receive fewer submissions than you should, in formats that take longer to process than they need to. That's a fixable problem and one that doesn't require a developer, a lengthy setup process, or a large budget.