No-bots contest promotion: how our policy works

What does our no-bots standard allow us to do?

Our work brings an entry to people who may be interested; it does not cast votes on their behalf. We use white-hat methods in line with platform rules and contest rules, and keep the decision to participate with each person.

That means we never use bots, scripts, fake accounts, or click farms. We do not purchase votes, followers, or engagement, and we do not accept a project that requires those methods. We also do not help supporters get around a contest’s voting safeguards or encourage activity beyond the organizer’s stated limits.

Instead, we can plan advertising through a platform’s own ad system, prepare campaign creative, contact creators about disclosed paid posts, or help a client reach communities and lists that welcome the message. The right mix starts with the contest rules: if outside promotion is not allowed, it is not part of our plan. The broader scope of contest marketing shows how these permitted activities fit together.

A useful check for your own team is simple: could you explain the promotion openly to the organizer and to a supporter? If not, pause that tactic and ask for a review before using it.

How do we review the people a campaign can reach?

We review the sources and the visible campaign signals, rather than claiming access to private platform data. Before activity begins, we map each planned source to the intended audience and decide which figures can be reported.

For paid advertising, the platform’s own analytics can show campaign delivery and visits. Tracking links help distinguish visits associated with a campaign; when the voting page does not show whether a visit became a completed vote, we label that gap instead of presenting a guess as a confirmed result.

For creator outreach, we ask to review audience information available in the creator’s own analytics and consider whether it fits the contest’s intended audience. Our creator outreach work also covers how paid posts are disclosed. For community, email, and messenger outreach, we use channels where the recipient has a reason to receive the message; the outreach approach explains how those channels are handled.

Before approving a source, ask what evidence it can provide, who will see the message, and how the resulting activity will be reported. This makes the source, the purpose, and the limits of the measurement clear from the outset.

What will you be told about the campaign?

You should be able to see what we are doing, where the audience is coming from, and which figures are observed rather than projected. We set those expectations in the written plan and use reporting based on platform analytics, tracking links, and public information available on the contest page.

A clear update should distinguish among:

• Work completed: such as an ad launched, a creative delivered, or an agreed outreach message sent.
• Activity shown by a source: the figures available in platform analytics or associated with a tracking link.
• Contest-page signals: any public counter or other visible information, recorded separately from advertising data.
• Open questions: gaps where the contest setup does not connect a visit to a completed vote.

This separation matters: campaign activity and a person’s decision to participate are not the same thing. Our contest promotion methodology describes how we interpret the information we can see. We will also identify projections as projections, not as verified outcomes.

Before approving a plan, check that it names the channels, the reporting sources, and the work you are authorizing. If a proposed tactic cannot be described plainly in that plan, ask us to clarify it before anything goes live.

What happens when a requested tactic crosses the line?

We decline tactics that involve purchased votes or engagement, automated voting, or activity that conflicts with the contest’s rules. We explain the concern and, where the rules permit it, suggest a promotion route based on advertising, creative, or appropriate outreach instead.

The organizer controls eligibility and enforcement, while each advertising platform controls its own review and delivery; we cannot promise votes, a ranking, or a contest outcome. We confirm the permitted approach against the rules and commit only to the agreed work and reporting.

If you are unsure about a proposed partner or promotion idea, gather the contest rules, your entry link, the audience you hope to reach, and any proposed message or offer. We can then assess the request against the stated rules and tell you what information is still needed. When a project requires prohibited methods, we will not take it on; see projects we decline for other examples.

Send those materials through the free contest analysis. We will review the rules and your proposed approach, then give you a clear next step before you commit to a campaign.