Everyone's time is limited, that's why we've worked diligently to create a system that works for you, and not the other way around. Creating the categories for your contest is a time consuming and highly nuanced process. Your local area is it's own slice of cultural significance, and re-creating your categories year-after-year can be such a waste of effort.
That's why we've made it simple to take last year's hard work and bring it to this years contest.
First you're going to login to your admin site and take a look at last years contest. From there, let's navigate to the nominations section, located along the left rail.
This pop-up (pictured left) will appear allowing you to select which contest you want to choose from. We suggest using the most recent.
Note: there is a chance your previous contest may have moved to the "Archive" tab, so make sure to check there if you aren't seeing your previous contest.
If you're running into any issues, please don't hesitate to reach out with a support question.
With the correct contest selected, click “Export Categories” along the top rail:
You’ll be prompted to select the file type (XCL, CSM, JSON) allowing you to make edits if you wish, or simply download the file and make note of where it was saved.
With the file downloaded, navigate to your new contest by clicking the "Category" link along the left rail. A pop-up window will appear again, select your new contest, and click “Import Categories,” which appears directly to the left of “Export Categories” along the navigation bar (pictured above).
Once the file has been imported, make sure to carefully review your categories for accuracy and integrity.
To upload your previous Advertisers: We're going to follow almost the exact same steps, but in the Advertising section. Click the "Advertising" link along the left rail of your contest, again select the previous year's contest, and you'll find the option to export the advertisers, pictured below.
You'll again note multiple options, from either your Best of contest, or for ALL previous publications. Either way, export the file of your choice then navigate to your new contest and upload this file. From there, review your advertisers before approving everything for the new contest.
While we understand that the creation of a Best of contest can be a nightmare for smaller publications with limited staff and time, we've strived to create a hassle free experience that can allow anyone to quickly implement changes and build added value to their contest.
If this wasn't helpful, or if you'd like to see some new features, click this link to submit a support ticket. We appreciate your time and look forward to working with you.