Before you start
- Role. Any team member can approve or decline.
- Where. Open the program and choose Manage applications. That page has Pending, Approved, and Rejected tabs, a search box for name or email, and the Approve and Reject buttons.
- Not from the roster. Advocates → Pending lists everyone waiting across your programs, but it has no decision controls. Clicking a row opens the advocate's profile; clicking a program name opens the program, where Manage applications is.
How you hear about new applications
Kindling does not email you per application. Once a day at 09:00 UTC it sends your workspace's account email a summary of applications submitted the previous day that are still pending, with a link to the Advocates screen. The program page shows a pending count on its Applications card, and the Advocates screen's Pending tab counts people waiting.
What an application shows you
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name and email | Match these against your customer list |
| Social profile | The primary profile URL from their advocate profile, as a link |
| Bio | Optional, up to 500 characters |
| Application note | Their answer to "Why do you want to join?" Required, 10 to 1,000 characters |
| Applied | The date they applied |
Every applicant has accepted your program guidelines; the form cannot be submitted without it. That acceptance is your basis for reviewing their posts later.
The application also records the reward type the advocate chose from the ones your program permits, and their attestation that accepting it is consistent with their employer's policies. Neither is shown on the card.
Audience size, audience tags, industries, and additional social profiles are not shown on the card. Audience size and additional profile links appear on the advocate's profile page, which exists as soon as they have applied to any of your programs. See Manage your advocates.
Approve
Approving enrolls them in that program with the reward type they chose. They get an email and an in-app notification and can submit their first post right away.
Approval is per program. Someone approved for one program is not in another until they apply there and you approve again.
On a monthly plan, each approved enrollment adds a per-advocate charge of $1.49 per month, and the count is synced to your subscription when you approve. Annual plans carry no per-advocate charge.
Approval cannot be undone. There is no control to remove an advocate from a program.
Decline
Declining requires a written reason. The Reject button stays disabled until you type one, and the reason is sent to the advocate by email and in-app notification.
Declining is final for that program. An advocate can hold only one application per program, so they cannot apply to it again. They keep their account and can apply to your other programs. Declined applications stay visible on the program's Rejected tab and on Advocates → Archived.
Write something the person can read without resentment. They are your customer either way; "not a fit for this program right now" is usually enough.
What to look for
Are they a customer? The profile step asked them to confirm it, but that is a checkbox. Check your records. The credibility of the whole program rests on this.
Is the audience the right audience? Open the social profile link. A small following of exact-fit peers beats a large general one.
Does the profile look like a person? You are looking for someone with a real presence, not a follower count.
Resist optimizing for reach. A program full of large accounts that do not buy your product is an influencer program with extra steps.
FAQ
Can I undo a decision?
No. The system refuses a second decision on the same application. If you approved or declined the wrong person, contact support@kindlinghq.com.
Does declining remove their account?
No. They keep their Kindling account and can apply to your other programs. They cannot re-apply to the program that declined them.
Can I approve in bulk?
No. Applications are reviewed one at a time. Submissions support bulk review.
They applied to two programs. Do I review twice?
Yes. Each application is its own decision.
Questions about applications: support@kindlinghq.com.