Every contestant sells ads for you.

How it works, start to finish.

1. You turn it on in your pageant editor and set your ad sizes, prices and deadline.
2. Each family gets a sponsor link: one per contestant, in Pageant Prep, in their registration email and on their dashboard. You get one too, for the sponsors you sell to yourself.
3. A sponsor opens the link, picks a size, uploads the ad (or makes one free in the Ad Maker) and pays by card.
4. The money goes to your Stripe account, less Bombyhead's 10% and Stripe's card fee.
5. You review each ad on your Program Ads page: approve it, or ask the sponsor for a new file.
6. You download every approved ad in one zip, sorted into a folder per size, ready for your program.

This replaces the old Program Ad Pages option under Plus competitions. Pageants already using Program Ad Pages keep working as they are; new setups use sponsor links instead.

Before you turn it on.

• Connect Stripe. Sponsors pay by card through your connected Stripe account, the same one that takes your entry fees. Square isn't supported for ads yet; without a connected Stripe account, sponsor links show "This pageant isn't taking ad orders online yet."
• Know your printer's deadline. Set your ad deadline a few days before you need to lay out the program, so there's time to ask for a fix or two.
• Know your printer's specs. Page size, bleed, file type. You'll tell sponsors in one short note (Chapter 03).

Turn it on in your pageant editor.

From your dashboard, open your pageant in the editor and scroll to Program Book Ads (just below the Contestant Guide). Tick Sell program book ads with sponsor links. Everything saves as you go.

How families find their link.

Every registered contestant has their own sponsor link. Families find it in three places:

• Pageant Prep: a Sell Program Ads tile with the link, a Copy button, and a ready-to-send message.
• Their registration email: new registrations include the link while you're selling ads.
• Their dashboard: a Sponsor link button beside the entry.

What the sponsor sees.

A clean page headed Support Amara O., with the contestant's first name and last initial only, never a full name, since contestants are often minors. It shows your pageant's name and date and your ad deadline.

1. Choose a size from the ones you set, with prices.
2. Add the ad: a JPG, PNG or PDF up to 20 MB. An image too small to print at that size is refused with the size it needs. One that will print a little soft gets a warning. No ad yet? A link to the free Ad Maker lets them make one in minutes.
3. Their details: name, business (optional), email for the receipt, and an optional note for the contestant.
4. Pay by card on Stripe's secure checkout.

When the payment clears, three emails go out at once: the sponsor gets a thank-you, you get New program ad with a link to review it, and the family hears who bought an ad, with the sponsor's note. Checkouts that are started but never paid are deleted after a day and never reach your list.

Review, approve, download.

Open Program Ads from your dashboard menu (it appears once ads are turned on). At the top is your own sponsor link with a Copy button. Below it: ads sold, total sales, your share after the 10%, and how many are waiting for review, waiting on a fix, and approved. Filter by status with the buttons beneath.

Each ad shows a preview, the sponsor, the size, the contestant it supports, the file's print quality and the sponsor's note, with three buttons:

• Approve: it's ready for the program. Changed your mind? Undo approval.
• Ask for a fix: write what needs to change ("The phone number is cut off at the edge"). The sponsor gets an email with your note and a private link to upload a new file, with nothing more to pay. When the new file arrives you get an email, and the ad is back in your list for review.
• Download: one ad, at full size.

When you're ready to lay out the program, Download approved ads gives you one zip with a folder per size and each file named for its sponsor. Hand it to your designer or printer as is.

The money.

Sponsors pay you, through your own Stripe account. Bombyhead keeps 10% of each ad sale, and Stripe takes its usual card processing fee, the same as on your entry fees. The rest pays out on your normal Stripe schedule.

Your Program Ads page shows sales and your share after Bombyhead's 10%; Stripe's fee appears in your Stripe dashboard. Every ad sale also appears in Stripe as a payment for "{your pageant} program ad", so your records stay in one place.

Good to know.

• Your own sponsor link. For businesses you approach yourself (returning sponsors, a title sponsor, the florist down the street) use your pageant's own link, at the top of your Program Ads page and in the editor's Program Book Ads section. The page reads "Support {your pageant}", and those sales are credited to the pageant rather than a contestant. A sponsor who wants to support one contestant should get that family's link instead.
• Cash and checks at the event aren't recorded here. Sponsor links are for card payments.
• Turning it off (untick the box) stops new orders at once. Ads already bought stay on your Program Ads page.
• Changing prices affects new orders only. A sponsor who already paid keeps the price they paid.
• Ad files are private. They're visible only to you on your Program Ads page, never on a public page.