How do call recommendations work?

EntryThingy recommends calls based on your profile: no AI, no tracking your browsing, no black box. Here's exactly how it works.

What We Match On

We look at four things from your profile and compare them against every open call:

1. Your City

If you and a call are both in the same area, that's a strong signal. We check whether the call's location is within driving distance of your city. This works for any city worldwide — as long as both you and the call have location data.

2. Your Priority States

You can pick specific U.S. states you're interested in on your alerts page. Calls in those states rank higher. If you haven't set priority states, we'll use the state from your profile.

3. Your Medium

If a call accepts your art medium (painting, ceramics, photography, etc.), it ranks higher. We pull your medium from your profile. Calls that don't specify a medium are treated as open to everyone.

4. Deadline Urgency

Calls closing within 7 days get a small boost so they don't slip by unnoticed.

How Ranking Works

We score every call by combining the signals above. The more signals that match, the higher the call appears:

• Great match: Two or more signals match (e.g., your state + your medium)
• Good match: One strong signal matches (your city or your state)
• Match: One signal matches (your medium or deadline urgency)

Calls are then organized into three groups:

1. Your Starred Calls: Always first. These are calls you've bookmarked.
2. Your Matches: Any call where at least one signal fired, sorted by match strength.
3. Everything Else: All remaining open calls, sorted by deadline.

Post-Submission Recommendations

Right after you submit an entry, we show you similar calls based on what you just applied to — using that call's location and medium instead of your profile. This often surfaces opportunities you wouldn't have found otherwise.

Where You'll See Recommendations

• Your dashboard: The calls list is sorted by relevance
• Weekly emails: If you've opted into email recommendations, you'll get personalized calls in your inbox
• After submitting: Similar calls appear right after you submit an entry

How to Improve Your Matches

The better your profile data, the better your matches:

1. Add your medium: Edit your profile and select what you make
2. Add your city: We use this for proximity matching
3. Set priority states: Go to your alerts page and pick the states you care about
4. Star calls you like: They'll always appear first, and help us understand your preferences

FAQ

Is this AI?

No. It's straightforward matching. Your profile data compared to each call's requirements and location. No machine learning, no user tracking.

My profile is incomplete...will I still see calls?

Yes. You'll see every open call, just sorted by deadline instead of relevance. Fill out your profile to unlock personalized sorting.

Can I turn off recommendations?

You can't turn off the sorting on the dashboard (it still shows everything), but you can control whether you receive recommendation emails on your alerts page.

I'm not in the U.S., does this work for me?

City proximity matching works worldwide. State matching is U.S.-focused for now. All other calls still appear in your list.

The recommendations don't seem right.

Make sure your profile is up to date. Especially your medium and location. If something still looks off, email us at hello@entrythingy.com and we'll take a look.