You’ve been tasked with entering an award, but you don’t know how best to tackle writing the entry. We hear you.
Writing an award entry can be difficult. It takes time, you may need sign-off from different departments, and you have a strict deadline to meet.
Lucky for you, we have lots of experience writing and judging entries.
We know a good entry when we see one. August CEO Donna O’Toole has even won an award for her major contribution to judging!
And we know how to write a winning entry. Just ask our clients.
Here are our 5 top tips to help you write a winning award entry.
1. Choose your award-winning project
Ask yourself; are you entering the business as a whole? Or a project? Or a collaboration?
Make your decision based on your business goals, where the best results are, and what has the best story.
You need to know the answer before you even think about writing the entry.
2. Create a winning awards strategy
So you’ve chosen what you want to win an award for. Now you need to enter the right awards.
You could ask us to create a bespoke awards strategy for you. Or a quick google will give you a good starting point. Search for your industry awards and look for the category you fit in.
Next, look at your competitors. Which awards have they been winning or shortlisted for? This is another great way to choose the awards you enter.
Having an awards strategy will make sure you are competing for the right awards and the entry process will be much easier for you.
3. Follow the criteria to the letter
It’s time to write your winning award entry.
Make the judges’ job as easy as possible, and follow the criteria. Answer each question clearly and concisely.Â
If you have not answered the question, you will not score points. No matter how beautifully written your entry may be.
Stick to the criteria and your entry will be well-structured, easy to follow and you will score plenty of points.
But please keep in mind, judges are just people. Connect with them emotionally through your story, and your entry will be memorable.
4. Make your claim… then back it up
If you tell the judges that your employees are the happiest they’ve ever been, prove it!
Evidence your claims using:
- Numbers/Percentages
- Reports
- Graphs
- Images
- Survey scores
- Testimonials
- Videos
Award entry formats do vary across award programmes, but you will always be able to provide evidence in some way. There’s no excuse to leave it out!Â
However, be aware. Supporting documents are not always looked at. So include all the vital information in the entry itself.
5. Proofread your way to perfection
Now that you’ve worked through the criteria, and included your evidence, you finally have your award entry written. But this is by no means the version you submit.
Let your award entry (and yourself) rest before picking it up to proofread. You will be able to pick up on mistakes much easier with a clear head and a bit of distance.
Once you’ve proofread your entry, pass it to a colleague, friend or family member to check.
When you’ve worked on a piece of writing for so long, you can no longer be objective about its impact because you know what you mean, but the judges might not!
It's time to start winning awards
Entering awards requires time and effort, but they are worth it, we promise.Â
Use our tips to give yourself the best possible chance of winning, or get in touch!
We will craft your bespoke awards strategy, or write your winning entries for you. Saving you valuable time, money and energy.
Please contact us today to book your free consultation, and we will help you with your award-winning journey.