Getting shortlisted for or winning awards can be a fantastic way to raise the profile of your business.
The success of being shortlisted allows you to position yourself in front of target audiences, create content for your website and social media platforms, be featured in relevant publications and, in turn, help to grow your business.
Research relevant awards
Writing award entries can take a significant amount of time, so research the ones relevant to your business and ones that, if shortlisted, will add value in brand awareness and credibility.
You may also need to consider how much budget you can assign to award activity as some industry awards might carry an entry fee, so always look out for early bird deals, or you will have the cost of attending the award dinner.
However, be wary of organisations which contact you to say you have won “SME of…” and expect you to pay for the pleasure of receiving a glass trophy.
Understand the award criteria
Before putting your fingers on the keyboard, read the guidelines and eligibility criteria carefully. This will help you to ensure you can gather all the relevant information and ensure that your entry meets all the requirements.
You should also understand the judging criteria (if supplied), as this will help you to structure your entry and focus on the most important points.
Highlight your achievements
Use the award criteria to showcase your achievements. Too many organisations fail to highlight their successes or go into detail about what they have done to achieve specific results or what the impact of those achievements is.
For example, you might have invested in staff training to support the professional development of your staff, which showcases you as a good employer, but what is the outcome of that? Have you been able to improve productivity, go down to a four-day working week, increased profits, or be able to undertake more corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity as a result?
If so, state that. Simply putting, “we invest in the professional development of our staff”, and leaving it at that is not enough. Judges want to know more.
One statement the team at Wild PR always uses when writing award entries is, “so what?” Try that when writing your next entry.
Use the word count
The word count is there for a reason and is to help guide you and provide the relevant information so the judges can decide if your entry is worthy of a shortlist and, more importantly, a win.
For those who aren’t natural writers, this can be difficult, so in this case, we would say to aim for within 20% of the word count to give you the best possible chance.
Have relevant data
Some entries require you to share relevant financial information, such as turnover, profit and staff numbers. This information helps back up the credibility of your business and showcases its growth and achievements.
If you have achieved record figures, your profit is down, or you have made a loss, be prepared to explain why. Investment in your business might have resulted in a lower profit or a loss, but it is preparing your business for significant growth in the year ahead, so make sure to explain that.
If you are able to provide supporting evidence, do so, this could be a case study of work you have undertaken on behalf of a client, it might be a CSR report, or it might be snapshots of press coverage to validate the claims in your award entry.
Have someone proofread it
If you’re writing it yourself, it’s easy to become too close to the subject and miss vital information, which could make the difference between being shortlisted and winning.
Make sure to work on the entry well ahead of the deadline so you can come back to it and add any relevant information you might have forgotten.
Additionally, a fresh pair of eyes should challenge you to back up your claims to make it a stronger entry, reduce repetitiveness and help you add more to it.
Looking for help writing winning award entries?
We have a strong track record when it comes to writing shortlisted and winning award entries, from local business awards to industry-specific, we can help you get in front of the people you want to.
Contact Wild PR today to discover how we can help your business.
Written by: Katrina Cliffe, Managing Director – Wild PR
Published date: 29th March 2023