Entering business and industry awards is an excellent way to raise the profile of your business and add credibility to your brand. Being shortlisted or winning an award may even help you to attract talent or investors to your business and is a fantastic way to generate positive publicity about your company.
If you’re thinking of putting your company forward for an award, then follow our expert tips to write a winning business award entry:
- Prepare for success
Before you start writing your award entry, take time to familiarise yourself with the judging criteria. This will provide you with valuable insight into what the judges are looking for. The role of your award entry is to explain and demonstrate how your business meets the judge’s criteria. In addition, you should be aware of any submission requirements such as word limits, file formats and supporting documents that are required.
- Select the right category
It may be tempting to enter every applicable category, but you have a much better chance of success if you focus on the categories that are best suited to your business and in which you can stand out the best. Taking a selective approach will also allow you to invest more time and resources into preparing a winning entry.
- Take your time
If you’re serious about winning the award then it’s essential to take your time and be thorough when preparing your entry. You may wish to involve colleagues in other departments and it is wise to get a second or third person to proof read and sense check your entry before you submit it. Start planning early so that all those involved have sufficient time to make their contributions.
- Write a compelling introduction
The judges may have hundreds, if not thousands, of entries to read so it’s vital that your business stands out and grabs their attention from the first sentence. Use your opening statement to make it clear to the judges why your business deserves to win this award.
- Write in plain English
Even if you are entering specialist business awards for your industry, the judges may not necessarily understand technical terminology, so it is sensible to stick to plain English and avoid using jargon in your entry.
- Focus on what makes your business exceptional
The judges will be looking for entrants that go above and beyond in the work they deliver for their clients and who stand out for being exceptional. Give careful consideration to the aspects of your business that differentiate you from your competitors and look for ways to demonstrate how you add value to your clients.
- Provide evidence
Explaining to the judges what makes your business award worthy will only get you so far. An award-winning entry needs to include evidence to support your claims. This could include client testimonials and case studies, amongst other things.
If you need help to prepare evidence and supporting documents for your entry, then get in touch with our team of friendly experts here at Go Publicity. We have a long track record of writing winning award entries for clients, so please contact us to find out more about how we can assist you in this area.