Have you ever wanted to be the owner of an award-winning business? Entering (and winning!) local business awards is a great way to boost your business profile and get the edge over the competition. Not only do you get bragging rights and recognition for your skills and talents, you’ll be able to market yourself as an award winner. This is a great way to prove your credibility and impress potential customers or clients.
Many of the most prestigious small business awards have hundreds if not thousands of entries so you’ll need to put some time and effort into your submission if you want to impress the judges. How do you write a winning business award submission? Here are a few of our top tips and tricks.
1.Read the questions carefully
While at first glance they might all seem the same, we’ve found that the majority of award submission questions differ ever so slightly in their wording. This means that preparing one stock standard answer and using it for all your submissions is not going to work. You’ll need to tailor your answer to the exact question being answered and reading it carefully is the first step to doing that. When you’re writing your answer, make sure you use similar wording as the question so the judges can see you’re addressing the specific criteria.
2.Stick within the word limit
Keeping within the word count is often one of the hardest parts of writing award submissions. This is one case where less is more, but trying to cram a year’s worth of achievements into 300 words can be challenging to say the least. However much you might be tempted, don’t go over. It’s better to focus on the one or two biggest successes you’ve had and back them up with plenty of examples rather than trying to include absolutely everything you’ve done.
3.Provide evidence for everything
It’s not enough to say you’re awesome (even if it’s true!). The judges will be looking for supporting evidence to show what you’ve achieved and how you’ve helped your customers or clients. Make sure that you use examples and statistics to reinforce any claims you make. It’ll probably take a bit longer to pull it all together, but it will make your submission that much stronger.
4.Tell a story
The most compelling award submissions are those that tell a story. This means taking it one step beyond just listing achievements and picking an angle that makes your submission stand out and really engage the judges on an emotional level.
5.Leave plenty of time
Even if the submission questions are not particularly long, always factor in some extra time so you don’t have to rush the process. Don’t forget, you’ll probably have to gather supporting evidence, including statistics and testimonials from clients or suppliers. These things all take time. A well-considered answer to an open-ended question can’t be rushed.
Last but not least, once you win the award, don’t forget to tell the world about it. Put the badge on your website, shout it out over social media and maybe even let your local media know. Spread the word in your industry and you can enjoy the benefits of being an award winner, like greater visibility, more credibility and the chance to stand out among the competition.
Need a professional to write or edit your submission? Contact Article Writers Australia to discuss your project or arrange a quote.
Article Writers Australia is a Sydney based content agency, specialiing in website copywriting, blog management, thought leadership content, and business writing.
Leonie Seysan is the Director of Article Writers Australia, and manages the team of professional writers and editors. She holds a Bachelor of Communications Degree (Media Studies) and has been writing professionally for over 15 years. Leonie is also the podcast host of 'Content with Humans'.
