Drafting an award submission might be time consuming but entering your business into an awards program is a great way to showcase your achievements, gain recognition for your hard work, and promote your business by telling its story.
You can also use your award win to attract new clients as an award from a reputable organisation gives your business instant credibility and allows you to be seen as a leader in your industry. Both of which are highly valued by prospective clients.
Even if you don’t win, it can be beneficial for your business. By answering questions about your business it can provide you with a better insight into your achievements and values or help you to create content about your business. You can even reuse some of your answers on your marketing material or for future award applications.
However, it’s impossible to win an award if you don’t first submit an award application!
Here are some tips to help you write a great submission for an award application.
Allocate enough time to complete it
Give yourself plenty of time to fill out the award submission to the best of your ability. You may need to start a few weeks in advance of the due date so you don’t have to rush to complete it the night before.
Often award applications will suggest the approximate amount of time it will take for you to fill out the application. It’s important to take note of this and make sure you give yourself enough time to complete the submission.
If you are unsure how long the application will take, have a quick look through the questions so you can determine how long it will take you to write the answers. This will also give you a good indication of what type of information you will need to complete the submission.
All awards have clear submission dates, and if you miss the due date you’ve missed the opportunity.
Type out the questions
Often when entering an award you’re required to fill out an online application form. If you type your answers straight into this form there is a chance you may lose your work before you can submit it.
A great tip is to copy all of the questions into a document and then use this to draft your answers. The document will allow you to proof read and spell-check your answers as well as provide you with a copy of your answers for future reference.
It also means that if you are filling out the award application over a few days you can keep coming back to it and you won’t lose your answers.
Once you have answered every question and proof read the document, you can then copy and paste your answers into the online form.
Answer all the questions
Make sure you answer all of the questions on the award application because an incomplete form may not be accepted by the award judges. Also, by answering every question you are also giving yourself a better chance of winning the award.
Stick to the word limit
Often award applications will provide you with a word limit for each answer. It’s important not to go over this limit because the online application will usually not allow you to write any more then they have suggested.
Your answers should be succinct, well phrased and provide the most important information to help you win the award.
Answer the questions correctly
Make sure you read every question carefully and understand how it should be answered before you start writing.
To help your answers to stay on track, write out the main dot points you want to cover in each of your answers. You can then add more information to each dot point.
Showcase your business
Most award judges won’t know how great your business is until you tell them. This means in all of your answers you need to explain why your business deserves to win the award, talk about your achievements and show the judges how great your business is.
You can do this by including information about key milestones your business has achieved, such as when you achieved a turnover goal or when you reached a significant anniversary.
Tell the truth
Never lie in your award application because the truth will always come out. If you are caught being untruthful in your award application it can cause considerable damage to your reputation and embarrassment if the award is taken off you. It’s best to avoid a potential PR disaster by always telling the truth in your award application.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
