Like any winning tender submission, proposal, job application or awards entry there are a number of rules you need to stick to in order to be successful, and in the case of awards success isn’t just about coming 1st, being a finalist counts too.
These 5 tips aim to help you to focus on producing high quality submissions and stay on track for meeting the entry deadline:
- Don’t leave it until the last minute – writing good content takes both time and skill. Data may have to be collated from various people or sources, analysed and must be presented in a logical and jargon-free way, making it easy to understand. This takes time – a lot of it! You need to plan your content in advance and set deadlines. If you need other colleagues to review, provide feedback and approve content before submission this time needs to be factored in.
- Prioritise your entries – there may be multiple categories that apply to you and if you’re organised you’ll be able to complete all entries on time, but start with the awards you want to win/be shortlisted for the most. Be sure to read the entry criteria in full to ensure that you meet the requirements and note the maximum number of entries allowed in case there is a limit.
- Outsource your content writing – if time is not on your side, or you’re not a confident writer consider partnering up with a skilled copywriter/marketing professional. With experience, they can hit the ground running and a fresh pair of eyes can often see things more clearly than you perhaps can from the inside.
- Answer the questions asked – sometimes it’s tempting to go off on a tangent but stick to the questions asked and you’ll score higher. Your category assessor will also thank you for making their task much more straightforward!
- Draft offline, submit online - draft content in a word document so you can share it with other colleagues to proof read and edit. Once you’ve agreed the final version, copy and paste the content and submit online (which is generally the preferred format). This approach also minimises the impacts of dodgy internet connections that may result in all your hard work disappearing!
It’s your time to shine so don’t delay – get to work on those entries today! And if you need the assistance of a good copywriter, get in touch with me early!
