We’ve written awards entries for the Westpac Business, Xero, EFFIES, TVNZ Marketing, IAB and Liveable City Awards among others, so we know a thing or two about what works. We got the team around the table to pull together some of our best tips.

Check you’ve actually got a winner

Don’t spend all that time and energy entering a story that’s good but not award-winning. Study the criteria – can you make a compelling case with good evidence? A good test of how well your entry will do is if you can make someone go, “Oh, that’s cool” in just a few sentences. That might just be by sharing one stat or example among many.

Be interesting

This is especially important if you’re entering a serious or business-related award show. After hundreds of dusty-dry, almost-identical entries, you want yours to feel like a cool drink of water for the judges. Use fresh, conversational language, emotional headlines and phrases and, if the criteria allow, add diagrams and images. That alone will get you in the long-list pile.

Get to the point

Those wordcounts? They’re limits, not targets. The faster you can make your point to the judges the better, so make time for aggressive editing.

Put your main points in bold

Even the most diligent judges will end up skim-reading after a few hours. Make sure you still get your message across by getting your key points in subheads and bullet points.

Stick slavishly to the criteria

Study the detail, follow the rules and make sure you’re delivering what’s asked. That includes making sure you get it in on time – the most compelling entry is worthless if you send it in late.

Be truthful

Judges can spot a truth-stretch when they see one. Show you’re legit with data, quotes and links to sources. Give them whatever it takes to back up your claims.

Leave enough time

The main reason awards entries fail is people are just too busy to get them in on time. Plan ahead and put some serious time aside to write them up. Make sure you have your evidence on hand and someone lined up to subedit and proof your writing, then give it the overnight test – you’ll be amazed at how much more you can improve it the next morning.

Fight your inner critic

Even if you have the time (ha!) and the expertise to write them, you then have to get over the incessant Kiwi humility whispering that you’re not worthy of a gold. You are. Ignore your critic and just enter the award.

Wheel in the pros

I mean, we would say this, but getting us in to help you write the entries is a good idea too. You just hand over the grunt work and we get the experienced writers on the job.

BetterCo beats the competition

That’s what BetterCo found, for example – they’ve been cleaning up a wee bit with entries we’ve helped them write. At the Newmarket Business Awards, they took home the Supreme Business and Best Small/Medium Business of the Year. They were also finalists in Best Innovation of the Year, Employer of the Year and Young Business Person of the Year. Their entry into the Xero Awards saw them get a finalist nod in the People’s Choice Awards.

“We’re so grateful for the work that you’ve done, and the results we have had from it,” says Peter Prema, BetterCo co-director.

Parrallo makes a clean-sweep

Another client, Parallo, has also had some impressive results at the 2021 Reseller News Innovations Awards – a finalist in every category they entered. They’ll find out if they were winners at the end of November.  

“This is absolutely awesome for Parallo and it wouldn’t have been possible without your efforts – especially as it was a last-minute request!” says Briar Tippett, Parallo marketing executive.

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Let’s get entering

Got an award you’re thinking about entering? We can help. Let’s take your expertise and turn it into a smash-it-out-of-the-park award entry - get in touch today.