Write a killer entry and stand out from the crowd

We’d love to keep sharing our exciting developments in the Global Good community with you, but you’ll need to ‘opt-in’ to our communications before 25th May, when GDPR takes effect. Read more about how we protect your data here >>

Write a killer entry and stand out from the crowd

Entries to the 2018 Global Good Awards are now open, until 2nd February. Our partners, Boost Awards, are specialists in writing awards entries, so we asked them for some top tips on how to make sure your awards entry gets judges excited, for the right reasons…

If you’re thinking of entering the Global Good Awards, you should be congratulated from the off. It means that you’ve got sustainable or responsible initiatives that are worth putting forward for these prestigious awards, and you’ve made a real difference – no mean feat. While nobody can deny that this is something worth shouting about, the tough reality is that other high-achieving businesses will be entering into the wide range of categories available for the GGA. With that in mind, how do you ensure your entry makes the coveted shortlist, and gives you the best chance of proudly accepting a beautiful (and in this year’s case, recycled) trophy for your ethical efforts?

At Boost, we know a thing or two about writing award entries; after all, it’s what we help our clients to do on a daily basis. As official partners to the Global Good Awards, we’ve been asked to share some invaluable insight into what we think makes the difference between a good entry, and a winning entry.

Do your homework

First things first – it may sound obvious, but no matter how little time you may find yourself with prior to entry deadline, read the instructions thoroughly before you do anything else. Rush into writing the entry and it’s likely you will be caught out in terms of eligibility, criteria or word count further down the line (sometimes all of the above). As well as ensuring you’ve thought about these potential hazards, when you do start writing you will need to make sure you address every entry question in full without going off at a tangent.

Break down the questions into more manageable ‘chunks’ if that makes it easier for you to digest.

If you do find yourself struggling to submit your entry in time, get in contact with the organisers. In many cases they can help ease your stress when the deadline is looming.

Storytelling tips

When telling your story, remember to make it as compelling a read as possible. Judges often have to sit and wade through numerous entries, so make sure yours stands out for all the right reasons.

Highlight the impact as much as the action you took. Though you want to ‘set the scene’ and engage the reader, it’s important not to get too bogged down with laborious detail – remember, awards are as much for what you achieved as what you did, so try to balance the two.

On that point, make sure your achievements are substantiated. For example, simply writing ‘we achieved great results’ with no actual results to back up this statement is just going to ruffle a judge’s feathers, not to mention leave them with a lot of unanswered questions.

Use images wisely. While it may be an effective way of preserving word count and breaking up text, badly used graphs, diagrams and photos can actually do more harm than good. Images can work wonders, but only if they make sense at a glance, add value and have a clear purpose.

If you must attach lengthy documents with your entry, make sure you explain which pages are relevant. Judges cannot be expected to read pages and pages to find the right detail. And asking them to do so will likely not endear them to you!

Safety in numbers

Even if you feel completely confident that you know the project/story in question, it always pays to interview as many other people as possible – ideally a senior sponsor, implementer and beneficiary. Not only will this ensure that you have the correct facts and figures, it may also bring your attention to an important point that could have otherwise been overlooked.

On the collaboration point, try to find a truly independent reviewer; it pays to get an objective person to read your draft submission. This can also help to iron out any pesky typos or grammatical errors that may have been overlooked.

You be the judge

Once you have written your entry, you will more than likely just want to get it off your desk and over to the awards organisers. However, try not to be so hasty – a good technique is to sit back and imagine you narrowly missed the top spot. What could you have done better, and what would you do to get a few extra marks? You will be surprised how effective and worthwhile a bit of self-critiquing can be. Stepping back and looking at your entry from a different perspective could be the difference between winning and being runner-up.

Positive post-submission steps

As a matter of course the GGA judges provide all entrants with their expert feedback. While sometimes hard to hear, such constructive criticism can be utilised to improve your entries for next time, or to inspire new activities and initiatives. It’s a service that GGA provide to help all entrants learn.

Also, do not shy away from giving feedback to the awards themselves. What did you like or dislike about the entry process? How can it be made easier for you?

Finally, having invested time and effort in writing a thorough award entry that celebrates your huge achievements, it would be a shame not to get more bang for your buck. Find some more awards to enter it into, be it local or international, and get your story out there. You can see a full list of 3,500+ other awards online free of charge at Boost’s UK Awards List website.

We’d love to keep sharing our exciting developments in the Global Good community with you, but you’ll need to ‘opt-in’ to our communications before 25th May, when GDPR takes effect. Read more about how we protect your data here >>