Top Tips for Writing Award-winning Entries
Does your business deserve an award for everything you’ve achieved? Struggling to squeeze all those wins into words? Don’t worry – we can help.
At Shooting Star, we help clients craft award-winning entries that stand out from the crowd. Whether you’re entering your first award or your 50th, here’s how to make your submission shine.
Why Bother Entering Awards?
Entering your business for awards can feel time-consuming, but it’s worth all the effort if you win! Awards are brilliant for boosting team morale, raising your profile and showing the world (and your future clients) that you’re the expert in your field. And these days, there’s an award for just about every business, sector and specialism – so don’t be afraid to think outside the box. As well as entering industry awards, you could also enter a member of your team into the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards, for example.
At Shooting Star, we offer a full award writing service – from helping you find the right awards to writing and submitting the entries. We have an impressive track record when it comes to helping clients across the UK win awards in everything from education to construction.
Here are our top tips to help you write a five-star award entry.
- Read the criteria properly (Yes, really)
We know – it sounds obvious. But the number of businesses that go off on a tangent and forget to actually answer the question is staggering.
Always start by reading the judging criteria line by line and come back to it regularly while writing. Award entries take longer than you think, so give yourself plenty of time to plan, write, edit and submit.
Top tip: Know your deadline and work backwards. Add calendar reminders and leave extra time for proofreading and uploading documents.
- Tell a great story
Award entries are your chance to tell the story behind your success. What was the challenge? What did you do? What changed as a result?
Judges often have hundreds of entries to read, so make yours memorable. Use clear, confident language. Imagine explaining your achievement to someone over a coffee – then write it like that (just with fewer biscuits).
- Answer every question – and stick to the word count
Every question exists for a reason. Leave one out and it could cost you a place on the shortlist.
Be concise, cut the fluff, and stay just under the word count. Most judges won’t thank you for a wall of text – make it punchy and purposeful.
- Back It Up with Proof
Bold claims are great – but they need evidence. If you’ve had a record-breaking year, grown your team, launched something new or made a social impact, show the numbers behind it.
Examples of good evidence:
- Stats and figures (sales growth, client retention, website traffic)
- Quotes from customers, partners or staff
- Project outcomes, results and timelines
- Use supporting documents wisely
Depending on the award platform, you might be able to upload supporting evidence such as images and infographics, case studies, testimonials and PDFs.
Use these to add depth to your story. Just make sure they’re relevant, easy to view, and clearly labelled. Don’t throw in everything but the kitchen sink – judges appreciate a tidy, well organised entry.
- Be creative and shout about your success
This isn’t the time for modesty. Your award entry is your opportunity to shout (politely) about everything you’ve achieved. Use lively, upbeat language. Celebrate your team. Be proud of what you’ve done.
You can still be professional and personable – it’s not an either/or.
- Proofread – then ask someone else to proofread
Once you’ve drafted your entry, step away from it. Seriously – close the laptop, go for a walk, make a brew.
Then come back to it with fresh eyes and check for typos, jargon and anything that’s unclear. Even better, ask someone who wasn’t involved in writing it to give it a read. If they don’t ‘get it’ instantly, the judges probably won’t either.
- Use AI… carefully
AI tools like ChatGPT can be a helpful starting point – think tone checks, idea generation or rewriting clunky sentences. But don’t rely on AI to write the whole thing.
Judges can smell a generic entry a mile off. Your passion, personality and sector knowledge are what will set you apart.
- Submitting your entry: double check everything
You’ve written the entry. You’ve checked the word count. You’ve uploaded your documents. But before you hit submit…
Check:
- You’ve followed the submission instructions to the letter
- All required documents are included
- You’ve had confirmation of submission (follow up if you don’t get one!)
Top tip: Make a note of the shortlist announcement date. If you’re successful, you’ll want to shout about it – on your website, socials, newsletter and beyond.
And finally…keep a bank of past entries
Store everything you submit. It’ll save you time when applying for future awards and help you track your progress over time.
At Shooting Star, we’ve helped dozens of businesses across sectors craft compelling entries that win. If you’d like expert support with identifying, writing and submitting your next award entry, contact us for a free initial consultation.
KS
This article was originally published on 29th January 2020.
