Last year, I had the pleasure of shaping almost 30,000 words into a neat, compelling 10,000-word award submission. The organisation behind it just walked away with gold at both state and national levels. Editing that piece – and many others over the years – was a lovely reminder that the best award submissions tell a story that shines, backed by clear, undeniable evidence. They feel effortless to read, even when there’s a mountain of detail behind them. If you’re planning an award submission and are unsure where to start, here’s what’s worked for me.

Get your horse in the race

Who doesn’t love winning awards? When I was in Year 3, I won a yellow ribbon for coming fourth (of four) in the girls’ 50 metres running race – an achievement I remember mainly because, aside from a few trophies won in similar potato-division netball games, it remains the only award I’ve ever received for my athletic efforts. But awards are even better when they’re not participation ribbons pityingly delivered to hyperventilating nine-year-olds. Awards feel good! They recognise our efforts, and they validate our abilities and skills. For businesses, they can act as a beacon of trust, demonstrating that you know your stuff and that your clients are in safe hands.

Unfortunately, the fact that your business is amazing – the best! – doesn’t guarantee an award. Even writing a submission that outlines all your qualities, achievements and methods doesn’t mean you’ll cut through the crowd. It’s not enough to write and hope for the best – you need to put together a submission that grabs the judges’ attention, ticks all the right boxes and makes it impossible for them to ignore you (in a good way). Crafting the perfect award nomination is a copywriting exercise, and getting it right is the difference between a winning submission and one that gets left with the also-rans.

Let’s walk through exactly how to do that. I’ll cover award submission tips, best practices and the common mistakes in award submissions that can send the stable’s most promising contenders straight to the glue factory. Let’s get your horse in the race.* Then let’s get that trophy.

Carole Lombard leaning against her horse in an image we're using to really drive home this laboured metaphor of award submissions being like horse races.

Understand the award guidelines and submission criteria

To write a winning award submission, you’ll need to think like a copywriter. And copywriters don’t put a word down until they understand the brief. In this case, that’s your award’s submission criteria. Every award has its own quirks – they might want innovation, community impact, stories or cold hard facts, baby. If you don’t take the time to properly understand what the judges are looking for, you might as well be sending them a beautifully formatted shopping list.

Read the award submission guidelines

So, read the award guidelines. Then read them again. Some guidelines will be multi-page documents with appendices and selection criteria. Others will be vague one-pagers. Whatever you’ve got in front of you, highlight the main ideas, check for any specific requirements, and make sure you really, truly understand what they want to reward. This will help you frame your brilliant achievements in a way that makes it easy for the judges to tick those boxes.

Use the criteria to guide your responses

Once you’ve got your head around the award guidelines, you need to tailor your responses to them. It’s handy to make a checklist of all the award submission criteria and tick them off as you go. That way, you won’t get to the end of your submission and realise you’re on the wrong track. Keep steering your submission back to the criteria. It’s your North Star.

Tell your story well

Nothing knocks an award submission on its head faster than stilted, impersonal writing. If your submission reads like AI – polished but dead behind the eyes – you’re going to be pipped to the post. Along with meeting the award submission guidelines, you need to write a compelling, authentic story that appeals to the judges’ emotions.

Storytelling is the most potent way to reach people. Judges (we hope) aren’t cold, unfeeling machines scanning for bullet points – they’re people. And people respond to stories, not just stats. Your copywriting goal is to make them feel the real-life impact of your work, and to make it impossible for them to ignore your entry when it’s time to call a winner.

Think about how you’re describing your biggest successes. Are you listing them like an accountant tallying expenses? Or are you sharing the real, human impact of your work on the lives of your clients, community or the environment around you? A winning award submission has momentum, stakes and a reason for people to care. That’s what will carry you over the line.

Stand out (for the right reasons)

It’s not your judges’ first rodeo. They’ve read a lot of award submissions, and after a few, they all start blending together. (Oh, look, it’s another passionate team committed to excellence. Yeehaw.) If you want to stand out, you’ll need to show what makes you different.

Share what makes you one-of-a-kind

Think about what makes your story, business or achievements unique. Did your team meet at uni and set up its first office in someone’s biohazardous sharehouse? Is your combination of skills and offerings completely unexpected? Has your unconventional approach helped people or communities where previous attempts haven’t cut it? Whatever it is, don’t downplay it – that’s the good stuff.

Use evidence to strengthen your award submission

You know you’re good. Your team knows you’re good. Your grandma’s out there telling everyone she meets how good you are (thanks Grandma!) But judges are going to need a little more convincing. They’re not looking for show ponies – they’re after concrete proof that you’re a serious contender.

A common award submission mistake is relying on vague, feel-good statements instead of objective evidence. And I get it! That’s how I (barely) passed Year 12 history. But fluff doesn’t win awards. Real, measurable evidence is the difference between saying, ‘We had a great year’ and saying, ‘We added two front-of-house staff, which led to a 40 percent increase in bookings.’ One sounds nice. The other proves your impact. Be specific. Be clear. Show, don’t tell. Here are a few ways you can back up your case:

Got numbers? Show them off! Judges love stats.
Nothing beats a good before-and-after. Set the scene, show the challenge, and land the win. We’re all here for a transformation story.
Let someone else do the (humble) bragging. A few quotes from happy clients and colleagues go a long way. More on this one below.

Another image of a woman from the 1930s with her horse, which represents her award submission. She looks cheeky. The horse looks mildly depressed.

Add testimonials and references for credibility

For better or worse, we live in a world where singing your own praises can feel yucky. But having someone else do it for you? Delicious. A flattering testimonial can add weight to your claims, give your submission credibility and show the judges that you’re not just making this stuff up. Actual people can vouch for you!

Ask lovely people for testimonials

Asking for testimonials can feel a bit awkward, but most people are happy to help, especially if they’ve genuinely benefited from your work. The best thing you can do is make it easy for them. Be specific about what you’d like them to focus on, and if they’re stuck, give them a prompt or a few key points they could mention. The reason a lot of people shy away from providing testimonials is because they don’t want to have to write an essay, and this is good! Short and direct is best – judges don’t have time to read a pages-long love letter.

Keep it warm and authentic

Think about who shines the best light on you and your work. Clients you’ve helped get real results and people you’ve worked with who can vouch for your reputation are great choices. And whatever you do, don’t run testimonials through ChatGPT to ‘fix’ them (I’ve seen this happen, with ghastly results.) The best references come straight from the horse’s mouth (are you getting tired of this metaphor yet?) By all means, ask if you can edit them for grammar, but they should always feel natural and authentic.

Use them thoughtfully

Once you’ve got your testimonials, bask in the warm fuzzies for a bit and then use them strategically. A relevant quote can validate the key points in your submission, and linking to supporting case studies or media can add an extra layer of credibility. Judges love a bit of proof, and using your clients’ voices to validate your achievements is a super effective way to provide it.

Structure your award submission for maximum impact

Award submissions don’t come with unlimited word counts (thank goodness). They’re tight, competitive and every word has to earn its place. Your writing needs to be purposeful and clearly show who your business is.

The best way to do that is with a rock-solid structure. Clear headings, short paragraphs and bullet points (used sparingly) will help judges pick out the key details without wading through walls of text.

Your award submission criteria may include details of the structure you need to follow. If that’s the case, follow it to the letter. If it’s a looser format, you can try this classic award submission structure:

1. Introduction

Set the scene. Who are you? What’s the big-picture impact of your work? Give the judges a reason to adore you and get invested in your story from the start.

2. Key achievements

Get straight to the good stuff. Highlight the most impressive, relevant things you’ve done, keeping it focused on the award criteria. Remember, always come back to the criteria.

3. Supporting evidence

Back up those achievements with proof, baby! Use numbers, case studies, testimonials – anything that gives weight to your claims.

4. Conclusion

Tie it all together. Without wasting words and repeating yourself, remind the judges of why you’re the clear winner. You want to leave them with a strong final impression.

Your submission should be a well-paced story, not a brain dump of everything you’ve ever done. Sticking to a clear, thoughtful structure makes it more pleasant to read, easier to remember and much more likely to stand out from the herd.

Avoid common mistakes in award submissions

Even the best submissions can be undone by a few classic missteps. And with word counts tight and competition fierce, you want every sentence pulling its weight.

Cut the jargon

Jargon is a funny one. Sometimes, it’s necessary to signal to your industry that you know your stuff and you’re talking to them. If you’re applying for an award in a highly specialised field and your judges are equally educated in your area of expertise, it makes sense to speak their language. But, generally speaking, loading up on industry buzzwords in an award submission makes you sound impersonal, unspecific and – sorry – inhuman. Phrases like ‘leveraging synergies’ or ‘disrupting paradigms’ don’t say much about you except that you possibly listen to unpleasant podcasts and spend too much time thinking about macros. Use clear, confident language that gets straight to the point, and if a phrase wouldn’t make sense to someone outside of your team, reconsider it.

Keep your focus

Award submissions should be ruthlessly on-topic. I know you want to include every impressive thing you’ve ever done, but judges are looking for specific qualities – stick to those. If the award is for community engagement, don’t spend half your word count on your leadership skills. Answer the criteria directly, and resist the urge to stuff in unrelated extras. You can tell those to Grandma.

Have someone edit and proofread your submission

Typos and clunky sentences might not seem like a big deal, but they make you look careless. A well-written, error-free submission shows that you’re professional and have good attention to detail – two qualities that will get you in the judges’ good books. Read your submission out loud, step away, take a nap and come back to it. Or better yet, get someone else to take a look at it. A fresh pair of eyes will see things yours can’t.

Get an award-submissions copywriter in your corner

If you really want to make sure your submission is as sharp and compelling as it can be, bringing in a professional copywriter and editor (hello!) is invaluable. We writerly sorts know how to refine your submission without losing your voice, and we crack the whip to make sure every word works its hardest.

If you’ve got an award submission coming up and want to give it the best possible chance, I’d love to help. Whether you need a second pair of eyes, a spit polish or a complete rewrite, I’ll work with you to make sure your submission is race-ready: clear, compelling and impossible to ignore.

Let’s talk award submissions

Get your award submission into top form with Adverbs Etc.

*Horse racing is evil, and none of this highly laboured metaphor is an endorsement of animal abuse. Horses, like all of us, deserve healthy, happy lives.

How to Write a Winning Award Submission