Oct
You’ve got the entry kit open, the form is still blank and the deadline is closer than you’d like. Good news: there’s no trick to this. An award entry that wins answers every question the judges ask, and sticks to the word limit, with evidence for every claim. It’s that simple. The eight steps below are how to get there without the last-minute scramble, whether it’s a business award, a state tourism award or an industry program with its own portal.
Updated October 2026, with links to this season’s program guides at the end.
How to write an award submission in eight steps
1. Read the criteria, then read them again
Start with the entry kit, not the blank form. Entry kits can be a bit of a snooze-fest, but the crucial details that trip people up live in there, including the word limit on each question, the qualifying period, who’s eligible and who isn’t. Read all of it before you decide to enter. Nothing is worse (or more frustrating) than coming to hit submit and realising you’ve misread a question, or that your best example happened a month outside the qualifying period. Yes, that happens, and yes, the judges will notice.
Tip: Print the questions and keep them beside you while you write. Every word has to earn its place against one of them.
2. Plan the entry before you write a word
A good submission starts well before the writing. Sit down with the people who know the numbers and work through each question: what’s the story, what’s the evidence, which example fits. Pay attention to the wording. If a question asks for an example, choose the most relevant one. If it asks for three, it means three. You won’t fit every initiative you’re proud of, so pick the ones that best answer the question in front of you.
Can you recall the finer details of your three best customer wins this year? Most people can’t, and that’s what the planning session is for. While you’re at it, put the key dates in your calendar, with a draft deadline a week before the real one.
Tip: Keep a “fantastic folder” through the year for wins, numbers, client feedback and photos. Next year’s entry will half-write itself.
3. Respect the word count, because it tells you what the judges want
The word limit is the organiser telling you how much detail they expect. Write to it, not past it. Overwriting creates an editing job later, and cutting a bloated draft is how the good stuff gets stripped out (every awards writer has been there). Use the full allowance without going over. If you do, most portals cut you off, or judges just stop reading.
Tip: If the limit is tight, three points made properly beat six made in passing.
4. Write it as you, not as a brochure
Judges read a lot of entries, so a real story in the first person will always grab their attention over marketing copy in the third. Many organisers now recommend this in their guidance. REB, for example, asks for first person and warns that entries built with AI tools may be marked down, with every submission run through a detector. So write it the way you’d tell a colleague, in your own words, with your own numbers. If writing isn’t your strength, say it out loud, record it and write from the transcript. (That’s how an interview-led writer works too: you talk, they write.)
Tip: Read your draft out loud. If you wouldn’t say it to a client across a table, rewrite it.
5. Back up every claim
It’s all well and good to say you’re great, but without proof, who is going to believe it? Not the judges. By lunchtime they’ve read “passionate”, “dedicated” and “customer-focused” 40 times, and none of those words scored a point. What does score is a retention rate, a review score, a before-and-after number or a client’s own words. So give every claim a figure, an example, a date or a quote.
Tip: You’ve already got more evidence than you think. Five-star Google reviews, the sales bump after your last campaign, or the results of that staff survey you keep meaning to read. These all count, so dig them out before you write a word.
6. Treat optional attachments as mandatory
Where a program allows supporting material, use every slot. A graph of growth, a one-page results summary, a screenshot of your reviews, a testimonial from a client, a short video. They add depth, they’re where most entrants upload nothing, and if we’re honest sometimes they can be a sneaky way to get extra information in front of the judges without touching your word count. Ask for testimonials early; references are always the thing that arrives last.
Tip: Good photos earn their keep twice. If a trade journalist writes up the finalists, the entry with the sharp image is the one that gets the picture.
7. Edit, then get someone else to proofread
Read the finished draft against the questions, not just for typos. Does each answer get to the point in its first sentence, or does it ramble for a paragraph before it answers the question? Is there a number or an example in the first few lines of each answer? Judges shouldn’t have to dig through your submission for the answer, and a figure up front tells them this one is worth their attention.
Once you’ve answered these questions, hand it to someone who wasn’t involved, because the best editors all have proofreaders (and here’s why). Typos won’t lose you the award on their own, but they tell the judge how much care went into the rest.
Tip: Give your proofreader the questions as well. You want them checking each response actually addresses its question, not just that the commas are in the right place.
8. Submit early
Portals are slow in the final hours and fiddly at the best of times (ask anyone who has been locked out at 4.55pm). Submit a day or two before the close. If you’re running late despite everything, ask the organiser. Some will grant an extension for genuine reasons, and it can’t hurt to ask.
Tip: Note the finalist announcement date now. If you make the list, you’ll want the LinkedIn post ready to go.
Why enter awards at all?
A finalist listing or a win is marketing you can’t buy. It goes on your website, your proposals and your recruitment ads for a year, it gets the trade press talking about you, and it builds the kind of trust that comes from someone else saying you’re good.
The process is useful on its own, too. A submission makes you look at every part of the business with a judge’s eyes, and that’s usually when you spot what could be improved. And if the program gives feedback, you’ve just had your business reviewed by someone who has spent a week reading your competitors’ entries.
Program guides for this season
The eight steps work for any award. If you’re entering a particular program and want to know what its judges are looking for, question by question, you’ll find a guide for each one here as its entries open:
- REB Awards 2027: why good property managers miss out
- CLIA Awards 2027, the AHA Awards for Excellence, the state tourism awards and more to follow
If you’ve entered before and missed out, Here’s why you didn’t win that business award covers the seven usual reasons.
If you’d rather hand it over
That’s what we do. One call with us, and we do the research and the writing, and you get a draft in your own voice to approve, with a round of edits before you submit.
We’ve written 100 award entries since 2021, across tourism, real estate, hospitality and business. And the results? About three in four have made finalist or better, and roughly one in three have won.
If that sounds like a better use of your week than a blank form, have a look at how we write award submissions, or go straight to the tourism, real estate or accommodation and hospitality pages if that’s your world. Let’s make that next award yours.
FAQ
How to write an award submission
Read the criteria, plan an answer to each question, write to the word limit in your own voice, back every claim with evidence, use the attachments, proofread, submit early. The eight steps above.
How to write an award nomination
The same way, with one difference. A nomination is usually written about someone else (a colleague, a team, a supplier), so interview them first. Get their numbers and their examples in their words, then write to the criteria exactly as you would for your own entry.
Why should you enter award programs?
Recognition you can use in marketing for a year, trust that comes from a third party, trade press attention, a review of your own business through a judge’s eyes, and a morale lift for the team.
How long does it take to write an award entry?
It depends on the program. A short-form entry of three or four 400-word answers is a day or two of work once the numbers are in hand. A state tourism awards submission of 4,000 to 7,500 words is weeks of part-time work. Either way, most of the time goes on gathering evidence, not writing.
Can I use AI to write my award entry?
Some organisers now say entries built with AI tools may be marked down, and REB runs every submission through a detector. Judges want your story in your words, and a generated draft reads like everyone else’s. If you decide to use AI, use it the way you’d use a good junior: to tidy your notes, check you’ve covered every part of a question, or spot where the evidence is thin.
How to write an award entry when you have no time
Pull the numbers and examples first, because that’s the part only you can do. The writing can be done by someone else from a one-hour conversation.