FREE PUBLICITY!
Blue Ribbon Award Winning Writing Tips
JoAnn R. Forrester
Awards are
an excellent way to position a client, business associate or oneself for Respect, Recognition and FREE publicity. The
publicity received is often worth hundreds of thousands of dollar$. The following tips will give you an overview
of writing a nomination that will stand out and shout, “Pick me.”
- Preparation: Knowing
the RIGHT steps to take, people to nominate and what awards to nominate
your nominee for saves time, frustration and losing submission.
- READ, know
and follow the guidelines exactly for the nomination. If you have questions… ASK the
organization sponsoring the award.
3. Nominee’s Permission: It is essential to ask the intended honoree’s permission to nominate him or her for an
award. Explain the award and let the
nominee know up front if financial data
is required. Some nominees are uncomfortable with disclosing financial
information and will elect not to continue.
4. Supporting material: If there are supporting documents required, start gathering them
immediately. The supporting documents
and letters can be referenced in the nomination write-up to illustrate strong
points of the candidate.
5.
Writing: Give yourself plenty of time to write. Figure at least 10 hours for each nomination. This covers research,
interviewing, verifying material and writing. List each criteria and answer that only. Use short
and brief sentences with strong follow-up points. Long
sentences and narratives are boring. The committee soon gets tired of reading and
will start to skim over material and you will lose points..
6. Editing. Have the nominee review and
verify what you have written. If you are unsure of a fact, do not use
it. If it states no more than 5 pages, stick to that!
7. Submission: Make sure All information
requested is enclosed. Do not guess on postage if mailing. Get proof of mailing or delivery verification
of nomination. Make sure you have the
name of the person who received it.
8. Congratulate Yourself. You did it! Pat yourself on the back! You
deserve it and when your nominee wins…it will be a great time for all.
The author of this article, JoAnn Forrester, of S. I. Business Associates, is an award winning
business consultant, teacher, lecturer and writer. JoAnn has written over 300 award winning
profiles for her clients, including the U.S. Small Business Administration National
Small Business Journalist of the Year, U.S Small Business Administration
National Small Business Person of the Year Award, YWCA Racial Justice Award, YWCA
Tribute to Women, SBA Minority Business Advocate, Athena Awards, Stevie Awards and
the PA Best 50 Award. If you do not want to write your nomination she does. JoAnn can be reached at 412-440-6969 or selfimagebz@aol.com. or empressofbiz@gmail.com
