Wendy Sears, Webmistress
Assess Risk Web Award

First of all we need to define what we mean by "top webmaster." Generally the top webmasters are those who set high standards and maintain them. Sometimes these standards are judged objectively by awards organisations, and top webmasters receive accreditation that reflects their standards. On other occasions, webmasters are judged by their peers and the title "top webmaster" is attained as a result of a consensus of opinions.

So how do we entice such people to apply for our awards? Firstly, you have to set your own standards as high as possible and make sure you continue to meet them. I am not suggesting that to attract a top webmaster you must be using the state of the art technology — although it never hurts. At the very least, however, you should adhere to some of the more basic principles of design, such as consistency, functionality, and clarity.

Think to yourself, "would I want an award from a site with half the links failing to function and created by a webmaster who thinks a flashing yellow text on a fluorescent mauve background is the height of good design?" (Rushes off to upload a new background.) If your answer is "no," then why should a top webmaster be any more attracted to an award from such a program?

Secondly, and this may seem somewhat superficial, the award graphic itself may attract a top webmaster. Or, to make it sound a tad less superficial, a poor award graphic may deter the potential applicant. On the other hand, perhaps it's not as superficial as it sounds. This is allied to the issue of standards. A good awards graphic can reflect — or at least give the impression — that standards are being maintained.

Thirdly, affiliations with certain award organisations may entice top webmasters. If the top webmaster is part of the same awards organisation that you belong to, then attaining your award may result in points being awarded to the webmaster. Sufficient points can result in accolades or accredited awards. This may be a sufficient inducement, or at least it can give pause for thought.

Three ways have been discussed above. In reality, however, the answer to the question "What can I do to entice top webmasters to apply for my award" should be "the same thing that would entice me to apply for an award."

Rob Ford, Webmaster
Favourite Website Awards

To entice top webmasters to apply for your award, you need to be a top webmaster yourself. You have to convince them through your award program that you know what you are doing.

Contrary to popular opinion, I firmly believe the award graphic itself is really not important. Many top webmasters are not able to display award graphics because their clients will not allow it. Some top recognitions no longer offer an award graphic because they are concerned that the graphics give the impression of a broader endorsement than they intended.

Exposure is one of the key issues to attracting top webmasters. I have often read how winning awards does not increase traffic directly. This is a myth, but it can apply to a huge majority of awards. The bulk of award programs do not receive high traffic because they forget that content drives traffic.

The main content of any award program is its winners, so don't hide them. Give your winners maximum exposure to drive as much traffic to them as possible, and publish new winners on a regular basis (FWA tries for a new latest winner every other day). Scouting for sites to award will pay huge dividends in the long run if your applications fail to give you a fresh and regular supply of winners.

If you are able to build a reputation for having a regular flow of top quality winners, you'll find that design and web news editors, site scouts and leading authorities in the target audience will come looking for content and winners for their own projects. This helps to promote your winners elsewhere, such as Yahoo for their "Pick of the Day." It's the snowball effect.

Top webmasters do not want to spend a long time reading criteria or looking for passwords, so keep things as simple as possible. Yes, you have every right to expect applicants to show respect and read your pages of criteria, DQs and self-tests. But if you want the top webmasters to apply, then you have to make it easy.

To summarize, top webmasters want exposure and recognition from a proven and well-respected source. Build a quality award program, make it easy to apply, and they will come looking for your award.

Míc Miller, Webmaster
Beehive Awards

To attract top webmasters, it helps to have the press endorsing your award. Try to get Vanity Fair to say your award is "better than the Oscars" or the Los Angeles Times to profess your program is "the only awards show for Internet sites that matters."

Next, get some partners to defray costs and help monitor your program by auditing the results to ensure fairness. PricewaterhouseCoopers and Neilsen//NetRatings are good choices, but avoid Arthur Anderson.

Having well-recognized sponsors for your program will impress top webmasters, lend credence to having a top-award program, and cover operational expenses. Try to get big-name sponsors, such as Hewlett-Packard, RackSpace and International Data Group who can also help by providing technical expertise and services.

Of course, having an impressive award graphic goes a long way in attracting top webmasters. Better yet, consider having a physical award. This is easier to do than you think. Just get an automotive parts catalog and find a part that confounds everyone and mount it on a base that can be engraved. I suggest a clear acrylic or crystal base as they are more elegant than wooden ones.

Top webmasters like to be grouped with other top webmasters, so make sure your winners' list is impeccable. Also, try to get some well-known sites as winners. Safe bets are Amazon.com, Google and Yahoo!. You will also want your winners' list to be regarded as "hip" and "killer," so you had better include some "avant garde" sites such as KaZaA, The Onion, and The Osbournes. And let's not forget about opportunity and broadening your award's audience appeal. These are easily accomplished by having two or three dozen award categories.

You will also need a short and sexy name for your award as well as a high-minded one for your organization — names that convey glamour and authority, respectively. Avoid names with "elite" and "prestigious." They are dead giveaways that you are a pretender, not a contender. "The Webbies" is a great name for an award. Since this name is already taken, try a different spelling. The same goes for your organizational name. If you were a top webmaster, which would you be more impressed with: The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences or the name of a flower?

Having a fun gimmick can endear your program to the world. This gimmick can be something as simple as limiting award-acceptance speeches to five words. Of course, acceptance speeches need a podium, so you had better plan on renting an auditorium for an awards banquet. This is expensive — even with sponsors — so collect hefty entry fees and promote your award everywhere you can. Hopefully, you are photogenic and will be asked to appear on Good Morning America.

Doing all this is a lot of work, as you can imagine, so make your award annual. This should increase your award's prestige and save your sanity.

Moral: To entice top webmasters to apply, convince them you have a top award.