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The Question
What should you do, and not do, when you apply for awards?
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Wendy Russell, Webmistress
Casey's Celtic Charm Award
In the spirit of the holiday season the current question, "What should you do, and not do, when you apply for awards?," pleasantly reminds me of Santa's naughty and nice list ... Ho Ho Ho! I think it is safe to say that we all want to be on the "nice list." After all, who wants or needs a lump of coal. Here are a few things that may help get you on Santa's "Nice List."
What You Should Do – "The Nice List"
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First and foremost is read everything that the awards program presents. |
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When reading the qualifying criteria, be honest with yourself and assess "do I meet these criteria?" If you are not sure, ask. I would prefer that the applicant ask me for clarification rather than make assumptions which may result in disappointment. |
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When reading the disqualification criteria, the same principle should apply. |
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If there are "Terms of Use" for the awards program you are applying to, be sure that you can meet and honor them. |
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After reading through all the criteria, it is a very good idea to visit the winner's list. See the sites the evaluators have already awarded, and it will become apparent as to why. Ask yourself "How does my site compare to these award winners?" |
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You are now certain that you can meet the criteria. You are now ready to fill out the application form. Check your entries, and then check them again, to be sure that all the required information is correct and complete before submitting. |
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It is a good idea to keep a record of which awards programs you have applied to and when. This record will become handy when you are ready to apply for an upgrade or to re-apply for an award. It will prevent the mistake of re-applying before the required waiting period has expired. |
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What You Should Not Do – "The Naughty List"
I prefer to focus on the positive rather than the negative. That's why there is nothing listed in the "naughty list." If the advice given in the "nice list" is strictly followed, you should be successful when you apply for awards. We wish you every success in your endeavor.
Geetha Thirunakkarasu, Webmistress
Geetha Zone Awards (program closed)
Awards are the recognition a webmaster receives for creating an excellent website. Applying for them is a serious process, and it deserves the same kind of care and attention that goes into creating a site. How you apply can make the difference between winning and not winning an award.
When you apply for awards, you should:
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Read and understand the purpose and criteria for the award. |
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Make any necessary changes to your site before you apply. |
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Review the winners' list. |
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If the award program offers one, perform the self test to make sure you have a chance of receiving an award. |
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Fill out the application form and double check all your entries to make sure they are correct. |
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Keep track of the date you applied and time you must wait before you can re-apply. |
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If you win an award, post it on your site and send a "thank you" note to the award giver. |
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If you don't win an award, make some improvements or upgrades to your site and re-apply when the waiting period is over. |
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When you apply for awards, you should not:
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Submit your site without knowing the requirements for an award. |
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Submit multiple applications. |
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Contact the award giver about the review during the period of evaluation. |
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Re-apply before the specified waiting period is over. |
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Re-apply if you have not made any improvements or upgrades to your site. |
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Complain to the award giver if your site was not awarded or if it was awarded a lower award than you expected. |
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Alter the award graphic you received in any way without permission. |
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Reject the award (you will not be able to re-apply in the future). |
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Following the above advice will help you win awards. It will not guarantee your success, but it will definitely improve your chances. If you are going to apply for awards, then you should do it the right way. Anything less is just a waste of time.
Jan Sopshier, Webmistress
Circus World Awards
There are many things you should and should not do when you apply for an award. To keep it simple, I have prepared a short list of the more important things. Make a copy of this list because it will help you win awards.
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Read the criteria very carefully. |
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Read the disqualifications very carefully. |
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Check the winners' pages to see if your site qualifies. The winning sites should give you a good idea of what the award giver is looking for. |
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Some programs allow submissions on certain days of the month. If the cutoff date is the 15th, for instance, then don't apply on the 16th. |
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Fill out the application form correctly. I can't stress this point enough. Award givers do not have time to try to locate an applicant's site or email address. |
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If you're looking to receive rated awards, don't start at the top unless you have an exceptional site. |
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Don't apply, reapply, and apply again if you fail to win the first time, especially if the program clearly states that you can only reapply within a certain period of time. |
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Don't, and I repeat don't, sign a guestbook because you think it will give you a better chance to win the award. |
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Never skip all the criteria and head straight for the application form. |
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Sit back and wait patiently to find out if you win the award. |
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Loren Sebastian, Webmistress
Cerulean Award Program
When an applicant submits a site for an award, the DO and DO NOT process commences. It is very important for applicants to read and understand the criteria before they apply for an award. If you understand the criteria, then you will be more likely to do the things you should do and avoid the things you should not do.
Lets discuss the DO's first:
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Update your site more frequently after you apply for an award. Evaluators will be looking for confirmation that your site is up to date. |
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Check your links every day. Broken links create a bad impression and some award programs will disqualify you or deduct points for them. |
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Make sure your entry page loads quickly. It's the first impression an evaluator gets of your site, and it will have a lasting effect on the evaluation process. |
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Constantly check your site for minor errors, such as spelling and HTML coding mistakes. Beginning and ending tags and tables especially should be neat and clean. |
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Award givers should be prepared for a close scrutiny when they apply for awards. The evaluators will be examining all aspects of your award program and judging your evaluation skills. |
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As for the DO NOT's:
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Be patient and don't contact the award giver about the status of the evaluation until the evaluation period is finished. |
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Most award programs state how long you must wait before reapplying. Don't reapply for an award before the stated waiting period is over. |
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Don't forget to keep a record of which awards you applied for and when you applied for them. This way, you will always know when the waiting period is over. |
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Do not reapply for an award without first making some changes and improvements to your site. The evaluators will be looking for them. |
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Maggi Norris, Webmistress
Nem5 Awards Program
I believe it is good to keep a diary of what you do and when you do it when you apply for awards. Applying too often and sometimes not often enough can keep your site from getting the awards you want. A diary also helps you remember the upgrades and additions you made to your site since your last award application. Awardmasters appreciate this information and many will ask for a list of the changes you made to your site since your last application.
The most important thing to remember is that award programs are owned by award givers, who just happen to be human. This means they have expectations which begin the very moment an award application is received and which may affect your site's eligibility for awards. These expectations will be different at every program.
So, if you have an importance scale of 1-10, then reading the requirements of each award program should be number 10. It is the only way to learn what each award giver expects from you.
Don't skip. Don't skim. Dot every "i" and cross every "t" on your site AND on your application IF that is what the award giver asks for AND you really want the award. Make sure you are ready before you begin to actively apply for awards. Give yourself the best opportunity to earn the awards you want. You always have the choice of simply not applying if the requirements to earn the award are more than you are willing to fulfill. You only have one opportunity to hit the "Send" button ... this time.
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| The Authors |
| We would like to thank the authors who took time out of their busy schedules to write the answers in these pages. They wrote them to share the knowledge they gained from years of reviewing websites and operating award programs. By so doing, they are making their expertise available to webmasters at large and helping to improve the quality of websites and awards on the Web. We applaud them for sharing their knowledge! |
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