10 Steps to Starting an Award Program

by Tom Speer, Webmaster
Fortress Web Design and Hosting (award program closed)
1 November 1999

These days it seems that web awards are as abundant as apples in an orchard. But like an apple picker... a wise Webmaster looks for the ripest fruit! It is pretty easy to see what makes some web awards stand out from the masses. The best awards offer both quality and credibility. They establish meaningful award criteria and "lead by example," readily meeting the requirements themselves.

Most people who regularly browse the web have seen awards that range from the grossly inept to true works of art. Many of these same people have perhaps considered starting an awards program but weren't sure how to do it. This article will address ten essential steps in establishing and maintaining a quality web awards program of your own.

1. Establish Your Motivation

Before you offer an award, it is important that you have a clear motive for doing so. Many well intentioned award "givers" introduce their programs with little more than... "Hi, if you want my award, e-mail me and you'll probably win." If you are not motivated to manage an awards program and the often time consuming review process that goes with it, chances are your visitors will not be enthused about applying either.

The best award programs tell you exactly why they exist. Be it an interest in graphics, writing, the Internet, or simply visiting new and innovative web sites, it is important that you convey your reasoning clearly to the applicants. Running a successful awards program can demand a lot of your time so start off with a positive attitude and clear purpose in mind.

2. Review Other "Model" Award Sites

There are a wide variety of awards out there that can be categorized just as diversely. Once you decide on a motive for your award, seek out like minded award givers and review their programs. For instance, if your motivation is to promote higher standards in graphic design, seek out web awards that focus on graphic design and look at what your "peers" feel is important. This is not an invitation to plagiarize other award sites... it is an invitation to build a "consensus." We all have much to learn in life and if you look hard enough, you'll no doubt find someone who has been doing "it" longer and better. Borrow from the experience of others to develop early credibility in your own program.

3. Clearly Define Your Criteria

As you examine other award sites, you will often see criteria that have seemingly become standards... No pornography, No Under Construction, No broken Links etc. There are a couple of reasons for this... Either the vast majority of award givers are a lazy lot that cannot think on their own, OR... They all AGREE that these things are important! If you agree, adopt these standards for your own program.

As previously mentioned, this is not an invitation to copy another authors award program verbatim. There is no substitute for originality in a web site and writing good copy is no exception. When necessary, borrow ideas... not content. Add to this, your own views and reasoning for requiring such criteria.

Outline the requirements, expand on them, then re-read them. Have several friends read them as well. Do they make sense? Do the criteria clearly convey what you are looking for in an applicants web site? Simply saying "your site must blow me away" is not only vague but confusing. How can anyone know with certainty, what "blows you away?" Taking this approach to establishing your criteria will only make your job as a web site reviewer more difficult as you struggle with a growing number of unqualified applicant sites. The more concise you make your criteria, the easier it will be to objectively review your applicants.

4. Self-Assess Your Own Site

Lead by example. If you require no broken links on your applicants sites... your own site should have no broken links as well. If you require good grammar and spelling, CLOSELY check your own copy... your applicants certainly will! Too often, a web award giver will not even come close to meeting their own criteria. If you intend for your award to have any degree of longevity, you must provide a personal example in the award site itself.

Applicants will not only read your criteria and visit the sites of previous winners... they will also examine YOUR site to gauge what your idea of good graphics or navigation are. If your site sets a poor example, they will assume that is the "standard" they must meet. As a result, you may end up sorely disappointed in the quality of sites you end up reviewing. This is an important step in that you may discover that you are not ready to offer an award yet. There is no harm in waiting until your skills improve. If your standards are high, take this one seriously!

5. Define the Application Process

Developing a process may seem like a rather abstract bit of advice until you really think about it. Everything we do in life involves procedures... steps... a way of doing things. If you don't know the procedures, you don't do something (or at least you don't do it right!).

Your application process is no different. There are some basic tenets of running an awards program. At a minimum, you should have an introduction (your motive comes into play here), a set of criteria, an application form, and a winners list. Award programs that lack one or more of these basics will progressively make the applicants job more confusing (perhaps to the point that they don't apply at all).

Now think about how you would want your applicants to apply. First you would want them to know why you are giving the award... "why should they want it." Next, you want to ensure that they read all of your criteria for winning and that they understand the process by which they will be evaluated. Only then, will you want them to apply for the award itself. If you structure the process such that there is a natural "flow" from one element to the next, then your applicants will hit all of the marks along the way. If you place everything haphazardly on one page, you run the risk that they have either skimmed over or completely ignored an important part of the process (like the criteria).

6. Develop Adequate Supporting Pages

As previously mentioned, you should decide on a process by which you want your applicants to apply. Now it's time to develop the supporting pages. If you design a separate page for each element, you can be reasonably confident that each will get the undivided attention of the applicant (even if only for a moment).

Forms are an important "option" you have at your disposal in processing award applications. There are distinct advantages over the easier "just e-mail the information to me" approach. By using a form, you can structure the information you will get back. If you want the complete name of the applicant rather than some nic' like "fluffy" or "chickenwing," then make a form that requires it. If you want the applicant to provide a description of their site, then place a text box in the form. Perhaps you want to know how the applicant found your web site? Add a form field (maybe a drop down menu) that addresses this item.

Next... ensure that the navigational system for your site completely supports the new awards pages. It is not enough to place one link to your award pages and expect people to find them. Make the award links a prominent part of your overall site and page menus. An applicant should never get lost while applying for your award.

Finally, place your award winners on a separate page. If the award is to have any degree of credibility, you'll need a winners listing (people will want to see what a winning site looks like). Your winners should not have to share center stage with a picture of your cat, banner ads, or the award criteria itself. As your award program grows (along with your list of winners) this will become even more important. You should give some consideration to how you will deal with the long list when the time comes. Some options include maintaining winners lists on a monthly or annual basis for instance. Your own numbers will decide this in the long run.

7. Design a Relevant Award Icon

Let me say up front that even some of the best Webmasters are "graphically challenged." However, your award icon will be the key to your award program in some respects. It is the one thing that will get the attention of future applicants (especially when placed side by side with other awards). You should sit down and give the design of your award some serious thought. Include some of the same color combinations that you use in your site. Perhaps you can use a scaled down version of an important graphical element like a logo. Above all, make it relevant to your site and your motive. For instance, if you offer an award for educational sites... your icon should not be a picture of your hamster.

At first glance, there appears to be an obsession with flowers and winged horses in the design of awards. Be original, but be conservative as well. Award givers will often cite load time as an important qualifying element. When you design an award icon that is the size of a wallet, you are creating yet another eyesore that adds to the problem. On an average, your award image should be no larger than 150x150 pixels (I prefer 125x125 myself). It should also be optimized for the web (compressed) and clean in appearance.

If you cannot design an adequate award for your program, seek out those who can. There are many freelance graphic artists that will do it for free (or a little recognition such as an on-site credit for the award design). The bottom line is... make the award something that YOU would want to display on your own site.

8. Test and Evaluate the Process

Now you are ready to "test drive" your program. You know "why" you are giving an award. You've developed the criteria. All of your pages are in place. Bring on the applicants! Not so fast... first, test the process yourself. Do the forms work? Are there any conflicts in the program (for instance, do you reject under construction signs but have one yourself). Does the process flow smoothly from start to finish?

If so, you are ready to present your first awards. Now you may be wondering just how you will get the word out that you have a new and wonderful award program to offer. That is not important just yet... you must first establish further credibility to your award by garnering the initial group of winning sites that will serve as your "standard" for judging.

You do this by seeking out web sites that meet or exceed your award requirements. You then "offer" the award, unsolicited, to the site owner. A cordial (one time) e-mail is appropriate. Provide a brief explanation that you have a new program and are offering the award because you were impressed with the quality of the web site. Explain that your award is just getting started and that the site in question is one which you want your applicants to visit as an example.

If your award program is well thought out, you've passed your own self assessment, and the icon is attractive... they will most likely accept your offer. A word of caution here: Do not "spam" web site owners with your award in order to quickly build your winners listing! Put some time and consideration into it and make your e-mail messages sincere. If your offer is not accepted, don't lose sleep over it... but do consider why your effort was unsuccessful. Perhaps the site owner provided some indication of why they declined the award. If the feedback was valid, consider making a few adjustments. After you have successfully obtained at least 5 "exemplary" winning sites. You are ready to move on to the next step.

9. Fine Tune Your Program

Fine tuning your site really goes hand in hand with the test and evaluation step. During your testing, you will identify stumbling blocks to the smooth operation of your awards program. You may find that the layout of the winners page will not support a growing number of listings. Maybe the font size or color is too hard to read. Or perhaps the applicants are consistently misinterpreting some aspect of the criteria or the application requirements.

As an example, I originally had a block on my own application form that was labeled "your comments on this site." What I wanted was some feedback on my own web site. However, applicants interpreted this to mean "provide comments on the site that you are nominating." Needless to say... it was changed.

10. Promote Your Program

And now the final step! This may be the last step in the process but it is one that will be ongoing. Once you have established the credibility and value of your award system, you will want to "go public" with it. There are a number of ways that you can publicize your award program. The Awards Worksheet offered by Don is a perfect example. Focus Award Sites! also offer a valuable rating service for award programs. You may want to join any of a number of award "rings" as well. And don't forget to submit your award related pages to the search engines. Your promotional efforts are only limited by the amount of time you wish to devote towards informing the masses.

As your award grows in popularity, you will get additional traffic from those applicants that see your "attractive" award icon on other sites. You may, or may not, require that winners link back to you. Some of the more "progressive" award givers are doing away with the reciprocal link requirements in their own programs. One thing is certain... if your site and your award are impressive, they will link to you out of courtesy and respect for your efforts. You will in turn, have the respect of your peers and the satisfaction of knowing that you have truly built a presence on the web!

That pretty much wraps up the article. You will undoubtedly find opposing viewpoints on any or all of these "tips" and this is fine. As the saying goes... "there is more than one way to skin a cat" (hopefully this phrase will not be misinterpreted by our non-American readers). In any event, these principles are tested and grounded in more than 4 years of experience. I hope that the advice proves helpful to you and look forward to seeing your contribution to the awards community. Good luck Webmasters!!