Meeting recap: Win an award

Three award winners — two who’ve been contest judges — tell how.

Winning an editorial award for your publication's writing or design not only is a boost to the writer and designer, it's an extra selling point for the magazine's sales staff, said Danica Tormohlen, editor of EXPO Magazine.

For your best shot at winning an award, enter as many of the contest categories as you can afford, enter the articles that cover major industry issues or trends, get input from other staff members on which articles to enter, make sure the design catches the judges' attention and include a well-thought-out statement of the importance of the article to the industry or the impact it had, she said.

Editorial awards
If possible, find out which contest categories receive the least entries and enter articles in those categories, said Portia Stewart, managing editor for Firstline. She has been a judge for the ASBPE Awards of Excellence for the past three years.

• Included on her checklist for how to win an award:
• Enter the category most suited to the article.
• If the contest requires a statement of the magazine's mission and readership, use that to mention the unusual efforts that went into the article and reader response to it.
• Make sure it's an example of the staff's best work, even if the article topic is a common one for the magazine.
• Select articles that would capture the attention of someone outside the industry because it is well-written and interesting.

Tormohlen has helped judge many B2B awards, including American Business Media's Neal Awards, ASBPE's Tabbie Awards and Folio: magazine's Eddie Awards, and, this year, EXPO received a B2B Best Web Site Redesign award. She was one of three panelists at the August Kansas City ASBPE chapter meeting on How to Create an Award-Winning Entry.

The panelists' advice:

• If possible, find out which contest categories receive the least entries and enter articles in those categories, said Portia Stewart, editor for Firstline. She has been a judge for the ASBPE Awards of Excellence for the past three years.
• Enter the category most suited to the article.
• If the contest requires a statement of the magazine's mission and readership, use that to mention the unusual efforts that went into the article and reader response to it.
• Make sure it's an example of the staff's best work, even if the article topic is a common one for the magazine.
• Select articles that would capture the attention of someone outside the industry because they are well-written and interesting.

Design awards
The design of the entry is crucial to capture the judges' attention. Enter only those articles that feature high-quality, high-resolution photos, said Jennifer Ray, senior art director for Club Industry's Fitness Business Pro magazine and American School & University magazine. She has won several awards for her design work.

She suggested asking the following questions before you submit an entry:

• Does the design stand out and stop the reader?
• Do the graphics visually tell a story?
• Is there strong contrast between the background and the cover line?
• Does the image provide the main impact?
• Do the image, type and color work well together?
• Does the design carry through the article?

Photo: Portia Stewart, managing editor for Firstline magazine for Advanstar; Jennifer Ray, senior art director for American School and University and Fitness Business Pro; and Danica Tormohlen, editor of EXPO magazine for Ascend shared their tips for winning an editorial or design award with the 47 attendees at the Aug. 10 ASBPE meeting.