And the winner i D


Awards give you far more than prizes. They can build your credibility and help you charge more for your work, says Linda Harrison


o you enter awards? If you’re like me, you probably think it is too time consuming, not to mention an almighty faff. Then there is also the sheer volume of awards out there, with some seeming to exist only to make


money for the organisers. Where do you start? And is trying to become an ‘award- winning’ journalist really worth the bother? Debbie Tilley is an award strategist and writer. She launched her award-writing business in 2022 to help female entrepreneurs win awards. In 2023, she achieved an impressive 97 per cent success rate of getting entrepreneurs shortlisted. Tilley says: “Entering awards is the absolute best way of not only getting your name out there but also getting you known by your target audience, whether they be ideal customers, employers or potential partners. And, crucially, getting you known as the go-to – a credible subject expert. That opens doors to endless opportunities.”


How awards help careers Freelance journalist Donna Ferguson agrees that awards open up opportunities. She has won an incredible eight awards for her work on The Guardian and The Observer as a freelance financial and property writer since 2013 and has been shortlisted for another 30. What is her secret? Ferguson says: “I decided to go freelance while on


maternity leave – I was an editor and it was a full-on job, and I went freelance so I could work flexible hours. I’d never written for any nationals before I went freelance and I had major imposter syndrome. I worked during my baby’s nap times. I started pitching to The Guardian because it was my dream publication. I got a commission and my story made the front of the Money section.” Ferguson entered the article into an award. She remembers


that the rules of the awards at that time stated that you needed three pieces to be allowed to enter. As she’d only just started freelancing, she only had three pieces in total, all of which were for The Guardian. She put them all in and was astonished to be shortlisted. “I couldn’t believe it when my name was read out at the


awards ceremony,” says Ferguson. “I had trembling legs and couldn’t speak – it was a huge shock.


16 | theJournalist “But it was also a massive self-confidence boost, and it


went on to open a lot of doors for me. After the award win, money editors started following me on social media. And I began writing for more publications, and then entered more awards.” She now writes for a range of titles and also teaches a


masterclass for Women in Journalism on freelancing to help women build their confidence. Ferguson adds: “Winning awards is great for your


reputation. And being able to put ‘award-winning freelance journalist’ in your email signature puts you in a stronger negotiating position for fees. “Winning awards has been great for my confidence but it’s also been very important for my career.”


Fill your trophy cabinet


DONNA FERGUSON shares her advice for winning a few prizes. • When entering awards, choose the piece you care about the most. Mention any personal reasons behind writing it, go into the story background and explain why you’re putting that piece forward. How can you get the judges to sit up and take notice?


• Is there an article that was hard to pitch, where you bent over backwards to get a commission or you had to be super persistent to get information? Maybe you had to send lots of


emails to get an interview or you had to keep chasing for information. Show you’ve been tenacious and persistent. It’s often not what you’ve written but the effort it has cost you.


• You’ll usually find previous winners and the articles they wrote listed on awards websites. You can sometimes also view


the shortlisted pieces. This, more than anything, gives you a sense of what judges are looking for in that category.


• Ask other people, including journalists, which of your articles they think are the best.


• Once you have been shortlisted – or have won – keep entering. Once you have won one award, it gives you more confidence to enter again. The more award schemes you enter, the more you’ll find out what the judges like; it’s often a case of learning about it through trial and error.


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