How to Plan Your Next Awards Cycle?

This is Jackie. Jackie always plans awards cycle. In return, Jackie earns a high percentage of ROI. Be like Jackie. Do not waste your time and money. Simply plan your awards.

Honestly, I do really understand sometimes it is quite hard to accept a challenge and take the first step. Procrastination, fake tasks with “higher” priorities, pop-ups with new emails and messages, a sudden hunger. You are not alone my friend. I feel your pain. All these things are our common rivals. But I do believe, together we are able to handle it.

Thus, let`s start from the preparation stage. Mute your phone, take a pan, a sheet of paper and a glass of water. Set a deadline (say, 25 min.) Follow the step by step guide below and stay focused. That’s all you need. As simple as that.

Three. Two. One. Go!

1. Review your previous programs

Well, you are reading “How to plan your NEXT awards cycle” blog post, which is why it is logical you are not ‘green” in awards` planning. And actually, that is pretty awesome! You have already gained some experience. That is an advantage for sure. But don’t allow your background to determine your playground! Today we will get some extras.

Sometimes it is tempting to be proud of itself, but please not this time. Turn on a grumpy old lady mode and be as much critical as it is possible.

Analyze all the aspects of your previous awards` event and write all the things what are crossing your mind down. Do not worry, later on, we will proceed the “data” and set priorities.

Planning next award be honest with yourself and define general “statuses” of your previous events. Whether was them successful or not. Remind yourself the preparation parts, how was it in action and the post-events sections.

There are three checkpoints you have to take a look at for sure. See the list below. Setting a budget

• Setting a budget is a key to your event’s success.

There are always hidden costs and extra expenses that crop up during your awards. Ignoring them can cost your event big. Therefore, consider all the possible costs associated with your program. Use the list to get organized and set a budget. Planning of possible expenses will save you a lot of headaches.

• Scheduling

Before you set a date for your award, make sure it does not conflict with another important date or holiday. Setting up your event during a time when potential applicants are too focused on something else can play a low-down trick with you. Try to get rid of it. Start by checking your calendar, working backward set a date for each portion of your awards cycle. Smart timing will help you be on the same page with your targeting audience.

• Setting KPIs

Nowadays strategic thinking is a must. KPIs are goal-based indicators that help you review your performance. That is a good practice to set small goals along the way and periodically checks out actual ones with the indicators you are aspiring to achieve. While planning awards event keep it in mind and do not forget to set your own KPIs. So far so good?

2. Define what to improve and mistakes to avoid

It is time to stop the reflection part and move on. Do not get stuck here. That`s your brain trying to trick you. We call it analysis paralysis. Overthinking kills your productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. Take an action.

After reviewing your previous awards, you will find the mistakes to avoid and the aspects to improve. Set the priorities to your to-dos according to the David Allen’s Getting Things Done approach (If you are not familiar with it, fix it! This approach is awesome. Simply love it.) and let’s expand the existing list and review some more areas.

3. Improve your program website and materials

The perfection is limitless. Reexamine your last year’s programs. What slip ups has your awards programs faced?

Take a look at your website and landing pages. Nightmare? Good enough? Marvelous? Do not trust yourself. “De gustibus non disputandum” (“There’s no arguing about tastes and colors”). Use analytics. The big data is a king. Remember, the targeted audience sets its` own rules. Do you want them to follow you? Easy-peasy. Collect the data, proceed it, analyze it and give them exactly that what they want. As simple as that.

I’m pretty sure you are an active user of Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Bing, Yahoo Web Analytics, etc. You have already set up tracking codes and UTMs. Also keeping a finger on the pulse of your website’s content performance using heat maps provided by Lucky Orange or Creasy Egg, and testing your hypothesis periodically running A/B tastings. No? Come on! Are you kidding me? Congrats, we have just discovered a new playground for you!

Blog posts, white papers, eBooks, case studies, guest posts etc. Same story. You always can make it better. In excellence we trust.

Try something new. Use the different call to actions, change a layout, do not forget about pictures, photos, gifs., make it Search Engine friendly, optimize it. Yes, SEO. Are you mobile friendly? Have you purchased an SSL certificate? Follow the trends. That`s worth it!

Printing materials, brochures, flyers, whatever. Make it perfect.

4. Find great judges for your award

Oh, boy! That is an extra expense could say you. No doubts, you are totally right. But let’s take a step back and think about payoffs. Why do we need great judges? Actually, that`s a visit card of your award, that`s what makes it special, unique and highly trusted, that`s what people do really care about. Well-known judges, with approved proficiency in a field, increase a level of credibility from a scratch to the sky.

That`s not a secret, your potential participants will judge you looking at the judges you have attracted. Therefore this section is vitally important. Do a research and find the best ones of the best ones. Make an offer and get them!

5. Find new channels for advertising your award

Last but not least in our step by step planning a winning award guide. Have no idea how to find new advertising channels? No problem at all. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Spy on your competitors! Use Ahrefs or Serpstat to see the backlinks, analyze it and implement in your promotion strategy.

We are done! Congratulations! Good job! Not that complicated. See? Hope this “instruction” helped you to plan awards cycle via awards planning system. Questions, propositions? Do not hesitate to drop a line in comments. You are more than welcome. Thank you.