1. 4. Rip Stories from the Headlines  Mine the newspapers for stories that apply to your readers.  Take advantage of subjects that judges may know something about.  But pursue the story from your industry’s perspective, of course.

3. 5. Develop Attractive Layouts

4. 6. Develop an Awards Culture  Top executives should make it clear that winning awards is a top priority.  Top management must provide the resources to win these awards.  We talk about winning awards at virtually every staff meeting.  Our sales staff sells ad space based on the editorial quality of our magazines.  At the same time, we’re very focused on meeting the reader’s information needs.

5. 7. Reserve Space for Award-Winning Stories  We have two major spaces for large, award-winning features: a show issue in January and our July issue, which features a special report.  We have ambitious departments on failed projects and innovation.  We have several themed issues to which we devote considerable resources.  Builder 100 won in past years for best original research. The story may be 50 pages long.

6. 8. Target Weak Categories  This may be the best way to win that all-important first award.  Find out what the criteria are for How-To stories: Direct instruction?  Perhaps you have a strong department. Make sure you write three consecutive strong stories.