Rewarding copywriting excellence
The truth is many amazing, awesome, award-worthy CopyBeasts shy away from the spotlight and struggle to see their own worth.
And opportunities for freelance and small business copywriters to be recognised are few and far between, with most awards focusing on big brands and fancy agencies.
The Clever Copywriting Awards is about encouraging YOU to share your skills and gain the industry recognition you deserve.
Award categories:
Our categories include:
Copywriter of the Year
This category is open to any copywriter who is running a copywriting business focused on providing copywriting services to clients. This includes copywriters across the disciplines of SEO copywriting, business writing, award writing, grant applications, blog writing, speech writing and advertising materials.
Judges will be looking for copywriters who can demonstrate a strategic approach to developing and marketing their skills, securing new clients, managing client relationships and building a sustainable and profitable business.
Content Writer of the Year
This category is open to any content writer who is running a business focused on providing content writing services to clients. This includes feature articles, freelance journalism, social media content and any other content writing they may be conducting.
Judges will be looking for content writers who can demonstrate a strategic approach to developing and marketing their skills, securing new clients, managing client relationships and building a sustainable and profitable business.
Editor of the Year
The editor of the year category is open to any community member who offers editing as a service – both to those within the group and/or externally.
Judges will be looking for editors who can demonstrate a strategic approach to developing and marketing their skills, securing new clients, managing client relationships and building a sustainable and profitable business.
Proofreader of the Year
The proofreader of the year category is open to any community member who offers proofreading as a service – both to those within the group and/or externally.
Judges will be looking for proofreaders who can demonstrate a strategic approach to developing and marketing their skills, securing new clients, managing client relationships and building a sustainable and profitable business.
Best New Business of the Year
The best new business category is open to any community member who has been operating their copywriting business for less than two years. This category aims to recognise the efforts of starting a business from scratch.
Judges will be looking for new copywriters who can demonstrate their success in launching a new business, outline the obstacles they’ve overcome, and provide insight into how they’ve proactively built their skills, marketed their business, and put processes in place to future-proof their business.
Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year
Diversity and inclusion is important to the Clever Copywriting School. This category recognises a community member who has made efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in their own business, and/or in their wider business community.
Judges will be looking for entrants to demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion, through real-life examples and through positive feedback from collaborators, business contacts and clients.
How it works:
All copywriters are welcome to join, although we’re based in Australia, we’re a world-wide copywriting loving community.
Simply follow these steps:
Choose the category you’d like to enter in the next section.
Answer the questions and submit your answers by midnight on Friday 26 August 2022. (Entries closed).
Judges will review all entries.
Finalists will be announced on Friday 16 September 2022.
Winners will be announced at CopyCon 2022 (attend in-person or online) on Saturday 15 October 2022.
This is your chance to earn recognition for all your hard work and share your success loudly and proudly.
Please note:
- Entry is FREE for members of the Clever Copywriting School
- Non-members will be charged an entry fee of $47 to cover admin
- Finalists are encouraged to have an in-person or virtual attendee ticket for CopyCon 2022.
The prize
As well as being recognised as a leader in the copywriting industry, winners will also receive:
- One year of free membership to the Clever Copywriting School
- Clever Copywriting Awards trophy
- Boundless praise, attention and celebration across our social media channels and website.
We’ll also be providing graphics and images for finalists and winners, so that they can share their win on their own social media channels, website, email footer, dating profile, business cards, Christmas cards
The judges
Who better than to judge our inaugural Clever Copywriting Awards than some of the ambassadors from our Clever Copywriting Community?
These are copywriters who know their stuff, coming from a wide range of backgrounds and industries, and bringing their own version of genius to each of their copywriting businesses.
Amanda Vanelderen
WorkWords Content
Estelle Fallon
Words That Fit
Helen Sparks
Helen Sparks Consultancy
Johanna Kohler
Compelling Copy
Lisa Cropman
The Word Nest
Matt Fenwick
True North Content
Rashida Tayabali
Rashida Tayabali Copywriter
Angela Denly
Angela Denly Copywriter
Nerissa Bentley
The Melbourne Health Writer
Rachel Amies
Crazy Cat Copy
Sarah Spence
Content Copywriting
Rebecca Cofrancesco
Marketing Goodness
Key dates:
| Entries open: | Monday 18 July 2022 |
| Entries close: | Friday 26 August 2022 at midnight (AEST) |
| Finalists announced: | Friday 16 September 2022 |
| Winners announced: | Saturday 15 October 2022 at CopyCon 2022 in Sydney (attend in-person or online) |
The winners
The winners of the awards will be announced here after the 15 October 2022
TBC
TBC
Frequently asked questions:
Is being nominated the same as entering?
No. Being nominated just means someone thinks you’re awesome, it’s up to you to decide if you want to enter.
Do I have to be a Clever Copywriting School member to join?
No. All copywriters are welcome.
Do I have to be Australian to join?
No. All copywriters are welcome.
I’ve never entered myself in an award before. How do I know if it’s worth my time entering the Clever Copywriting Awards?
If you’ve never entered a business award before, the Clever Copywriting Awards are a great place to start. We’ve kept the process super simple, and we’re here to support you along the way. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on your business success. The content you create for your entry can also be repurposed – use it on your website, as a blog, or even share snippets of it on social media. It also means you’ll have some answers ready to go when you decide to enter any other award programs out there.
How long will it take to complete my entry?
Each category has five or six questions to answer, of around 200 words each – around 1,000 words in total.
We’d estimate it will take three – six hours to complete your entry, including some time to gather evidence such as client testimonials.
Can I enter more than one award category?
Yes.
What are the judges looking for?
The judges will be looking for entrants who are taking their copywriting business seriously – no side-hustles or hobbyists, but people who have made a real commitment to building their business, upskilling, marketing and developing themselves.
These awards aren’t about the craft of copywriting, but rather about recognising the reality of running a successful business and the hard work that goes into it behind the scenes.
Will there be any help given?
We’ll also be hosting a one hour workshop session via the Clever Copywriting School FB page (Zoom) where you can ask questions and get feedback on your approach to your application, in a safe and supportive format.
Members: If you’re looking for some inspiration on how to write an award entry, you can also check out Erin Huckle’s masterclass on award writing in the membership.
What happens if I become a finalist?
Finalists will be notified via email and announced in the Clever Copywriting Community member group on Facebook and in the Clever Copywriting School member newsletter. All finalists will be provided with Clever Copywriting Awards logos and badges so they can promote their success within their own networks.
What happens if I don’t become a finalist?
If you aren’t a finalist this year, you’ll still have invested some worthy time in your business, and we’d encourage you to consider entering again in 2023. Judges may provide specific feedback at their discretion.
What happens if I win?
Winners will be announced at CopyCon 2022 on Saturday 15 October, so we encourage entrants to attend CopyCon in-person or virtually.
Winners will be publicised via the Clever Copywriting School’s social media channels and newsletter and via an official press release.
Will you be running the awards next year?
We plan on making the Clever Copywriting Awards an annual event and hope to return again in 2023.