PWA’s 2021 “Learn, Try, Win” Writing Challenge

***Official Guidelines***

Basic Timeline & Eligibility:  

1. The challenge is open to all current PWA members (no registration required, and past challenge winners are welcome to enter again).
2. The challenge officially begins January 1st.
3. Your activity period ends February 28th.
4. When the activity period is over, write a short essay about your experiences.
5. Send your essays to pwamonthly@awaionline.com by 8 a.m. Eastern on Monday, March 8th to be considered for prizes.
6. Winners will be announced via press release and in the April edition of our News & Notes e-letter.

The Challenge Theme & How It Works:    

The “Learn, Try, Win” Writing Challenge is a chance for YOU to get paid something extra for landing brand new clients… and PWA’s going to help you win.

Here’s the deal…

2020 changed a lot about the writing world. The size of the opportunity in front of you as a professional writer EXPLODED. But, with stop-start-stop lockdowns, canceled events, and industry shifts, the processes many of us used to connect with clients and land new business got disrupted. New methods — including some marketing channels that weren’t so hot before — became the new “best practices” for landing paid writing work.

Four methods rose to the top as working right now for writers of all experience levels, in any niche, across any geography. As your Director, I’ve gathered up stories from members and put together an educational series, Getting Clients In 2021, that covers each method in detail. One installment of this series will publish each Monday in January, and reading those pieces is the “Learn” part of the challenge.

Next up is “Try”… and you may have already guessed that the “Try” part of the challenge is to select one of the working-now tactics and try it out in your own business. You are welcome to start using a tactic as soon as you read the piece about it, but I’ve held February as the official “try it out” period on the calendar to ensure everyone has some space to field-test these methods.

The last part? The part where you “Win” in this challenge?

That can potentially happen in two ways. If any of the tactics you test out lands you a new client, you win. Or, the essay you write about your experiences could make you a winner. Or, you could submit a winning essay AND land new business. WIN-WIN.

Essay? There’s an essay part?

Yes! There’s an essay part of this challenge… and I don’t know about you, but the writing is one of my favorite parts. This is where you have a chance to share your insights and experiences, and I have the chance to give you some sweet cash prizes.

Here’s how it works…

At the end of the “Try” period in February, take a day or two to reflect and then write a short summary of your experience. This final write up (2,000 words MAX) should cover:

• The client-getting tactic you chose to try for yourself (and why)
• What actually happened — and please do submit an essay even if things don’t go well, or you don’t land a client with the method you chose — testing & trying is part of the writers’ journey!
• What you perceive as the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of the experience
• Any shifts in your ongoing business you’ll make as a result of this challenge
• Any tips or takeaways for other writers interested in trying a similar approach

Send your summary to me as a document file (.doc or .docx) attachment at pwamonthly@awaionline.com by 8 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, March 8. Use “Learn, Try, Win Challenge” as your subject line. Be sure to include your full name and contact information in your email.

All summaries received on time, in the correct format, will be eligible for challenge awards.

What can you win?

FOUR official challenge awards are being offered:

• One “Grand” prize: $500 + publication
• One “Silver” prize: $250 + publication
• Two “Honorable” prizes: $125 + publication

Winners will be announced in the April issue of the PWA News & Notes and in news items and press releases that may appear on the AWAI main site and elsewhere. Prize monies will be mailed out in April also, via paper check for our US members and via PayPal for International members. Publication — with your byline and a photo — will happen in April on the PWA website.

Questions? Reach out to me, PWA Director Jen Adams, directly at pwamonthly@awaionline.com for the fastest answer to your question. You can also post questions in the LinkedIn community, and may even find a “buddy” or accountability partner there, too. 

Here’s to you learning, trying new things, and winning on multiple levels as we kick off 2021!