The Awards have been amazing for the last two months. But there’s one thing that’s front and center in my mind: how to help us, the Awards community, do more? Be more involved?
It’s my vision that we all get more involved, and get to know each other.
So this month, a bunch of new elements are added:
1st, 2nd, & 3rd Place Winners
We need more winners up in here!
So now, instead of just a single winner, I’m introducing a new layer to the Awards, with 2nd and 3rd place winners.
I know, right?
That means more people each month have a chance to demonstrate that they’re award-winning designers.
Public Voting
In previous months, public voting has been for the top 20 candidates.
Now, public voting will actually mean something toward nominating a finalist. You are invited to vote for your favorite out of the Judges top 9.
This introduces an extra phase to the Awards process. We’ll give ourselves a couple of days to share it around, and get friends and fans to vote.
Voting will happen over on Facebook, so get on over and mash that ‘like’ button!
The Final Decision
Another update is that the final decision is no longer a single person vote by default.
It will be voted by a select group of Awardineers, the sponsors for that month’s awards. After the public vote for the top 3, the Awardineers vote for the finalist.
If a tie breaker is needed, then we’ll open it up to everyone through a Facebook poll.
This way we’re all a greater part of what the Awards mean, and can continue building a thriving, excited community.
The Award Patrons
This whole project is a labor of love, but I also have to be smart about what it costs in time and resources. It is already come to a point where I need to think about getting help.
The Awards started out with sponsorships, but I’m more interested in crowdsourcing support, and getting more of us involved.
So as of this month, I’m opening up 8 patrons. The Awards this month will forever be known that you made it happen. Anyone can enter – but not participate in the competition.
That wouldn’t be very fair come voting time. 😉
The three levels so far are:
1 Crown: $100: You get a 10 minute video interview about yourself and your business, all summarized in a post and shared on social media.
2 Laurels: $50: You can promote one of your products. It must be live for over a year. You can submit a post with 5 reviews, and a video overview of the functionality, your bio, and a link back to your product.
5 Accolades: $20: You get a backlink, photo, name, and your brand name published.
All patrons will always be publicly mentioned as part of that monthly award.
1 Free Accolade
Starting next month, 1 random applicant from the September awards will be selected as an accolade. That means they can’t enter a website for that month, but they do get forever placement as that month’s sponsor.
That means they get to help vote for the finalist – for free.
Judge Showcase
It’s a generous commitment for someone to take time out of their month to review the Top 20, and identify their best points. Right now, all judges do it because they’re amazing people, not because they’re paid.
So I want to help us all get to meet our judges.
Starting this month, every judge is invited to share a little about their story, their background, why they love Divi, and where their company is going.
Facebook Page
This way we can all stay connected about posts and updates, without me choking your inbox with emails.
I can also do things like nominate Top Fans, and share all the amazing pieces of content that we are creating together.
Top 20 Videos
Everyone who makes it to the top 20 is invited to make a short 1 minute video about themselves (max is 3mins), and send it in!
They will all be posted as a blog post, and shared on Facebook!
You can share your story, and why Divi has been powerful for you. Include 1 fun random fact, who your ideal client is, and talk about the most interesting project you worked on.
Once you have that video on your Youtube channel, put it on your Linkedin profile, your About page, and your Facebook page. It’s free advertising. 😀
The Nick Roach Gift Basket Drive
This is a dream I had right from the beginning, to thank Nick Roach for giving us all a new lease on life with Divi.
At first, I decided that if we rustled up 500 entries, I’d personally buy him a gift basket.
But now, I’m glad that we’re still under the 150 mark as a community. It means we can get to know each other better, and do things faster.
So starting this month, I’m starting a monthly fund where we can all contribute toward a gift basket for Nick. It’s one of those really nice ones that Amazon can deliver.
I would love to see Nick post a photo of the basket, thanking us all. 😀
So you can donate any amount.
And any extra money goes toward one lucky winner, drawn at random from all entries for that month.
Enter the Auditors
One interesting thing that has come up is people asking for help.
“How can I improve my site to win an award?”
Or even, “How can I impress my clients with next-level design? I’m self-taught, so some guidance would really help!”
So I’m opening up a new feature that runs alongside the awards, only open to judges, and winners. the exclusive Auditors.
For $45, you can select a judge or a winner, and ask them to audit your website, and give you pointers on what you can do to improve. A little bit like coaching, over a video. No more than 10 minutes max.
Sometimes, getting feedback on a live project makes all the difference. And then you’ll immediately start improving your design everywhere.
It’s an investment in yourself with a pro. Get one step closer to that award!
How to Make you look Cool
I want to make participating in the Awards a cool thing, like a mark of honor. 🙂 We’re changing lives here.
Putting the Divi Awards badge, or even a 3rd place badge on your website, could mean the customer confidence that helps you close a $1000+ project.
So here are examples of graphics that you can share, as you do different things with the Awards.
Of course, you can make your own graphics with your own branding if you want. Tag the Facebook page so that I can share it as a story! And link back to the website so that others can see too.
Design Contest?
I’m looking for ideas on how to display the awards. My first thought was to provide a badge that goes in the footer of your website.
But some of you are interested in a full section. Others want a floating banner that sits on top of your website somewhere, like Awwwards.
So the floor is open. You can download the .json file with the graphics for the badge, and come up with your ideas.
Screenshot it, and send it in. I’ll post all the best ones for our inspiration! I might even make an ongoing Inspiration Gallery.
What about you?
Do you have any more ideas? Chime in in the comments! I’d love to hear from you. 🙂
