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The excitement of entering into your first design, marketing, or advertising competition is memorable. So it may seem strange to talk about an approach to something that seems to be based off of your gut rather than tactics. However, entering into competitions can become increasingly complex and so even asking yourself some basic questions ahead of time will put you in better position to make the right decisions about how to proceed.

Entering design competitions is not just for established studios. Design competitions can be a great way for students to get their work exposure and build up their resume with something more than an internship. Especially in this economic climate, finding a job can seem especially challenging, but design competitions are just another way to set yourself apart.

1. Does the competition fit the kind of work you do and audience you want to reach?
Every design competition has its own special niche. Some are geared towards a region, while others might be focused on a particular industry area, like fashion. The key is determining the relevance of each competition out there to you. If you focus on retail print work you may want to enter a different competition than if your work is comprised mostly of interactive design for B2B firms. Look beyond the description of a contest and instead focus on past winning entries. You'll see consistent patterns emerge. The exception to this is in the interactive space where changes in technology do play a significant factor in what wins from year-to-year.

2. Am I ready to enter this competition?
This is a hard question to answer, especially when it requires you to be detached from your own work to come up with an objective answer. Again looking at past winners can give you a good baseline, but another technique is to start with smaller and more regional competitions and go from there. If you are still on the fence, you can just enter a single project that you feel is best suited to that particular competition. Even if the award is a long shot you'll know you've entered only the best candidate.

3. How much is this going to cost me?
Many designers don't realize the significant money it takes to enter contests. The more prestigious contests use an entry fee as a way to filter the amount of entries they receive. However, there are plenty of contests that are free to enter and who make their money off upselling the winners with everything from statues to the cost to print your winning entry in the awards issue of their publication. While this raises questions about the legitimacy of some contests, it is a great way to get started entering contests.

4. How to be judicious when choosing what to enter?
It is simplistic to think that the best work you have makes for the best entry. Whether you are entering for inclusion in a publication or a design competition there is always a degree of strategy involved. One suggestion is if the contest has categories for different entries, try to find the weakest category where you also have a project well-suited to enter into it. Oftentimes you'll find it is easier to get recognized in a less trendy vertical like information technology than music.

5. Upgrade contests gradually.
If you have a good experience and continue to win a particular contest year after year, that is also a good indicator that it is probably the right time to see what the next level of contest are that you can enter.

6. Be client-centric with your content entries.
One of the best questions to ask yourself before entering any contest, will this help my client? As a service, design contests shouldn't just be vanity exercises. They should provide you with another tool to better market yourself to both existing and prospective clients.

7. We all tend to order the same item off the menu.
Even though every contest is different, it always seems to be more than a coincidence that entries from our studio that win one competition win in another one. Whatever intangible quality that draws the judges to a particular entry may very well hold true across the board. So once a particular project is recognized it can become easier to win other competitions with the same entry.

8. Make the contest work for you.
Learn as much as possible about each competition. Each one offers their own unique benefits that you can use to further your work and your business. Do as much as possible to take advantage of winning a contest as you can, otherwise no one will know what you have achieved. From updating your news to posting on a blog or even paying to have your entry printed in the winning publications — gain as much exposure as you can. The only caveat is try to avoid going overboard with self-promotion as it can come across as vain and self-indulgent. Winning contests provides a great opportunity to call your clients whom you have created the winning entry for. There is no good reason not to do this, as their reactions at worst will be indifference and at best they'll be ecstatic for both you and them.

9. Your best work may not be the best bet.
One of the hardest things to do is to put yourself in the shoes of the judges. While you may have just finished a massive online project that was significant in every respect and extremely effective for and was even well received by your client doesn't automatically make for a good entry. One question I will ask upfront, is there anything that makes this project stand out from a hypothetical project produced for a competitor's firm, with a similar scope of work, and in the same medium. If the answer is no, you've probably done a great job for your client, but your biggest project might be unremarkable when it comes to contest entries.

10. Learn about as many competitions as possible.
It is far easier today to host a competition than it was a decade ago. While this means there are a good deal of superfluous competitions out there it also means there is one that is a good fit for your work. Design competitions sometimes seem to be as plentiful as social networking web sites. There are leaders and there are ones of little value, but that leaves a great space in-between for you to pursue. So if you're a generalist as a designer, you'll find a vast array of options, but even if your work is highly specialized with some research you'll find the right contest for you.