By Steven Roll
ASBPE Past President

ASBPE is looking for a few good judges for the 2011 AZBEE Awards of Excellence. What’s in it for you? Judging will give you the insights you need to get an inside track to winning an editorial or design award. As a judge, you’ll quickly learn which entries’ mission statements and essays work and don’t work. You’ll also further develop your sense for identifying the intangible qualities that separate a good article from a great one.

During my time as a features article judge, I’ve noticed how some publications have an uncanny ability to pick topics that I find interesting despite my almost complete lack of previous knowledge about the industry they are covering. This has helped me come up with interesting ideas for articles and identify stories that are likely to appeal to judges who might not know my industry.

Besides allowing you to gauge trends and hot topics, judging is good way to learn about new reporting techniques or design ideas. This will help you to improve your publication and boost your career.

Serving as a judge in the last five competitions has given me an invaluable education and has heightened by respect for the trade and association press. Every year, it reinforces my belief that despite the obstacles most specialty publications face, they consistently produce high-quality design and editorial content.

At the awards banquet, it feels good to know that I played a key role in picking the winner of one or more of the categories.

If all of that isn’t enough, there’s more. ASBPE is one of the few organizations that pays its judges. Each judge receives $75 in “ASBPE bucks,” which may be applied toward membership dues, fees for chapter events or the national conference, or ASBPE books.

Of course, not everyone can be a judge. ASBPE is looking for people who have a proven track record of success in the B2B publishing industry. Find out if you have what it takes by e-mailing me at b2beditor AT gmail.com.