Award season in the hairdressing world is well underway with Creative Head magazine’s Most Wanted and It List awards, and HJ’s British Hairdressing Business Awards all taking place in September.

Winning an award is amazing and a tribute to the incredible work you and you team do, but it’s also a great PR opportunity. Your local press loves an award story, so make sure you let them know about your success as soon as you can – old news isn’t news anymore!

Here’s our guide to putting together a winning press release:

First, find out the best contact to approach about your story by scouring the websites of the local papers. Generally, you’ll want to contact the news editor of a member of the news editorial team.

Next, prepare a press release detailing your win. This should include all the information a journalist will need to create a story – the less editing they have to do he better.

In the first paragraph, include all the most important information – the name of the award winner, if it’s an individual, and the salon and where you are based, plus an indication of just how prestigious the award is. So, your opening paragraph could read something like this:

‘The team at Hair by Samantha in Romford are celebrating this week after winning the accolade of Best Local Salon at a prestigious national awards ceremony for the hairdressing industry.’

And then in the second paragraph you can go on to give a little more detail about the event and your business.

‘Hair by Samantha, which opened its door two years ago in Romford High Street, saw off competition from top salons across the UK in the NAME OF AWARDS, which is recognised as one of the leading awards in hairdressing.

The event, held at the NAME OF VENUE, in London’s Mayfair, recognised outstanding performances by businesses and individuals in hairdressing, and the team at Hair by Samantha are proud to have brought the trophy for Best Local Salon back to Romford.’

Also, include a quote from either the salon owner, of the winning person, saying how much it means to win this incredible award, and how great it is to have your local area recognised as a centre of hairdressing excellence.

Always include an image to go with the press release. All major award events will take professional images of the winners, so get in touch with the organisers and ask for a copy of your moment of triumph.

Congratulations to anyone hat has won an award this year, and good luck to anyone who is up for one!