this is life in austin & aspen

Today I welcome World Media Awards founder Murray Newlands for a guest post explaining the awards: a way to recognize top bloggers, writers and publishers, influencers, innovators and strategists as the latest talent in online marketing.

5 Reasons Why YOU Must Participate: The 2012 Media Awards

There are a lot of excellent bloggers and publishers doing exceptional work, and those who stand out deserve to have their work recognized, associate with each other, and see their readerships grow. That’s why the World Media Awards exist—to recognize and reward great contributions to media from bloggers and publishers.

In my own career, I’ve learned and benefited so much from others that I wanted to help build some way to give back to an industry I love show appreciation to the up-and-coming leaders. The World Media Awards will culminate in a 1-day event in San Francisco that will celebrate the best in blogging, forums, publishing and media from around the world.

So if you are a world-class blogger, why should you enter?

1. Get Recognized- You Deserve It

You put a lot of work into making your blog amazing. You know it and your readers know it. The World Media Awards is a way for you to get authoritative credit from other bloggers and industry experts. That recognition will help you grow your readership, make fresh collaborative connections, and hopefully have great moments that make all the late nights even more rewarding.

2. Meet Other Bloggers Who Care

Blogging, forums and most other on-line media is about conversation and interaction, but sometimes it’s easy to end up trying to hide away behind a monitor in your office or home all alone. Meeting other bloggers and publishers keeps the fire lit and the conversation going. When you enter the World Media Awards, you’ll be listed alongside other bloggers and publishers who put the same level of delight, attention and effort into making their blog top notch.

3. Expose Yourself to New Partners

If your blog or forum is part of your company, being part of the World Media Awards will increase your exposure by putting your name in front of the thousands of visitors to our site and the award ceremony. That means you can find out who else is doing very good work, strut your own stuff, and expand your network of contacts and collaborators.

4. Make Yourself Irresistible to Clients

What helps your chances at winning that next pitch more than growing your network? Telling that network that you just won a World Media Award. Winning an award shines a light on your accomplishments, and it serves as an example of the commitment, engagement and exacting standards you apply to your work. 

5. Be Part of the Beginning of Something Big

Because 2012 is the first year for these awards, you have the one-time chance to be the inaugural winner and set the standard for the World Media Awards in your category. Getting in on the ground floor of these awards will open opportunities for you as a blogger and a publisher.

The bottom line is, the World Media Awards will shine a spotlight on the year’s most prosperous bloggers and publishers, and on the businesses and companies that serve and interact with them.

Now is your chance to be one of them.

The sponsors include Growmap, Pace Lattin, VigLink and Trancos. Media partners include Adrants, Bloggeries, MediaVision, The Affiliate Marketing Awards, Read Write Web, My Blog Guest, Web Traffic Control and FeedBlitz.

World Media Award judges include Steve Hall, Sarah Austin, Chang Kim, Julie Wohlberg, Pierre Zarokian, Ivka Adam, Cheryl Contee, Krystyl Baldwin, Adrian Harris, Jeremy Wright, Rob Bloggeries, Dave Duarte, Tanya Alvarez, Dana Oshiro, Tom Foremski, and Judith Lewis.

hashtag #wmads on Twitter.

Murray Newlands is author of How to Make a Blog Book and Online Marketing; a User Guide. He is also founder of the Affiliate Marketing Awards. Born in the UK, he now spends his time in San Francisco and New York. Murray works for Audience Mindshare and consults for Trancos Ins as well as being an advisor for VigLink. Actually he is working on his new book: The Email Marketing Book.

***thisislifeinaustin.com is officially entered! I know many readers also write their own blogs, so please enter! We’ll have a community crossing its fingers for everyone!