How to Create a Media Kit + Real World Example

I’ve had media kits on my mind lately. Creating media kits, collecting media kits and updating media kits. It seems to be the topic of the month, so I thought I’d share some insight into how to create a media kit and why its so important to grow your business. Plus, I dropped a real world example of a combo business/ blog media kit for reference at the bottom!

What is a Media Kit?

A media kit is a formal introduction to your brand and provides all the stats, facts, and back story to help advertisers, marketers, and collaborators understand who you are. New clients often ask me if its necessary. And the answer is always “Yes!”. Bottom line, if you aim to get any sort of media attention, seek advertisers, or collaborate with others, you need a media kit. It shows that you’re a professional and have your stuff together. It also leaves no question about how you prefer to be described, or what photo you prefer to have attached to your name. Think of it as a cheat sheet that the others can use to copy and paste your bio, mission, photos, and contact information. The content and photos you include here is almost guaranteed to be used by third parties.

What Goes in a Media Kit?

What would you want to know about your competitors? Hmm, all the good insider stuff, right? That’s your answer to what goes in your media kit. The who, what, where, when, why and how’s it going? It’s a conversational tool so think of your page sequence in a similar way. Here’s a rundown of what to include in your media kit:

Introduction

Introduce yourself and your business with a well-written biography that sets the tone for your brand. The content here should be similar to your other biographies (it’s all about consistency!). Be sure to include a strong, clear statement about your mission.

Headshot, logo and other important images

Brands and marketers like to work with people. That means if you’re a small business or a blog you need to include your headshot or other professional photo. Keep it close to your introduction so readers will better relate to your story. If there’s additional images you think are important, like logo variations or a product gallery, just provide a link to an external source like Dropbox.

Social media reach

Introduce your online presence. Where can people find you? List your social media profiles along with their reach. Be sure to include your handle, especially if they’re different from one account to the next. This is a great place to get creative. Add some interest by taking a screenshot of your best stuff, like a section of your Instagram feed, a tweet on Twitter, or post on Facebook. If you’re on Yelp, Google+, Angie’s List or other review site, include your overall rating or a standout review.

Website stats

In addition to your web address and a brief summary, provide some stats about your website traffic. Check in with Google Analytics to pull some good-to-know data, as such:

monthly unique visits
monthly page views
audience demographic
popular content

You’ll also want to include stats about your email list. How many subscribers do you have, what’s your growth rate, and what’s your average open and click through rate?

Press & Accolades

Now, what makes you stand out? Dedicate a little space to highlight your signature service, event, or product. Have you received awards, recognition, or great press before? Include it! This is another great place to add visuals with logos and photos from press, partners, or previous collaborations.

Services

What do you hope to gain with your business media kit? Speaking engagements? Sponsored posts? Collaborations? Include the facts about how you operate and how others can work with you.

Contact information

Tie it up with a clear call to action and how to work with you. Don’t make people hunt down important email addresses or the name of your Buyer. List it out and be clear about the best contact for each department.

Tips

Remember to keep it tight. The length should be short and sweet (under 4 pages). It’s easy for your kit to get lengthy, so avoid the fluff and stick to the need-to-know info. It’s also important to keep it easy on the eyes. Your media kit is a visual representation of your brand, so you’ll want it to keep it branded and break up chunks of text and boring numbers with photos. (If you’re hard pressed for photos, try adding inspiration photos.)