So you’ve started a business, established an online presence, and built a brand. Yet, despite putting the effort in, you struggle to land collaborations, sponsorships, or advertisements.
Or it’s the other way around – your business has grown rapidly and received plenty of collaboration opportunities but you are unsure on how to continue with the process.
Whichever situation it may be, consider making a media kit to increase the chance of partnership with other brands and businesses. Doing so will not only boost your confidence when reaching out to potential collaborators, but will also help you prepare for future opportunities.
Keep reading to understand what is a media kit and whether it’s synonymous with a press kit. We will also provide the seven steps to creating a good media kit for your business.
What Is a Media Kit?
A media kit is a public relations tool that contains all necessary information that potential collaborators may need to know about working with your brand.
This includes your brand story, mission statement, products or services complete with high-quality images, and contact information.
Based on that, potential collaborators can decide whether your brand is the right one to work with.
A media kit can take the form of a document, slideshow, or webpage that’s free to access.
While larger brands are expected to have a media kit ready, smaller businesses can benefit from it by making their brand appear more professional and legitimate. That way, potential collaborators can be more receptive when you send out a pitch.
Here are several scenarios that media kits are frequently used for:
- Sponsorships. Bloggers and influencers use media kits to land brand deals.
- Advertisements. Gain exposure by finding and working with the right advertisers.
- Marketing campaigns. Collaborate with other brands or vendors to create marketing campaigns.
- Events. Get sponsors or speakers for an event.
- Collaborations. Produce content with other creators, including podcasters, writers, influencers, and others in relevant fields.
For large brands, this is essential, as those collaborating may already be familiar with media kits, thus expecting large companies to be ready with it.
But if your brand is small, it gives you legitimacy right off the bat and separates you from others, making you more memorable to potential collaborators.
Another important thing to note is that a media kit is not synonymous with a press kit, although the terms are often used interchangeably.
A press kit, which is often referred to as a press release, is specifically used for press coverage.
It is usually sent to reporters, journalists, media outlets, and publishers for timely press releases such as new product launches, company news, or mergers and acquisitions.
A press kit’s content often includes information such as fact sheets, metrics, and images for media coverage uses.
7 Steps to Creating a Good Media Kit
Now that you know what a media kit is and how it differs from a press kit, let’s take a look at the steps to create a good one for your business.
1. Research and Gather Information
Know what you want to include in your media kit and then prepare the content. This may differ depending on your brand.
For example, including a product or service section is essential for small businesses. However, it might not be necessary for personal brands like influencers or singers.
Thus, conduct thorough research by looking at media kit examples from brands in the same or a similar field.
After you’ve found several media kit examples and decided on the information to display, make sure to collect and prepare the content. This includes images, facts, and statements you’d like to share.
Keep in ind that the two must-have sections in your media kit are the introduction and contact information pages.
2. Choose Your Media Kit Template
A template is an excellent option if you want to create a stunning media kit free and fast.
They come with pre-designed pages where you can replace elements by dragging and dropping your content into place.
Consider using online design tools such as Canva or Visme to help with the task.
That said, it’s important to find a template that best represents your brand. Pay attention to its color scheme and graphics, and whether the template editor has features to customize them.
To narrow down your options, try searching for media kit templates specific to your industry. From there, customize them to match your brand and personal preferences.
3. Write Your Introduction
After gathering your information and choosing a suitable template, it’s time to craft your introduction. This includes your brand story, mission statement, and other valuable narratives to help people learn about your business.
An introduction must be concise and easy to understand. Meaning, avoid walls of texts and break them into paragraphs when necessary.
Ideally, you want to keep the introduction at less than 250 words. Make sure the sentences are short and provide plenty of white space for readability.
Additionally, use an eye-catching font and background color combination to create an engaging reading experience.
Aside from written information, consider adding a headshot or relevant graphics to your introduction. If you’re an influencer, consider adding a graphic of your social followers to hook potential collaborators.
4. Include Branding Elements
Strong branding differentiates you from others and makes you more memorable. It also signals that you are professional and well-established, increasing the chance to interest others to work with you.
To create a strong brand, it’s imperative to stay consistent with cohesive branding across different channels. This includes media assets such as company logo, graphics, color schemes, tone and voice, all the way to typography.
Also, make sure to feature the said elements throughout your brand’s media kit.
If you’re unsure about how to design it or want to upgrade your template, consider hiring professionals to help get the job done.mSites like Fiverr, UpWork, and PeoplePerHour are great portals to find and hire freelancers fitting your budget and preferences.
5. Add Eye-Catching Visuals
An overall eye-catching visual for your media kit should feature a complementary, cohesive, and balanced look.
Instead of throwing in contrasting graphics and shapes to catch attention, understand what works best for your particular design.
An eye-catching visual should offer plenty of white space. This design method helps to guide readers’ eyes to the focal point of your content.
Additionally, make sure each visual you include is high quality. Meaning, the image is not blurry or jagged due to inappropriate file size or dimensions.
6. Present Your Statistics
If you’re quite established and would like to showcase the metrics, consider adding a dedicated page for the metrics section.
For your social media insights, it’s best to show facts such as engagement rate, followers increase, and link clicks. You can find these insights using the built-in analytics tools on each social media platform.
As for your website, include metrics such as monthly visitor count, page views, and conversion rates if necessary. Consider using Google Analytics to get this data.
Data-based numbers are great to showcase credibility and increase your value, which convinces potential collaborators to work with you.
However, if you’re just starting out with fewer statistics to show, try including your followers count on your introduction page using graphics to encourage potential collaborators to read further.
Keep updating your media kit as your brand grows.
7. Add Contact Information
The contact information page is a vital part of your media kit. It must include a phone number and an email address to encourage further discussions.
Since media kits are geared for collaboration and partnership, consider offering a different email address that’s dedicated specifically for this purpose. That way, you can focus better and respond faster.
It’s also important to inform readers whether they will be reaching out directly to you or to a team member from your company, as this helps them address the recipient better.
Make sure to also include all relevant channels such as social media platforms and your website, so they can learn more by exploring your brand themselves.
Additionally, make all your channels clickable and ensure all links work – including phone and email.
Conclusion
Creating a media kit is essential to growing your business with collaborations and partnerships. It helps other businesses and brands view you as a professional that is open to opportunities.
By using the steps above, you can understand clearly what is a media kit, how to make a good media kit and start sending out pitches in just a few hours. Make sure to scour the internet for examples and to outline it well before creating one for your brand.
Differentiate your business from competitors and start landing more opportunities quickly.
