How To Create A Kick-Ass Media Kit

As someone who has prepared several media kits for different blogs as well as working on behalf of a brand receiving them I’ve seen a fair few over the last few years. Although there is no wrong way to prepare a Media Kit (hey, the fact you have one means you are on the right path) there are a few things that the strongest ones have in common.

In a nutshell:

A great media kit requires fully understanding what your blog is about as well as what your blog can offer the brand or PR you are pitching to.

Then you compile stats and case studies to back what you are saying up and present it in a visually appealing package.

Sound good? Let’s walk through it.

Before You Start

Before beginning your media kit think about the strengths of your blog and what that can mean for a potential partner or sponsor. List these strengths – whether that is page views, click-throughs, engagement, reach, influence or quality of writing – because this is what you will want to lead with.

What Is Your Blog About

It’s surprising the amount of bloggers who forget to explain what their site is about at the start of a media kit. In just a couple of sentences explain what your site offers the reader and the type of content you usually cover. Mention your tone and style and explain what makes your blog unique.

Who Are Your Readers

Give a profile of your readers including average sex, location and age. If you know specifics from a reader survey or have a reader profile you write for include it here. If not, use tools like Google Analytics, Alexa.com and emails and conversations from readers themselves to build a better picture of who your readers are.

Extract from Rock n Roll Bride Media Kit. Source

Numbers

Time to talk stats. Give a clear breakdown of your site’s traffic and social following. Include at least the following:

Monthly unique visits
Monthly page views
Email or RSS subscribers
Social media followers – twitter, facebook, instagram, pinterest, google+

Other numbers to consider including:

Domain authority
Time on site
Bounce rate
Breakdown of reader demographics/locations
Bloglovin subscribers
Engagement stats  (i.e how many shares or comments do your posts get on average. Do you have a hashtag for your site that you can report the reach of?)

Whilst you don’t want to go overboard with numbers the more you include the clearer picture the brand/ PR will have about what they get in return for working with you. Lead with your strengths and explain, if necessary, your weaknesses (i.e. if your email list has low numbers as you started it last week, say so!).

Case Studies

This section is for proving that there is more to your blog than just numbers – because let’s face it, page views are never the full picture – and how the stats from above successfully translate into campaigns. If you have worked with a brand in the past share a few sentences about the project and a snapshot of the results. For example: do you have evidence of a wide reach for a twitter chat you were involved in or entry numbers from a contest you held?

My favourite case studies are those that demonstrate a blogger’s influence. If you have a comment or email from a reader who booked or bought something off the basis of your recommendation include a quote or snapshot of this activity. For my media kit I screenshot tweets from readers who have been directly influenced by anything I’ve written. It all goes into a file for later use.

If you are not sure what to include here go back to the list of site strengths you wrote at the start of this process and find ways to prove them!

Utilise pre-made presentations on Canva to make your media kit pretty

Testimonials

If you have successfully worked with a brand already ask them to kindly provide a few sentences on what it was like to work with you. It’s always better for others to say how great we are instead of hammering on about it ourselves!

If this is not possible consider adding a quote from a loyal reader who has expressed that they find your blog useful or engaging.

About You

Do include a little section to pimp yourself though. Include a short bio that mentions your professional experience, where relevant, and any credits, awards or press your blog has gained.

How Can Brands Work With You

Now that you have explained how awesome you are tell the brand what you want! Include a line about the type of collaborations you are interested in – this could be press trips, product reviews, public speaking, advertising, sponsorship, or all of the above.

Contact Details!!

Please, please, please don’t forget to state how people can get in touch with you! Your media kit may get forwarded to someone without your original email attached so make sure your contact details are in the actual document too. Include at least an email address and contact number (put your skype details if you don’t want to receive phone calls when abroad).

Call In The Designers

Now you have to make it pretty. A media kit should be a reflection of your site – include at least your logo and site colours in the document and maybe also your profile picture so people can relate it to you (if you’ve met in person).

For those of us who lack a little in the design department the Canva presentation templates are a great start. You can also hire designers on sites like People Per Hour or buy templates and custom-made themes on Etsy.

See the Pinterest board below for further inspiration.

Follow Jayne Gorman’s board Media Kits For Bloggers on Pinterest.

Happy creating!