Blogger to Blogger: Media Kit 101

I must apologize for taking this long to post another ‘blogger to blogger’ tip!
in case you missed previous articles, check out…
EMAIL ETIQUETTE
BENEFITS OF FORMING A LLC

Today I’m taking on the Media Kit. What the heck it is, why you need one, etc. As a blogger with a background in public relations {and is still freelancing} I’ve been versed in the art of creating a great Media Kit for some time and hope to inspire y’all to create one for yourself {if you haven’t already}!

+ In short, a tool for you to use to sell yourself {+ your brand}. Think of it as your ‘blog resume’. Its written for anyone you want to attract: that could include brands you want to work with, businesses you want to advertise on your site, or traditional media {magazines, newspapers etc.} that perhaps want to pitch a story to. No one can sell you better than yourself, so investing some time and thought into your media kit is important.

+ if you’re interested in working with brands and retailers
+ if you’ve begun receiving an increasing number of emails from brands or pr/marketing agencies/reps wanting to collaborate with you
+ if you want to save time on back and forth communication, a media kit is the most efficient way to send information about working together – should answer all {or most} of their questions at one time

+ Introduction: about you and your blog {let your personality shine!}, topics you specialize in, your location {particularly if you’re in a popular geographical market}, what makes your blog special
+ Collaboration Ideas: gifted product {should you choose to accept}, sponsored content, advertising options {although I would also create a separate one-pager strictly for your ad rates and options}, event hosting, social promotion, etc.
+ Past Work: mention of brands you’ve worked with in the past and how you collaborated
+ Statistics: the most important aspect of your media kit and the thing brands will most likely look at first – monthly pageviews, unique visitors, social media following – retrieve your stats from google analytics or your sites’ dashboard data
+ Keep your stats as up to date as possible: since followings are constantly changing, you should aim to update your media kit each month {or every time you send it out if you wish}
+ Rates and/or Compensation requirements for collaborations and advertising
+ Don’t include any numbers that aren’t up to snuff. if you’ve only just started using Twitter and only have 100 followers, that’s not going to impress anyone, so leave that number off for now and wait until the number has increased a bit

+ Should be simple, visual/colorful and to the point
+ 1-3 pages is sufficient, getting too wordy is redundant and a bit excessive
+ Visuals: jazz it up a bit! your media kit should be sprinkled with graphics or imagery from your blog that will break up content and some personality.
+ Let your Photoshop/inDesign skills shine

                                                image via In Honor of Design