How To Create A Media Kit And What It Should Include

Whether you’re a blogger, YouTuber, photographer, writer, social media star or content creator, you will have no doubt received an email or message from a brand that wants to work with you. When you get this point (whether on purpose or by accident) and your platform is receiving lots of attention from advertisers, it’s time to start putting your media kit together!

There are a number of ways that brands and work with influencers, so you are bound to see a number of different, unique and creative (and some not so much) opportunities land in your inbox, from contra strategies (product in exchange for mention) and affiliate programs to paid collaborations and sponsored ambassador programs. But before any of these things go ahead, marketers will request a media kit.

A media what?

No matter the size, a media kit is an essential marketing tool for any Influencer. A media kit is used as a promotional tool to help raise awareness, showcase your previous work and explain your services. Your media kit should be both creative and informative, plus easy to understand and interpret. In short, your media kit should be everything an outsiders needs to know about your business-of-Influence, packaged up in a neat and tidy document, ready for presentation. This should be something you can proudly present to best represent you.

So now that you know what a media kit is here are 7 things you’ll definitely want to include to stand out:

1. Social media following

Include all your social media accounts, such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and your followings on each platform. If you’re on Pinterest, Youtube, Tumblr or SnapChat, include them too! This will give marketers a quick idea of your social media reach with your readers (the people that are likely in their target market) and ensure you are a right fit for their KPI’s.

2. Website traffic

Sharing your website stats in your media kit is a great way to showcase the audience you have access to. This reinforces to marketers that your audience follows and keeps track of what’s going on within your organisation. It’s important to include figures such as your bounce rate, page views and duration of visitors in this kit, as they are potential determining factors in collaborations. We recommend using Google Analytics to retrieve this data.

So, you’ve jumped on google analytics and you have NO idea what you’re looking at? Fear not, you’re not the first person to do so, and you’re not in over your head, you just need a little help identifying what all the data means.

Check out our blog to see what you can learn from that data you’re looking at, and how to apply it to your learnings to best prepare your media kit.

3. Audience demographics

Your audience demographics can also be found on Google Analytics and they are an insight for you and marketers to determine who you are actually talking to. You can also learn more about your social media audience by hunting down your analytics on each social platform, or with your premium Scrunch subscription. Understanding your audience demographics is not only beneficial to you, but it is also beneficial to companies as their marketing campaigns are targeted to a particular audience segment based on the gender, age and location of their target market. There is no point collaborating with a brand that targets 20-30-year-old women when your main audience is parents in the 35+ demographic. However, if your audience aligns with the brand and their target market, it is likely the collaboration will be a good fit for you both.

4. Rates

It’s a good idea to include your rates in your media kit if you no longer work on a contra or gifting basis. Middle and top tier influencers generally have a rate card for their services, and prices range from $50 to $10,000 (and sometimes more!) depending on their level of influence and the project requirements. By giving a marketer your rates at the start of the conversation, you can determine whether they have budget and a genuine desire to collaborate on something that is mutually beneficial. It also helps marketers understand that you charge a rate for your time, effort and creativity and can then work your rates into their budget now, and for future opportunities.

5. How you can collaborate

Include your collaboration options in your media kit so marketers know how they can work with you and your skills. Your options could include reviewing, product inclusions in a blog post, an interview opportunity, a styled photo shoot, vlog, giveaway or a piece of editorial content - the options are limitless and depend solely on your skills, niche and what you prefer to create. It is good to note down your capabilities and what you are willing to do for a brand to give marketers all of their potential options.

6. Contact information

This is vital! There is no point sending a brand a media kit, if there is no contact information included - how can they contact you if they are interested in working with you? Make sure your details are up-to-date and correct (check for typos!) and ensure they are clear and easy to find. You should include your email address, phone number, postal address, website and your social media handles.

7. About you

Finally, write a short paragraph about yourself. Marketers love to get to know an influencer on a personal and find out more about the person they are working with, what they value and what their experience is. This is a great place to discuss what you do and why you do it! Are you blogging about fashion simply because you are passionate about it or because you have a specialized fashion degree and love documenting the latest trends. Do you share recipes because you love to experiment in the kitchen, or because your children have allergies and you want to share information about family-friendly, allergy-free food to help others? Give marketers an insight into who you are and why you are a good fit for their campaign. Help them get to know the person behind the screen!

This media kit needs to set your brand aside from the others. Mundane isn’t going to create magic, an epic media kit will!

FINAL THOUGHTS…

Now, go the extra mile!

If you’ve got it, flaunt it! Include photos, samples and testimonials in your media kit when they’re available to you. Give your media kit some substance and show the world what your brand is made of. You want your media kit to outshine the others sitting on a journos desk, so don’t be coy. You previously collaborated with an amazing brand? Prove it. You hosted the best networking event ever? Show them. You released a new, miniature travel size product? Gift it.

Distributing your media kit

Rather than gathering an enormous list of whoever you could find on Google and hitting “Send all”, its best to do your research before sending out your media kit. You should ensure the people who receive it are appropriate and that your email is personalized. This will also help in avoiding annoying our beloved journo friends!

So, take these tips and go forth and create a killer media kit, and knock the socks off anyone who receives it!