How to Make a Digital Media Kit to Promote Your Blog and Business

Attending conferences and seminars is an effective and fun way to network and promote your business.

Media kits are often handed out during these events which include expensive printed marketing collateral, which is usually not read or finds its way into the trash.

These media kits consist of neatly organised pocket folders with a company’s promotional materials, mission statement, branding information and company background. They can be also distributed via expensive snail mail to media outlets and reporters.

Business is now frequently conducted online, and individuals maintaining a professional or even personal blog need a well-organised digital media kit. These kits are now often in a PDF format that is quick and cheap to distribute via email or can be downloaded from the blog or website.

What’s Needed and Why

Blogs are becoming a serious business and are often the major online portal to your business and brand. With all the competing blogs on the Internet, trying to draw traffic to your business or personal blog without a media kit is hit or miss. A well-designed kit explains what makes you different from thousands of other blog sites, and tells the public why they should click on yours. Having one makes it easier for people to find you, or your business, online.

The five most important things to have in your kit include:

1. A company overview
2. A well thought out FAQ sheet
3. Contact information
4. Executive bios
5. Media coverage

1. A Company Overview

A professional company overview should clearly explain what you do, how you got to where you are now, and your future goals. Listing the rates you charge for guest posts and advertising rates will eliminate confusion down the line.

2. FAQ Sheet

A carefully thought out FAQ sheet lets people know what differentiates you from the competition. Putting it in a question and answer format helps readers find the information they’re looking for quickly.

3. Contact Information

The contact information you put in your kit makes it easy for people to get to you. What’s important here are not just phone numbers but also your Twitter stream, Facebook page and your YouTube Channel.

4. Executive Bios

Executive bios let people know they’re dealing with real people, not just a faceless, impersonal company.

5. Media Coverage

The media coverage category includes digital copies of stories on your business that have run in the newspaper, or at least links to those stories.

The Importance of a Media Kit

Now that businesses have entered the 21st century, a digital media kit is an effective way to publicize your company and what it has to offer without spending a fortune on postage, advertising or public relations fees. Almost 40 percent of U.S. businesses rely on blogging for marketing purposes, and those that do blog draw 55 percent more website hits. If you’re new to the idea of creating one for your organisation, looking at kits others have made can give you some ideas. Having one is advisable, because otherwise you run the risk of losing potential business opportunities.

Individuals looking for online information on a business don’t want to hunt and peck for every little tidbit. For them, searching for information on a company that doesn’t have a media kit is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Typically, they’re crunched for time, and if they can’t find what they’re looking for they’ll move on. A media kit can keep them on your website longer, and make it easy for them to learn more about you.

A media kit is a useful tool in your marketing arsenal, whether for personal or professional blogs. It helps you define and describe what you do in less than 20 seconds, which is about how long most people spend scanning your landing page to see if it has what they’re looking for. Is the information they need readily available at their fingertips? It could drive more traffic to your website and increase ad revenue for you.

Tips on Making a Media Kit

In terms of marketing your business, a media kit is as basic and important as a business card. Cards can be handed out one-on-one, just like in hand-to-hand combat, but electronic media kits are like scattershot, with a wide range. You never know who’s out there searching for the products or information you have.

No two kits are alike, because each one should brand the specific business. Although each one should be distinctive and creative, they should all have the same basic information. The profile should cover the five W’s: who, what, when, where and why, by explaining the company’s history, background, core values, major projects and accomplishments. People who receive media kits are short on time, so cut to the chase quickly.

What’s Needed:

• The blog’s logo, plus statistics and demographics, in the profile
• The primary contact’s full name, title and contact information
• A bulleted-point fact sheet, to present information in an easily-read format
• A brief product overview

The product overview can be tailored to the specific company. For retailers, it can include other companies’ reviews of featured items. For service-based businesses, such as writers or photographers, it can include clippings, writing samples or prints. Testimonials also work well here.

With all the resources available, putting together a media kit can be as highly creative as the business behind it. Giving some thought as to who might be looking at it will help you design an effective yet powerful kit, to help you stand out. Don’t take the chance of being passed by just because you don’t have one.

Guest Author: Kayla, Editor of The Credit Letter Blog in Sydney. She is an advertising major and journalism lover who shares financial and business wisdom with individuals to help them live their life in a healthy and abundant manner.

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