Everything Your Media Kit Needs in 2019

Everything Your Media Kit Needs in 2019

Not sure what needs to go in your media kit? I did a post on this back in 2017, but as we all know, technology and the blogging industry as a whole has evolved so much since then. With the growing popularity of influencer marketing, brands are starting to ask for more and more statistics from potential collaborators, not only before they decide if they’d like to work with you, but also at the end of your collaboration if you do team up. Sit back and feel free to take some notes on everything your media kit needs in 2019!

HOW IT SHOULD LOOK

Before I dive into this, I want to set the tone of what your media kit should look like. It should represent your brand and overall vibe, giving the viewer an immediate representation of your online presence. Be sure to include your logo, branded colors and fonts, as well as the photo-editing style you’ll be using if they choose to work with you. If designing isn’t your thing, I think it’s worth it to hire a designer to do yours for you (I did my own and you can hire me to do yours here) — after all, sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and investing in a great media kit will likely help you book jobs.

Also, I’m not sharing this as a free template. This is a version of my own personal media kit and is solely for demonstration purposes. I’ve had people copy my stuff word for word on more occasions than I can count, and a media kit is useless to your personal brand if it’s a replica of someone else’s — just some food for thought!

WHAT IT NEEDS TO INCLUDE

BASIC INFORMATION + ABOUT ME

This will likely be located toward the top of your media kit or highlighted somewhere that’s easy to find. Think of this as your introduction, like quick facts, but keep it brief.

  • Name
  • Blog URL
  • Contact information
  • Brief “about” blurb with:
    • the city you’re located in
    • how long you’ve been blogging
    • your blog’s overall mission

YOUR CONTENT GENRE

To put it out in the open right away, list the type of content you share on your platforms so brands can quickly and easily determine if you’d be a good fit for their product or service. You don’t have to get overly specific, but make sure you touch on all the general categories (example: fashion, beauty & travel). For instance, there is no need for a makeup company to reach out to you if you don’t wear makeup… that sort of thing — listing these will save time and effort for both parties!

PHOTOS

A photo of yourself
It’s possible that your media kit is being passed around marketing departments, so be sure to include a photo of yourself so they can put a face to your name — preferably one without sunglasses or anything so they can fully see what you look like. This will help with recognition and they’ll likely remember you much more than someone who didn’t include a headshot.

Photography examples
Influencer marketing is all about the photos, so give them a taste of what you can do by sharing a few examples. I suggest choosing a variety of different shots if you dabble in a few industries like I do (i.e. fashion, beauty, lifestyle and travel) to show your versatility. Ideally, you want the brand to see an image that may represent what they’re looking for composition-wise. For example, shots could highlight:

  • Products
  • Outfits
  • Indoors
  • Outdoors

BRAND EXPERIENCE

Experience helps establish credibility, so whether you have a little or a lot, list out the brands you’ve worked with. If you’re looking for a way to categorize them, list the largest and most well-known brands at the beginning. I’m definitely missing some from my list, so do a better job than me at updating your media kit! 😂

FEATURES, AFFILIATIONS + AWARDS

This is where you want to include any outlet that has featured you, whether it’s a mention in an article, your image being used by a larger publication, an outlet naming you as the “top” something, etc. This is your chance to show that your blogging efforts have been recognized and reused by others. Awards and affiliate networks can also be included, like Influenceher Collective, etc.

SERVICES + PRICING

List everything out in easy-to-read bullet points with the price next to each service. It’s up to you what services you want to offer, but I always let brands know that I’m open to additional types of collaborations and I’m somewhat open to negotiating, within reason. This list will give them a good base to go off of so they know your general price range and the capacity in which they can collaborate with you.

STATS

These are pretty important in communicating what your reach is. Even if you feel your stats are low, they need to be included so everyone understands what you’re working with. The two big must-haves are:

  • Average unique visitors monthly — this represents how many NEW people visit your site
  • Average page views monthly — this is how many pages have been looked at once people get to your site

If you’re unsure where to find this information, it’s likely on your web hosting platform. I use Bluehost, and they do a really great job at providing so much information about who is seeing my blog, as well as how often. Depending on the platform, you may have to calculate these averages yourself based on the monthly totals it gives you.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, brands are wanting more and more stats from you these days with how accessible that information is and how saturated the influencer marketing scene has become. Some additional helpful ones you could include are:

  • Age demographics
  • Location demographics
  • Average monthly hits
  • Average Instagram story views
  • Average Instagram post reach

FAQ’s

There are a few questions I get a lot about media kits, so here are answers to a few of those.

How many pages should my media kit be?
This is up to you, but I’d suggest 1-2 pages if the information included is valuable. I like to compare it to a resume, so it’s okay if you need to extend to a second page in order to include more stats, but you’ll lose their attention if it gets too lengthy. Short, sweet and informative is best!

Should I offer to send a brand my media kit or only send it when they ask for it?
That depends on how the interaction starts. If you are sending a pitch email, I’d wait until they respond back stating that they’re interested before sending it to them so you don’t get too ahead of yourself. But if they reach out to you first about collaborating, I’d send it over.

What should I charge?
This depends on how much experience and reach you have, so I can’t give you an exact number. However, I don’t believe anyone should be getting paid under $100 for a sponsored blog post due to the time and energy it takes to execute it.

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That should cover it! If you have any questions, let me know & I’d be happy to try to answer them for you. Thanks so much for reading and if you’d like more blogging tips, advice and how-tos, check out the rest of the posts in my blogging series. See you on Friday!