As some of you might know, I help restaurants and brands create content for social media under my business name, The Skinny Pig Inc. I have also been pitching myself to companies and brands for the past five years or so, and prior to that I worked in ad sales, pitching other people’s shit to try and make them/myself some money.
Point being: I know a thing or two about pitching. Here’s one thing I get asked a lot from bloggers who are just starting out: do I need a media kit?
The answer I usually give them is actually just another question for them to answer: do you have enough of a following and/or enough partnerships to make one? Because that’s a BIG part of what a media kit entails, and frankly, it’s probably the most important. A lot of people think a media kit is just a mini-autobiography. This is not what it is.
I don’t mean to be blunt, but if you have 500 followers and no partnerships (paid or unpaid), you don’t need a media kit yet. In that case, you can make a one-sheeter about yourself including a bio, some photos, and links to your social media pages. Here’s an example of mine, but over the years I expanded it to three pages (and one page is just a collage of photos, I use this more for photography and social media proposals):
When I worked in ad sales, most of the time, people skip the “about us” and “what we do” sections and jump directly to “case studies”. Why? Because they’re rude? Maybe. But it’s more likely that they are just busy and want to see what YOU can do for THEM before they go back and read the fine print. And if I’m being brutally honest, a lot of times people barely even read the fine print. I have been pitched by MANY brands that are “vegan” and the first word in my bio used to be “bacon”. Just to show you how little some people care/do their research. Don’t be one of those people.
Here are a few simple guidelines to follow:
Do your research. Again, if you’re pitching a brand, make sure it’s a brand that makes sense for YOUR brand too.
This is not the place for your life story. If you’re making a media kit, keep the “about you” stuff short and sweet. One short paragraph and a nice photo should do it. Doesn’t have to be a head shot, but make sure it’s a nice photo where you can see your face. You facing a sunset with your back to the camera is nice for Instagram, but not for a media kit.
Don’t go crazy with images and GIF’s. We all know the importance of a well-placed GIF, but I would leave them out of a media kit. I can’t stop myself from saying “that’s what she said” in daily conversations and even I look at that as a little unprofessional.
Show those numbers! Brands want to see stats. If you have prior partnerships to show, use them, but only if they did well. No one wants to see a case study of a partnership that didn’t perform. Remember, a media kit is a highlight reel, so add in that engagement! Comments, shares, views, saves, likes. Comments and shares/saves are more important than likes in my mind because it shows people are paying attention, but that’s just me. Brands want to see it all.
Share reposts from other brands or media outlets. You want to show that you have influence and that your page reaches people outside of your immediate audience. And hopefully, those who have purchasing power. Everything comes back to sales. If you’ve written for a publication or did an Instagram takeover on a larger account, add that in!
Keep it clean. Don’t use profanity (and I use that a lot, but there’s a time and a place), and don’t make it cluttered. You want it to be easy to read.
If you want a good, free platform with a lot of solid templates to choose from, Canva is your best bet. That’s what I used to build my media kit! You can view mine here:
Mine is also on the longer side because this is my “base” media kit, meaning I add or remove slides as needed. I put four case studies in this one, when typically I would keep it to two or three. If I’m pitching a brand that has nothing to do with travel, I would edit and take those “travel” slides out before sending. Make sense?
Again, it’s all about knowing who you’re pitching! If you’re speaking to everyone, you’re speaking to no one. Remember that.
If you have any specific questions, leave a comment or DM me on Instagram! I’ll answer in a separate post.
