Why YOU Need a Media Kit

This guest post was written by my good friend, Lyndsey Wells of Kismet Public Relations & The Stationery Place.

As a PR consultant, the question I hear most often from clients is “What’s a media kit?” Media kits can seem intimidating, but they’re a vital tool that can (and should!) be part of any business strategy or marketing plan.

A media kit is your introduction to the world — think of it as an interactive, colorful resume — and can be used for any business, large or small. Media kits with relevant information, consistent branding and cute packaging demonstrate that you take your business seriously while showing off your unique style and personality.

Media kits should always contain a few key things:

• Product and price information
• Images on a disk or USB drive, or at the very least include a link to find images online
• Social media handles — shop, blog or website URL; Twitter and Facebook links
• Contact information so people can make a purchase, ask you questions, get more images

Those are just the bare bones, though — sky’s the limit on what else you can include!

Here are a few other suggestions of what you might incorporate:

• Product samples, fabric swatches or other tangible pieces of your work
• Catalog or order sheets
• Customer reviews, press mentions, awards & recognition
• Personal background information

Media kits can be hard copies of documents, or you can put all the information on a USB drive or CD and give those out instead. Add a business card and you’re good to go! You’ll definitely want to have them on hand at places like trade shows or craft fairs where you exhibit your work — use them to network with buyers, bloggers, magazine editors, potential advertisers, or anyone who might be interested in working with you. Media kits will become your secret weapon to taking your business to the next level – how will you use them?

*Image of Moglea Studios press kit by Lyndsey Wells

About the author. Lyndsey Payzant Wells is the founder of Kismet Public Relations and teaches PR classes for bloggers and small business owners via Kismet Workshops. In her free time, she blogs her favorite stationery finds at The Stationery Place.