What’s A Media Kit?

If you’re an aspiring content creator, influencer, and yes, even freelancer, you’ll probably at some point need a Media Kit.

WHAT’S A MEDIA KIT?

A media kit is typically a presentation that showcases who you are, what you stand for, social media metrics, past collaborations, and more.

This isn’t to be confused with a press kit which highlights pretty much anything that would be compelling enough for a journalist to want to cover your story in the press.

In a nutshell, media kits are typically targeted at brands, marketers, and potential partners, while press kits are aimed at journalists and media professionals.

Next, let’s cover WHY you need one (even if you’re just getting started) ⏬

Why Make One

At the beginning of my journey when the only followers and connections I had were friends, family, and colleagues, it felt pointless to create a media kit if I had nothing to show…

But in hindsight, it was one of the best decisions I made for my future self.

When I started in April 2021, I had no followers on TikTok, Twitter, or YouTube, I didn’t have an email list or podcast subscribers (or even downloads), and I only had ~900 Instagram followers and ~800 LinkedIn connections.

SOME CONTEXT

I made my first media kit in June 2021, went mega-viral for the first time in August 2021, and then had my first press inquiry by October 2021.

By the end of December 2021, I had dozens of media segments under my belt and had just started negotiating my first brand deal.

Had I not ‘taken myself seriously’ at the start of my content creation journey, I don’t think any of this would have happened.

Not to mention, the press and brands I would eventually work with a few months later ASKED for my media kit, which I already had ready to go.

So, even though I didn’t have any impressive metrics, an updated headshot, or even a clear mission to share, I had the bones to work with for when the time was right.

5 REASONS TO MAKE ONE NOW

1️⃣ PROFESSIONALISM

I’ve talked about it before, but I can’t tell you how often brands compliment me on my professionalism and it is often a deciding metric when they choose me over someone else to work with.

With 60% of influencers being GenZ, a generation that isn’t or only just starting to get work experience, showing up professionally can make all the difference.

A media kit demonstrates that you take your work seriously and are prepared for professional engagements. 

2️⃣ CREDIBILITY

Credibility, or the quality of being trusted and believed in, at the beginning can be hard to establish, and our confidence can waver because of this.

As a creator, credibility is built over time through consistent, authentic behavior - not just through numbers.

Having a media kit also shows brands and potential partners that you’re organized and have a clear understanding of your brand and audience (this will change, and it’s okay - just update your media kit accordingly).

This also helps maintain a strong, recognizable brand identity, which is crucial for building trust and credibility with both your audience and potential partners.

3️⃣ OPPORTUNITY CREATION

Even though I started with zeros across the board, I knew my media kit would be full in the future.

Partially due to goal setting, and partially due to energetics (treat it like a hobby, get hobby results).

On the physical side, by providing detailed information about your audience, content, and services, a media kit can attract more business opportunities.

Brands can easily see how they might benefit from collaborating with you, leading to increased partnerships, sponsorships, and other revenue-generating opportunities (and yes, this can be more mission/value-based than numbers-based).

4️⃣ GROWTH, BABY!

It can be super hard to see growth when other problems or comparisons cloud your judgment, so a media kit is actually really great with setting the record straight.

I have all my old media kits within the same file in Canva, so when I go to make an edit or revamp it, I just duplicate the same page or add a new one. This way I can look at how far I’ve come on the macro versus micro.

5️⃣ DRIVER OF CLARITY

Clarity will be one of the hardest things you battle in your entrepreneurial journey because it’ll be the first time you have a complete say over what you do, how you do it, and why you do it.

So having a quarterly sit down to re-write or change your mission/value statements that are on your media kit forces you to get even more clear and concise with what you’re doing as things change.

Now, let’s cover HOW to create one ⏬

Create Your Media Kit

Creating a media kit can be really overwhelming, but thankfully there are a ton of options on how to showcase your information and business in a way that can be really simple OR super complex.

But before you get started on crafting your media kit, start taking inventory of your stats and brainstorming what you even want on it.

Below is a full list of elements to possibly include in a media kit. Feel free to use them all or omit some.

And remember… this is NOT a final product. You can build as you go.

BASICS

- Name and Logo: Your personal or brand name + logo

- Contact Information: Basic contact details (email, website, etc)

- Biography: A brief introduction about you, your journey, and what you do

- Mission Statement: Your goals, values, and what you aim to achieve with your content

SOCIAL MEDIA STATS

- Demographics: Age range, gender, geographic location by country

- Platform Breakdown: Followers, engagement rates, reach, impressions, and growth rates for each platform (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, etc.)

- Audience Insights: Specific insights from analytics tools (e.g. Instagram)

OPTIONAL

- Content Examples: Examples of successful past campaigns, screenshots, links to notable posts or video clips

- Services Offered: Sponsored posts and content (newsletter/podcast), product reviews, events, and appearances

- Partnership Opportunities & Press Coverage: Collaboration ideas, packages, rates (I don’t add this), and press features or awards

Now, let’s cover WHERE you can create one, whether you’re tech and graphically inclined or not ⏬

Tools For Media Kits & Marketplaces

Now that you have the content, you can now craft your media kit.

Below are a few suggestions on how to showcase your media kit that range from easy to challenging based on the time you have, your skillset, and patience (lol).

EASY: DIGITAL BIOS

- Beacons: This is like a link in bio on steroids. I haven’t personally used it yet but I’m starting to mess around with it because you can do wayy more than showcase your stats.

- Mediakits.com: This is a super simple single-scroll page to showcase your information.

- Pillar.io: This is super similar to Beacons but I think the focus is more on helping creators make $$$. They have a media kit feature! One thing that annoys me is I can’t trial it without putting in my CC.

ADVANCED: DIGITAL + GRAPHIC

- Notion: My biz BFF Tiff Knighten has a media kit through Notion and it’s gorgeous + super easy to update. I think this is a really great option for those who aren’t really graphically-inclined but want something a bit more than just a link in bio.

CHALLENGING: GRAPHIC-FOCUSED

These aren’t necessarily ‘challenging’ to do, BUT they do require some time and tediousness to make your own. Plus if you’re not familiar with Canva, for example, it can be difficult to learn and edit at the same time.

You can find pre-made templates on each of the platforms below. I use Canva for all my graphic design needs (literally best $12 I spend every month).

• Canva

• Adobe Creative Cloud Express

• Template.net

Though I love my physical media kit, it’s a bit clunky and doesn’t always make it easy for brands and partners to creep on me easily (we want lurkers to become buyers, right?).

Plus, I want to make it easier for people to access all my content, access freebies, and buy products/programs from me, and my current ‘link in bio’ that I made through Squarespace is limited.

So, I’ll use both. But in the beginning, just focus on one.

CREATOR MARKETPLACES

- F*** You Pay Me: Best name, best place. Find a list of creators and influencers who report on their experience with brands (plus how much they were paid and for what). Definitely recommend signing up.

- Passionfroot: This DOES have media kit capabilities, but it’s more from the lens of connecting with brands directly through their website. I was one of the OG people to join but tbh I haven’t really used it since I took a hiatus from brand deals. I’ll probably fire it back up again!

Quitting…With 5 Kids?

This past week I interviewed John Branch IV, a successful wedding photographer and content creator.

John and I connected back in May when we were both on a panel put on by Novo.

After hearing his Quitter story and how he runs a business as the sole provider for his family of 7 (5 kids), I knew I HAD to talk to him.

Because if John can quit under that kind of pressure, you can quit too.

We also talked about how to start and scale a photography business, so if you have any curiosity about that, this episode will be helpful.

Ep. 153: How To Get Started in Wedding Photography with John Branch IV