Hello All,

 I got a request from a list member asking what are the exact contents of a media kit. I sent her the message privately, but I thought this may be of interest to others as well.

 A media kit consists of the following things:

 The Essentials-

 * A press release: Usually a one-pager with a strict news angle. Press releases can be: something new about your business, an upcoming event, results of a survey, a contest or award you just won or are giving, some immediate connection between what you do and a current trend. Steer away from sentences like, "The XYZ Widget is currently hedging to be the industry standard," unless it's a quote from somebody. And even when using quotes, make sure their not too sugar-coated. Journalists don't want advertising--they want news.

 * A bio of you, your business or a combo of both: Unless you've got some heavy-duty credentials, your bio should also only be one page. Include things like: the college you graduated from, interesting facts about you, where you and your business is located, what type of business it is, markets served, key achievements of your company, awards, family information, etc.

 * Tip sheet: Whatever business you're in, make sure you have a tip sheet, list of 5-10 must do's for your industry. You may remember my "6 Simple Steps For Becoming Famous Online." This is a perfect example, and one I do use in my media kit.

 * Articles written about your company/where else in the media have you appeared: Journalists want to know who else has been interested in you. Reaching the popular pages of the "Wall Street Journal" is a helluva lot easier when you've got half a dozen or more other press clips about your company.

 * A photo of either you, your product or both: Newspapers, magazines and other publications are visual. Sometimes you'll have a better chance at being featured if you include some sort of picture. (At least a 5x7 or 8x10 professional publicity shot.)

 Optionals-

 * Fact Sheet: Simply a listing of facts about trends in your industry. It gives journalists some background info about your field.

 * Quote Sheet: If you've serviced a famous person or company and they liked your service, ask them for a testimonial and include it on your quote sheet. Offers credibility to your background.

 * Sample list of questions: Make journalists jobs easier by giving them your own sample list of questions to ask you. 8 times out of 10 they'll use it to some extent. And most radio talk shows thrive on them. They simply don't have the time to get to know all of their guests.

 * Sample of your product: Let them use it, feel it, experience it. If it's something they truly enjoy the publicity could be worth thousands. (That's why publishers are overjoyed when one of their authors gets booked on "Oprah." One appearance on her show is like giving that book a guaranteed best-seller status or damn near close to it!)

 If you would like for me to send you a copy of a winning media kit that I did last year, simply send me simply send me $1.00 (for postage, printing and envelope) and I'll forward a copy. I could send it via e-mail, but it was the visual factor that really made it stand out.

 This media kit yielded my client 32 radio interviews, 5 television interviews and countless mentions in newspapers/magazines. Publicists translation="Lots of Sales!" (Since they didn't utilize the services of a clipping service there was no way to tell exactly which publications picked up the press release, however there were plenty of calls from it.)

 Hope this helps somebody out there,

 Monique

Monique Harris 
301.345.2055 ph/fax
Author of, "How to Make Yourself Famous in 6 Months or Less"
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