Media Kits

In the good old days media kits used to be called press kits. However, with the advent of the Internet, there are many additional places where you'll want to make your kit available. Nowadays 98% of traditional media get their experts from the Internet, so it's almost imperative that you have a website and provide a kit on it as well.

Here are some of the places that might use your kit:

Traditional newspapers, television stations and radio stations
Internet radio stations
Internet podcast shows
Websites
Online news wire services
Blogs
Prospective clients
Current clients
Fan Clubs
Book Clubs
Reading Clubs
And more

So What Should You Include in a Media Kit?

A cover letter - which you update regularly
Your most recent press release - which you also update regularly
A photo of your book cover
A photo of you
Possible questions and answers the media can use
Possible story ideas with a short blurb about each as it relates to your book
A sample news story (you may find that the media uses this sample story. If so, change the story so that two media outlets won't have the same one.)
Tip sheets
Any endorsements from prominent people
Some exceptional reviews
Articles you've written
In a paper kit you might include your business card, a flier or a postcard to request a review copy of your book
A Book information sheet that includes:

Book Title

Author's name

Publisher

ISBN

Distributor

Number of pages

Number of photos in book

Size of book (i.e. 6" x 9")

Bar code: Yes/No

Price

Points to Remember About Media Kits

You want everything to look as professional as possible
Use keywords in your press release, any articles and even in your question sheet
You may not need everything listed above, but when you provide a full media kit then those who visit it can take a look at any or all of the items in it that interest them
Your photos of yourself and your book shouldn't be too large as that makes them slow to download
While your photo shouldn't be too big, it should have a fairly high dots-per-inch ratio - probably 300 dpi would be good

Try to link your press release to a current holiday or a current event. This gives it more of a chance to get the attention of those you want to contact.

There are some really interesting holidays every day of the year that you can tie a press release to. For example, imagine you've written a book about people who have succeeded against all odds. You could write a press release around "Triumph Over Adversity Day' and make quite a splash. Or suppose you've written a gardening book of some sort. You could do a press release around "Mow Your Lawn Whether It Needs It or Not Day'. Or maybe your book is about exercise. How about writing a press release that revolves around 'Modern Bicycle Day' and using a bicycle as a means of exercising? Okay one more example...let's say you've written a cookbook. Did you know that July is National Culinary Arts Month? You could do a press release every day of July and tie it to that month-long celebration. The media love these quirky holidays and they tend to get attention.

It's important to not just tie your press campaigns to the run-of-the-mill holidays, but discover some of these additional holidays that bring a smile to someone's face or have a real tie-in with your book.

There's a website where you can go to check out what holidays are coming up that you might want to use as a springboard for your press coverage. You can find it at: Brownielocks It's a great place for interesting information that is truly useful when creating a release.

Our Media Kit Services

We can help you prepare a media kit that will be professional and interesting. We can include the following in our services:

A cover letter - which you update regularly
Your most recent press release - which you also update regularly
A photo of your book cover
A photo of you
Possible questions and answers the media can use
Possible story ideas with a short blurb about each as it relates to your book
A sample news story (you may find that the media uses this sample story. If so, change the story so that two media outlets won't have the same one.)
Tip sheets
Any endorsements from prominent people
Some exceptional reviews
Articles you've written
In a paper kit you might include your business card, a flier or a postcard to request a review copy of your book
A Book information sheet that includes: