A press kit, or media kit, is a collection of documents and digital assets that provides key information about your small business to journalists, bloggers, and other media professionals.
Its main purpose is to make it easy for them to cover your business, whether it’s for a story, a feature, or an event.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a press kit for your small business.
1. Decide on Your Press Kit Format
While traditional press kits were physical folders, today, they are almost always digital. The most common formats are:
- A dedicated “Press” or “Media” page on your website. This is the most popular and accessible option. It allows journalists to find information on their own, 24/7. It also helps with SEO and can be easily updated.
- A downloadable PDF or zipped folder. This is a great alternative, as it allows you to package all the information and assets in one convenient file. A PDF is also good for maintaining your brand’s specific formatting.
2. Gather Your Essential Components
A compelling press kit provides a comprehensive yet concise overview of your business. To ensure it’s useful for a journalist on a tight deadline, include the following:
- Company Overview/Boilerplate: A short, two-to-three-sentence paragraph that describes your business. It should include your company’s name, what you do, and your mission or vision. This is often the first thing a journalist will look at.
- Company History/Fact Sheet: A brief narrative or timeline of your company’s story, including key milestones. You can also include a fact sheet with essential data points like your founding date, location, number of employees, and notable achievements.
- Executive & Team Bios: Short biographies and professional headshots of your founders, CEO, or other key team members. Highlight their expertise and credibility.
- Contact Information: This is critical. Provide the name, title, email, and phone number of the primary media contact.
- High-Resolution Visuals: This is one of the most important elements. Journalists need high-quality images for their articles. Include:
- Logos: Provide your company logo in various formats (e.g., SVG, PNG) with transparent backgrounds. Also, include brand guidelines for proper usage.
- Product/Service Photos: Professional, high-quality photos of your products, services, or your business storefront.
- Team Photos: Professional headshots of your key team members.
- Other Multimedia: Consider including videos, infographics, or charts that showcase your business.
- Recent Press Releases: An archive of your most recent press releases. This shows journalists what you’ve been up to and what you consider newsworthy.
- Media Mentions & Case Studies: Links to past articles or media coverage your business has received. This acts as social proof and shows that you are newsworthy. Case studies and client testimonials can also be included to demonstrate how your business helps customers.
- Social Media Links: Links to all your active social media profiles.
3. Design and Organize for Success
The design and organization of your press kit can make a huge difference in how it’s perceived.
- Consistency: Use your brand’s color palette, fonts, and tone of voice to maintain a consistent look and feel.
- Clarity and Readability: Use a clean, uncluttered layout with clear headings and plenty of white space. This makes it easy for journalists to scan and find the information they need.
- Make it Easy to Download: If you’re using a website page, ensure that all the assets (logos, images, etc.) are easily downloadable, either individually or as a single zipped file. Use a file-sharing service like Google Drive or Dropbox for larger files.
4. Distribute Your Press Kit
Creating the press kit is only half the battle; getting it into the right hands is the next step.
- On Your Website: The easiest way to distribute your press kit is to host it on a dedicated page on your website. Add a link to it in your website footer.
- Build a Media List: Research journalists, bloggers, and influencers who cover your industry or local area. Look for their contact information on their publication’s website or on professional networking sites.
- Personalized Email Outreach: When you’re ready to share a story or make an announcement, send a brief, personalized email pitch to your media contacts. Attach your press release and link to your online press kit for more information.
- Use Press Release Distribution Services: For a fee, services like Business Wire or PRNewswire can distribute your press release to a wide network of media outlets.