The 10 essentials of a blogger media kit, how to create a media kit, and answering all your questions about what to ACTUALLY put on your media kit that brands want to read!
Not sound like a broken record, but here we go – you need a media kit! Well, you need one if you consider your blog a BUSINESS and want to earn money. Do you want to collaborate with brands? A media kit (or press kit, whatever you prefer) is your ticket to open the conversation!
Why you NEED a Media Kit as a Blogger
Your media kit is basically your brand resume. A 1 pager (yes – 1 PAGE – I’ll go into more details on this recommendation later) with a quick overview for a brand to decide if they want to work with you in 30 seconds or less.
A solid pitch and professional media kit can land you a brand collaboration!
What the F do I actually put on this Media Kit?
You’re probably asking yourself this question. Maybe some other ones, like, what if I don’t have a blog, just an Instagram? Do I really need one? I only have 1000 followers, do I really need one? I’ve never worked with a brand before, I don’t know what to put….do I need one?
All of these questions you’re asking yourself are fear talking. Ignore them – push them to the side. There is only 1 question you need to ask yourself – do I want to work with get brands and get paid? If the answer is yes, you need a media kit.
How Do I make a Blogger Media Kit?
Personally, I created my own template in Canva using shapes and text boxes – that’s it. I know some of you don’t have that designer eye or time – which is why I’m making my template available to you! You can purchase my Media Kit Template for $10 on Etsy and it has everything I outline below already formatted into 1 page. You can edit directly in Canva to customize to your brand (color scheme, fonts, stats, pictures, everything). You will need to create a FREE Canva account to do this. I also send you the PPT version of the template if you would prefer to edit in PPT.
MEDIA KIT TEMPLATE
Why Your Media Kit Should Only be 1 Page
Let’s clarify that your media kit should only be 1 PAGE. YUP! Nobody has time to click through multiple pages when you can easily fit all of the info on 1 page. You don’t need 1 page for about me, 1 page for brand work, 1 page for social stats, etc etc! Just no! I see so many free templates with this type of “magazine spread” layout – and that’s not what brands are looking for. Unless, you are someone with 500k followers, and brands are spending a pretty penny on you, they may be more interested in reading through multiple pages. Keep it short and simple is the key!
Also note – NO rates should be on your media kit. You can have this on a separate page if they ask for it – you never want to give up your rates first. What if your rate is $500 and they were planning on paying you $1000, but you gave them the $500 rate first? So you aren’t going to see rates in the 10 essentials because it shouldn’t be a part of your 1 pager summary media kit – which you use to pitch brands.
Now let’s get down to the 10 essentials of a Media Kit:
1. Brand Logo / Blog Header
Self-explanatory. Your blog name goes at the top of the media kit – don’t include the .com. My blog is AnnaDanigelis.com, but obviously, my logo Anna Danigelis doesn’t include .com. If you don’t have a blog, just your Instagram name works here!
2. Profile Photo / Headshot
Right next to your brand name at the top should be a headshot photo. Choose a high quality image, just yourself, not a cropped photo. Chest and up, as it should be a headshot here, not a full body photo! This is your “first impression” photo of who you are and the face behind the brand.
3. About Section
I prefer to have two “about” sections – one for about the blog and one for about me. In the About the Blog section, I focus on the blog’s purpose and what users are going to find on my website and in my content. In the About Me section, this is more personal about who I am and my story.
4. Social Stats
First – list all social channel platforms you would want to collaborate on. Just Instagram? Or do you also have Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, Tiktok, etc? At least include your follower/subscriber number for each social channel. As most of you probably have Instagram as your main platform, make sure to also include your engagement rate and weekly reach.
I recommend to highlight “best stats” – I don’t have a huge Instagram following, so I make sure to highlight my engagement and my weekly reach to show my posts which are higher numbers. I also share my Story Engagement rate, because it’s higher than my in-feed engagement rate! If a brand ever asked for me to “prove” it, I can share Instagram analytics screenshots (this has never happened btw). In summary, these are numbers to consider adding:
- Followers
- Engagement Rate
- Impressions and/or reach
- Story Engagement Rate
5. Blog Stats
This section is only applicable if you have a blog. Monthly views and unique views are a must. Number of email subscribers would also be a great stat to include, I just don’t have an email list yet. I know, tsk tsk. This is the number 1 thing I need to do, that I keep putting on the back burner. So don’t feel bad if you don’t have one yet either, we can’t all be on top of it ALL THE TIME!
You can find these stats on Google Analytics or WordPress.
6. Audience Demographics
It’s really important for a brand to know your audience! They will look at the media kit to check this. They want to make sure you have the right target audience for their product. Include both the gender / location demographics.
For me, brands are looking for a high % of women audience and age range 20 – 30. Your demographics are probably similar to you, if you have a personal blog.
Listing your top 3 cities is also important, as it can show your audience is US based (what most brands desire if you’re a US based blogger) and especially helpful if you are trying to work with local companies. A strong local presence is key and something you can use to market yourself to those brands.
You can find these stats either on Fohr (considers all channel traffic) or Instagram analytics if Instagram is your main platform.
7. Previous Collaborations
These are brands you’ve worked with in the past. List them! Show you have experience. I collaborate with a variety of “niches” – fashion, lifestyle, beauty, travel – so I list brands by each category.
But wait!! What if I haven’t worked with a brand before? Trying to get your first collab can be hard! I highly recommend trying an influencer marketing platform to help you land your first deal and get something to add to your media kit. Check out this blog post here of reviews of 20+ influencer marketing platforms – including ones I got my first collaboration on with less than 1,000 followers!
8. Ways to Collaborate
Brands want to know the services you offer! Instagram posts, stories, videos, events and travel, etc. List what you have to offer!
9. Contact Info
Make sure you have your email address on here! What if this is forwarded to someone in a different department – make sure there’s contact info JUST IN CASE.
10. Minimum 1 additional photo
I like media kits with more than 1 photo to show off different styles. A headshot / close up is a must, along with either a full body shot or the style of your photography. I have 3 photos total on my media kit – 1 headshot, 1 full body (since I am a fashion blogger it makes sense for me) and a lifestyle brand collaboration to also show off my brand work.And there are the essentials of media kit! These are the 10 sections advice having, and customize your stats and highlight your best numbers to showcase brands. This shows them WHY they should pay money to work with you!
If you don’t want to create your own media kit….
Again, if you don’t want to create a template from scratch, there are plenty of affordable templates to purchase out there so all you have to do is plug in your numbers! You can find my blogger media kit template for $10 here on Etsy. Here is the picture of my media kit and the template you will get to fill out and customize with your own stats!
Happy Blogging!
XX Anna
Thank you for this! I’m just starting to work on creating a media kit and absolutely love this guide!