Media Kits?

I subscribe to a Melanie Rembrandt's PR e-mail tips. Once a month, or so, she offers free advice on promoting your business (for those of us who can't afford a PR firm).

Her emails are always very insightful and offer up many good ideas in terms of self-promotion. Today's email focused on a link to her blog article on media kits and why your business should have one. While it's standard to offer printed materials such as brochures to prospective clients, I wonder if it's essential for every business to have a media kit... if so, is there a way to make it more eco-friendly? Could there be an online media kit or is this just what your website is? I'm interested in getting a little feedback on this. Not only could it dictate my decision to provide one for my business, but it may push me to offer the same concept to my clients.

For your convenience, I've embedded Melanie's article below, but be sure to check out her blog and/or her website.

Media Kit Basics

By creating a media kit for your new business, you will increase your chances of getting some good publicity. Plus, you’ll have pertinent information ready for new clients, partners and investors.

With this in mind, here are a few tips to help you create your new media kit.

What is a media kit?

A media kit is simply a collection of pertinent information about your business. It enables reporters and potential customers to get the organizational data they need fast. And as a small business owner, you’ll want to print some high-quality versions for important events and media mailings. But don’t print too many as you will need to update the kit frequently with new information.

In addition, it is necessary to provide an online version of your media kit so that reporters can easily access the information at any time to meet tight deadlines. And with this electronic version, you can update the data at any time and save time and money in printing and shipping fees.

What is in it?

When people read your media kit, they should be able to understand the benefits you provide, why you are in business and who is running your organization. The information needs to be user-friendly and cover the key points you want reporters, potential investors and new customers to know.

With this in mind, here is a brief synopsis of what most media kits include:

Business Facts

What does your company do and why are you unique?

Products and Services

List all of the products and services you have to offer. But instead of emphasizing the features, focus on the benefits.

Background

Who is running your business and when was the business founded? If your business is new, you can include brief background information and bios of your key staff members in a “Business Facts” or “FAQ” section. If possible, include downloadable photos for reporters to use.

News

Include a news section that lists your press releases, media clippings, quotes from satisfied customers, event participation, speaking engagements, articles, and other newsworthy activities. But note that it is essential to keep this section updated so you appear current and newsworthy.

These are just a few key tips to get started on your media kit. For additional help, review competitor media-kits and look at the online newsrooms for successful companies you admire. Also feel free to contact me directly at info@rembrandtwrites.com or visit www.rembrandtwrites.com.

As you can tell, this whole process is going to take some effort. And if you’re still wondering if you should spend the time to create a media kit, think about this. What happens if your competitor has a user-friendly, online media kit, and you don’t? Do you think a reporter will write about your business or theirs?

Thanks for reading, and feel free to send me your questions, comments and suggestions. I’d love to hear from you!

Spring Special

It's that time of year for spring cleaning. I've been busy going through my closets, prepping myself for a garage sale, etc. While cleaning away, I got to thinking - we tidy up our homes and air out all of the winter "staleness." Do our businesses need a refresh as well?

I like to run a promo of some sort seasonally and thought what could work better than a promotion that plays off a spring cleaning? Tidy up your business's identity with a redesign... Here's my little promo image I sent out in my email campaign:

Day 5: Create a Newsletter

So we've made it to self-promotion idea number five - creating a newsletter. While jotting down some thoughts and mailing them out once a month, or whatever, may sound like a lot of work, it actually doesn't have to be. This is a great way to show your clients and prospective customers who your business is on a personal level. You can also flaunt your expertise by offering articles with tips and insight.

If you're still hanging on to paper newsletters, hire a designer or someone familiar with print layouts. They can help you to set up a newsletter template that works effectively and entices the viewer to keep reading. By including well formatted articles and photos, people will be more inclined to read your news.

In setting up a template, the design will always be consistent. So instead of worrying about how it'll look every month, you can focus on the more important stuff instead - the content. Once you have it, just plop it into the template and hit print!

Another way is to send a e-newsletter. You know all those emails in your inbox with the Constant Contact or Emma logo at the bottom? Those are two mass e-mail marketing companies that can help you to set up your e-news systems. For those who may not be so design savvy, there are loads of templates to choose from. If you have a web developer or designer already, they can create the newsletter template to reflect your website's - it's all about branding and consistency!


A major plus to doing this online is that programs such as the two mentioned above will offer reports depicting the number of people who read, deleted, forwarded your email, etc. This can be very helpful.

A final plus to doing this digitally is the concept of allowing people to join your mailing list EASILY. One can simply add a link or sign-up box to their website or blog and instantaneously a person can sign up to receive your newsletters.

Day 4: Run a Promo

Running a promotion can be a great way to increase your sales, gain referrals or get a little exposure in your area. There are many different campaigns businesses of any type of put on. A few ideas are as follows:

1. Discount a product or service: People love discounts, even small ones. Whether times are slow or you're just looking to build your work load a bit, create a campaign and offer something as small as 10% off the customer's next purchase.

2. Referral Campaigns: These promotions are great because they don't require much. Simply base your campaign on the premises that if a client refers you to someone and that new individual signs a contract for work or buys a product from you, the original client receives a discount, gift or coupon. Let your clients (the people who've worked with you first hand) be your salesmen.

3. Get One, Give One: These campaigns are similar to the referral program. For example, if your client buys a new lawnmower, they get another one for free - but they have to give their voucher for it to a friend. You're then getting business from your current client base while building a new one. Obviously, lawnmower giveaways are a bit pricey, I know...

4. Customer Appreciation: Customers and clients love to feel loved. Why not give them the warm fuzzies by showing you appreciate them? This is could be a party, an open-house, a gift in the mail, a discount, etc. A great way to give yourself some positive coverage.

So these are only a few ideas, but the possibilities are limitless. The bottom line is, if you need to beef up your client base, if you don't have enough work flow, or if you just want to do something a little different, there are lots of options. And I'm sure your clients, both current and prospective, will take notice of your efforts.

Day 3: Social Marketing

It's the newest craze on the Internet: social marketing. Paying for SEO terms is no longer the best way to promote your product or service online. And according to industry studies, it looks like this trend is going to be around for a while.

I saw a stat yesterday that stated 62% of online users watch 6 minutes or more of YouTube videos a day. Blogs seem to be where people want to receive their info from. Facebook and MySpace aren't just a venue for kids to discuss their teen crushes. According to a study I saw on stompernet.net, a large portion of MySpace users are ages 35+ and they have a lot of disposable income to spend online at e-commerce sites. Interesting.

For ideas on how to get involved and to see a huge surge of traffic flow to your website or blog, visit stompernet.net and watch their 50 minute video. It will change the way you conduct your online marketing efforts.

My Thoughts On Newspaper Advertising

One of the most common ways for companies to advertise is in the newspaper. Ad space isn't too pricey (depending on your choice for placement) and you're putting yourself in front of a wide audience. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of this advertising outlet is lessening.

Many clients ask me if they should spend their marketing budget on direct mail campaigns or newspaper advertising. That's a tricky one. But, in truth, I usually advise against the newspaper. While I read my local area newspaper daily, and while for smaller towns a newspaper ad can still be very effective, the number of subscribers is rapidly decreasing, thus, readers as well. It's unfortunate, but true.

Because of this decrease in newspaper readers, ad space can be more affordable to buy at times. And that's great, but there's no point in buying ad space that's hidden between the pages of the business section when few people are cracking it open in the first place.

While direct mail can be tricky, rest assured that no one has to pay for it to read it. Furthermore, the advertisement is right out in front of them, instead of being nestled in a page layout amongst several other ads.

Referral Program

Want to see my latest gimmick? Here it is:
"'Tis the season for giving. You give 13thirtyone a referral, 13thirtyone will give you $150.00 off!"

Having a "sale" on graphic design is kind of weird. But I've heard it's a big deal and a good way to bring a few referrals in the door. Of course, it can't pay just because. The catch is, the client's referral has to actually call and sign a contract. They have to become a working client. We'll see...

Here's a Thought

I'm really into finding ways to promote myself and my clients that's a little different than what most people would do. In earlier posts I've blogged about sending unique holiday cards, different self-promotional ideas, etc.

Today, I'm working on an ad for myself. It's a full-color, half-page horizontal for a bridal magazine. Because advertising is so insanely expensive, I want to make sure that I put my dollars to good use and create something that's sure to get some attention. While working on my brown and pink piece of art, I was going through the motions and placing a snapshot of a previous invitation design that I had done in the ad. But then I stopped.

Every wedding invitation designer and their brother include a photo of their work. Make sense - give the prospective customer something to look at so they can decide if they're interested or not before they call. But what if, and this may be a little crazy, I don't show a photo? What happens if there's no sample of my work in the ad? What if my ad purely arouses interest and curiosity and drives the reader to call or go online that much more? Hmm...

While I hate to experiment while my advertising on the line, I have a good feeling about this. I'll let you know how it works out.