Everything you need to know about how to make a media kit and work with your dream brand! (+ FREE template included)

I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about how to go about working with brands and where to start. So I’ve decided to write a little resource for those who are at the point in their blog “game” where they’d like to start reaching out to brands (either for sponsorships, product samples for review, collaborations, giveaway/contest prizes, etc.). One of the key elements of success is having a strong, great looking media kit. Really put the work in this one. I mean really put in the work. If your blog is about beauty or anything that’s related to aesthetics, you need to make sure your media kit reflects that. Have all the necessary information and make it look GOOD.

What is a media kit?

It is typically a digital document (either as text or image) that represents you and your brand in a professional manner. A media kit gives you the opportunity to let brands know who you are and what you do. It’s almost like a mini commercial or condensed portfolio – highlight all the good and why a brand needs you.

 Step 1 – Brainstorm

Yea. This might be the part that takes the most time above everything else. Write down everything in a physical or digital notebook that your blog is about what you want to let brands know about you. That means…

• Getting your best/most interesting blog images together
• Blog/YouTube Channel Logo
• A short paragraph about you
• Define your niche (Do you focus on hair tutorials? Department store makeup? Freehand nail art?  Makeup looks for women 50+? Simple DIY crafts? Luxury fashion and accessories? Blah Blah Blah, you get the point.)
• What types of series or episodes that you offer on your YouTube channel (if applicable)
• List of brands you’ve worked with in the past
• Of course – the stats.
  • Page views per month (You can use AWStats if you have a blog (located in your cPanel), or Google Analytics for Youtube Channels and other blog platforms)
  • Number of unique visitors on average per month
  • Who’s your demographic? (Teens 13 – 17? Women 18-35? Men 50+?, etc.)
  • Number of Subscribers or followers
• Blog or channel awards you’ve won
• Social Media Accounts that you use (Tip: Try to list accounts that have at least 500 – 1000 followers, otherwise leave it out. That being said, if you have lower numbers but you know your following is strong and “ride-or-die”, then include it and mention that! )
  • Tip: If you have low numbers across your channel, group them all together as your “Total Social Reach”.
• Testimonials (This can be from blog comments, DMs, emails, etc.)

Step 2 – Putting it all together

So now that you have all the info that you need, now it’s time to put everything together in an order that makes sense. You can pretty much be as creative as you like here, in terms of what information you’d like to put and where. Make sure to include all the information about your blog and/or yourself that stands out and really puts your best face forward…literally. Check the out the free template I’ve created below for an example of how you can position your content.

Step 3 – How to Send your Media Kit

First thing to do is attach or embed your media kit document to the email. This will help prevent forgetting to attach it after you click send! Always send your kit in a .PDF format OR .JPEG if you need to send it as an attachment. If you choose to send your kit as an image (.JPEG format), try to embed it in the email body (Make sure your file is LESS THAN 1MB!). Make it take the least amount of work as possible for the person receiving your email. That said, NEVER JUST SEND THE DOCUMENT ONLY. Before you send your email, give a little brief intro about yourself and your blog/channel and then in the email body. Once you’ve attached or embedded the image in the body of the email or attached the .pdf, introduce yourself and why you are messaging this particular brand. Have you been using their product for like…ever? Have been following them for a while and really admire them? Why does this brand stand out to you among all else. Be genuine and be as detailed as possible (but don’t make it too long!).

FREE Media kit Template Download (MS Word file)

LTMP Media Kit Template

1 file(s) 415.72 KB

Download

Tips:

1. You can do this. Don’t get discouraged because you think your content is not good enough or you don’t think you’re “there yet”. Try. Try and see what happens. The worst thing is you’ll get a “No” or no reply, but you have not lost anything. And hey, it either wasn’t meant to be or you can try again, but always keep it moving. Rejection can be difficult but you never know, maybe it was keeping you from a bad experience. That being said, be REALISTIC and REAL. If you haven’t been putting much effort, or taking things seriously, and/or don’t have a solid following yet, I would not recommend approaching brands just until your platforms are ready.
2. If you get a “no“, ask why (if a reason was not initially given). You can learn where you can improve for the next time.
3. If you don’t get a reply to your email after a while (and when I say a while, I mean at least a few weeks), resend it. Sometimes emails get lost or forgotten. You can also try contacting another person or use a different form of contact i.e. social media DMs. If you still don’t get a response after a few attempts, move on.

Yay, you’re done! Woot, woot! Now get out there and work with your dream brand :D.