Do's & Don'ts of Influencer Media Kits
Media Kits are Influencer’s business cards. It tells a brand or individual who they are, what they do, what kind of audience they have access to, and ways to collaborate. The way you put together a Media Kit is important. Today, I wanted to share a few key points to use when creating yours.
Do
01. Have a Media Kit
Most people think that you can only have a media kit when you want to charge for posts, wrong! You should have a MK the second you decide to take content on social media seriously as a: full-time job, part-time job, or just a hobby. Start you MK right when you start social media, and change and add as you grow!
02. Give all the audience stats
The biggest thing that a brand is looking for in your MK is what kind of audience you have access to. Things like; who they are, where they live, what their interests are, and what gender. You don’t want to make brand’s fish for these stats, add them upfront and give all that you can.
03. Examples, examples, examples
One thing I have recently implemented is sample collaborations. On my MK I list out some of the top brands that I have worked with. While the list is great, I want to have more content-focused samples to share. Keep photos, videos and screenshots to share with potential partners on some of your work. New to the game? I used to shoot products that I bought, in the way that I would shoot for a partner, to use as a sample. (While you shouldn’t pretend you collaborated with the brand, it’s a great way to share how you would integrate a product into your content.)
04. Have options for sponsorships
Like I said before, you should have a MK even if you don’t want to charge for posts just yet, you can have one just to receive product for posts. When a brand is browsing through you want to have different sponsorship opportunities. This is a great way to even pitch some different ideas they may not have thought of, like IGTV video features, as they are new!
DON’T
01. Don’t over pitch
While you want to have options so a brand feels enticed to work with you, over pitching or setting too many obvious rules up front might draw potential clients away, and that is not how you want your MK coming across.
02. Don’t use your personal address or PayPal alone
This may not be something every new blogger wants to do, but I did find it to be one of the most important steps in my business journey. Get a business address (we have a mailbox at our local UPS) and a business bank account. This is because there can be security problems consistently giving out your personal home address, and personal bank account info. Another note: PayPal is a great platform, but using it to get payments only through Friends & Family and without an invoice, isa sketchy way to do deals. You should secure your incoming money as much as you can.
03. Don’t talk unprofessionally
Your business might just be you behind a computer figuring things out as you go — you want to come across like you are completely confident in the work you put out. No matter what the circumstance, speaking in a professional tone should be your number 1 priority.
04. Don’t think a media kit is a contract
A MK is a great way to get the conversation started on a potential partnership. But this should not be confused with a contract. If you are working with a brand that does not provide a contract, you should put one together yourself. Without a contract either party can switch things up or back out last minute with no repercussions.
