Yesterday, Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs talked about the Media Kit - what does one put in it? Since my reply was rather lengthy, I decided it would make a good post topic for today. (Thanks, Stephen!)
The media kit comes in two forms - physical and online.
You’ll rarely need a physical kit, but it’s best to have one ready at all times. It needs to be in a very nice folder or thin binder and appear as professional in quality as possible.
The online media kit is more essential. This needs to be a full page or more on your website. Be sure this page contains high resolution photos of you and your bookcover - at least 300dpi.
What goes into a media kit:
Media release (press release - the most current one)
Sell sheet (one sheet page with your book’s information, synopsis, cover art, short bio, publisher, ordering info., etc.)
Bio
Media pitch/topics (if you were interviewed for your expertise, what’s your angle - how can you help others be healthier, wealthier, sexier, or save them time?)
Interview questions (make it easy on reporters and hosts - list questions and your answers)
Business card, bookmarks, brochure, postcards, and other promo items, including DVD if applicable
Review copy/final copy of book (if applicable)
Book reviews (and if you’re sending out your media kit before you have any reviews, guess who writes that first mock review?)
Articles written or a sample article
Notable previous appearances
Endorsements
Excerpt or sample chapters (if applicable)
Obviously there’s differences between the physical and the online kit. A video online of one of your talks or speeches takes the place of a DVD. You can also link to several articles within your website. And of course, your website should contain links to purchase your books..
Keep this in mind when building an online press room - if a reporter finds your website, is there enough for him to do a complete article without ever contacting you? Because if not, he will move on to someone whose press room IS complete…
Any other items you would include?
And just because this card my husband gave me for my birthday this year is just so darn cute!!!
Thanks for the checklist. I need to get on this!
ReplyDeleteGreat list! As a former publicist I agree. Back in the days in which I was a publicist there was no online though - we would often hand-deliver press releases as we wanted to beat the post office. Imagine!
ReplyDeleteI read Steven's blog. This is really good info. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCD
Ah, Jan, the good old days!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen!
Thanks for the info. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat little kitty don't look all that mean to me!
Fabulous post, Diane. I'm going to tweet it and FB it if I can figure that out.
ReplyDeleteThe kitten is darling. It's the cute ones you have to watch out for.
Your last comment about the online press room and reporters is very important and often overlooked or incomplete.
ReplyDeleteThanks for expanding on your comment.
Great checklist for a media kit, Diane!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that kitten. :)
Diane, many thanks for all your legwork. I know you spend countless hours researching this stuff and posting it on your blog for free.
ReplyDeleteThis is a link that's a keeper. I'm saving it to my FAVORITES. And I'm going to begin compliling what I have so far into a media kit, then continue adding items as I go along.
Stephen Tremp
I shared this link on Twitter and my Facebook Fan Page. Hopefully it will bring some well-deserved new traffic your way.
ReplyDeleteStephen Tremp
Elizabeth, for some reason, I always think of you when I see this picture. Not that you're a murderous cat or anything!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stephen! Yeah, after seeing my long reply yesterday, I knew I had a blog post!
Love the kitten picture...lol and who knows it could be true.
ReplyDeleteGreat list for the kit, not sure what I'd put in mine...maybe I'd put pictures of the kitten to remind myself of things not always as they seem. :)
Holy Cow! That's a lot of stuff to get together! But THANK YOU for the check list because I feel compelled to start immediately! I'll need this stuff in about a year and it will certainly take me that long!
ReplyDeleteI'm not likely to need one but will keep your post just incase the unthinkable happens that I do.
ReplyDeleteGreat read.
Yvonne.
I've bookmarked this post for future reference. Now don't take it down!! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Hart!
ReplyDeleteI love Murderous Kitty!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane, for putting my button on your sidebar. :)
I will copy this as a word doc. for later use. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteNancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author
Thank you Diane. It's something I've been thinking about of late. I'm glad to see your list for both a physical and online media kits. Very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about,
"...if a reporter finds your website, is there enough for him to do a complete article without ever contacting you? Because if not, he will move on to someone whose press room IS complete…"
As one who does interviews and some rather in depth, I find a lot of information on the website. For instance, when I interviewed Janet Evanovich, there was so much info on her website that made my job so much easier, including choosing questions. Several authors are fabulous with that.
Sia, that's good to hear!
ReplyDeleteDiane, love this. As you know, media kits vary depending on the author and who they are sending the kit to. Thought your readers would want to know there is a complete (couple of chapters!) on writing media release, assembling and media kit, writing bios for kits, etc in my The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo). Hope some of your writing/readers will find it helpful
ReplyDeleteBest,
Carolyn
Another great lode of information from one who knows what she's talking about. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Hi Diane .. thanks - so useful to know about .. albeit I'm nowhere near needing this sort of thing - but knowing about the requirement, and having a great resource to refer to when the time comes .. is like having lots of gold dust filtering around!
ReplyDeleteSprinklings from Spunk On a Stick's Tips .. enjoy the weekend - sounds like the authors above appreciate the professional information! Happy days .. and the pud cat ..looks fit to kill with his tiny teeny soft nails .. leaving no mark .. ?! Hilary
Great list, Diane. You covered all the bases!
ReplyDeleteJai
THANK YOU! Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteJeff Emmerson - Author of "The Road To Myself" - A Gritty, Reflective and Inspiring Memoir to be Published in 2011.
Excellent! Thanks. I see one or two pages I missed and need to add. I'm working on the online and physical media kits for speaking and book releases right now.
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate you,
Angie
This is a great post! We hear so much about online promotion that I'd almost forgotten about the physical book media kit and what needs to be included. This is very helpful information for any author.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for the great check list. I have info on my site, but not all of what you suggest. Will work on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I've found that finding and then following a really good model is a good bet.
ReplyDeleteJackson Dunes
Pug At The Beach
Delray Beach, FL, USA