Media kits that advance your sales offer certain
components designed to give a clear picture of the benefits of
advertising with you. It paints a picture of what the
prospective customer will receive and how the customer will
expand his/her customer base due to exposure to your subscribers or site
visitors.
A media kit usually contains the following:
Stats page
Press release or advertisement copy
Business card
Company profile
Photos or samples
Testimonials from customers
Cover letter
All enclosed in a folder (unless it's an online
media kit)
Let's take a look at each component and how they help to
build an impressive image of your advertising offer.
Stats Page
Consider the questions you would have if purchasing
advertising from others. You would most likely want to know the
circulations of an ezine, or the number of hits or page views a site
receives. You would be curious as to how many new subscribers or
visitors they receive monthly. You would want information on the target
audience this outlet reaches (including ages, sex, occupation and
education level). Finally, you'd want to know the cost of the available
advertisements.
Laying out all this information in an easy-to-read style
will allow your prospects to view, at a glance, the pertinent
information they need to make a decision.
Press Release
A
press release or advertisement copy
(called a tear sheet) is generally included in order to show the
customer that you are actively promoting your publication or site.
Media/advertising buyers understand that a business which continually
increases its circulation or page views is more likely to provide good
results.
Make sure your release or tear sheet is recent. It won't
make much of an impression to send outdated material.
Business Card
Yes, your contact information may be on your site, or
you might have provided it to the customer via email or phone. However,
including a business card is a simple courtesy that prevents the
customer from having to look for your information. For online media kits
simply provide a link to your contact information. The key is to make
contacting you and placing orders simple.
Company Profile
This document should include a brief company history
along with other more recent news about your business. Growth ratios,
estimated sales figures, percentages of circulation increase over the
last several months, etc. can all be included to show the advertisers
that our business is a good investment for his/her advertising dollars.
The profile should be approximately two pages in length.
Photos or Samples
Everyone likes to see what they are purchasing.
Providing a sample issue of your ezine or a few photos (screen shots) of
your Web site displaying banner ads, etc. is a good visual motivator. It
also allows the advertiser to experience your product first hand.
Testimonials From Customers
Showing the end results from other's advertising
experiences will make quite an impact on your customers. When they see
that current customers are getting excellent results from their ads, you
demonstrate the effectiveness of your offer. If you don't have any
testimonials, ask your current clients for some. Suggest that they
include the length of time they've advertised with you and what their
average results have been.
Cover Letter
If you'll be mailing paper media kits, be sure to
include a cover letter. Thank the prospect for their interest and make
specific references as to how your publication/site has provided success
for others in related industries.
All Enclosed In A Folder
A professional presentation is vital. Unfortunately,
I've seen far too many "cheap" looking media kits. They were simply
printed on standard copier paper (or worse yet... were photo copies of
originals), stapled or paper clipped together and shoved into an
envelope. That approach won't convince anyone to purchase from you.
Print all your materials as originals onto laser (or
better quality) paper. Place them neatly in a heavyweight, pocketed
folder.
For online kits, create a PDF. This
will allow your visitors to quickly get your information in a convenient
form that is readable by both Mac and PC.
Remember... these prospects don't know you.
They are trying to make a decision, and
the only thing they have to base that decision on is what you offer
them.
Make sure professionalism is a primary consideration in
everything you do.
Once your complete media kit is professionally prepared,
it will offer your potential clients all the information they need to
see why your advertising offer is one that will be well worth the money!
Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should
be, too!
Karon is CEO of Marketing Words http://www.marketingwords.com. |
