Developing A Media Kit Built To Sell

Developing A Media Kit Built To Sell<br /><br />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.<br /><br />A media kit usually contains the following:<br /><br />Photos or samplesConsider 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, youd want to know the cost of the available advertisements. Media/advertising buyers understand that a business which continually increases its circulation or page views is more likely to provide good results.<br /><br />Make sure your release or tear sheet is recent. 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. Growth ratios, estimated sales figures, percentages of circulation increase over the last several months, etc. can all be included to show the advertisers that your business is a good investment for his/her advertising dollars. The profile should be approximately 2 pages in length.<br /><br />Photos or Samples<br /><br />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. When they see that current customers are getting excellent results from their ads, you demonstrate the effectiveness of your offer. If you dont have any testimonials, ask your current clients for some. Suggest that they include the length of time theyve advertised with you and what their average results have been.<br /><br />Cover Letter<br /><br />If youll 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.<br /><br />All Enclosed In A Folder<br /><br />A professional presentation is vital. Unfortunately, Ive 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 wont convince anyone to purchase from you.