A major part of growing your business is the development of strong relationships with brand partners. While securing campaigns with brands is not always easy, here are a few things you can do to set yourself up for success.
The first step is to have a killer media kit. A media kit is a document that outlines the key facts and stats about your blog/site. Your media kit should present your brand in the best possible light and give the receiver an idea of what you can bring to the table. We have created a media kit template for you to download and customize (see details at the bottom of this post). We’ve included a PSD version for the Photoshop savvy and an easy-to-use Google slides version.
If you’re interested in collaborations with ShopStyle, send your media kit + rate card to mediakits@shopstylecollective.com so we can pitch you for campaigns within our network of retail and brand partners. Please be upfront about pricing. Due to high volumes, you will not receive a reply to your email. We will reach out to you if there’s an upcoming opportunity that aligns with your brand. Remember to send the most up-to-date versions as your stats and information changes.
Be proactive! Once your media kit is complete, share it. Check out PR agencies and collect brand contacts to build your contact list. Remember to be personable and make sure to tell the brand why you would be a great fit for them and what value you can add.
Media kit should include:
Short bio about you and your blog
- Start with a photo of yourself + brand logo + contact info
- Include a blurb about yourself, how long you’ve been blogging, and what kind of categories you write about.
Pro tip: Think. Does your blog have a theme? Include it. Do you have a weekly/monthly series that performs well? What were your top blog posts in the past six months?
Statistics
- Monthly Page Views
- Monthly Unique Visitors
- Audience Demographics (Top countries, gender, and age of readers)
- Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter Followings
Pro tip: If there are any numbers that don’t feel impressive, leave them out OR present your growth trends instead.
Testimonials & Previous Work
- Brands that have performed best for you
- Features in notable publications (e.g. mentioned in Vogue)
- Past notable partnerships
Pro tip: If you’ve had a great relationship with a sponsor, don’t be afraid to reach out to them for a testimonial. Even a few words will go a long way.
Rate card should include:
- Fee for a blog post + round of social (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.)
- Fee for 1 Instagram post
- Fee for 1 Facebook post
- Fee for 1 Pin
- Fee for IG Story
- Fee for video (YouTube) – if you do that type of content
- Fee for an event appearance (we know this can vary, so a rough estimate is fine)
Pro tip: Include your rate card as a separate attachment or in the body of the email when you send ShopStyle your media kit.
Media kit template:
- Each layer is labeled accordingly
- To place images within the designated rectangles, just drag image above the rectangle layer, then right click on the image placed, choose “Create Clipping Mask,” then you can move and scale however you like
- When finished, go to File > Export > Artboards to PDF
- This is a view-only version, go to File > Make a copy… to edit the template (you must be signed into your Google account to have the ability to “Make a copy…”)
Pro Tip: Always convert your media kit into a PDF for fast viewing.
Congrats! Once you’ve created a branded media kit you’ll be able to use it as a template for years to come. Go out there and get the sponsorships you deserve!
Image via: @caraasantana
xo
Emily
Where do we send our info for you to keep on file?
Hi Jennifer! Happy to hear you are interested in campaigns with us, that’s exciting! Please send to the email address listed in the post (here it is for your reference: mediakits@shopstylecollective.com) Thank you 🙂
Love this post! Do you have referrals from someone or business who create media kits? I am not able to do photoshop, and it looks too cinfusing for me to follow.
Hi Quintan! We understand Photoshop can be confusing which is why we included a link to a Google Slides version as well. Please look under the templates section of the post to download that. This version will be super to easy to use and requires no Photoshop skills. Hope that helps!
I used the Google Slides version and it’s super super easy!
Thank you for sharing this information. So helpful!
You’re welcome! Glad you found it valuable 🙂
Great tips thanks for sharing! xo http://www.themoderndaygirlfriend.com
No problem Arianna! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Thank you for this post! It’s one of the more informations posts on media kits that I’ve found online. Will be using the PSD version! 🙂
That’s amazing news! We are always happy to help.
Thanks,
That is great information. I am just starting out and look forward to working with you all one day.
Much appreciated,
Le’arenzo
Good luck on your journey, happy to have you in the ShopStyle Collective community 🙂
This was incredibly helpful information! Thank you for putting this together; it’s greatly appreciated!
You’re welcome! Love to hear positive feedback 🙂
Thank you for this information. It’s very helpful! I look forward to putting together a media kit!
This was SO helpful! I’m so excited to start working on mine. Thanks for putting in the effort to get this all together!
Thank you for sharing this super helpful post! I hope to use the media kit once my blog is much more established.
This is so helpful! Thank you for putting this together!
Thank you so much Emily! This was a very informative and helpful post bless u.
I have a question when it comes to rates though, how does one figure out their rates? Especially for beginners and such
Thank you! This is very helpful. I have a media kit through an agency but it would be great to have my own. I think that’s important. I’ll download the files and email ShopStyle my media kit + rate card. It would be wonderful to be considered for campaigns with your partners. Thank you so much for providing us with so much guidance in all respects of being a part of ShopStyle Collective!