Here's how to: Create and write a blogger press kit / media pack

Hi [you],

My name's [PR's name] and I'm the account manager for [client]. I've had a look at your blog and I really love it! Your writing style is fantastic and you cover a lot of interesting subjects we feel could pair well with our clients.

I'm emailing to see if you'd consider a press trip to London to cover the launch of [fabulous bar]. We can cover travel expenses there and back, but you would need to make sure you arrange accommodation if you'd like to stay over.

If you could send over your blog's stats that would be brilliant. Do let me know if this is something you'd consider for your blog and I can give you more information.

Thanks [blogger], speak soon.

[PR's name]

Have you ever had anything like this pop in your inbox? To some, getting that elusive email can be the sign you've made it*. A PR thinks you're good enough to spend time and money on. WOW.

Getting that email means you've worked hard to get on a PRs radar, to make a popular, well-presented site documenting your passion. Whether it's fashion or food, baking or beauty, travel or tattoos, cocktails or cats… whatever you love to write about you've done it well.

When PR ask for stats, what we really need is called a press or media pack. This is so when we have to fill in those endless forms for our client about upcoming and secured coverage, we can show reach - how far that sample will go. To 50 people or 50,000. Who those people are. Where they're located. Basically, we want to know if our client can and should justify the time and expense offering a blogger their product. They want a return on what they're giving away for free after all.

If you have a long-running blog and feel like you could start reaching out to PR people, then you should start thinking about putting a pack together. I say pack, it only needs to be a one page PDF ideally, with a splash of colour. I've seen some incredibly beautiful spreads which show, to me, a blogger's really in the know about working with PRs, but even if it's a well put together one page, you've got the edge over others from the get go.

So. What should you include?

The details

You blog name should be fairly obvious, but the strapline, your motto or how you'd describe your site, could be the best thing you ever write. Make it short, sharp and to the point and tell PRs in an instant what you do. At best, you'll be the only blogger contacted. At worst, you'll be one of 100. Make sure your details are easily accessible. And always include a mobile number.

A photo

Show us what you look like. It means we know who you are if we're inviting you to a press launch. Try and make this as professional as possible. It just gives a better impression. No obvious selfies please!

About you

Not your life story. But include your age, what you do for a living, where you live. This is where you sell yourself so make it fun and pithy. Explain why you write about what you write about and include other places you've written if they have weight (we're talking HuffPo, Company, Glamour, not your local cat shelter's newsletter... long story with that one)

About your blog

Tell us what you cover on your blog, and what its niche is. Then talk about when you started it and why you blog. Talk about your plans for the future too - do you want to branch out into other topics? Have you got a strategy to increase readership?

Social media

Include Twitter followers, Pinterest stats, Facebook likes, Google+ whatevertheyares, Bloglovin follows, etc etc… this shows how far your reach is. Reach is how far a tweet or Pin goes.

Blog stats

Visitor, page views, Moz rank, page rank... all of it. Have an all-time section and stats for the past month too. Include logos of places your blog's been features, i.e Buzzfeed, Metro, HuffPo etc

Who reads your blog?

This might need a bit of work, but it's so so important. Who. Where. Why. What they like. Where they shop. How old they are. How many kids they have. How much they earn. And so forth. To get this, invite your readers to take part in a quick survey - create a free one using Survey Monkey, then offer a giveaway using collected email addresses. Nice for your readers and good for you too.

Reviews

Talk about how reviews work. What you'll review, what you won't, how posts will look, will it be disclosed, will you post negative experiences etc.

Sponsored posts

State how much you'll charge, how they'll look, how many words per post etc. and also include your disclosure and nofollow policy too. If you don't know all this, then just make a note as to whether you will accept a sponsored post or not.

Giveaways

Again, add info about types products you'll accept, how giveaways work, whether you'll incorporate social media or not and how many people applied for your last giveaway.

Forward features

Magazines often have a 12 month plan of what they're likely to feature. So if you have a general plan of where your blog is going in the next few months make a note of it here. This is a great way to ensure you have a steady stream of content, and also start getting paid for it too.

Ideally update your kit every month to keep it current, but if that's a bit too much then create a quarterly pack to reflect the last three month's stats.

Do you have a media pack? Do you need one? Do you even want PRs to contact you? Let me know. If you have one, or need advice on anything PR, tweet me at @sixoutoftenmag


*Not that a blog is ever less worthy than another based on the opportunities they're given, definitely not. I happen to think there are some sites out there getting a lot of attention when others are put together by far better writers. Perhaps that's just me though!

Photo Thomas Eagle