Get Ink DIY Blog

The terms press kit or media kit float around often when the topic of PR comes up. You may wonder what exactly they are, and if you need one. Let’s dig into this a bit.

Many people use press kit and media kit interchangeably, but no matter what you call them, there a couple of fundamentally different kinds.

MEDIA KIT

A media kit is a packet of information that magazines and a lot of bigger blogs use to sell advertising and sponsorships. It usually includes information about their audience and reach, the types of ads and promotions they are offering, and pricing. Sometimes it includes an editorial calendar, which is the only connection with PR, otherwise it is a sale tool.

PRESS KIT

A press kit is also a packet of information, but it’s designed to provide background and content information to the media. Journalists use it when they are looking for content to write stories and articles. 

Brands and companies use press kits to release comprehensive bundles of...

After last week’s note about taking advantage of HARO queries, I’ve received a number of questions about HOW you go about submitting a good pitch. If you missed last week’s content, HARO connects journalists seeking expertise to include in their content with sources (YOU!) who have that expertise.

It can be intimidating to write a pitch, I know it. But it’s not that hard if you just follow a few guidelines.

Here are my golden HARO rules:

• Submit EXACTLY what the query asks for, nothing more and nothing less.
• Keep it SHORT. Don’t spend hours writing a novel. All they are looking for are a few sentences max.
• Write like you SPEAK. This is especially true if you feel like you are not a great writer. It’s fine! They are looking for content, not poetry!
• Don’t OVERTHINK it. Write it down, and hit the send button. Done is much better than perfect.
• Never include ATTACHMENTS of any kind - they will NOT go through.  If they ask for images, put...

Today, I want to talk about a concrete way to get you some PR coverage. The dream scenario for every PR person or every person who does their own PR probably is that media are knocking at your door because they want to feature you, your brand and your product or service. It does happen, but it’s rare and usually the result of many years of doing proactive PR. 

That said, there is an easy way to get started! There are services out there that channel requests from journalists to potential sources. A little bit of the burden is still on you because you have to keep track of the queries to find the ones that are a fit, and of course, you have to submit your pitch.

The most popular of these types of services is called HARO, which stands for Help A Reporter Out. It was founded by a PR pro and now is owned by Cision, a PR software company. The good news is that it’s completely FREE, at least if you settle for the basic version, which sends you three emails a day with...