You and Your Press Kit
Post your press kits and questions on Chuwe.com, and we’ll go over it with a fine-toothed comb to help you perfect it for free. We’ll also be choosing one company to give a press-kit makeover with a PR professional in an upcoming Chuwe podcast.

What It’s For
A Press Kit (a.k.a. media kit) serves one primary purpose: to generate interest in your business. You’ll show it to press, investors, and potential sponsors, but the purpose is always to provide a powerful and actionable set of information on your company. Every business needs to put one together - musicians, restaurants, Internet websites, new companies and established small businesses. Typically, you’ll want to include

• Some limited background information on the company and industry
• Relevant sources that have quoted or interviewed you on your business topic
• High-quality logos, photos, and other promotional materials for press use
• Information for your reader to act on

Background Information
Your press kit summarizes the company; keep it short, keep it focused. Bore your audience, and you’ll lose potential press exposure.

You have a few fleeting seconds to make a strong impression, to establish credentials, and to convince them to contact you. Once they call, go ahead and flood them with your anecdotes – but your press kit stays sharp. Humor helps if you can pull it off and it’s appropriate for your industry, but keep in mind that humor is the most difficult concept to convey in writing.

Avoid looking desperate; confidence attracts press. At the same time, don’t claim what you can’t backup, says Bill Bradley at Bottom Line Communications,

“Resist the urge to use self-impressive adjectives and make specious claims.  As a startup, you may be innovative but you're clearly not a ‘market leader,’ so don't insult the media's intelligence by characterizing yourself that way. “

Use charts and graphs to objectively highlight company services and successes in the industry, adds Farrah Parker of FDP & Associates.

Industry Quotes and Interviews
Always keep your quotes and interviews section up to date with anything positively mentioning your business. Interviews are a kind of positive feedback-loop: Interviews establish legitimacy and generate more interviews, which further establishes legitimacy and generates more interviews…

Promotional Materials
Make it easy for someone who wants to write about you to put together a memorable piece. Your logo, company graphics, and founder photos should be available in high resolution and several different formats.

Useful Tips
It’s not bad to list a few necessary personal details, but remember you are not the focus. Emphasize what’s new and interesting about your business.

If you’re in a new niche that takes awhile to explain, try starting your description with a simple “X for Y” analogy.

“We started as an Olive Garden for Indian food – a reasonably priced restaurant with a comfortable atmosphere serving Indian food tailored to the American palate”

The initial introductory line might not be spot on, but it’s a practical shortcut and gives the press a feeling for how to spin your business to the public at large. One caveat with this technique is that you must be absolutely sure your reader is familiar with the object of your analogy.

Peter Gudmundsson of Priceless Legacy encourages entrepreneurs to make it easier for reporters to think of a story involving you by including a media pitch sheet with suggested story ideas and titles embedded.

Farrah Parker further advises startups to "stay consistent with your design theme - If your brochure has a contemporary design, then make sure that your kit follows suit…Graphics can truly enhance your kit but they can also overwhelm the eye." Michael Saltzman also offers tips on graphically presenting information, “Simple is better than complex… Try and use bullet points rather than long paragraphs."

Finally, a press kit is not a place to negatively mention your competition. Actually, there’s never really a good time to negatively mention your competitors. As Loic Le Meur points out, you’ll always come off as crass, and it’ll likely come back to haunt you in the future.

How To Use Your Press Kit
First, set out to develop a useful publication list, and find reporters. "A lot of people buy media lists [of press contacts] rather than creating their own, which can result in wildly wasteful mailings.” Lizzy Shaw, who runs her own PR consultant, writes, “Send your press kit to the writers and editors who can actually do something with it…don’t send a press kit about electric razors to a children's apparel trade publication!"

Once you’ve sent out your press kit, don’t be depressed at the slow responses. Saltzman continues, “Don’t assume one press kit will revolutionize the world or make ‘dramatic’ changes in the company - a race is not won on the first stride." It’s an uphill battle to gain and retain press attention; you’ll have to invest considerable energy into contacting and following up with writers.

Finally, keep in mind that reporters often have deadlines hanging over their head. Glenn Philips recommends making yourself available at any hour – you might get that story instead of a competitor if you include a call to action and state you’re available 24 hours a day.
 
Write One. Now.
Start with a simple outline.

1. Company Introduction
1. Analogy if necessary
2. Quick summary of your company’s strengths
3. Quotes from relevant and credible sources.
4. Contact information
1. Preferred contact methods
2. Response times to press inquiries
3. Hours available
   
5. Promotional Material
1. Logo
2. Mascot
3. Relevant photos and graphics, etc
4. Be sure to include all popular formats at multiple resolutions to make life easier.

Then add, delete, and generally tweak it until the outline grows into a professional and compelling description of your business.

Finally, post it on Chuwe, and we’ll go over it with a fine-toothed comb to help you perfect your press kit. Also, we’ll be choosing one company to give a press-kit makeover with a PR professional in an upcoming Chuwe podcast.

Good Luck, and let us know if you have any additional tips!
 
> Courtney
Ninja Entreprenette