A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my Blog Earnings For 2017 alongside my personal tips and advice for how to increase your own blog income.
The post has been one of my most successful to date already with SO MANY of you messaging, emailing, DMing etc asking for further support or looking to join the tribes I mentioned - this has been an amazing response, and I'm so pleased to be able to help if I can. (I should say...I do still owe around 10 replies as it's been pretty challenging trying to set up the tribes AND respond to everybody but I WILL get back to you as soon as I can! And if you haven't already, feel free to join my Tribe group on Facebook)
One thing I mentioned in that post was that I would start a series of How To style posts to help newer bloggers (or established ones if they feel they need it) get things off the ground.
For my first How To post, I want to start with creating a media pack.
Now it should be said before we start that not every blogger uses media packs. Infact in all honesty, they are something I rarely use myself anymore...it's not THAT often I'm asked for them, and I have a page on my blog with all of my statistics and figures on that PR people can look at whenever they want to - I find this a bit easier.
But a year or so ago, I was being asked for my media pack far more often and I think it's something that's worth having.
So what IS a media pack?
Well don't be alarmed by the wording - it's really not a "Pack" at all - it is simply information about yourself and your blog to advertise why a brand should work with you and what you could offer them.
It can be as simple or as extravagant as you like - I've heard it said that your media pack should be looked at as your calling card and therefore the more impressive it can look, the better!
Personally? I haven't got the time for all of that! I'd rather dedicate my time to writing posts than working on things like a media pack so mine is VERY simple...but this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Infact I have even been complimented on more than a few occasions on it by PR reps who have said things along the lines of "I LOVE a one page media pack...makes life so much easier!"
It's easy to tell yourself that a PR person will want to know every last detail about you and your blog before working with you...and SOME may want to....but the unflattering truth is, most of them just want to grab the info they need (usually the cold hard starts) and get out! Bish, bash, bosh!
So personally? I don't want to spend time making an all singing, all dancing media pack that's only going to be glanced over.
How Do I Make One?
You can use any programme you're most comfortable with - I used to use PicMonkey which is absolutely fine but it can be a bit annoying to update your stats when they change.
I then switched to using Canva as this allows you to edit your creations, making it much more quick and easy to update your stats when your follower figures increase etc.
I use the Free version and it's fine for what I need!
Just be sure to save a copy to your Desktop as a PDF or JPG file, so you can easily find it when you need to send it out.
What Should I Put On It?
Well really it's up to you but there are some basics that you should definitely include. These are:
*Your follower numbers across all of your social media channels
*Your DA score
*Your unique monthly views (You can find this info on Google analytics or Statcounter...if you're not signed up to either of those, I would recommend doing so as PR companies often ask for this information)
*Your average monthly views
*Your email address
This is the information that the PR person most likely wants when they ask for your media pack, so ensure it is clearly visible!
After that, you can use the leftover space to sell yourself and all of the reasons why they should work with you!
I like to have a written introduction about who I am, why I blog and what my blog is about - I tried writing this in first person format (i.e, "Hi I'm Hayley, my blog is blah blah blah...." but it didn't read right to me. So I wrote it in the third person, which felt VERY strange to do, but once you start it gets easier! Just act as though you're someone else writing a recommendation about you!
I also think it's nice to include a photo. I use a family photo because mine is a family blog so it feels like the right thing to do, but it's not a requirement...infact if you'd rather not use a photo you don't have to. You could use your blog logo.
I also choose to list my awards and achievements, as well as the bigger brands I have worked with in the past to demonstrate that I have good experience and I know what I'm doing.
It's also a wise idea to include a bit about who your audience are - a brand usually likes to know WHO is going to see their product. (You'll notice my media pack does not have this information, but it is displayed on my Work With Me section on my blog)
Here is a little look at my media pack, just to give you an idea...it's very simple, no bells & whistles, but it does the job!
So that's it! How to create a media pack!
So simple...you can have it finished in less than half an hour!
Next week I'll be talking you through How To Make A Rate Card (Spoiler: Its exactly the same as this!) & How To Set Your Rates!
If you have any requests for blog related subjects you'd like explained in future weeks, just comment them below!
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