2009 Media Kit in Progress: Why Make One?
Over the last few weeks, one of the self-initiated projects that I have been working on is a 2009 media kit for my freelance design business and blog, Nubbytwiglet.com. Today I want to address why I decided to make a media kit and how it can be beneficial for promoting yourself and your ventures but I’ll start first by showing you the work in progress. My goal is to have the remaining pages finished and ready for download by next Friday:
Media kits are are often used by magazines and other similar businesses because they contain the information that’s necessary for advertisers and sponsors including a quick introduction to the company, stats, frequently asked questions, ad rates and more.
It’s not very common for an individual to make a media kit, but I decided to do so as a marketing experiment. I wanted to create a media kit to give prospective clients and advertisers some insight into what Nubbytwiglet.com is and to explain the ways that they can benefit from my services.
As a designer, you are in charge of not only design-related tasks but also marketing yourself. How are you going to convince potential clients that you are up for the challenge and can assist them with their needs?
I’ve met many amazing designers with work that was totally mind-blowing. But more times than I can remember when I’ve asked those same designers where I could get more information about their work and if they had a website, I’d be met with a vacant look. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how brilliant your work is, how great your client list is or how polished your portfolio is if people don’t know how to find you!
As a designer that mainly works with clients remotely via email and phone contact, it is important to build a personal connection, to show them that there is a face and soul behind the facade of a website. By providing them with details about your background including a client list and a brief overview of your history as a designer, you’re giving them that human link that reaches beyond the cold confines of a digital existence.
Though my media kit is still a work in progress, here are some of the things that I’ve decided to include:
Introduction
Blog-related information including stats
Advertising rates
Design services, client list and FAQ
A few examples of my designs
Contact information
Though a media kit isn’t for everyone and a resumé along with a peek at your portfolio will usually suffice, sometimes it’s fun to step outside of the box and to experiment with different formats. It’s exciting to develop new ideas of reaching out to potential clients. It’s okay to be bold, bright and original. Show the world that you’re willing to take a unique approach as a designer.
Tags: Business & Marketing, Graphic Design, Nubby, Typography
15 People have left comments on this post
As usual, this is a beautifully designed product that compliments the NubbyTwiglet family.
Very lovely.
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This is a great idea. I don’t know if I need one YET, but I definitely will someday. Do you send these out to businesses, or just have it available as a download?
Loves it.
Thanks for this post. I really feel I can apply this to my photography business in the way of my pricing guide book, as I was lacking just what to put in it past the pricing! I realize it’s very important to quickly and easily sum up what you’re all about at the same time. Great article.
Looks great Nubby – I love how you brand yourself. I’ve been working on a media kit for website for a few weeks … I’m still working on the design, as I’m currently developing a design for my portfolio website so I’d like to develop a very clear branding across all of my online stuff… getting there slowly but surely.
Leah Creates: I’ll use it for both.
Tara: Thanks; it’s a great way to combine different parts of your business in an easy guide that customers can quickly navigate.
Kate: It takes time! Best of luck!
Loving the design for this.
So many meticulous details + so well balanced ! Awesome !!!!
I think you are absolutely right. Based upon your samples, your kit (and work) is beautiful. How can it be bad to promote yourself and your talents and skills? This is part of not only who you are, but what you do – and you do it so well. Good luck!
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Hi Nubby, I was wondering if you have any thoughts on using first person language (“I, me, my”) for sponsorship decks and media kits? I am developing one for my blog right now and it feels unnatural to write about my own blog in the third person.
Danielle: That’s a great question! Personally, I mostly use first person language otherwise it seems cold and too business-like. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just for independent artists like us, we do everything ourselves and I want to seem approachable and accessible and first person language helps with that. I think that it comes down to a personal preference. If I was a corporation, I would use third person language because it is basically its own entity.
This is a brilliant idea. I think that where many self-employed people go wrong is that they don’t have that ‘sell yourself’ confidence, even though their work might be top notch. But this is a nice professional way of getting the message across without being too bolshy.
I’m just starting out in journalism and think this idea could be adapted towards writing projects.
Also, I’m creating a blog for my published work and had originally written the About section in third person but I thought it felt weird, too.
Thank you
Catharine
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