Creating and regularly updating a podcast media kit is one of the most important marketing assets you can have for your show. Not only is it a huge convenience for anyone wanting to learn more about you and your podcast, but it will also save you time and reduce stress when pitching your show to news outlets, podcast discovery newsletters, and even when recruiting guests or pitching yourself as a guest on another show.
In this post, we’re going to look at the components of a media kit as well as some examples of podcasters who have done a great job putting together kits that are both beautiful and valuable.
What is a media kit and why is it so important?
You can think about your media kit as a souped-up version of a resume and one that covers both you and your show as a package. When someone downloads or views your media kit online, they should know exactly who you are, what your show is about, who your audience is, and have a good grasp of your overall brand. It sounds like a lot — but your kit works as a compilation of snapshots of all these things that, when combined, form a whole clear picture.
As with a lot of marketing assets, the point of the media kit is to remove any barriers that could prevent someone from working with you. Prevent is too strong of a word here, but this kit makes it as easy as possible for someone to learn about you and get in touch with you.
The potential partner or media outlet won’t have to do any extra work (or wait on assets from you) because everything you want them to know about you and use to represent your brand is right there and organized like a present with a pretty little bow on top.
Why create a podcast media kit
Presents an organized front for your podcast
The presence of a thoughtful and well-put-together media kit shows you are organized, confident in your brand, and eager to work with others. It’s a beautifully curated and detailed business card.
Helps you define your brand
Creating a podcast media kit will take some work on the front end, but going through the process of creating it can help you strengthen your brand and identify holes or weak points in your marketing strategy.
Tells your brand story
Your kit will have to provide certain facts about you and your show, but it also provides the perfect opportunity to tell your brand’s story. The combination of the content you present is an opportunity to connect with those reading it on a deeper level. Everyone loves a story, and we’re impacted by them more than we realize.
When we hear facts, it activates the data processing centers in our brains, but when we hear stories, it activates the sensory centers in our brains.
The Science of Storytelling: Why We Love Stories by Joshua VanDeBrake
Streamlines workflow
A well-organized and regularly updated media kit will save both you and anyone working with you time. It also greatly cuts down on misrepresenting your brand–like someone using an old logo or pointing to a personal social media profile rather than the one associated with your podcast.
Your podcast media kit empowers others to help you accurately represent and promote you and your brand.
What to include in your media kit
Contact Information
Give them a way to get in touch with you. Email and phone at a minimum. If you use a scheduling service like Calendly, this would be a great spot for that.
Personal Bio
Tell the people who you are and why they should want to listen to you. This section will vary significantly depending on the topic and format of your show, but establish yourself as an expert who makes quality content that brings value to the listener. Do you have other podcasts or a day job someone looking to advertise with you might also be interested in?
Show Summary
Your podcast is a product–this is the time and space to sell that product. Keep it short, but tell what someone would gain by listening. Include how long your show has been around and what lead you to create your podcast. Keep in mind the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when, why.
This is also where you’d provide links to where they can listen to your show, providing links to the show on different directories. It would be best to embed a preview episode that someone can listen to right there within the media kit.
If you want to take this section up a notch, you could show this information in a creative way like this awesome graphic from Mixed Company.
This graphic is so useful because it:
- Suggests episodes they think represent their show particularly well
- Highlights significant guests
- Shares the types of topics a listener can expect to hear covered on their podcast
- Shows they have a large catalog of at least 75 episodes
- Presents information in an unexpected and engaging way compared to just text alone
See the full Mixed Company media kit.
Testimonials
If other people are saying great things about your show, let them do the bragging for you. This also adds a nice human element and is a nice way to reinforce the story you’re telling with your kit.
Images / Video
Show ’em what you got. In addition to your podcast artwork, logo, recording action shot, share a picture of you and your co-hosts. These need to be high-quality images and provided in both .jpg and .png when possible to ensure they’ll look their best both online and in print.
At Headliner, we obviously think video is the most powerful and effective tool to tell a story. This kit would be a perfect opportunity to share a few audiograms you created for your podcast. If you film your podcast recording session, you could include an example or two here. Or maybe you have a short promo video for your show that does a nice job of reinforcing your show summary.
The Shelter in Place podcast has an all-around fantastic media kit; however, I particularly like their use of video. They share two trailers for season two (one of which you can watch below) which does a beautiful job telling the story of their show.
Stats / Metrics
Help them visualize your audience. Don’t worry if you’re in the early stages of building your show and audience, this area of your kit will evolve. Remember, if you use a podcast hosting service, many of these stats will be available to you without having to do any number crunching.
For more info on types of metrics you could share, check this post out from Improvepodcast.com on 55 Best Podcast Performance Metrics.
While there are lots of metrics you can provide, stick to those that work the best for your podcast. Some examples include: 30-day unique downloads, number of subscribers, website visits, email subscribers, and social media followers.
Here Podcast Junkies does a great job sharing social stats in a visually compelling way:
Advertising Info / Specs
Fill in potential advertisers on what their options are for advertising with you. You’re not limited to on-air read ads here; maybe you offer banner ads on your website or dedicated social media posts for advertisers.
Whatever your approach, clearly spell out all the options and include links to any visuals that could help sell the ad. Also, if you’re open to putting together a custom ad or ad package, this is where you’d let them know. Here Big Fat Positive does a great job of clearly describing their advertising options AND includes examples of ads they’ve read–which is a huge help to potential advertisers.
Recent Press Releases / Awards
Share that trophy case! List awards or recognitions received by you or your show. This would also be an ideal place to list your guest appearances if you’re looking to book other guest gigs. Remember to limit your news to recent press releases.
Potential advertisers or guest podcasters want to know the health and vitality of your current podcast product. Podcast Brunch Club does a great job at showing positive media hits for their show:
Important Links / Social Accounts
All the links. Don’t make anyone have to hunt to find you online. Remember, we’re removing all the barriers.
- Links to your show on different directories
- Social media accounts
- Your website
- Your personal portfolio site (if you have other shows or projects)
5 things to do with your media kit
- Pitch podcast news outlets
- Pitch to local media (especially if there’s a strong local connection)
- Pitch yourself as a potential guest on other podcasts
- Ask guests to be on your show by sharing your kit with them in your introductory communications
- Share it with potential advertisers
Don’t Forget!
The most important thing to remember in regards to your media kit is to keep it updated. Having an outdated media kit is probably worse than not having one at all. This kit is your chance to connect with multiple audiences interested in supporting you and your show.
One way to ensure you regularly review and update your media kit is to set a calendar reminder for yourself. I’d recommend at minimum once a quarter.
