What is a Press Kit?

A press kit is one of the most utilized tools in public relations ad publicity efforts. A press kit is information that is pulled together and written for the sole purpose of providing the media with the story details they want and need. It should not be the same thing as a sell kit or something provided for customers. While some of that information may be useful, the most productive press kits are tailored for the media - and that usually involves some research as you want to offer information that can't just be found by looking at a website. You also don't need to spend a bunch of money in design, the media want good, easy to follow, and well-written materials, not fancy brochures that are trying to paint a picture. A press kit should include:

~ Photos (small versions are fine, the media will contact asking for large files when they are ready)
~ A basic fact sheet
~ A backgrounder or history sheet
~ Bios of key people - not just the bigwigs, but those who have interesting stories behind them
~ A story idea sheet offering the media the different ways you might be able to be incorporated into a story
~ Current newsletters
~ Contact info
~ Recent news in the form of press releases or articles
~ An online component that is interactive with a video, blog, or podcast in addition to the items listed above

That is just a very basic guideline, but the first and most important thing to do is to prepare information the press will want, not what you want the press to want - this is one of the trickiest areas of PR!