A sales and media kit can help your company get the attention it deserves. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

Cover Letter:

The first thing (other than your cover) that your audience will see and read, your cover letter should be a short introduction to your company and a thank-you to your recipients for their interest and attention. Give them an idea what they will find in the kit and what to expect. This letter should be on company letterhead and you might want to have it hand-signed by the highest ranking officer in your company. Use one of the oldest tricks in the sales-letter book here too, if you like: a P.S., especially one that appears to be hand-written, will always get read.

Profile:

Your company profile should be a short (one page) combination of the beginnings of your company along with recent info. This is your first chance to introduce the elements of your business that you are attempting to convey to the media and your clients. Readability and scan-ability are some great things to keep in mind here too. Bullet points are always good.

Clippings:

You should tailor your press clippings to you audience too. If you are sending the kit to a potential client, feel free to include every scrap of (good) press your company has ever gotten. If, however, you are attempting to get more press, you don’t want to give your local outlets the idea that you and your business have already been covered to death, unless you have a brand new angle you can give them.

When you are sending the kit around, do some research beforehand so you have an idea of who at your media outlets covers a certain kind of story. For instance, of you run a unique outdoor adventure company, you might want to send your kit to the outdoor writer of your local paper. You should also have an idea of when a specific outlet has covered something similar, and not hit them up too soon afterward.

Press Release:

A current, newsworthy item written in a newspaper style that contains quotes that can be pulled and used verbatim in short blurbs or stories. There are several online tutorials for writing a great press release.

Promotional Material:

Your media kit should include a nice version of your logo in digital form if possible, any pertinent brochures that you have on hand, and a business card or a page with bios of company officers and their contact information. You should also include photos that would be usable to members of the media to include in any feature stories. Anything you can do to make their jobs easier increases your chances of getting coverage. A sheet that lists awards and one that includes special offers to clients (not to the press!) would also be a great idea.

Printing and Binding:

Use the best printing method you can afford, and put your kit together either in a nice folder with a logo, or bind it together like a booklet. There are a few styles that would work well, and you can even have your own inexpensive binding machine on hand so that you can tailor your kits to different audiences and have them ready to go out the door at a moment’s notice.