Want To Monetize Your Blog? Create a Media Kit {Part 1 of 2}
October 27, 2010
Topics: Blog, Blogging Tips
Photo by me and the sysop
If you are reading this and are a blogger who wants to earn income from their blog, you must take my words seriously: You need a media kit. It is your biggest sales tool and, as such, has to be part of your plan and your immediate to-do list.
Why do you need a media kit?
Because you need to speak the same language the advertising, marketing and PR folks speak. They are used to dealing with detailed, yet simple, presentations that break down exactly what they need to know in order to consider spending dollars on you and your product (i.e. your blog.) And, what exactly is it that they need to know about your blog?
- Traffic and stats
- Demographics
- Social Media influence
- Publicity your blog has received
- Sponsorship opportunities you offer and rates
- Editorial calendar
- Blog’s focus or niche info
- Contact information
Taking it step by step
Step 1–Make sure you are getting reliable statistics for your visitors, unique visitors and pageviews. I rely 100% on Google Analytics, but know that many bloggers like they information they gather from Sitemeter and StatCounter. I do not recommend using WordPress dashboard or your host’s stats.
Step 2–Invest the time needed to create a Quantcast account and install the tag to have your site “quantified.” This will give you beautiful demographic information and charts that speak for themselves that you can use as screenshots on your kit. Also, brands that really do their homework go to Quantcast to get your measurements. If you don’t appear, it’s a red flag that you’re not taking your blog seriously. As a matter of fact, some sites with good, established traffic, forget about a media kit all together and just link back to their Quantcast info.
Step 3–If you want to know more about your readers and be able to truthfully tell companies who they are, then conduct a brief survey/poll. Useful tools: SurveyMonkey and PollDaddy. It can be as simple as a widget on your sidebar with 1 or 2 multiple choice questions or a 10-15 question survey to get to know your readers better.
Step 4–Start collecting media kits to use as samples. Search blogs within your niche and see if they have their media kits available for download. Ask your blogger friends to share theirs. One of the best resources, with excellent examples of media kits, is Jennifer James (Mom Blogger’s Club) and Esther Crawford’s (She Posts) free ebook–From Blog To Business. A must read for serious bloggers. Seriously.
Step 5–Get quotes from readers and any companies you’ve partnered up with before via sponsorship or reviews/giveaways. You don’t have to go out of your way to request quotes from readers. Just take a look at the comments on your blog, on your Facebook page, on your Twitter stream and even emails.
Next week, we’ll dig into how to make all this info and data you’ve gathered look pretty and optimize it to sell your blog. {Update: Click here for Part 2}
Meanwhile, try to do as many of the first five steps as you can and come back here to the comments if you get stuck or need help or more clarification on any of the steps. I really want you to do this. If you already have a media kit, please share any advice or tips I may have missed.
Ana Lilian Flores
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Maybelline_V
@lbconnect Thanks! I’m on it! It’s on my to-do list! #LasBlogueras #LatinaBloggers
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lbconnect
@Maybelline_V I’m glad to help any time!
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Sylvia
Thank you for this post and all the information.
I learned a lot from you Latinas bloggers!
Great job !
Buen trabajo chicas!-
Ana Lilian
Gracias a tí, Sylvia! Next week I´ll be publishing Part 2.
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Pingback: Want to Monetize Your Blog? Create a Media Kit {Part 2 of 2} | LatinaBloggersConnect
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rachel matos
thank you! just did all the steps!
rachel matos recently posted..Pennsylvania float-
Ana Lilian
Excited to read that! Please feel free to let me know if I can help with anything.
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Sue Valencia
Uy apenas lo estoy leyendo! This is wonderful you guys, thank you!
Cheers,
Sue
Sue Valencia recently posted..Rituales para recibir el Año Nuevo Chino y otras cositas Acuarianas!-
Ana Flores
Que bueno que lo encontraste!!! Ojalá te sirva
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Aniko
Gracias por la información!! Muy útil!
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Jose Huitron
Great tips Ana! It’s important for us to use benchmarks and portray a sense of professionalism and quality as we move forward in influence.
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Alba Garza
Thanks for all this information. I was lost. I had sent emails to some bloggers and none of them helped. They did not even write back. SO thank you, and thanks to Sylvia and Sara for sending this link to me.
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Nicole
Why do you not recommend using WordPress dashboard or your host’s stats? I have been using Statpress plugin so far…would I be able to transfer my stats to something like Sitemeter?
Nicole recently posted..Do You Really Need Toner -
Karina
This is great information. Very useful!
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Ellie
Hi Ana. Thanks for the helpful information on creating a Media Kit. I intend to read part two of this set and then put the information into action!
Ellie
Ellie recently posted..Treating Panic Attacks -
berkis vilo
Gracias por la informacion, no me imaginaba que este termino Media Kit existia. Me lo pidieron una compania de publicidad y no sabia de que me hablaban.
berkis vilo recently posted..Tipos de Piscinas – Diferentes opciones a considerar -
Everden
It’s really helpful for all of new website creator.Thanks for sharing.
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Carmen Torres
This is very helpful! Thanks for sharing. I work in advertising, and as a Hispanic Media Supervisor I deal with media (TV, Radio, etc.) sales representatives every day and know how helpful the media kit can be as we recommend new media outlets to our clients.
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