May 2022 “Send Me the Press Kit”

Nothing I like more to hear from a journalist than, “Send me the press kit.”

Why? you may be asking.

In fact you may also be asking other questions starting with, What is a press kit?

Or these: Why is it important? Do I need one?

These are all questions I get from my clients, as well. They are great questions worth answering, so I’m excited to discuss this here, because at Buoyancy PR, we are big believers in press kits. In fact, this is a big enough topic that we are going to take two weeks to cover it.

This week we are going to focus more on why a press kit is important, which should convince you that yes, you need one. Next week we’ll go into more detail about what is in a press kit, especially helpful should some of you be doing your own publicity. We’ll also cover some important differences between a press kit and other marketing materials.

But first my definition of a press kit, sometimes also called a media kit.

A press kit is a set of documents about an author and the author’s book designed to interest journalists and then help make it easier for them to interview and or write about the author and book. It leans heavily on a news writing format, and typically also includes sample interview questions, plus some other materials.

One of my main jobs for my clients is to help them get media coverage and that starts with interviews done by media people. If I’ve talked to a media person and interested them in one of my clients, that’s when I love to hear them say, “send me the press kit.”

You’ll note the assumption from the journalist that there will be one.

Why? Because every professional author has a press kit [or marketing materials of some kind] for their book.

When an author works with me, I’m all about presenting them, and their book, professionally. I believe it helps show the book in the best possible light, and a press kit is an important tool in that effort.

So of course we do a press kit. So yes, you need one, too.

You might be wondering, well, can’t the journalist just go to Amazon and look up the book for themselves?

Also a good question. But let’s talk for a minute about those media people. At Buoyancy PR, we work hard to serve the busy Christian media in ways that are most helpful to them. It is their job to find interesting topics for radio, TV, or podcast interviews, or for articles for their online or print publications. A basic philosophy of ours is to do what we can to make it easy for those busy media folks to work with us, and thus enhance the likelihood of our authors being selected for those interviews. If a journalist has to go digging to get information about an author or a book, they are less likely to bother with that author. Not because they are lazy, but because they are some of the most overworked professionals out there, expected to do more and more with fewer and fewer resources.

We aim to serve them, provide them trustworthy information, and help our clients get the notice they deserve.

A press kit is a valuable tool to help us reach those goals.

More next week on some of the strategies and not-so-obvious tips and tricks for creating a professionally done press kit.

[Picture above: Phil Kvamme (right), with The Word radio network in Minnesota, interviews Aaron Taylor, Buoyancy PR client and pastor of Crossfire Ministries, Springfield, Oregon.]