And Yes, They’re Slightly Embarrassing!

If you want a “how to” guide, see this in depth article that’ll help you step by step, with templates.

I’m JAQUELINE, a full time content creator AKA Influencer.

I’m sharing the goss around media kits and all the blunders and wins I’ve made simply because I wish this was here when I was making mine!

Feel welcome to ask questions below, regardless of how gritty.

My First Media Kit- 2020

My first (and very humble) attempt at a media kit. This was before I discovered the blessing that is Canva.

Contact with brands had either happened via Direct message (DM) through my Instagram page, or loose emails back and forth, before this media kit was created.

Looking back, I wish I created my first media kit much earlier.

I would have created one the second I had any content creation (photography or videos) to fill it with.

😍 What was good about it;

• I don’t mind my little “about me” blurb, and kept a very similar paragraph in my future media kits.

• I like that I showed previous brands I had engaged with (they were PR send outs at this time)

• I included a photo of myself! Good job JAQUELINE.

🤔 Now, getting real, here’s what’s wrong with it;

• Comic sans like font. It’s considered unprofessional in marketing. (I thought it looked the most like handwriting…haha)

• I didn’t save or send it as a PDF! Urgh! I’m cringing looking back, and when I was on the hunt for this I stumbled across an email of someone in media not being able to open my media kit because of the file format.

• The format wasn’t clear and the demographics weren’t displayed well.

What made me change from this? I showed an amazing friend in the industry, @amandascuteface , who helped me beyond belief.

I simply wouldn’t be where I am today without her help.

She’s a big part of the reason I made it my mission to help women set fair rates.

I’ve since helped a handful of wonderful women with Media Kit creation, too!

My Second Media Kit. 2021

My gosh, where to even start? The purple. The personal information…

😍 What was good about it;

• A separate rate card is typically good practise. More details about how to pitch here

• I like the photos I included!

Unfortunately there isn’t much else too good about this one.

At the time I figured more information was better, but in my personal experience working both sides of PR, that isn’t the case.

🤔 What wasn’t good at all;

• Overwhelm of information

• Unless purple is a integral part of your personality, probably refrain from using this much

• “My work & personal style” section doesn’t need to be there. The images on your Instagram grid or the images you include in your media kit are enough for someone working for a brand to decide

• “Brands I’ve worked with” list is too long. Stick to a handful of brands that are recognisable

• No need to detail below your reel/story/static rates. That’ll be discussed in negotiations anyway!

I quite obviously needed an extra hand. The next steps I took in my blogging journey is why I’m full time today.

I Invested In Myself And My Brand. 2021

I contacted the talented and warm @alicekmgmt for a “mini account health check”, which I happily paid for.

Side note: We pay women for the work they do and the mentoring or teaching they offer- that has never been up for negotiation around here.

She was very kind and I really had no idea how much help I actually needed until I sought it.

I sent her my purple monstrosity of a media kit and expressed some of the areas I’d love some input in.

I’ll include specifics in my How to: Media Kits guide, but a summary of her feedback was;

“I would suggest a 2 page Media Kit, the first page showcasing an image of yourself & the above short sharp blurb underneath along with your handles top right or top left and email bottom right, the second page is where we put all our insights, stories, and rates neatly in.

It's crucial to update your Media Kit every 2-3 months especially when you’re just starting out as these insights will change over time.”

Well! I was quiet far off, and found it hard to picture what that would look like (remember where I was coming from).

I promptly paid for my media kit to be made by Alice, because I trusted her and her feedback- I am so glad I did this.

The commissioned media kit is below! It showed me everything brands need to know and a good spacing out awareness that I obviously lacked.

I ended up tweaking the above to the below, to resonate with my (short lived) cotton candy theme attempt on my grid at the time.

We are going to speed through the rest, because we are now in the very passable, non offensive Media Kit territory.

😍 What was good about it;

• Had all the insights needed, including story views.

• The blurb was cute (written by Alice, I swear!)

🤔 What wasn’t great;

• I think I shouldn’t of injected colour into it again so soon.

• I found separating my rate card very helpful.

My Fourth Media Kit. 2022-2023

Wow! So chic. Where’s all the colour gone? So sophisticated and adult.

Well, semi joking aside, you’re allowed to stand out with colour if it’s on brand.

For me, it simply wasn’t, so didn’t make sense to add.

😍 What’s good about it;

• All needed info! Oooh, fancy graphs.

• Colour scheme is on brand.

• AD usage! What’s that? So good.

• More brief “I’ve worked with” space.

• Very passable, majority of my paid work has been through this media kit and I’ve had it the longest in my career.

🤔 What’s not great;

• Rates in media kit.

• Detail under deliverables not needed. Better to keep it brief.

• At this point I’m thinking brands aren’t reading a blurb that long…hmm…see next media kit.

Today! 2023

There is a lot of context here. I started @Thedermreviews_ and created a template for the talent I represent, so it’s a bit of a cookie cutter deal.

It also means it’s early days and will evolve. The brands themes are black and white, hence the theme.

As a rule of thumb, it’s best to make everything you send as easy to read as possible.

For the most part, I’m happy with it and I think it looks cool, so that’s where we will end the media kit journey for now.

Important Final Notes

I came to the beauty industry as a total outsider.

I did it the hard way, googling, researching, watching videos and politely asking the lovely women around me for feedback as often as I could.

I studied, put myself out there often and ended up entering the industry professionally for a short stint as a Marketing Executive (that’s a story for another time).

The one piece of information I wish someone told me when I started was: Invest in mentorship, from someone in the industry. Pay them for their time.

There are so many things that aren’t shared or said, that will take ages to learn alone. Respect peoples time, be kind and persistent.

If you’ve read this article, you have to read How to guide: Media kits. In the meantime, ask a question below, or share your thoughts.