WTF Is A Media Pack And How Do You Make One?

(All photos from this blog post were taken at the fashion trade show Pure London last week. I went along with my bbygal Liv Blankson (blog/instagram/twitter) and all credit goes to her for the impromptu outfit pics!)

I get asked about blogging fairly often, and the number one question that comes my way is: ‘How do you secure paid work?’ I find myself being asked this by people who have one thousand followers, all the way through to those who have seventy thousand. There are a number of ways that companies or individuals can get in touch with you for paid work, but regardless of how work is proposed, it’s crucial that you are able to provide information about your blog stats and going rates.

That’s where a media pack comes in. A media pack is basically a 1-5 page document that, at the very minimum, details your website statistics and your rates for sponsored posts. You can make it as long or as short as you like; mine is three pages, but I know some bloggers who have kept it to one and others whose are a little longer. When brands/individuals get in touch with you enquiring about collaboration, you can send across your media pack and as a result, they have all the information they need to come back to you with an offer of work. Most importantly, it provides companies with a chance to understand what they are getting for their money – of course, it’s content creation and social media sharing, but if they don’t know how many people are actually seeing and interacting with it all, they are going to be much less likely to invest.

So now you know what a media pack is, how do you make one?

Gather your statistics

First things first, you need to gather the information that will be making up the bulk of your media pack. If you don’t have Google Analytics, then press pause on the whole thing. Google Analytics is an essential piece of programming that will track and compile all of the worthwhile blog data that you will need. From detailing how many unique visitors are landing on your blog, to how many monthly views you are getting and how long people are staying on your site, a media pack is pretty much pointless without GA stats. If you’re now thinking ‘fuuuuuuck’, don’t panic – head on over to Google Analytics, grab the code, copy it into your site’s HTML and let the data accumulate for at least a month. After that, you should have enough info to get back into creating your media pack.

You will also need social media statistics. The basics are obviously how many followers you have, but it’s also helpful to be able to provide the amount of impressions and interactions you get on Twitter, as well as your average monthly likes/comments/follows on Instagram. Twitter provides this information in the ‘Analytics’ tab on your profile, and you can gather this Insta data from InstagramStats.com. I like to include as much information as possible, but if you want to keep it short and sweet, just remember the most important pieces of information are amounts and demographics.

Design a media pack or download a template

I’ve been using Photoshop for bloody years now, so I created my media pack myself (it is fairly simple though, I’m definitely no whiz kid). However, I can understand that if you have little previous experience with Photoshop then creating a three page document from scratch may seem a little daunting. If this is the case, then it may be worth downloading a pre-made template which enables you to just input a few photographs and your vital stats and be done with it.

Regardless of which road you choose to go down, always make sure the design is true to your aesthetic. There’s no point having a minimal, monochromatic blog and style if your media pack is bright pink with glittery GIFs. Similarly, if you run a food blog and revel in big flavours and bright colours, then don’t go down the all-white, basic text route. Find or establish a design which compliments the type of content you create and doesn’t drown out the important information. If you need some inspo then check Pinterest, or if you have some close blogger friends, ask them if they wouldn’t mind you having a quick glance over how their media pack is laid out.

Don’t forget the basics

Whilst your blog statistics are most important, don’t forget the basics. My media pack opens with a short introduction which details who I am, how long I’ve been curating my blog and an overview of the content I produce. Potential collaborators want to know the nitty gritty details, but they also want to hear your voice and be able to build a background picture of who you are. On top of this, I think it’s really fruitful to provide a short list of brands that you’ve worked with previously – the more recognisable, the better. In my opinion, this is almost acts like the ‘previous work experience’ section of your CV. It shows off your credentials, and lets other brands/individuals know that you are legit.

Make sure your contact details are clearly visible and easy to find. Include your phone number, email address and blog URL – it’s not necessary to include your home address, as you can just provide this should any collaborations go ahead. Your social media handles should be visible when outlining their corresponding statistics, but you can also repeat these in a footer or pop them at the top of the first page.

Detail your rates and what’s included

Save your final page for your rates. Here you can outline how much you charge for certain pieces of work, and more importantly, what’s included. It’s no use just stating that you charge ‘x’ amount for a blog post – you have to break the content down and list exactly what the collaborator will be receiving. As a rule of thumb, I would include a guaranteed minimum number of professional photographs, a certain number of social media shares, and any guaranteed information regarding back linking or word count for SEO. Brands might want to know if they have permission to use your imagery too – it might be worth outlining this, so you’re clear from the get-go.

You may also want to consider package deals. What I mean by this is discounting a certain item when certain content is purchased. For example, when a brand opts for a full blog post, I won’t charge for social media. Or if a brand wants to run a series of Instagram posts, I might offer a discount on the fourth. Keep in mind any transaction fees for PayPal or losing 20% to tax, but chances are when you’re working out the basis for paid work, there will be some go-between about budget.

And that covers the basics of pulling together a media pack! There are lots of super helpful blog posts about media packs so do a little scouring if needs be – this one from Sinead Crowe at Love Style Mindfulness is great, and I’m sure if you pop out a few tweets during a blogger chat, you’ll be inundated with help. In the meantime, if you have any questions then feel free to pop them down below or find me over on Twitter or Instagram.

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