Creating a Media Kit

Once you have gathered together all the information about how many people are listening to your show and who those people are, you are then ready to start putting together a media kit. When a potential advertiser is looking for a show to advertise on, he is usually going to have to justify spending that money to someone above him.

The information you give him in your media kit is often used to make his case about why he decided to advertise on your show.

Some advertising networks offer a generic media kit; however, you should still put together a detailed kit yourself. Something to remember about the advertising networks is that the best publicly known advertising deal in podcasting was not brokered by an ad network, it was brokered between a podcaster and an advertiser with no middleman. Having a good media kit gives you the opportunity to at least see if you can broker your own deal. Even if you already decided to use a network because you do not have the time to look for advertisers, having your own detailed media kit makes your podcast stand out in the eyes of potential advertisers when comparing you to others in your network.

We realize that not everyone has created a media kit before, so we are going to take you through the different items you need to address in a media kit and show you, step by step, how to create one. Here is the basic outline of what should be in your media kit:

• What your podcast is about

• When and how often you release shows

• What podcasting is

• Why they should advertise on a podcast

• Who is listening to your show (demographics)

• Where the listeners are from (city, state, country)

• Who you are

• Where you have been mentioned in the press

• Why people are listening to your show

• Sponsorship and advertising opportunities

• How much it will cost to advertise with you

• Contact information

The following sections break down in detail each section of the media kit. The page numbers are for reference only; based on your specific information you may be a couple pages shorter or longer.

Page 1: The Cover Page

We are back to the issue of first impressionsbut this time it is not about listening, it is about viewing. You need to make the cover page look professional and visually appealing. In the top half of the page, place a picture/image of your show logo and name (see Figure 18.3). The bottom half of the page covers what your podcast is about and when you release shows.

Figure 18.3. The cover page for the Skepticality media kit demands your attention.

Here's an example of a cover page that addresses these questions:

Sample Cover Page Text

What is the XYZ Show?

The XYZ Show is part of the new wave of talk shows on the Internet known as podcasts. Our shows are listened to all around the world.

The XYZ Show covers the controversial subject of Sleeveless Vests (SVs) and how they are affecting today's youth. We have interviews with world-renowned experts in the field of SVs and talk with celebrities that SVs have touched personally. Some past guests include Michael J. Fox, Bob Denver, and Captain Kangaroo, to name just a few.

The XYZ Show is produced twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday) and is made available for download directly from thexyzshow.com via RSS subscription and from the iTunes podcast directory.

The podcast is recorded in a talk show format and has three main segments. The first segment lasts about 5 minutes and covers the latest news, notes, and advice on SVs. The second segment is an interview with someone from the SV community and lasts 10 to 15 minutes. The last segment runs 5 to 10 minutes, and it is where we play feedback from listeners, read email sent in, and comment on that feedback.

The formatting and spacing of the text on the cover page should be consistent with the format of the text on your website. This will help reinforce the brand image of your show. We are not saying to use a funky sideways stencil font; the text still needs to be readable. If you do not have a font on your site that easily transitions to print, then choose a standard font such as Times New Roman font size 12, with 1.5 line spacing.

Now after you have introduced the potential advertisers to your podcast, many are going to wonder what a podcast is and why they should care.

Page 2: What Podcasting Is

The second page of your media kit is where you should explain what podcasting is in a manner that someone who is not very technical can understand and why it is they would want to advertise on a podcast. The following is our example. Feel free to use all or part of this explanation in your media kit.

Sample Page 2 Text

What is podcasting?

Podcasts are basically radio shows on the Internet (like Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, and Dr. Ruth), but what makes them special is how the shows are delivered to the user. Podcasts are like magazine subscriptions, in that the listeners have to subscribe to the show. The shows are then automatically delivered to the listener. Because the shows are time-shifted (recorded at one point in time and then downloaded and listened to at a later point in time), the audience has the opportunity to listen at their leisure. They can also listen multiple times to a single episode, offering repeated exposure to your advertisement.

Podcasting has seen phenomenal growth. In early 2005, it was estimated about 200,000 people were subscribed to podcasts. By early 2006, the number of people subscribed to podcasts was estimated to be close to 10 million, and many are estimating that by 2008 there will be over 100 million people subscribed to podcasts. In 2005, because of its meteoric rise in popularity, podcast was declared Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Another key area where podcasts differentiate themselves from traditional radio is that you can get hard metrics on the number of times a show is downloaded (whereas radio estimates listeners based on people filling out a journal). This helps when trying to accurately calculate your ROI from advertising on a podcast. Podcasting provides you the accuracy in metrics of magazine advertising with the intimacy of a spoken-word advertisement offered from traditional radio.

Finally, you do not need an iPod to listen to a podcast. Podcasts can be listened to on any portable MP3 player, any computer, any cell phone that can play MP3s, and most PDAs. There are well over 750 million devices worldwide that can be used to listen to a podcast.

It is important that you let people know that you do not need an iPod to listen to a podcast and that any computer can be used to listen to a podcast. This lets those who are not very technical understand that the potential audience for your podcast is very large.

Page 3: Who Is Listening to Your Show

Now that you've introduced your podcast and educated your potential advertiser on the nature of podcasting, it's time to go over the demographics of the listeners.

There are four key metrics any advertiser wants to know:

• Gender

• Age

• Household income

• Where your listeners live (break this down by city, state, and country)

If you really want to show that you've done your homework, you could also include the following information:

• What percentage of your listeners subscribe to your podcast versus those who opt to get it via a direct download

• What type of device they listen to your show on

• What type of operating system they use (Windows, Mac OS, and so on)

You may also want to include topic-specific data geared to your type of show. If you have a show on parenting, maybe you want to break down the number of kids your listeners have. Figure 18.4 shows an example of what the demographics page could look like. If you gather enough information on your listeners, this section could be three or four pages long.

Figure 18.4. Age, gender, and household income demographics for listeners of the XYZ Show.

Page 4: Who You Are and Who Likes You

Advertisers do in fact care a great deal about the type of person they associate with their products and services. It's not purely about the size of your audience. So this page of your media kit needs to give them some background information on yourself and, if you have any, your co-hosts. Some fun facts are always good here. You want to try and connect with your potential advertisers. They need to understand what type of person is going to be hawking their wares.

This page is also a good place to list where your podcast has been mentioned in the press or on other podcasts. It's always better to have other respected individuals and publications espouse the virtues of your podcasts so that it's not just you saying, "Hey, I'm great. Take my word for it." If you have some good quotes from the press or other podcasts about your show, you should share them here. (See Figure 18.5.)

Figure 18.5. Skepticality in the news. This shows some great examples of using news quotes in your media kit.

Page 5: Why People Are Listening

This might sound like a hard question to answer, but chances are you already have the answers in the form of feedback from your listeners. This is a good place to have quotes from your listeners. Let them state in their own words what they think of your show and why they listen. If you can convey to your potential advertisers that you have a loyal fan base, they will feel much better about advertising with you. If you have the data and it is positive, this is a good place to add in trend lines for your subscriber stats and/or total download stats (see Figure 18.6).

Figure 18.6. Quotes from listeners and subscriber stats for podCast411.

Page 6: Sponsorship and Advertising Opportunities

Potential sections for this page include the following:

• In-show advertising This is where you let potential advertisers know what type of advertising or sponsorship you are willing to accept on your show. Will you accept pre-produced ads, or do you only want to do host-read ads? When will the ads be played in the show? In the "Page 1: The Cover Page" example, we used three distinct sections for the fictitious XYZ Show podcast. You can let potential advertisers know there is an opportunity for an ad between the first and second section and the second and third section. If you have a limit on the length of the ads, let them know that also. Obviously, the more rules you have, the more advertisers you will alienate. But at the end of the day, it is still all about building an audience. Placement of commercials and the types of commercials you choose can both greatly affect your ability to not just grow your audience but also to maintain your current audience.

• Website advertising If you are willing to have website advertising to go along with in-show advertisements, you should state that here. Let potential advertisers know the size of the banner ads you can accept and where those banners will be displayed. If you have stats on website hits, include that information.

• Show note advertising If you have detailed show notes, let advertisers know about the opportunity to advertise here also. This would include advertising on your RSS feed.

• Promotional giveaways If you are willing to have in-show giveaways of products, mention that also. This would include giving out coupon codes for the listeners.

• Pricing Regardless of how many options you give advertisers with regard to how they could integrate their message into your show, one of their primary concerns will, of course, be the cost to them. If you will consider taking sponsorships, let them know the minimum length of time you are willing to sign a sponsorship deal for and at what price level. If you have price breaks for longer periods of times, list those also. If you are looking for more of an advertising model, let them know what your asking price is for CPM (that is, cost per thousand). If you have no idea how to determine how much you should be charging an advertiser, stay tuned. We tackle that issue in "Determining a Fair Price," later in this chapter.

  Also, you should tell all prospective advertisers that you understand that all advertising campaigns are unique and that you are open to discussing additional options for sponsorship and advertising with them.

• Contact information Finally, end with your full set of contact information, including email, phone number, fax (if you have a fax machine), and a snail mail address.

Remember, the media kit is for potential advertisers, not for your audience. Don't use slang from your show in the kit without defining that slang. Be professional and do not assume the advertisers understand podcasting.

Where to Send the Media Kit

Now that you have gone through all the trouble and work of putting together the media kit, you probably want to know what to do with it next. First, you can link to it from the website for your podcast, or at a minimum you can let potential advertisers know it exists and ask them to send you an email to request a copy of the media kit. The latter is suggested if you are giving out information in the media kit such as your real name or home address.

We have heard many podcasters say, "Because my show is X-rated, no one will want to advertise on it." This is absolutely not true. Go and pick up a copy of the latest Playboy or Penthouse magazine. Both are filled with advertisers that would be a good fit for an X-rated or even R-rated podcast. If you have a podcast about paintball, then get a couple magazines on paintball and see what companies are advertising. Google those companies, find a contact, and then email or snail mail your media kit. Also, go to blogs and websites that talk about a subject related to your podcast. Look and see who is advertising in the banner ads for those sites.

Finally, if other podcasts out there are similar to yours, listen to find out who is advertising on them. These advertisers will likely be interested in advertising on your show. In some cases, advertisers will approach you, but for the most part you will need to be the one knocking on doors and selling your show. Your media kit is one of the most important tools you will have when you are trying to get advertisers to hand over their cash.