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CHAPTER 2

MASTER YOUR MEDIA TOOLKIT

This chapter is a media toolkit guide 101. It’s everything you need before you speak to media, event organisers, brand partners, sponsorship or collaborators. I want to get you thinking about all the essentials you need for pitching. If you need help driving awareness, sales or want to start building your credibility as an industry expert then this chapter is essential for you.

Whether you use OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive or your desktop (but please don’t do that!), you should have a folder called press or media toolkit where you save all the documents that you need for your press and marketing purposes and you should update them regularly. When these documents are requested, to make the journalist’s job easier and to increase your chances of coverage, you need to be able to access these easily.

So, this chapter will walk you through all the elements I recommend you have before your hype machine starts, including:

– One-liner

– Boiler plates

– Images

– Biographies

– Thought topics

– Feature topics

– Press release.

And yes, I put the press release last because it serves as a useful reminder that the press release is not the most essential part of your media toolkit.

2.1 One-liner

This is where the work you have done on yourself in Chapter 1 is going to come into play. For book research, I’ve gone to a big bunch of networking events, panel talks and listened to a lot of podcasts. I tell you who I remember – the people who tell me what they do clearly and concisely.

If someone can’t summarise what they do, I often only remember them by thinking, Gosh – you were boring. Nailing your summary sentence is a key skill and it should roll off the tongue. Just like you know the hospital you were born in, your date of birth and your mother’s maiden name, you need to be able to reel off what your business does with confidence in a pithy way.

ACTIVITY

– Think about how you would chat to a friend; how do you describe what your business does in one sentence?

– If you are struggling, write down a paragraph to explain what your business does but then draft – chop out all unnecessary words by bringing out that red pen again.

– Does it leave room for people to ask questions (but it’s not a necessity)?

EXAMPLE

One sentence case study – The Good

I’ve included a few of my favourites that are out in the wild because I feel that not only do they say what it is the business does, but leave room for further intrigue and questions.

“Poopy Cat are fun disposable litter trays that are better for you, better for the cat and better for the environment.”

“With the Karma App, you can find delicious unsold food from restaurants and enjoy at half the regular price.”

“We’re a retail brand selling smart tech to busy people. Clever stuff that solves problems. Because useful is the new cool.” (Soda Says)

One sentence case study – The Bad

Below are some examples that don’t work with my made-up business, The ZZ.

“The ZZ is a collective of creative talent, specialising in disruption.”

This is so broad, and I have to read it several times to realise I still don’t know what this means. What type of creative talent? Specialising in disruption, OK, so maybe you might be an innovation business? I literally don’t know if you are mischief makers at Paddy Power who create quirky stunts or people who make quirky protest signs.

“A XX, for everybody.”

I always get worried when brands claim they are for everyone. Firstly, because honing in on a niche always seems more sensible; and secondly, because their advertising and promotional materials don’t always show that. So, unless you are reflecting everybody in your materials, then don’t do it.

TIPS

– Your one-liner is different to your USP, it is what I call the “Ronseal plus intrigue” to describe what it is your brand does.

– Have you explained your business so a five-year-old would understand?

– Keep it super simple, I’m looking for 10–12 words here max, people.

– Can you leave an element of curiosity, so people want to know more?

– It’s OK if your one sentence evolves over time as your business pivots. Great one-liners stop you in your tracks and leave you wanting more.

– Check all your social media accounts and your website – are you using the same information across all platforms?

2.2 Boiler plate

The Cambridge dictionary describes the boiler plate as “writing that has been used before many times with only very small changes”. The term originates from the early 1900s when printing plates of text for widespread production were cast or stamped in steel. Today, it isn’t for a whole press release or stories but what I would call your business biography, the equivalent of the ‘about us’ column.

It should look like a potted history of your business and is information that rarely changes. It is used at the bottom of your press release, but increasingly I use the boiler plate as part of my hype pitches.

ACTIVITY

Imagine you are in a pub (you can have a soft drink or a pint, I’m not here to judge) – I want you to tell your mate what your business does in one paragraph. Write it down and make sure it covers the following:

– What actually is your business? You need a brief statement on what you do and the name of your business.

– Where does your business do this and since when?

– Who established the business and for what purpose?

– Any notable business successes to highlight?

TIPS

– Keep this short, sharp and succinct.

– Show it to someone who doesn’t know anything about your business and make sure that they can read it and understand what your business does.

– Cut out any words or language you don’t need.

– This should be a factual, pithy marketing paragraph so avoid opinionated or emotive language.

CHECKLIST

– Check all your social media accounts and your website – are you using the same information across all platforms?

– Ask that mate down the pub again (you can go to the coffee shop now if you need to, supporting a local business is an ace idea though) to listen to your boiler plate and one-liner, get some feedback.

– Are you part of any networking groups on Facebook/LinkedIn that you can get some additional feedback from?

2.3 Images

If you take nothing else from this book, I hope you spend some time working on your biography and investing in some professional photography. With great photography you instantly elevate your personal and business brand.

For me, these are the non-negotiable parts of a press office and I wouldn’t promote a person or a business without them.

Founder images

The press shots of yourself will become the most used element in the Hype Yourself toolkit; they are essential for:

– Guest panellists at a conference

– Award entries

– Guest posts

– Updating your social media channels

– Including on your own website

– Podcast promotion.

ACTIVITY

– Make sure you work with a photographer that you feel comfortable with. All portrait photographers have a different style.

– Look around your network and ask for recommendations, it is not always about going with the cheapest photographer.

– Create a mood board of the style of photography you liked on Pinterest to share as part of the briefing process with your photographer.

– Pick a photographer who provides a briefing template or who at least sets some questions in advance of the shoot.

TIPS

– Aim for at least 6–8 headshots on plain backgrounds.

– Secure a mixture of landscape and portrait (increasingly I need to provide landscape profile pictures for blog posts/media articles).

– On shoot day wear a few outfits and in different colours.

– Consider revising every six months but at least once a year and try to get a mixture across the different seasons.

– Ensure you have professional cropped head and shoulder shots.

– Look directly into the camera, don’t pull a funny face and try not to look too serious.

– Ask your photographer to send images to you in both hi- and low-res.

– Jpeg format is best for the majority of media/marketing requirements.

– Make sure the shots are taken straight on, not at an angle from above/below.

– Artistic shots and full length are an added bonus.

– Top tip: outdoor shots on a beautiful sunny day will give you the best light.

Product photography

If your business is product-led, I imagine product photography will be one of the first parts of your marketing mix that you create but ensure that you consider what the media are looking for. The biggest mistake I see small businesses make is to invest heavily in over art-directed lifestyle shots, but the reality is that most media want products on a ghost or white background they can cut out easily for their shopping pages.

ACTIVITY

– Think about the pages or destination you want your product to end up in and ensure that you have a selection of shots that can be used for media.

– Don’t over think your press photography, businesses are often scared of the simplicity of shooting on a plain white background, but trust me when I say that this is the most requested shot I am ever asked for.

TIPS

– Shoot your product flat lay on a white background (or what we sometimes call ghost cut-out).

– Make sure you have both low- and hi-res photography.

– The resolution should be 300 dpi – jpegs are the best format.

Business-to-business photography

If you are a service business, you might get by with generic shop-bought imagery for your website or using Unsplash for social media, but this is not going to wash for journalists.

ACTIVITY

– Everyone has seen the overused and rather dull flat lay image of a MacBook with a millennial pink notebook and a latte – so think differently, what images really represent you and your business that are not generic?

– Could you take some photos of you at work; e.g., at your desk, hosting a meeting, speaking at an event, directing a shoot? Think about all the visual aspects of what you do and how you can capture this.

– Create a bank of images (4–6) that are a mixture of portrait and lifestyle and reflect your business personality.

TIPS

– After headshots, the business ‘lifestyle’ shots are the ones that most companies ignore.

– If you have a physical space for your business, what can you do to make it more memorable so people might want to snap a pic and share it with their followers?

CHECKLIST

– Do you have all your photos saved in both high and low resolutions?

– Are your images captioned and labelled properly (don’t just leave it saved as a numerical file – make sure you have a clear description and it is captioned.

2.4 Biographies

Whether I’m pitching a client for writing an opinion piece, speaking at an event or speaking on a podcast – inevitably the first question I will be asked (if I’ve not already included it as part of my pitch format) is “Can you send me their bio” and they want it immediately.

It is surprising how many businesses have been going for years where the key stakeholders don’t have a biography on file when, in my opinion, this should be one of the first assets you create for your media toolkit. Or, if they do already have a bio, it tends to be a bit dull and I’m bored halfway down the list of all the professional accomplishments.

ACTIVITY

Tell me everything

Generally, entrepreneurs fall into two camps, wanting to share absolutely everything or fearing they don’t have enough to say. To begin with, write down everything because not only is this a useful exercise to uncover all your forgotten talents and experience, but it may also unearth something different that you can build on. Ask yourself the following questions:

– What skills do you have that are relevant to this business?

– What are your relevant academic or professional qualifications?

– What is your industry experience?

– Any other strengths to highlight?

– Do you have a quirky hobby and/or habit?

The red pen

Going through all of this information, which is the most important? Rank the different points as to what are the most relevant. And start your cull of what might be irrelevant for your first draft. (Keep a long-form version of everything for future use and to keep updating.)

What’s your name and where do you come from?

Cilla Black always nailed a good intro. Having read some monstrosities out there, it’s worth flagging to start simply and with the basics – your name and where you currently work or some examples of who you currently work for if you are freelance.

Add a personal detail