Sandra GiffinA Press Kit is something that every Startup should have. PR is important for startups.
You need to make information about your Startup and its product or service easily accessible.
Bloggers and journalists are busy people with deadlines. They are more likely to do a post or article about your Startup if you provide them with timely access to the information and resources they need.
I just finished putting together a Press Kit for my Startup MondoPlayer. I’m not going to lie, it was a lot of work! But I’m really happy with the result.
Why you Should do a Press Kit for your Startup:
- Saves you time in the long run to have all materials in one place on your site
- Reduces errors or omissions in blog posts or articles by providing information about your service or product’s availability, features, versions and capabilities
- Makes it easy for a journalist or blogger to quickly do an article and meet a deadline
- Provides downloadable files for print or web use so articles and posts can be visually appealing and spread your brand
- Makes your Startup look professional and prepared
Components of Your Startup Press Kit
Product or Service Overview
- Succinct summary of your product or service, what it does and why people want it
- Brief background statement on Founders, launch date and what stage you are in
- Locations where your product or service is available – e.g. App Stores, download from your site, physical locations
How to Contact you or Learn More
- Link to company or personal blog
- Email address for Press inquiries or request to be added to your Press list
- Contact information for customer service – customers often visit this page
Downloadable Press Release
This is useful because bloggers and journalists can cut and paste content from it. If they are on a tight deadline to produce an article this makes it super easy for them.
Here’s what to include in your Press Release:
- It should be general rather than focused on a specific event or piece of news
- Describe your product or service – what distinguishes it in the market and why people use it
- Testimonial quotes from your CEO and customers
- Where your product or service is available and how it can be obtained – App stores, website, physical location, etc
- End with a summary paragraph about your company and what it does
- At the bottom include contact info for whoever will deal with press inquiries at your company, include a name, email address and phone number
- Web address for your site
Here is an example of the Press Release for MondoPlayer.
Pitch Section
Include 3 different length product pitches in your Press Kit. This gives journalists and bloggers easy options depending on the length of the article they are writing. You can name these whatever you like but, I chose these names:
Escalator Pitch
- One short sentence that succinctly describes your product or service
- 30 second version of your sales pitch
Elevator Pitch
- 2 – 3 short sentences that give your unique selling proposition
- 45 – 60 second version of your pitch
Transit Pitch
- 4 – 5 sentences that emphasize the user experience – why people use your product or service
- Imagine yourself sitting on a bus or subway for a few stops and describing your product or service to the person sitting next to you
- Include a few bullet points at the end of your pitch to highlight major benefits and to visually break up the text
Brand Assets
Provide images of your brand assets and a downloadable zip file in your Press Kit. Include a statement drawing attention to your brand use guidelines. Here’s what you should include:
- Different versions of your logo for use on light and dark backgrounds
- A variety of formats – jpeg and png for web use; eps for print use; svg for editing and scaling
Here is how we displayed the MondoPlayer Logos:
Brand Guidelines
You need to protect the integrity of your brand’s visual identity. Give specific instructions on the use and display of your brand such as:
- Use the logo as provided – scale it proportionally, do not distort it
- Do not alter colors, add filters or effects
- Do not rotate it
- Choose the proper logo for use on light or dark backgrounds
- In our case MondoPlayer is one word with a capitalized M and P so we draw attention to this with illustrations of the right and wrong ways to display it
Brand Colors
Display your brand colors with the Hex Color Code. Here’w how we did it for MondoPlayer.
Brand Fonts
Display the fonts you use and their names
Here are MondoPlayer’s fonts:
Demo Video
Include your latest demo video in your Press Kit. It’s a quick way for people to learn about your product or service and its major features.
Journalists and bloggers may not use your service or download and try your product so it is important that they see it in action. Your Demo Video should highlight the major benefits of your service or product to users and your unique selling proposition.
Make sure the demo is a good quality video with good sound and graphics.
Here is a link to MondoPlayer’s demo video.
Screenshots
Nice screenshots of your product or shots showing your service in action are visually appealing. They help people understand what it does and how it works. Include a downloadable zip file.
Tip: – Use a color frame around your screenshot and include copy that highlights user experience. Don’t miss a marketing opportunity!
Here is an example of MondoPlayer Screenshots.
You can also use Lifestyle Screenshots that show your product or service in real life situations. Here is a good example from Good Night Charly for its lullaby music box and baby monitor that is controlled with an App.
Founder Bios and Photos
Include short bios of your Founders in your Press Kit along with a downloadable zip file containting their photos.
Bios
- 3 – 4 sentences
- Why they started the company or invented the product or service
- Background information
Here is an example of MondoPlayer’s Founder Bios.
Photos
- Should be professional quality
- Downloadable photos should be full size, high resolution photos in jpeg format
Here is an example of our Founder Photos
So that’s it for your Press Kit. It is a big project so take it one step at a time.
Resources
Here are some resources I used in producing the MondoPlayer Press Kit.
Sites that inspired me
Tools
- Canva – an amazing free site for doing graphic design for the web
- Inkscape – a free tool for editing graphics, good for editing and producing svg files
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