If you are an author trying to get the word out about your book and reputation, then creating a media kit with all the elements that will promote yourself and your book include is essential. This is the best way to inform the public about your latest creation and who you are. Now, the media kit should not be standard since you will want to make use of the online experience as well. In any case, here are some of the things that should be included in your media kit.
- Press releases. This is an essential element that should always be included in a media kit. Basically, this is a seemingly neutral article that is written to provide information about a product or person. The media kit itself should have a couple of press releases in it however, you would do well to have these content uploaded online as well. You can upload this on your website or ask various bloggers and online news sites to post it on their sites. Remember, the Internet is host to billions of users that you definitely want to reach out to. Now, writing the press release can be done by you however, if you feel it is awkward writing about yourself or product then consider hiring a publicist to do it for you.
- Images and cover art. Another element that should never be neglected is images. Basically, the media kit should have an image of you, as the author, as well as the cover art for your book. The size of these images should be well within the dimensions used for publication. Furthermore, you will want to have digital copies of these images for uploading to your website and you social networking sites.
- Sample reviews and blurbs. In your kit, don't forget to include excerpts from some of the past reviews you garnered from various critics about your work. Also, include any blurbs about you or your book as well. Exposure and positive reviews is crucial at this point since you want the public and even the publishers to know that people like you and your book.
- Get someone to interview you. Another way for people to get to know you is by letting down your guard and having someone dig a little deeper about yourself and your book. This interview should be done by an independent third party and should be as neutral as possible. Make sure the kit has a copy of this whether in video or transcript. The video interview should be uploaded to your website as well. You may upload it on YouTube too.
- Start sending out the kit. Once the kit is ready, start sending it out to the tri-media, radio, TV, and newspapers. You may want to send it to various publishers and magazines as well. For the online exposure, all you really have to do is drive more traffic to your website that contains all the elements in digital format. To do this, you can use social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace. Promote your website and watch it suck in all the traffic.
These are the basic elements that should be inside your media kit. The dynamic part of this media kit is that it is not limited to the hard copy of the elements you send out but consists of digital media where most of the marketing happens nowadays.
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