Top Eight Press/Media Kit Mistakes
By Theresa Harvard Johnson
There are some things I absolutely hate to see people do when they create their own press kits… and other designers do as well. (Silently, smiling.) These mistakes, while they may seem harmless to the average person, will almost guarantee that your information will be filed in the trash — and your hard word will go unnoticed.
This list will briefly outline some obvious mistakes that many people make when assembling press kits on their own. The list is as follows:
1. The items in your press kit are mismatched. One of the things that make a press kit great is the development of coordinated materials. For example, when a person sees your business card, cover letter, or even your press release, the items are coordinated like a nice bedroom bedding set. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend hundreds of dollars for design services; but it does mean that you should take great care in making your press kit memorable and simple. In the Public Relations world, this concept is called branding. Companies like Chick-fil-A, Target, AT & T and others do this very well. They have a particular font they use on all documents, a signature logo, specific colors and other unique characteristics that make them stand out without the clutter. If you are a first time author, then your brand could very well be based on your book cover design.
2. The items in your press kit are disorganized and mislabeled. Don’t put too much information in your press kit. Three to five pages on one side of the folder and three or so pages on the left, plus your business card in the cardholder slot should be enough. In addition, make sure that the information is free of errors, printed on a single color paper, and stacked in a way that is easily accessible by your audience. For example, if one page is a “media release” or “press release” then you want to have a visible headline at the beginning of that document that says, “Media Release.” If you have prepared a cover letter, then it should be the very first document that a person sees on the right hand side of your pocket folder when they open it. Your bio, book excerpts and/or reviews should be properly labeled and placed together. The idea here is to provide just enough information to be informative and thorough.
3. You used the cheapest paper, folders, etc. that you could find. While you don’t have to spend tons of money to put together a nice press kit, it is important to invest in your presentation. For example, you may want to use a plain white, glossy finished, two pocket folder verses a .10 cent textured pocket folder in multiple colors from the sale counter at Staples that children drag to school. In addition, properly label the folders by simply affixing a laser printed label that features your book cover, book title, and your name. CHEAP is not good!
4. You are printing on a cheap printer. These days, it’s easy to purchase an inkjet printer for under $100 that prints laser-like quality documents. But if you don’t have one, please consider going to Fedex Kinkos, Staples or even Office Depot to have them print, streak-free and refined press kit items for you. You don’t want your labels or letterhead to appear washed out and unfocused in your press kit.
5. You made “do-it-yourself” business cards. If you take this route, please consider purchasing high-quality business card paper, keeping your design simple and uncluttered, and printing them on a good printer. In this day and time, however, I would strongly suggest that you make an investment of $40 or less and have them professional designed at an office supply store and shipped to you. Companies like VistaPrint (online), are very inexpensive and in the end your product looks like a million bucks.
6. Avoid using more than two or three fonts throughout your entire press kit. One of the most common problems people make with press kits is going font CRAZY. A simple way to remedy this is to use a serif font (one without curves or fancy designs like helvetica, arial, verdana, etc.) for all of your headlines or titles; use Times News Roman or a similar, simple font for all body text; and keep your font size for the body no more than 12 points and for headlines between 18 points or so. Avoid typing items in ALL CAPS; USING EXCESSIVE coloring and boldface; or even changing font sizes from document to document. Being consistent also ensures that you are mindful of a person’s vision or ability to see what you are presenting without distractions or clutter. The fonts and font sizes mentioned are considered READABLE and STANDARD. When you go into a book store or see the letterhead from reputable companies, take a look at how they present themselves. Too much FONT ACTIVITY can make the difference between someone reading your press kit or throwing it away.
7. Using “out of focus and blurred photography.” This one is simple. If your photo, graphic or other artwork is blurred, out of focus or pixilated DON’T USE IT. Take all the time you need to get a high quality photo.
8. Avoid including out-dated information in your press kit. Make sure that the address, the phone and fax numbers, email addresses and websites are WORKING. If not, throw away all the information you have with the wrong info on them. There’s nothing worse for the media than obtaining media kits with useless information in them. Scratching through the outdated info is a poor decision. Just chuck-it-up, and make the decision to have the press kit overhauled. Excessive errors or typos in press kits are a no-no as well. This document is worth having a professional editor look over.
