As a creator of comic cons, there’s good and bad news. The good news: it’s easy to convince journalists to cover your event. The bad news: it’s difficult to keep coverage accurate.
To control the narrative in the press about your event, you need a media kit. A good media kit, also known as a press kit, makes it easy for journalists and bloggers to write about your event.
Follow these seven steps to create a media kit that will help represent your brand accurately.
1. Tell your story with your media kit
Journalists are looking for a story to engage their readers. Tell them how your comic con began and why it makes an impact on fans who attend. If you can, highlight a specific fan and include a quote from them about their experience at your event.
That said, keep it short. If you write a long story, edit it down to one paragraph for the media kit, and save the longer version to respond to follow-up questions.
If you’ve written a press pitch as part of your event PR strategy, you can use the same story.
2. List the need-to-know details
To cover your event, journalists need to know basic information such as the time, date, and location. It also benefits you to make sure they get those details right. Make it easy with a simple list.
Include this key information in your media kit:
- Name of the event
- Date
- Time
- Location
- Price
- Where to reserve or buy tickets
3. Highlight your main attractions
Your headliners, performers, and talent are influencers who have a following. List them in your media kit, so the press can quickly identify a celebrity hook. Highlight any events these celebrities are involved in, like a meet-and-greet or panel discussion.
Bonus: If you have an interesting lineup of vendors, such as a famous restaurant or food truck catering, include it here. The media kit functions as a “greatest hits” resource for journalists to pull information from.
4. Package your media and PR assets
Whether it’s a digital or print publication, members of the press need assets like logos and photos. Choose photos from past events that showcase highlights. Ask your main attractions for their press assets as well. Make it easy to download high-resolution files of your event branding with the click of a button.
Bonus: You can also include logos from your event sponsors. This makes your comic con feel more established and adds value for your sponsors.
5. Share past press coverage
Quote or link to articles, blog posts, or interviews that told a great story about your event. This helps journalists and bloggers understand your story and different ways to tell it. It also gives social proof that your comic con is worth writing about.
6. Make your media kit easy to find
Package everything up into a Media or Press page on your website. Add links to the page in the site’s top navigation and footer. As you do media outreach, remember to include a link to this page in all of your messages.
Bonus: You could test targeted marketing to journalists to drive traffic to the Media page, since it functions as a standalone press pitch.
7. Tell them how to contact you
Once they’re interested, journalists may have additional questions or requests to flush out their coverage. Always include contact information at the bottom of your media kit.
Include this key information in your media kit:
- Name of the media contact person
- Phone number
- Email address
- Requirements or link to form for requesting press passes
Bonus: You can also include information about sponsorship opportunities.
A media kit is a powerful tool to gain press coverage and control the story about your comic con. Build one to drive the results you want.
That said, a great media kit isn’t effective without a proactive communication plan backing it up. Download How to Create a Proactive Communication Plan to master your complete PR plan.
