A well-designed media kit is essential for content creators who want to make their personal brand more professional and secure partnerships that allow you to earn a living as a full-time creator.
But there’s usually a mismatch between what creators offer and what brands want to see in the negotiation process. Communication can also be long; there’s a back-and-forth email chain that drip feeds important information to your sponsor because it’s not all in one place.
And when you’re creating your own influencer media kit, you can’t exactly look for inspiration.
Most content creators keep their media kits under wraps—the only people on the receiving end are clients, which makes it hard to design your own.
We spoke to a handful of successful creators who lifted the lid on their media kits.
This guide compiles their answers on how to design effective media kits that highlight your unique value proposition, which boost your chances of securing partnerships and sponsorships.
What is a content creator media kit?
Media kits act as a pitch book or an online resume for creators. They help brands understand you, your audience, and the value you can give them. They’re vital information for partnerships, collaborations, and monetizing views.
Components of a successful media kit
Creator bio
A creator bio does exactly what the name suggests: it tells potential collaborators about you. It’s your chance to tell them about your personality, background, and goals as a content creator.
This doesn’t have to be complex; a few sentences should be enough to set you apart from other creators they’re thinking about partnering with.
“Content creators should focus on unique parts of their brand and personality,” says Dale L. Roberts. “The data, analytics, and testimonials will help spotlight on why the content creator is someone they want to work with.”
Audience demographics
Potential sponsors want to know that your audience overlaps their target audience.
They judge that by looking at your audience demographics that you pull from social media analytics tools, such as:
- Age range
- Gender breakdown
- Location (city or country)
Don’t limit this section of your own media kit to quantitative data. Source feedback from your audience to describe who they are, then use their words in your media kit.
If you’re a fitness influencer, for example, talk about how your audience is fit and healthy individuals who want to lose body fat and increase their confidence. A sportswear store or gym can clearly see how your audience has the same goals as their own, making for a great partnership.
Reach and engagement
Reach is the amount of people you reach through your social media profile.
While a high reach figure is important, brands tend to put more emphasis on engagement—the percentage of people who see your post and interact with it.
You can have 1M followers but if only 0.1% of them engage with sponsored posts, brands won’t get a good deal from their collaboration (and will be unlikely to work with you again).
For each platform you’re active on and accept sponsorships for, showcase your reach and engagement rate. If you manage to beat the average engagement rate of 2.88%, it’ll prove that followers listen to you and wait for new content to drop.
Past collaborations and sponsors
Help new sponsors envision themselves partnering with you by showing examples of brands who have done it before. This could mean:
- Embedding a previous sponsored post
- Showing the analytics for the collaboration
- Adding the logos of recognizable brands you’ve worked with
Even better: ask previous brands to share results or testimonials from the sponsorship deal. A previous collaboration that landed a bunch of new sales is much more impressive than a bulleted list of brands you’ve worked with.
“Brands also like seeing examples of analytics and performance metrics of recent or related campaigns,” Phil Pallen adds.
“By showcasing specific results (ex. 196K views and 120 conversions), my media kit demonstrates not just my reach, but also my effectiveness in converting views to tangible results, making me an attractive partner for brands (hopefully!).”
Rate cards by sponsored content format
The purpose of a media kit is to sell yourself as a creator. But for brands to make their decision on whether or not they’d like to collaborate with you, they first need to check that your rates fit their budget.
In this part of your own influencer media kit, detail every sponsored content format you accept sponsorships for and the rate for each.
These don’t have to be concrete figures; rates can be ballpark figures to leave room for negotiation or personalized pricing. Smaller companies tend to have smaller budgets, whereas larger brands—particularly those who already work with social media influencers—have a bit more cash to spare.
For example: if you set a range of $500 to $800 for a sponsored Instagram post, that leaves you with some wiggle room to adjust your rates for brands of different sizes.
If you’re going full force into sponsorships and want to become a full-time creator, consider upselling potential partners in your media kit. You could add prebuilt discounted packages that incentivize people to spend more—such as $500 for 4 Instagram posts (instead of $150 each).
Contact information
Partnerships managers often bundle media kits together from different creators to look through at the same time.
In yours, add your contact details—such as your email address, social media handles, and website (if you have one). This will stop the potential sponsor from having to scan their inbox and remember how they contacted you.
The benefits of influencer media kits as a creator
It takes time to create an influencer media kit. But that time is well spent because a good media kit can help you:
- Generate leads for more brand deals. If you’re going out there to pitch brands you’d like to work with, you need something to show the value you can bring. An effective media kit does exactly that. Brands can see that your audience overlaps theirs, plus put themselves in the shoes of other sponsors you’ve got excellent results for.
- Build a competitive advantage. If you have an influencer media kit, you’ll look more professional and showcase your high engagement rates—two key differentiators that could help you land a sponsorship over another creator.
- Communicate more effectively. With an influencer media kit, there’s no never-ending email threads; just one professional document to proactively answer any questions before a sponsor needs to ask.
Milou Pietersz adds: “Having a media kit in place doesn’t only allow you to be organized and systemized when brands get in touch with you and request (the same) information including social insights, rates, brands you’ve worked with, etc, but it also plays a role into the way you present yourself to a brand.
“This will help save everyone time to get them the requested information and move forward with the next steps.”
How to create a stand-out media kit
- Choose an influencer media kit template
- Perfect your creator bio
- Focus on your USP
- Pull up-to-date statistics
- Use your brand colors, logos, and fonts
- Add a call to action
- Regularly update your media kit
1. Choose an influencer media kit template
If you’re not comfortable with designing your own media kit, don’t worry—there are thousands of templates available.
Photoshop, Google Docs, and Canva all have media kit templates to get you up and running. And because each is built into a design platform, you can customize the template without saving to save it and reupload it to another site.
Granted, you can play around with the color palette and fonts in the template, but you’ll have a much easier job if you choose a great media kit template that aligns with your brand style.
If you’re a Pilates instructor with a brand that’s light and airy, for example, maybe steer clear from a bold monochromatic template.
2. Perfect your creator bio
Influencers and creators are popular largely because of their personality.
Brands, too, want to work with creators who have similar goals, values, and interests—in other words: an influencer who reflects the brand they’re being paid to talk about.
Think about it: if you were a gaming brand and your target audience was young gamers, which of these short bios would you be more likely to hire for a collaboration or sponsored post?
- Creator A: “I’m Chris, a 24 year old Twitch streamer from Los Angeles.”
- Creator B: “I’m Chris, a gaming enthusiast who loves to play Fortnite. Ever since I got my first Xbox for my 12th birthday, I’ve been building an audience on Twitch. I now have 2,000+ subscribers who watch my videos and feel more like my friends.”
Chances are, it’s Creator B. They give more insight into why a brand should partner with them (the fact their audience hangs on their every word.)
Creator B also tells a story, which is much more engaging than a laundry list of bland facts.
“A media kit is something creative and brands don’t only want to know your insights, but also want to learn about you and your personality to see if you’re a good fit to partner with them,” says YouTuber Milou Pietersz.
“Most brands (as well as creators) are looking for long-term partnerships and building that relationship plays a huge role.”
If you’re struggling with what to include in this section of your media kit, get help from people who know you best: your audience. How would they describe you? Why do they follow you? What sets you apart from other creators they follow?
These answers can help you craft a bio that makes your media kit stand out.
3. Focus on your USP
Brands are likely looking at a stack of media kits when choosing which creators to work with. Make it a no-brainer for them to choose you by showing what sets you apart.
Justin Moore, for example, highlights his quick growth in this section of his media kit: “I have one page of my media kit that illustrates the rapid growth of my newsletter (up and to the right like hockey-stick growth).
“I added a little rocket ship with my face on it showing the trajectory,” Justin says. “When I actually send the proposal to a specific brand, I also add their logo to the rocket ship. Small touch but brands get a kick out of it.”
Again, your audience can help here. Post a quick Instagram Story poll that asks people why they follow you. Options could include:
- They like your personality
- Your content is entertaining
- They learn from you
- You share the same values
- They aspire to be like you
Follow this up with a question box that lets followers write their own response. This qualitative data—which uses words instead of numbers (such as poll votes)—can lift the lid on what people actually think… without forcing them to choose an option you’ve already created.
- “In my own media kit, I not only include impressive metrics from previous campaigns but also emphasize my high production value, my ongoing SEO strategy, and my ability to engage audiences over the long term. This combination of quantitative data and qualitative insights offers a holistic view of what I bring to the table.” —Phil Pallen
For even more value, tie in your USP with a brand’s goals—which are usually brand awareness, website traffic, or sales.
For example: “My no-frills approach to gaming means my audience trusts me and my recommendations, which has helped brands like [BRAND] increase sales by 25% after our collaboration.”
4. Pull up-to-date statistics
Influencer marketing managers want a clear understanding of what results they can expect from a campaign when they’re working with new creators.
A great influencer media kit should make this easy for your potential sponsor. To do this, source the following metrics from your social media accounts – and be sure to stick to your most active social media platforms.
Most social media platforms have their own analytics features (like Instagram Insights, Facebook Business Suite, YouTube analytics, etc):
- Audience demographics: the age, gender, location of your audience
- Reach: how many people your content reaches
- Engagement metrics: the percentage of people who see your content and interact with it (e.g. like, comment, or share it)
- Follower count: how many followers you have across each social media account
Even better: If you have your own membership site, pull data from here to show that you have an audience of engaged members. Paying members are usually more engaged than social media followers (and therefore, more valuable to a brand).
Uscreen has this ready to go for you:
Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.
“Your media kit is used to highlight your best assets—everything that you have going for you,” says YouTuber Millie Adrian. “If you’re not confident in your following number, don’t worry about it! Instead, focus on your engagement rate or something you are proud of.”
You can also play around with reporting periods. Data from the last 60 days might be more impressive than the last 365, so include that in your media kit instead.
Similarly, show that you’re growing in popularity with comparative data. For example: “50% increase in followers over the last 3 months” or “45% increase in video views over the 30 days”.
5. Use your brand colors, logos, and fonts
Consistency across every touchpoint with a potential sponsor shows that you’re an experienced influencer.
Professionalism—and proving that you’ve done this before—makes it easier for potential clients to decide to collaborate with you. They don’t have to teach you what to do; you already know what to expect when working with brands.
When designing your influencer media kit, use consistent colors, fonts, and logos to other aspects of your creator business, including:
- Your business card
- Instagram Story highlight covers
- Profile photo background
- Membership website
OMBE Surf, for example, uses the same graphic design across their Instagram Story highlight covers and Uscreen-hosted membership site:
6. Add a call to action
What should someone do once they’ve digested the information in their media kit?
Instead of assuming that a brand will contact you off their own back, encourage potential sponsors to reach out for more information and collaboration opportunities. That could be:
- Sending you a DM on Instagram
- Emailing you directly
- Clicking a link to fill in your sponsorship enquiry form
Some creators see success from creating a sense of urgency for people to reach out NOW. For example: “Want results like these for your brand? I’m booking sponsorships for Summer 2024. Email me today to secure your slot.”
7. Regularly update your media kit
An influencer media kit is a living document that needs to be updated regularly.
The goal of a media kit is to land brand deals, and the best way to do that is with impressive data. By regularly updating your media kit, you can showcase recent growth and changing audience demographics.
Milou Pietersz recommends doing this once per month: “Set a reminder in your calendar on the 1st of each month to update your insights. Social media changes quickly and so do your insights.
“Another option would be to share quarterly insights (90-day timeframe), but you want to make sure brands receive the most accurate and up-to-date information.”
3 influencer media kit examples from real creators
1. Keenya Kelly
Looking for a media kit example to help you piece things together?
Keenya Kelly is a social media content creator who uses a media kit to give potential sponsors a brief overview of what they can expect when working with her.
On the first page, we see a professional headshot which is a nice personal touch. Keenya says: “I make sure that you can see the Keenya (personal) side of me but also the Keenya Kelly (professional) side of me as each brand may be looking for something different. But I always make sure I look like my normal self. Big curly hair.”
There’s also a breakdown of Keenya’s audience demographics including the gender split, email list size, and follower counts across her biggest platforms.
What’s especially great about this media kit, though, is that Keenya makes her value proposition shine. If a brand wants to grow their own audience and make sales through creator partnerships, it’s obvious that Keenya is a great choice.
- “I was able to secure a partnership with TikTok for 13 videos all because when they were looking for someone like me to partner with, I made it easy for them.” —Keenya Kelly
2. Jessica Stansberry
Jessica Stansberry is a YouTuber that helps people sell their own digital products.
She works with brands to promote products and services to her audience, and uses an influencer media kit to give potential sponsors the information they need.
“I brand my media kit like I would my website,” says Jessica. “I include information about myself, how I like to partner, why I like to partner in certain ways, etc. I believe transparency is so important for prospective brands and partners.”
On this page, in particular, Jessica uses social proof to close more brand deals. The graph shows the watch time of a previous sponsored video and the results it’s gotten for the brand.
If anyone reading the media kit wants those results, they know to hire Jessica.
- “My media kit is used in almost every brand deal I make. My team uses it to give brands information about me, my pricing and more, which cuts down on time. It’s an absolute necessity for me!” —Jessica Stansberry
3. Doc Williams
Doc Williams is the perfect example of how an influencer media kit doesn’t have to be anything complex.
The media kit is a one-page Canva template that shares a brief description of the creator, their social reach, and audience demographics—the need-to-know information for any potential sponsor.
Doc Williams says: “Don’t be too focused on numbers, but provide the information that reflects your value and what you can bring to the table.
“Having a media kit was essential to being hired on to Hall Pass Media, which coordinates with NBA Summer League, as a digital marketing consultant,” Doc adds. “It displayed my scope of work and my potential, as well as the capacity I had to do outreach for their brand as well.”
Do’s and don’ts of creating an influencer media kit
Before you share your new media kit with potential sponsors, check you aren’t making one of these common mistakes.
Do keep it concise
Brands don’t have forever to search through influencer media kits. They’re likely looking at media kits from multiple influencers at once.
Make it easy for them to get top-line stats, results, or rates through design choices like:
- Callout boxes
- Bullet points
- Images (such as screenshots of previous collabs)
“Avoid overcomplicating it, especially when you’re just starting out,” says Milou Pietersz. “Make sure you have the essentials: insights, background, etc. Only list relevant information and leave out the fluff for the brand to make it easy for them to digest.”
Do add high-quality images
Some influencer managers find it easier to digest information that’s presented visually. A wall of text can also be off putting, especially if you’re scanning multiple media kits from a bunch of different creators.
Make it easier for brands to digest the information inside your influencer media kit with professional stock photos or your own images, such as:
- Screenshots of sponsored posts
- Emails from previous happy clients
- Sales data from a client’s ecommerce platform after your post went live
You can even personalize the images you’re adding to your media kit, as Millie Adrian says: “Sometimes I’ll even swap out the photos if it better fits a brand.
“For example, if I’m pitching a hotel stay, I’ll make sure my media kit includes pictures I’ve taken while traveling. Or if I’m pitching an online tool, like Trello, Notion, or TubeBuddy, I’ll use photos from conferences I’ve spoken at to show my expertise.”
Millie says this technique helped her land her first ever hotel stay—before she even hit the 10K follower mark.
Don’t send the media kit with initial pitches
A pitch is the “hook” that gets potential sponsors interested.
Instead of diving head first with your media kit that might overwhelm them with too much information too soon, bait potential clients into responding to your email by sending an initial pitch first.
That way, your influencer media kit can get the full attention it deserves when you send it in your second email once a potential client has shown interest.
Take it from Justin Moore, who says: “I use the “bones” of my capabilities deck to build out my partnership proposals. Brands are always super impressed at the effort (especially when they’re used to every creator sending them rates over email).
“I’ve closed big deals with big brands even though my social following/viewership might be smaller than other creator educators out there,” Justin adds. “The polish of your proposals can often be the convincing factor for a brand to pay you 2-3X what they were planning originally.”
Don’t blanket-send your media kit
The media kit doesn’t have to be personalized, but the email you’re sending with it does.
It proves you actually want to work with that brand, in particular—and aren’t just an influencer looking for a quick money grab.
Simple ways to personalize your brand outreach emails include:
- Addressing your contact by name
- Relaying their goals (they’ve likely said this in their first email)
- Suggesting content ideas specific to the brand
Creator Phil Pallen has a template that is personalized to each potential sponsor. He recommends: “Focus on conveying the unique value you can bring to a client. It’s not just about presenting stats from successful campaigns, although they are important.
“More crucially, it’s about communicating your unique approach and perspective,” Phil says. “Highlight what makes your content and style different, and how that aligns with potential clients’ goals.”
Sell higher ticket sponsorships with a membership site
An influencer media kit is an essential part of any creator business.
But as Dale L. Roberts summarizes: “Don’t overthink your media kit. Whip one together, have a few peers review it, make the adjustments, then run with it. Having a media kit is better than having no media kit.”
What’s more important than the media kit itself is the people who follow you. Brands pay big bucks for large and engaged audiences.
If you’re a creator that wants to take your business to the next level and close six-figure deals, consider turning your free audience into paying members by launching your own membership site with a done-for-you platform like Uscreen.
Members are more engaged than social media followers, so brands pay more money to reach them—hence why the average Uscreen creator makes $12,000 per month.
Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.
Influencer & content creator media kit FAQs
A media kit typically includes a bio about the creator, audience demographics, reach, engagement, previous collaborations, rate cards, and contact information.
A press kit is used by brands that want to get press for their company (such as a feature in a magazine). A media kit, on the other hand, is designed for creators who want to pitch brands and monetize their audience.
The average media kit is around 2 to 4 pages. This is more than enough space to share your audience insights, rates, and previous brand sponsorships.
Most media kits are in PDF format because it’s easy to attach them to outreach emails. Free tools like Canva and Google Docs have free templates that you can export as a PDF.
A media kit is something that content creators use to pitch brand sponsors. It includes key information a sponsor would want to know—like reach, engagement, and rates—before hiring a content creator or influencer.
