Think of your podcast as a media product that you need to describe, pitch, and sell. A press kit can help journalists and influencers tell stories about your podcast far more effectively than if you just let them navigate your archives independently. Your press kit (or media kit) should contain critical facts and information about your podcast and about how you’re impacting your audience.
Set up your press kit using a Google Drive folder or a zip file. Your kit should consist of several different pieces, all contained within one folder. It should deliver information and be easy to read. The fact sheet (one or two pages) represents the most essential part of your press kit. Divide your sheet into sections:
Introduction and Summary
Explain the following features of your podcast:
- Title
- Genre
- Concept
- Format
- Host(s)
- Content synopsis
You can choose to have two summaries; a short and snappy one that a reviewer can easily quote and one with more depth and specificity.
Release Schedule: Give your current status: episode schedule, are you on hiatus, when are you starting up again, when does your current season or run end. If you’re changing your schedule, state what it will look like in the future.
Cast and Crew List: Credit your host(s), writers, producers, editors, and sound designers and provide a short bio for each one. Include social media links for everyone involved in your podcast.
Review Quotes: Provide a selection of any previous favorable press coverages and reviews. Include the names of authors, what publications they write for, and links to the reviews.
Accessibility: List your available transcripts and provide accessibility links. Describe any future transcripts and give a timeline for availability.
Support Information: Provide links to where people can support your work financially, like Patreon or ko-fi. If you are currently running a Kickstarter or other crowdfunding campaign, talk about it here.
Listening Statistics: Include averages of how many people listen to your shows and the regions or cities where the bulk of those listeners live. Don’t just provide anecdotal evidence here. Use statistics from your podcast host’s analytics platform or third-party services like Podchaser.
Audio Trailer Link: A short-form introduction to your podcast that illustrates what your podcast sounds like.
Contact Information: Be sure to include your show’s email address and all handles and links to your social media platforms.
What to Include Outside of Your Fact Sheet: Promotional Images: Provide high-resolution images from your podcast (in several sizes) for use in articles. Images should include your podcast’s art.
Several sites offer free press/media kit formats, including Adobe Spark, Canva, and Xtensio. Bloop Animation has a how-to guide for making a press kit, including a template you can use.
How to Use Your Press Kit
Your press kit could be useful to a writer putting together an article that references topics covered by your podcast, and your show may get included in a playlist. Provide your press kit at the first point of contact with a podcast journalist. When pitching your podcast, attach your press kit to an email or provide a link to it. A press kit on your website makes it easy for any visitor to spread your show further. Link to the file or do a one-page version of your fact sheet and link to it there.
Keep Your Press Kit Updated
Your press kit will need maintenance. If you add a new cast member, plan to interview an interesting or topical guest, hit an exciting landmark in download numbers, or your schedule changes, update your press kit. As a best practice, check your press kit at least once every other month for accuracy.
The Press Kit Takeaway
Your press kit helps you brand your podcast, convey its tone, and reach all the people who don’t know about you yet. If you need any help at all with your podcast, don’t wait to reach out to Podcast Taxi – we want to know about you, too.