There is something crucial that most of you are missing…
In the age of social media we are all focusing on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and, we’ve forgotten an important basic: Your online press kit – the asset that makes it easy for others to publicize your brand.
In many ways, your online presence is equivalent to creating your own online billboard. If you are in control of your website and your social channels, and you have a good grasp of 2-way conversation mastery, your online billboard will have the exact messaging for your tribe (potential customers and fans).
However, if this is not the case, here are some predictable scenarios:
- You are featured on a blog or at a show with a random or an outdated photo of you that someone randomly Googled.
- You are introduced by someone who is summarizing from old info or a badly edited Wikipedia page that focuses on all of the wrong things. (I’ve seen this happen multiple times – it’s not a good look).
- Your photo is so small it comes out fuzzy on posters and online
You want all assets to be as much in your control as possible that you always have your best foot forward and you are sharing the latest news, release and images.
Follow this guide to ensure that you are in control of your brand and your image.
How To Post A Perfect Press Kit On Your Website
Editors, bloggers, bookers and even potential fans will deeply appreciate having seamless access to your information because they are constantly under deadline.
Here are the four assets to include:
1. Your Bio (Signature Story)
This is the cornerstone of your brand, and the most important part of your image aside from your music. Make sure your bio is easily locatable on your site and it can be easily cut-and-pasted (not in a PDF format that can’t be easily cut and pasted).
Your bio should NOT just be a “who, what, when, where, why” or a list of accolades. Read our handy guide Five Steps To A Kick Ass Artist Bio here or Invest in having a bio written that brings out your signature story. This should be a compelling and relatable story that evokes an emotional response from the reader.
Post a long form, 250 word, 100 word and a Tweet sized bio and you have pre-delivered every possible type of bio request that may come your way (no one will ever ask you to edit your bio down again or worse, edit it for you and forget the most important parts.
Create 5 versions of your bio
- Long Form
- In 250 – 200 words
- In 100 words
- In 1 tweet
- A few words (and maybe even an emoji) for Instagram, Twitter and Social Home Pages
2. Your Photos – Make Them Easy To Find And Download
Thumbnails are great for quick and easy loading but are detrimental for use in print (if you are a speaker or attending a conference where there is a directory, your photo may be appearing on posters, flyers and in a printed conference guide.
You should always have a few downloadable photo options on your site in at least 300 dpi / jpg format. Also post vertical and horizontal photos so editors working on a tight format won’t have to resize anything.
TIP: Create an easy-to-see link that says “click here for a hi res / low res jpg.” That way, busy editors can get what they need easily.
When the photos are downloaded, make sure they are properly named with YOUR NAME (not 3456790298376542.jpg) so that editors can find them in folders and on messy desktops!
3. Include Your Album / EP Cover, Logos and Several Sizes
All of your artwork should be up to date and available for easy download. Inclue album art, single art and several sizes of images.
4. Include Press Clips & Reviews
What you say about you is one thing… However, what others say about you is trusted in a different way. So, if you have press or blog posts that were written pieces you were quoted in, or raving testimonials from fans, include them on your press kit page.
TIP: Don’t link out to other blogs and sites (the sites you are linking to may take them down or go dead, so make sure you include the articles archived on your own site).
Another great addition is reviews to add from fans. If you don’t have any, send an email or a Facebook Message out to a few superfans and ask them to post a review on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Amazon and use that!
5. Make Sure You Don’t Need To Hire Someone To Do All This
If you can’t easily modify your website to include all of this information, you can easily set up an about.me page and include the 5 assets listed here.
Here’s to protecting what you want to say and show about your brand online.
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