Hiding your media kit? Stop it! (here’s why)

You may have heard me talk about why having rates in your media kit is a terrible idea…

But I’ve never actually talked about my secret motivation for giving that advice.

It’s so that creators STOP coveting their media kits like Sméagol...

And START providing a link for anyone to download it.

First, when was the last time a brand asked you to send your media kit over?

My guess is it’s less than 10-20% of the time.

BUT that doesn’t mean media kits aren’t important.​

In fact, they can sometimes help seal the deal.

Look, I get it…

You don’t want any of your audience members finding it, knowing how much you charge, and potentially trolling you, right?

It feels kinda weird putting that information out there for anyone to see.

After all, you’re also openly saying:

“Yes, I do paid work with brands!”

Maybe you’re worried about coming across like a sellout (which you definitely shouldn’t btw).

OR maybe you’re worried that other creators are gonna copy your ideas and steal your next sponsorship opportunity out from under you.

But these worries are not just ill-founded… they’re short-sighted too.

It’s time to make your media kit public.

First up, hiding your media kit doesn’t exactly make you look professional.

Imagine if a brand wanted to run a digital ad with a traditional publisher.

You can bet that publisher is gonna have a ton of information on their website about partnership opportunities for brands.

So, as a creator, why should you be any different?

Promoting a brand in your weekly newsletter or on TikTok is no different than any other form of sponsorship.

Worse still, you’re gonna lose so much business from brands this way.

There are two reasons for this:

1/ Brands won’t pick you.

First, hiding your media kit is like putting a “CLOSED” sign on your shop, then being surprised when nobody comes in.

Meanwhile, every other shop on the street says “OPEN”.

So let’s imagine two creators, one who hides their media kit, and one who doesn’t.

Here’s what’s gonna happen.

Creator 1 - hides their media kit

• Brand lands on their website, looking for an exciting creator to partner with on their next campaign.

• Brand isn't sure whether that creator's audience squares with their target demographics

• Brand has another 20 creators on their list, so doesn’t waste their time emailing the creator to ask IF they’re open to partnerships.

• After all, they wanna "soft" recommend 3 creators to their boss WITHOUT having to exchange a bunch of emails first.

Creator 2 - makes their media kit public

• Brand lands on their website.

• Brand sees their media kit, displaying a variety of options for how that creator could work with them, succinct info on their audience demos, and how they’ve worked successfully with other brands in the past.

• Brand exclaims: “Oh, I didn’t know the creator would even be OPEN to doing a takeover of our social media or creating exclusive content for us. Definitely adding them to the short list!”

2/ Creators won’t suggest you.

Second, it’s gonna make other creators less likely to recommend you to brands.

If a creator wants to try and hype you up to a brand they just worked with, wouldn’t it be easier if they can just point at your media kit and say:

“Look! THIS is exactly what he/she can do for your brand if you partner up with them!”

But if your media kit is hidden, that other creator is gonna have to try and come up with their own elevator pitch to make you look good. And, honestly?

They probably won’t bother.

On-demand, self-study course, Gifted To Paid - If you wanna convert free product offers into PAID partnerships

It’s time for a mindset shift.

There’s an element of mindset here too.

It’s about normalizing the idea of sponsorships to both you and your audience.

When you publicly say “Yeah, I work with brands, and I’m proud of it”… you’ll gradually start to feel less weird about it (which you shouldn’t anyway lol).

It also makes it clear to your audience that working with brands is just a part of your business.

It doesn’t negatively impact their experience of following you. (In fact, the opposite!)

Grow your whole business.

But there’s actually an even more exciting reason for displaying your media kit that’s gonna affect your creator business long term.

By having your media kit up on your website, it kinda forces you to create your own space that’s away from social media.

You’re no longer driving all your business through Instagram or Twitter or whatever rented land you’re on - you’ve now got a hub where both brands and your audience can find you.

(Psst, this is all part of my nefarious plan to convince you to finally start an email list )

Remember - you should be proud to do sponsorships!

And the more you lean into that, the more brands (and your audience!) will take notice.