A press kit is a curated collection of brand materials given to journalists, media outlets, and influencers to help them cover your business accurately and quickly. It typically includes a company overview, leadership bios, high-resolution logos, recent press releases, and direct media contact information. A well-prepared press kit reduces friction for busy journalists and increases the likelihood of earning media coverage.
Key Highlights:
A press kit and a media kit serve overlapping purposes but differ in scope and timing.
The 7 essential components apply across industries, from SaaS companies to nonprofits.
Digital press kits outperform physical ones for speed, searchability, and cost.
Sending your press kit correctly matters as much as what is inside it.
What Is a Press Kit? (Press Kit vs Media Kit Explained)
A press kit is a prepared set of resources that gives the media everything they need to cover your brand without back-and-forth emails. It is purpose-built for a specific announcement or story opportunity. An online media kit is broader. It covers your entire organization, often including audience data, advertising rates, and long-form company history.
Think of it this way: a press kit is for a moment. A media kit is for the brand.
According to Cision's 2024 State of the Media Report, 76% of journalists say a complete, well-organized press kit speeds up their story process and increases the chance of coverage. Modern media kits hosted on a company's online newsroom take this further, giving journalists 24/7 access to up to date information without any back-and-forth. That combination of speed and self-service is what separates brands that earn cover stories from those that get ignored.
Feature | Press Kit | Media Kit |
Primary purpose | Support a specific news event or announcement | Company overview for ongoing media use |
Format | PDF or dedicated press page | Online newsroom or downloadable PDF |
Update frequency | Per announcement or quarterly | Annually or on major company changes |
Typical audience | Journalists covering a beat or story | Advertisers, sponsors, long-term media partners |
Content focus | The 5 Ws of one story | Full company history, audience data, brand guidelines |
For most growing businesses, starting with a press kit is the right move. A digital media kit can expand from it once the brand matures.
What to Include in a Press Kit: The Essential 7 Components
Journalists are working against tight deadlines. They need specific materials in a predictable format. These 7 components appear in every effective press kit across every industry.
1. Media Contact Information
List a named person, not a generic inbox. Include a direct phone number and email. This is the first thing a journalist looks for and the most common item missing from press kits built by companies without a PR team.
2. Company Background / Boilerplate
A 100- to 150-word overview of who you are, what you do, and why it matters. This is what appears at the bottom of press releases as the boilerplate paragraph. It should be clean, factual, and current. See our guide on boilerplate in press releases for the exact format.
3. Fact Sheet
A one-page summary of your key facts: founding date, headquarters, number of employees, core products or services, funding rounds (if public), and major milestones. Fact sheets let journalists pull accurate numbers without calling you.
4. Leadership Bios and Professional Headshots
Short bios of 75 to 100 words each for your founder, CEO, and any spokesperson likely to be quoted. Pair each bio with a high-resolution headshot (minimum 1200 x 1200 pixels, JPEG or PNG). Name the files by person so journalists can find them fast.
5. High-Resolution Brand Assets
Include your logo in multiple formats: color on white, white on dark, and SVG if possible. Add product images, office photos, and any B-roll or short video assets. Downloadable logos and product images are among the top three items journalists request from company websites (PR Newswire, 2023).
6. Recent Press Releases
Include two to three of your most recent press releases. These give journalists context on your story arc and existing news angles. Link to your full press release archive if you have one. Our press release samples page has real examples you can reference.
7. Backgrounder
Your backgrounder is a core press kit component that many companies omit. It is a two-to-four page document covering your company's history, the problem you solve, your market position, and your competitive differentiation. It gives journalists the depth they need for feature stories, not just news items. See our backgrounder template to build yours correctly.
Press Kit Example #1: SaaS / Tech Company
This structure is a great example for any SaaS business announcing a funding round, a product launch, or a major customer milestone. Use it as one of your press kit templates when building your first online press kit.
SaaS Company Press Kit: What to Include
Cover page: Company name, announcement headline, date, and media contact.
Company overview: Mission, product category, founded date, total funding raised.
Product overview: What the software does, who it serves, pricing tier summary.
Technical specifications: Key integrations, security certifications, uptime SLA.
Customer proof: One or two attributed customer quotes, anonymized usage stats.
Founder / CEO bio + headshot: 100 words, high-res image at 1200px minimum.
Media gallery: Logo pack in PNG and SVG, color and white versions, product screenshots.
Recent press releases: Last two or three announcements, linked or attached.
Contact details: Named person, direct email, direct phone number.
A real example of this format is Puma's Media Center, which separates press contacts by region and organizes media assets by product category. Booking.com's corporate press page does the same with executive headshots sorted by area of responsibility.
Press Kit Example #2: Product Launch
Product launch press kits are time-sensitive. They support a specific announcement and should be distributed alongside a press release to pitch journalists who cover your space. This structure gives reviewers everything they need to write a product story on the same day.
Product Launch Press Kit: What to Include
Press release: The formal announcement written to AP Style with the 5 Ws in the first paragraph.
Product one-sheet: Key features, technical specifications, pricing, availability date, and where to buy.
High quality images: Minimum five angles, white background, lifestyle shot, and a detail shot.
Short video: 60 to 90 seconds showing the product in use. Upload to YouTube or Vimeo and include the link.
FAQ document: 10 to 15 questions a reviewer would ask. Answers should be factual and sourced.
Comparison table: Your product vs the two or three closest alternatives on key decision criteria.
Contact details: Direct PR contact, not a generic support email.
The comparison table is the most actionable element in a product launch press kit. It does the journalist's research and frames your value proposition at the same time.
Press Kit Example #3: Nonprofit / Charity
Nonprofits earn media coverage through mission stories. Journalists covering nonprofits want impact data, human stories, and a clear sense of organizational credibility. Your PR efforts here are built on trust signals, not product features.
Nonprofit Press Kit: What to Include
Mission statement: One or two sentences. Plain language. Who you serve and why.
Impact fact sheet: Key numbers with sources. People served, funds distributed, programs active, years operating.
Leadership bios: Executive director, board chair. Include credentials relevant to the mission.
Success stories: Two or three anonymized case studies using a before-and-after format.
Financial transparency summary: Program expense ratio, most recent IRS Form 990 link, major funders.
Campaign assets: Program brief, imagery, timeline, and social media assets if tied to an initiative.
Media coverage history: Links to previous press coverage showing editorial credibility.
Media contact: Named communications staff member handling press inquiries.
The success stories section separates nonprofit press kits that earn coverage from ones that get passed over. A named statistic inside a human story is the format journalists pull from most often when writing for a target audience of general readers.
Digital Press Kit vs Physical Press Kit
Physical press kits, printed folders with USB drives, were standard through the early 2010s. Today, an online press kit hosted on a dedicated press page is the professional standard for media relations.
Factor | Digital Press Kit | Physical Press Kit |
Cost | Near zero once built | Printing, packaging, shipping per send |
Update speed | Instant edits, always up to date | Requires full reprint for changes |
Access | Journalist opens on any device, any time | Requires physical delivery or event presence |
Analytics | Track engagement, downloads, link clicks | No tracking available |
Brand impression | Modern, professional, user-friendly | High-touch but increasingly dated |
Best use case | All press outreach, wire distribution, online newsroom | Trade shows, events, government submissions |
In the digital age, hosting your online press kit inside an online newsroom is the standard. A dedicated /press or /newsroom page means journalists can find your up to date information without emailing you. This is what major brands like Puma and Booking.com do. It keeps your media assets current without requiring you to resend files every time something changes.
Put This Into Practice
Your press kit is ready. Now put it in front of journalists who cover your industry. View EasyPRwire distribution plans and get your announcement placed today.
How to Send Your Press Kit?
Building the press kit is only half the job. Getting it in front of journalists actively covering your story is the other half. Here are the four primary methods:
Host it on your website: Create a /press or /newsroom page. List your most recent company news, downloadable assets, and contact details. This is the baseline every business needs.
Attach it to a press release: When you distribute through a wire service, include a link to your press page. Journalists who want more context go directly there. A press release distribution service like EasyPRwire places your release on wire services and media databases where journalists are actively searching.
Email it directly: For targeted outreach, send a short pitch email with your online press kit link, not a PDF attachment. A link to the hosted version lets them browse at their own pace and tracks engagement.
Share it at events: For product launches or press conferences, prepare a landing page URL or QR code pointing to your digital press kit.
Key Takeaways
A press kit is a curated set of brand materials that gives journalists what they need to cover your story. A digital media kit covers the full organization.
The 7 essential components are: contact details, company overview, fact sheet, leadership bios with headshots, media assets, recent press releases, and a backgrounder.
Real press kit examples vary by industry. SaaS kits emphasize technical specifications and product images. Product launch kits prioritize high quality visuals and comparison tables. Nonprofit kits lead with impact data and success stories.
Digital press kits hosted in an online newsroom are the professional standard. They are faster, user-friendly, and let you track engagement in ways physical formats cannot.
Distributing a press release alongside your online press kit is the fastest path to earned media.
Your press kit deserves an audience. Place your next press release on AP News, Yahoo Finance, and 400+ media outlets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an example of a press kit?
A press kit example for a SaaS company would include contact details, a company overview, a product one-sheet, leadership bios with headshots, high-res images and logos, two to three recent press releases, and a backgrounder covering the company's origin and market position. The same core structure applies across industries, with content adjusted to match the announcement context.
What is the difference between a press kit and a media kit?
A press kit is built around a specific announcement and typically includes materials tied to that event, such as a press release, product images, and an FAQ. An online media kit is a broader document covering the full organization, often including audience demographics and company history. Press kits are updated per announcement. Media kits are updated annually.
How long should a press kit be?
A well-crafted press kit should be as long as it needs to be to give a journalist complete context, and no longer. For most businesses, the core documents fit within six to eight pages: a company overview, a fact sheet, leadership bios, and two to three press releases. Media assets like high quality visuals and logos are separate downloadables.
Does a press kit need to be a PDF?
No. A press kit can be a dedicated web page, a shared Google Drive folder, a Dropbox link, or a PDF. Modern media kits hosted online are the industry standard because they are easy to update, trackable, and accessible from any device. PDFs are still useful when emailing targeted journalists, but they should link back to your online newsroom where the most up to date information lives.
Can EasyPRwire help distribute my press kit alongside a press release?
Yes. EasyPRwire distributes press releases to 400+ media outlets including AP News and Yahoo Finance. You can include your online press kit link directly in the release. Journalists who receive your release can access your full media assets instantly. See EasyPRwire distribution plans to get started.
