PRESS KIT INGREDIENTS
How to market yourself
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Press Kits act as a terrific way to give a
publication, or a new client, a complete
overview of who you are, what your
product is and does, and who it will help.
Below are some of the more traditional
ingredients of a press kit, but feel free to
add your own creative spin on your kit to
make it stand out!
Ingredients
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one or more press releases
a photo of you or the product (website, print piece, etc.)
background sheets on the company
bios of the principal people involved
your company brochure
prior press clippings
your business card
original letter to the person who will be looking at the
press kit
a nice folder or binding system to package everything
together
MARKETING RESOURCES
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Art of Self Promotion
http://www.artofselfpromotion.com focuses on self
promotion for designers and artists with plenty of helpful
articles and good
Business Marketing at Entrepreneur Magazine
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/ a true portal but
chock full of good articles and stories from other
entrepreneurs and small businesses that you can learn a
lot from.
Marketing Profs
http://www.marketingprofs.com/ great resource with
plenty of articles and discussions on marketing topics
across the board
Work Freelance: http://www.workfreelance.com/freelance-contract.html
 Bill Rini – Six rules for entrepreneurs:
http://www.billrini.com/archives/000056.ht
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Marketing Sherpa
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/ for the diehard
marketing enthusiast; this site has an enormous
collection of case studies and articles on every
marketing concept and tool that is out there.
Inside the Marketing Mind
http://www.tortorelladesign.com/marketing_mind/
a blog by Author and Graphic Designer Neil
Tortorella. He packs many great tips and
alternate viewpoints to approaching marketing
for a creative firm in his site.
PROS OF FREE-LANCING
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Freedom to be your own boss
Freedom to set your own work hours
Possibility to choose your contracts/projects
Diversified clientele and projects
Creative self-promotion
Generate your own opportunities for innovation
Work with a wide range of talented individuals in
diverse areas of the Media sector
PROS
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• Recognition of your talent, not the company’s
product
• Increase your fee scale as your projects
succeed
• Work in any country you want, for any client
you want
• Network for yourself not for an employer
• Have greater intellectual property rights over
your creations
• If financially viable, you can take down time
when you want
CONS
• No steady income
 • No sick leave or vacation pay
 • Ineligible for unemployment insurance
unless you pay 100% of cost
 • Responsible for your self-promotion and
securing contracts
 • Responsible for drawing up and
negotiating your service agreements
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• Responsible for all your accounting, financial
reports and business taxes
 Responsible for the purchase, maintenance of
your hardware, software, peripherals and office
equipment
 May have to work on several projects at the
same time
 Vacation or downtime dependent on contracts
secured and projects’ timelines
 Deal with clients’ paying your invoices late or not
at all
 Monitor respect of your intellectual property
rights
Negotiating a contract
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All self-employed workers, whatever the
sector, should sign a service agreement
BEFORE starting the work even if the
client is a friend. A service agreement
between a provider and a client, once
signed, is proof of mutual agreement on all
aspects of the project:
The scope of the project
 Responsibilities and tasks of the service
provider
 Responsibilities of the client
 The project timeline
 Your fee, milestones (payment
installments) and expected deliverables
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6. Copyright ownership and reproduction
rights
 7. Confidentiality, disclosure, nondisclosure clauses
 8. Penalties for non- performance in a
timely manner (client and service provider)
 9. Rights and procedure of the service
provider and client relative to termination
of the agreement
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TRADITIONAL JOB
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
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How would you describe yourself?
Why did you leave your last job?
What are your long range and short range goals and
objectives?
What specific goals other than those related to your
occupation, have you established for yourself for the
next ten years?
What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Ten years from now?
What do you really want to do in life?
What are your long range career objectives?
How do you plan to achieve your career goals?
What are the most important rewards you expect in your
career?
What do you expect to be earning in five years?
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Why did you choose this career?
Can you explain this gap in your employment
history?
Do you prefer working alone or in teams?
How would you evaluate your ability to deal with
conflict?
Have you ever had difficulty with a supervisor?
How did you resolve the conflict?
What’s more important to you -- the work itself or
how much you’re paid for doing it.
What do you consider to be your greatest
strengths and weaknesses?
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How would a good friend describe you?
Describe the best job you've ever had.
Describe the best supervisor you've ever had.
What would your last boss say about your work
performance?
What motivates you to go the extra mile on a
project or job?
Why should I hire you?
What makes you qualified for this position?
What qualifications do you have that make you
successful in this career?
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How do you determine or evaluate success?
What do you think it takes to be successful in a
company like ours?
In what ways do you think you can make a
contribution to our company?
Do you have any hobbies? What do you do in
your spare time?
Have you ever been fired or forced to resign?
What qualities should a successful manager
possess?
Do you consider yourself a leader?
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What are the attributes of a good leader?
Describe the workload in your current (or most
recent) job.
Which is more important: creativity or efficiency?
Why?
What’s the most recent book you’ve read?
Describe the relationship that should exist
between the supervisor and those reporting to
him or her?
What two or three accomplishments have given
you the most satisfaction? Why?
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Describe the most rewarding experience of your career
thus far.
If you were hiring a job-seeker for this position, what
qualities would you look for?
Do you have plans for continued study? An advanced
degree?
In what kind of work environment are you most
comfortable?
How do you work under pressure?
Are you good at delegating tasks?
What's one of the hardest decisions you've ever had to
make?
How well do you adapt to new situations?
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Why did you decide to seek a position in this
company?
What can you tell us about our company?
What interests you about our products?
What do you know about our competitors?
What two or three things are most important to
you in your job?
Are you seeking employment in a company of a
certain size? Why?
What are your expectations regarding
promotions and salary increases?
What criteria are you using to evaluate the
company for which you hope to work?
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Do you have a geographic preference? Why?
Are you willing to relocate?
Are you willing to travel for the job?
Why do you think you might like to live in the
community in which our company is located?
What major problem have you encountered and
how did you deal with it?
What have you learned from your mistakes?
What have you accomplished that shows your
initiative and willingness to work?
Task 1
Create a media press kit about yourself.
Include a well-designed cover, business
card, letterhead, short media-related CV and
any showreel/ photographs or other
elements that make you more employable.
Remember to include copies of references
and work – not original stuff! Deadline by
1:30 pm today.
TASK 2
Write and print 3 specific job advertisements that
include job specifications, contract details and
contact details for a job in the media industry. The
jobs are for someone to work in your company for
the January task. Ads must be placed around the
media department and can be circulated amongst
your class. You must also collect CV’s and ask
people to come in on Wednesday morning for their
interviews. You may hold interviews on campus
only and must ask sensible questions and make
notes during interview. You will not discuss the
outcome with the candidate, but only with your
tutor.
You will be and holding job interviews during next
Wednesday mornings’ lesson. We meet at 9: 30 in
the LRC.
Be creative!
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AGCAS Publications
Broadcast, Film and Interactive Media Sector, AGCAS Sector
Briefing
Options with Media/Communication Studies, AGCAS Options Series
Other Publications
A Career Handbook for TV, Radio, Film, Video and Interactive
Media, A & C Black, 2003
The Guardian, Guardian Newspapers Ltd, Daily
Guardian Media Directory, Guardian Books, Annual
The Independent, Independent News and Media Limited, Daily
Kays Production Manual, Kay Media, Annual
The Knowledge, Hollis Publishing Ltd, Annual
Media Week, Haymarket Publishing Ltd, Weekly
PACT Directory of Independent Producers, Producers Alliance for
Cinema and Television (PACT), Annual (Jan)
Radio Magazine, Goldcrest Broadcasting Limited, Weekly
The Production Guide, EMAP Communications, Annual
The White Book, Inside Communications Ltd, Annual
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Websites
BBC Jobs, https://jobs.bbc.co.uk
BBC Training and Development, www.bbctraining.com
BBC Work Experience,
https://jobs.bbc.co.uk/fe/tpl_bbc03.asp?newms=info06
Broadcastnow, www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Channel 4 Television, www.channel4.com
Five, www.five.tv/aboutfive/recruitment
Grapevine Jobs, www.grapevinejobs.co.uk
Independent Television (ITV), www.itv.com
Kays Media, www.kays.co.uk
Mandy's International Film and Television Production Directory,
www.mandy.com
Productionbase, www.productionbase.co.uk
Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C), www.s4c.co.uk
Skillset (Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries),
www.skillset.org
Start in TV, www.startintv.com
Student Radio Association (SRA), www.studentradio.org.uk