This week, we’re going to discuss what you should put inside your information package. For all intents and purposes, anything that promotes your company can go inside it. Some of the more common things include:

• Business card

• Small business brochure

• Letter of introduction

• Product or service review

• Price list

• Press releases

• White papers

• Recent articles written by you or about your company

• Biography of key officers

• Flyers, coupons or direct mail pieces

• Information pamphlets

So, let’s talk a bit about each. And let’s start with the big one—your small business brochure. Your small business brochure can stand alone. If you decide not to have a complete small business information package, at the very least, create a tri-fold brochure so you have detailed printed information to give clients.

If your prospective client reads only one thing in your whole information package, it will most likely be your brochure. Why? Because it captures the reader’s attention better than any other item in your information package. Most of your other items will be letters, articles or reviews. They’ll look good, and they’ll all match because they’re on your letterhead, but they won’t jump out at your readers like your full color tri-fold brochure will.

So, you want to make sure it’s the first thing people see when they open the front cover of your information package. If you can capture their interest with your brochure, they’re more likely to read the rest.

The first page of your small business brochure should have your business name and logo, and possibly a photo or some graphics. Make it colorful. Make it interesting. Add a slogan or motto on the front that will make people curious as to what’s inside. You don’t want them to just look at the front cover and put it aside!

Inside, try to introduce yourself and review your product or service briefly. If you can, keep the introduction and review to the length of the first inside page or so. Adding a few graphics or photos throughout the whole brochure, together with informative text helps keep your readers’ interest. And, make good use of your headings, remembering that most readers will scan from left to right, stopping at graphics and headings, and sometimes reading the last paragraph.

Now, this part is important, and is possibly the biggest mistake most small businesses make with their brochure—at least some of the other two inside pages could be better used to show prospective buyers how your product or service can benefit them, rather than to describe your product or service features.

I cannot stress this enough. Too many times small business brochures are used simply to talk about you, your company or your product/service. Most of your readers simply won’t care who you are, what you do or how you do it. What they really care about is how you can benefit them. How you can save them time or resources. How you can make their lives just a little bit easier.

Often, the last outside page of your brochure summarizes the inside pages, or lists products or services in point form. You could even add a price list, if you have one.

The next several items in your small business information package are all written on your letterhead, and the sky’s the limit as to what you can use.

You could put the letter of introduction just behind your brochure, or you could include it outside the information package cover if you’re mailing it. Usually this is just a short, one-page letter introducing yourself and your company, and thanking the recipient for taking the time to look at your information package.

Your product or service review could be long or short, depending on what you’re offering. This is not the place to stress benefits, but simply to list and describe your services or products. You can combine a product or service review with your price list very effectively.

Include any press releases about your company, and articles written by you or about your company. If you don’t have any, don’t worry. You can write some specifically for your information kit. Include announcements of your grand opening, for example, or a new line of products, or your new location. Or write an article about one of your products or services.

White papers are becoming increasingly popular. Are you an expert in a particular area? If you are, you might want to write a white paper to include with your information package. A white paper discusses specific business issues, products, technology or other such topics. It usually summarizes information about the topic, and then suggests a proposal for action, referencing research data to justify the reasons for the action. It explains your topic in terms most people can understand, with the goal of educating consumers and marketing your product or service. White papers help establish the writer as an authority.

The biography of your key officers is basically a resume. Include short one-page biographies of key officers to highlight areas of expertise and level of experience in your industry.

Fliers, coupons and direct mail pieces can also be included in your small business information package. Fliers and coupons emphasize current specials or discounts. Here’s a few tips. When you’re thinking about specials or discounts, try to create a sense of urgency with them by making them time- or quantity-limited. And, consider the 10/10 rule, which theorizes that people are most likely to buy when they see discounts of 10% or $10. Or, better yet, offer something extra free.

Recent direct mail sales letters can also be included. There’s simply too much to say about them to really give justice in this short article, but some things to remember are: to stress benefits, create a sense of urgency, the 10/10 rule and a bolded P.S. including a call to action.

Keep direct mail sales letter simple and relevant. Be enthusiastic, know your product, use your imagination and understand your target audience. Establish trust and credibility. Include testimonials. Give free nuggets of information. And, just like in your brochure, write your direct mail sales letter for how people will read it, scanning left to right, and stopping at graphics and headlines, and the P.S.

Now that you’ve gotten all your information package items written and printed, it’s time to put them all together. You can buy covers in your company colors and have your logo and business name printed on them. Put your business card in the front slot and your information in the inside pockets, making sure your brochure is the first item they’ll see. Then send it out, and sit back and wait for responses you’re sure to get!

I prefer to call them small business information kits or information packages instead because that’s what they really are. They are meant to inform everyone, not just the press about you and your business.

Once you have a small business information kit, you’ll find you’re often giving them when someone asks for information about your company–who you are, what you do, how you can benefit them. In fact, you’ll probably find you’ll give out almost as many of your information kits as your business cards.

Sometimes it’s more appropriate to simply hand out just your card, but other times, you might like to give someone more information than what’s on your business card.

Say you’re at a party and someone asks what you do. You’d probably just give them your business card. But your business card gives this business contact only the briefest information about your company.

So, you might also ask for their name and address, and send them an information kit the next day. Sending your information kit the next day also works as an important reminder of the evening’s discussion.

On the other hand, if you’re a plumbing company, you might want to contact construction companies in your area to see if they’re interested in subcontracting your company from time to time, or better yet all the time!

Sending them just a business card probably won’t get you very far. Even sending a well-written letter introducing your company together with your business card probably wouldn’t be as effective as a complete information kit.

You could think of your business card as the “who and the where, and a little bit of the what” of the 6 interview questions—who, what, where, when, why and how. Your card probably has your business name, contact information and possibly a slogan, motto or some saying suggesting what you do.

Your information kit on the other hand, answers all the questions. It tells people who and where you are, just like your business card does. But instead of one little line suggesting what you do, your information kit tells people exactly what you do. How well it tells them what you do depends on how good your copywriting is.

And it tells them how to buy, (with your convenient order form for example, or by phone or fax, with cash, check or credit card) and when to buy (today, right now, before the special offer expires).

Your business card doesn’t have the room to tell people why they should buy from you, but your information package does. And not just by telling them you’re the biggest, the best, and of course the most innovative either.

The real secret is convincing people they can’t do without your product or service, remembering that along with a great description of your product or service, to consider your information kit from your clients’ perspective. Everyone wants to know how what you do can benefit them. How you can save them time or how you can save them money, or how you can make their life just a little bit easier.

One last word on presentation of your small business identity package. It’s almost as important as what you say, so make sure that along with saying everything it needs to say, it also looks professional. A professional image can go a long way in assuring potential clients your small business is the one they want to do business with.

You cannot compete with big companies without one, and you’ll be miles ahead of the small businesses that don’t have one. And while we’re talking about professional image, imagine how your small business will be perceived when you have the ultimate in professional image– a matching corporate identity package, information kit and small business web site.

• A press kit comes in a double pocket portfolio. Use a color other than white or manila so that your press kit stands out.

• Always put “Requested Material Enclosed” on the outside of the envelope so it is not thrown away as junk mail.

• Write the address on the envelope by hand. Don’t type it because then it looks like a mass mailing which is usually thrown away.

• Include an extra book cover that is attached to the front of the press kit.

Include your press release on the left hand side of the press kit. People read from left to right and you want them to look at your press release first.

Let’s look at your press release in detail.

The most important thing is the headline. The headline is the topic of your show. Have a sub headline and then a box of bullet points. Instead of the “For Immediate Release” say “Available for Interview”. Your bio and picture is on the right hand side. Include statistics because the media loves statistics.

Next is the list of sample questions. These questions should be placed behind the press release in press kit folder.

Your list of sample questions is a choreographed script for radio interview host to follow. The interviewers love to use because they don’t have time to prepare and read your book. You provide them a turnkey interview for them. This significantly increases your chances of obtaining a radio interview. Make it as easy as you can for the interviewer to interview you.

Basically you should have 10-15 sample questions, 1 page only, in the specific order you want.

Tip: Make sure to list how long it takes you to answer each question. For example, question #1 might take you 1 minute to answer. Radio show hosts are dependent upon time for their show. They have breaks, news, etc. that they must follow.

Giving these time features shows that you are a seasoned pro.

Behind this sample list of question in your press kit you should have a “controversy sheet”. This sheet lists argues or drawings that help you set up an argument about your book topic. You can use a cartoon that looks like the Sunday funnies in the newspaper.

A host can use this controversy sheet to set up an argument. It is great for talk radio. It allows you and the radio show host to involve the audience by arguing. The radio station host can pose the question that you provide and then ask his audience to call in.

Your press kit should also include letters of recommendations and clippings. These items give you credibility. After a great show make sure to ask for a recommendation from a radio show host. Make sure they write it on their radio station stationary. Your clippings can also include articles written about you in newspapers and magazines.

Place these items in your press kit and you will greatly increase your chances of snapping up radio interviews.

I’ve been answering the question “What is a press kit and what goes into it?” over and over again for both PR professionals and business-owners during the past few months. I’d like to answer this question once and for all now, especially for the PR people who ought to already know the answer.

What Are Press Kits And What Are They Used For?
Press kits, which are created to provide information about your company, its products/services and executives, can be given to journalists, sales teams for presentations, or anyone needing company information. Press kits now come in various formats including paper kits, online and CD/DVD-ROM. Paper kits are usually presented in folders with pockets; online kits are typically on the company’s website and can be locked so as not to give away information to anyone who doesn’t have a code/password; CD/DVD-ROMs are a combination of paper and online kits that you hand out.

So, What Goes Into A Press Kit?
Let’s start with the basics (these apply to all formats of kits):

Press Releases.
 

Company Backgrounder – This is a story of how the company began until the present.
 

Company Fact Sheet – This includes a brief paragraph about the company (could be the same as the boiler plate), HQ Address/Phone/Fax/Email and other offices, List of Executive Team and their titles, Official Launch Date, Website, and any other pertinent factual information (example: product designs/cuts, sizes, flavors, etc.
 

Corporate Bios and Headshots.
 

PR Contact

The advanced items in a press kit include:

Press Clips – I advise that you include these when sending to anyone other than a journalist, as most journalists don’t want to read other journalists press.
 

Q&A Sheet – These are talking points, and if you’re comfortable, you can release them to the press; otherwise, they’re for internal/executives’ use.
 

Awards Sheet.
 

Sales/Product/Rate Sheet.
 

Games/Quizzes/Puzzles/Top 10 Quotes and Industry Facts.
 

Product Photos (High-res).
 

Editorials, Speeches and Media Statements.
 

Newsletters.
 

Testimonials.
 

Product samples.
 

Videos – These apply to online and CD/DVD-ROM kits.
 

MySpace/Facebook pages – These apply to online and CD/DVD-ROM kits.
 

Downloadable Screen Grabs – These apply to online and CD/DVD-ROM kits.
 

Downloadable Executive Headshots – These apply to online and CD/DVD-ROM kits.
 

Downloadable Logos – These apply to online and CD/DVD-ROM kits.
 

Anything else you feel is pertinent information that you would like someone to know about your company.

I hope this answers the question.  If anyone has additional items that they’ve placed in kits, other than those listed above, please share your creativity with all of us!