Your Public Face

Picture This: You're trying to interest a journalist in writing a story featuring your brand-new company-or, even better, you've been contacted by a writer who wants to use you as a source for an article. And then the writer says, "But before we schedule the interview, can you send me a media kit?" What you do next can mean the difference between valuable media exposure and another month of relative business anonymity.

"Media kits are essential tools for any business that wants to gain exposure in print, on television and radio, or even through Internet sources," says Alan Seko, vice president of Axsys Resource Public Relations in Salt Lake City. "In addition to providing important in-formation, the kits help establish a company's credibility." After all, reporters want to know that the sources they cite are reliable and will be around for a while after their stories are published or aired. And, best of all, media kits are relatively inexpensive.