Press Kit Preparation For Events

You have to speak the same language without saying the same words. That is how a ‘brand consistency’ is built I onboarded a client recently who had been working on her socials through 3 different agencies. But after almost a year, she felt like something was missing or there’s something just not right. That’s when she reached out to me. And the main problem was a very inconsistent brand presence. The website felt high-end. But the LinkedIn posts sounded like a generic “growth hacker.” The newsletters looked overly sophisticated, But Instagram felt like an afterthought and more so casual. Obviously when 3 different agencies are going to handle 3 different platforms, maintaining a consistent tonality becomes a major challenge. Especially when brand doesn’t have a solid foundation. This inconsistency doesn’t just look unaligned but also creates a disconnect from your audience that slowly chips away your perceived value. We started working on her LinkedIn first and later her Instagram, website and newsletters as well. And what did we do? On LinkedIn we positioned her with authority but kept accessible. On Instagram, we maintained the visual language but simplified the messaging. On the website, we brought depth, showcasing expertise without overwhelming. In emails, we carried the same tone as conversations: personal, valuable, intentional. And even in DMs, we protected the brand voice (because that’s part of the experience too). When done right, your audience feels the same trust, familiarity, and confidence, no matter where they meet you. Platform aesthetics may change. Personality doesn’t. If you’re serious about building a consistent, premium brand presence across LinkedIn, Instagram, Website, and Email, let’s talk. Because building an online brand is not just mindless posting. #aashified #linkedin #brand

Inconsistent brand voice = forgettable brand. Here’s how to fix it. ↓ Imagine your brand is a person at a party. Are you the witty conversationalist, the calm host, or the party clown? Now imagine you sounded like all three at once—confusing, right? That’s why every brand needs a voice guide: a blueprint for speaking consistently and effectively. Here’s why it's essential: 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 People trust what feels familiar. When your website, social posts, and emails sound like they’re coming from the same “person,” it builds credibility and recognition. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 A distinctive voice helps your brand stand out. Whether bold, approachable, or professional, a voice guide ensures your messaging resonates and feels human. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 From marketing to customer service, a voice guide aligns everyone on tone, phrasing, and word choice—no more guesswork. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀—𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 A great voice guide adapts your tone for different audiences and channels. Think formal for reports, playful for social media, and empathetic for customer support. So, why does it matter? Your voice is how people experience your brand. A strong guide ensures you’re heard, understood, and remembered—every time. --- Follow Jeff Gapinski for more content like this. ♻️ Share this to help someone stand out with their branding.

“We feel like impostors in our own brand voice.” That’s what the founder of a Series B AI healthcare company told me last month. Despite raising $40M in funding and landing enterprise clients, his messaging was scattered across every touchpoint. - LinkedIn posts sounded like a different company than the website.  - Sales decks didn't match the homepage copy.  - Every new hire rewrote materials in their own voice. Sound familiar? What we discovered together was that his messaging chaos had three specific root causes. Each one could be diagnosed with a simple question that cut through all the noise and confusion. 1. "Can a stranger explain what we do in one sentence after reading our homepage?" This tests message clarity.  If your core value proposition requires multiple paragraphs or industry knowledge to understand, you've lost before you've started. Your innovation is complex, but your explanation must be simple. Test this with someone outside your industry. 2. "Do our LinkedIn, website, and sales materials sound like the same company?" This tests voice consistency. Misaligned messaging signals internal confusion to external audiences. Technical accuracy shouldn't change your voice. Whether it's a blog post or a pitch deck, your brand personality should be instantly recognizable. 3. "Can our team create content without my approval and still sound like us?" This tests scalability.  If everything needs founder sign-off, your messaging system isn't clear enough to execute independently. As you scale from founder-led to team-led content, your voice guidelines must be specific enough to transfer your expertise without losing your essence. These three questions reveal whether you have messaging clarity or messaging chaos. Most founders discover they're creating content without a foundation. - They're scaling voice without systems.  - They're building teams that can't communicate their vision. The companies that grow efficiently solve the messaging system first, then scale the content creation. Which of these three questions exposes the biggest gap in your current messaging?

5 ways to improve your company press releases. 1. Send fewer press releases. Most press releases I read aren't newsworthy and seem shovelled online to meet some monthly/quarterly quota for media activity. 2. Instead, wait till you have a good story and pitch it to one - or a maximum of two non-competing media titles. No press release - just a one-sentence summary of the story idea/announcement and then four to five brief bullet points of essential, further information. Include possible case studies, your CEO's availability for an interview. 3. Two pages. Ideally one. 4. Write the press release in a journalism style. Don't smother it with jargon, random UppER case, or marketing fluff. Don't begin with "Today, your company name and long-winded description of your company..." Instead, summarise the impact/benefits of your company M&A, new product etc on an industry/customers/society /economy before attributing it your company. 5. And don't ever use the phrase "delighted to announce". Or the word "ecosystem" unless your company has a nature reserve in Guatemala.

pr@ctical isn’t just the name of my newsletter. it’s how i work. practical tips. practical tools. practical workflows. the things comms and marketing pros (and media!) can actually test out today. so for the rest of this week, i’m bringing a mini pr@ctical series here to linkedin. fast, technical workflows you can try in 20–30 minutes. day 1: why you need two versions of your press release (and how to make it ai-indexable in 20 minutes) there are now two audiences for every release: 1 → the human version (embargoes, exclusives, reporter-friendly copy) 2 → the machine version (structured, schema-ready, canonical, crawler-accessible) the first is your corporate source of truth and supports efforts to earn coverage. the second keeps your announcement visible in generative search and llms long after the news cycle. you might ask: why not just one release? because the needs conflict. reporters want story, quotes, and flow. machines want structure, markup, and canonical clarity. force them together and you get a release that underperforms on both fronts. two versions doesn’t mean two stories. the facts stay the same. it means one narrative written for humans, and one formatted for machines. if you're pitching an embargo, exclusive or something that isn't ready for the wire yet, you use your media-facing release. once you're ready to share the news, here's what to do with your machine version: – this is the one you put on the wire (business wire, pr newswire, globe newswire, etc.) – and you publish the exact same version in your owned newsroom/press page. why? because the wire helps with broad crawl + syndication, and your owned site becomes the canonical source of truth llms will pull from. but what do you put IN that release? you're going to see me talking a LOT about the t.r.u.s.t. layer for the foreseeable future. it's a guide under which everything i do for LLMs lives right now. here's how to apply the T.R.U.S.T. layer for your machine release: T → topical authority (headline shaped like a likely prompt) R → relevance (schema markup + consistent names/entities) U → useful proof (metrics + evergreen explainer link) S → search equity (embed phrases you want cited + test in llms) T → timely reinforcement (recent proof points like events or certs) (sharing a screenshot in the comments for you to copy + paste and practice today) you wouldn’t send a media pitch without tailoring it to a reporter. now one version of your release needs to be tailored for the machine (and the wire). that’s pr@ctical tip #1. day 2 drops tomorrow. brands building this dual-track muscle now will own both coverage and visibility. if your team wants help moving from theory to execution, reach out. #PR #marketing #agency #b2b #thoughtleadership #training #teaching #pressrelease

One thing you can do today to move the needle for your author publicity efforts, it’s this... Put together a media kit. Here’s why: When media outlets, podcasters, or event organizers show interest in you, they don’t have time to dig for details. A media kit makes their lives easier—and positions you as the professional they want to work with. So, what’s in a great media kit? #1 Your headshot: High-quality, professional, and ready for any publication. #2 Your biography: A clear, concise summary of your expertise. #3 Your book (if you have one): Include a copy and a compelling description. #4 An interview prep sheet: This is a game-changer. Include sample questions to make it easy for interviewers to prepare and highlight your key points. Think of it as your all-in-one publicity toolkit. It saves time, removes friction, and makes it effortless for people to feature you. Spend an hour today gathering these essentials into a folder. Whether it’s digital or printed, you’ll thank yourself when opportunities come knocking. Step up your publicity game in 2025! This is where it starts. #MediaKitEssentials #PublicityTips #RisingAuthors

Meg Carney creates a media kit for every podcast episode. And no, it’s not overkill. It’s smart #PR. On a recent episode of Digital PR Explained, Meg shared how she builds episode-specific kits that make her podcast easier to pitch and promote for her PR rep, her guests, and the media. Here’s what she includes in each one: ✔️ A short episode summary ✔️ Guest bio and links ✔️ Pull quotes ✔️ Full transcript ✔️ Apple/Spotify/YouTube links ✔️ Social media graphics ✔️ Suggested captions She’s already creating most of this for show notes and social. Putting it all in one place just makes it easier to use. And it works. → Guests are more likely to share → Press is more likely to feature → Her publicist can pitch faster and with more context It’s such a good example of PR and podcasting working in sync. 🎧 Hear the full breakdown on Digital PR Explained. Now available wherever you get your podcasts (and on YouTube). #digitalPR #podcasting #mediarelations #PRstrategy #contentmarketing

Your media kit probably doesn’t serve you. Over the last year, we received 500+ media kits and had a chance to analyze the context, coverage, delivery method and style. These kits came from content creators, newsletters, podcasts, out-of-home companies, and online media outlets. On the other side of the spectrum, we conducted a quantitative study with 210+ mid-size and enterprise advertisers about their perspectives and preferences regarding media kits. According to decision-makers who receive your media kit, here are the 3 parts they jump right into and look for the details, often skipping everything else: 1. Why This Ad & Sponsorship Opportunity is Best for You:  Explain why this specific opportunity is ideal for this particular company. 2. Use Cases and Previous Campaigns: Highlight campaigns in similar industries or those targeting the same audience. 3. Customer Reviews: Include reviews from your clients to build credibility and trust. It sounds obvious, but most media kits lack these crucial sections. I’ll post more on the findings and tactical examples soon. ✨

Brand voice is your handshake in the dark. Before your audience sees your logo or reads your tagline They hear your tone. And in a world of noise, tone isn’t a side dish. It’s the strategy. A strong brand voice makes people feel something Before they even know why. A weak one? It gets skipped, skimmed, and forgotten. → Here’s the real problem: ↳ Most brands sound like their category, not like themselves. ↳ Let’s change that. → Mini-Framework: The Voice Vantage Triangle ↳  Consistency → Are you instantly recognizable, no matter the channel? ↳ Clarity → Does your tone reflect your positioning and purpose? ↳ Character → Could someone describe your voice like a personality? → If your brand were a person, would it sound: Confident? Calm? Curious? Bold? → Defining that matters. Why? Because: ↳ Consistent voice builds trust. ↳ Distinct voice builds memory. ↳ Strategic voice builds brand equity. → Actionable Takeaways: ✅ Build a voice guide—not just visual guidelines. ✅ Audit your content for tone drift. ✅ Train your team to write like your brand speaks. Your voice is a promise. And a filter. It’s how your brand shakes hands before anyone sees your face. 👉 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: → 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲? A) Bold & direct B) Warm & curious C) Quirky & clever D) Calm & professional 👉 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 (𝗔/𝗕/𝗖/𝗗) 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 — 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲! ⬇️

Most press releases suck. And believe me I know — I've seen too many. Now I write them myself, and here are my principles for a good-enough press release. The first sentence should always answer 3 questions: Who? What? Why? Example from Reuters: WHO? Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz WHAT? is seeking to raise about $20B in what will be the largest fund in its history, WHY? to capitalize on global investors' interest in backing US artificial intelligence companies. The main part (body) must be simple, factual, and stick closely to the news you’re announcing. No opinions, and minimal background info. A press release breaks news; background isn’t news anymore. So any background info should be placed near the end and kept to 1–2 short paragraphs. Keep your paragraphs classic — no more than 3 lines each. Add headlines when everything else is written. It’s just easier. Use numbers, arresting words, and the active voice. Aim for 10–13 words. In English-language headlines, use present tense and drop articles when possible. Avoid words like “outstanding,” “unique,” “amazing,” “leading,” “disrupt” — they don’t add value. “Solution” is also just no. Please. Quotes — much like dialogue in books — are the voice of your press release. They add color, detail, and show motivation. Write them the way people actually speak. Avoid platitudes like “pleased to announce,” “proud,” “excited,” and “happy.” One quote must be solely about the news (place it in the 3rd or 4th paragraph). The second one, from a different speaker, should point to the “bright future” — put it at the end. All in all, keep it short and sweet — one Google Doc page is perfect (font: Arial, size: 11). My comms team has landed press releases in TechCrunch, Sifted, Forbes, VentureBeat, and Business Insider. You can trust me.