A media kit should help a potential partner understand your reader, work and boundaries. A rate card should make deliverables and rights easier to discuss, not pretend there is one correct market price. Show evidence you can explain, a workload you can deliver, and terms that protect readers and contributors. Do not inflate audience numbers, imply approval or promise a campaign outcome. Current disclosure, privacy, platform and consumer rules vary by jurisdiction; verify them before publication and ask a qualified adviser about legal or tax questions.
The short answer
Build the media kit around reader usefulness and evidence, then price a defined package of work. Separate production, usage, exclusivity, revisions and maintenance. State what is measured and what is not. Put disclosure, privacy, rights, cancellation and correction terms in writing. A rate card is a starting point for a scoped conversation, not a guaranteed market rate or income forecast.
Start with the reader and partner fit
Describe the reader decision your work helps with and the type of partner that can support it without weakening trust. A transport explainer, access note or evidence-led route can be useful; a vague promise of inspiration is hard to evaluate. Say which audiences, destinations and formats are in scope, and which requests you decline. A partner is not a reason to publish an unverified claim or to hide a material relationship.
Include the question, audience and constraints in a one-page summary. This lets a partner see why the work is relevant without turning a reader into a sales segment. Name the evidence you can show and the evidence you do not have.
Show evidence without inflating metrics
Ask whether the partner’s product, service or destination is relevant to the reader question. A large audience number cannot make an irrelevant offer useful. Record conflicts, exclusions and the editorial reason you would decline.
Build an evidence page
Include a small, dated set of evidence: representative articles, audience context you can substantiate, examples of accessibility and correction work, and a clear description of how you collect any analytics. Explain the period, geography and definition for each number. Do not present followers, impressions or clicks as unique people, bookings or influence. If a sample is small, say so. A useful media kit shows editorial judgement and maintenance, not only a large headline metric.
Use a dated sample rather than a single impressive screenshot. Explain geography, period, device and definition, and remove identifying details. If the archive is small, say that plainly and show the quality of the work instead.
Separate deliverables from rights
A written scope should name the asset, channel, length, review rounds, raw files, rights, exclusivity, deadline, payment and maintenance. If a request changes one of these, pause and price the new work rather than absorbing it silently.
If the client asks for category exclusivity, define competing products, territory, channels and duration. Explain which useful work you would have to decline and price that opportunity cost. A vague exclusivity clause can block independent publishing long after the campaign ends.
Make disclosure visible
State when content is sponsored, gifted, affiliate-linked or otherwise connected to a commercial partner. Use clear wording near the recommendation or call to action and follow the current requirements that apply to your jurisdiction and platform. Do not suggest an independent test when a partner supplied the product or paid for the placement. Disclosure protects the reader and the creator; it is not an apology.
Put the disclosure where the reader sees the recommendation, and repeat it in a short caption or spoken line when appropriate. Follow current FTC or ASA guidance that applies to the audience and platform, and ask for review when jurisdiction is unclear.
Keep claims truthful and bounded
Use only claims you can substantiate with a source, an attributed experience or a clearly labelled opinion. A polished case study should include the period and scope, not imply that one result will repeat.
Protect privacy and contributors
Ask permission before using a reader story, image, review, map, location or quotation. Remove passports, room numbers, live locations, children’s faces and identifiable routines. Explain what data a partner receives and why. Keep source files and consent records secure, with a route for correction or withdrawal. Never exchange a private mailing list for a campaign. A partner may receive agreed aggregate context, not a hidden audience dossier.
Do not provide a partner with subscriber addresses or a private conversation. Share only the aggregate context and deliverables agreed in writing. Store consent records and remove data when the stated purpose ends.
Price the work, not a promise
List each deliverable, research time, production time, editing, accessibility work, revisions, travel, rush fees and maintenance. Charge separately for usage duration, channels, territory and exclusivity because these change the value and workload. Do not label a quote as the market rate unless you have a named, current and comparable source; even then, describe it as context. Explain payment stages, cancellation and what happens when the brief changes.
Explain what your numbers mean and which data is missing. A media kit may show a page example, audience region or aggregate trend, but it should not expose individual readers or imply that impressions equal influence.
Add review and maintenance terms
Add a date when the offer, link, price, access condition or disclosure should be checked. Decide who pays for updates and whether an old post will be corrected, annotated or removed.
Before accepting, ask who supplies facts, who approves claims, where the content appears, how long it remains live and who pays for updates. Set a review date for volatile prices, access, transport and programme terms. Keep the right to correct or remove an unsafe claim. If a partner asks for an edit that hides a limitation, pause and record the decision. A sustainable collaboration has a stop rule.
Keep an approval trail for the brief, claims, disclosure, rights and final files. At review, check whether the partnership still fits the reader promise. If it no longer does, stop renewal even if the first campaign was easy.
The short answer
Know when to decline
Decline a campaign when the claims cannot be checked, the rights are unclear, the disclosure would be hidden, the workload exceeds capacity or the product would make the reader less safe.
Questions creators ask
What should my rate be? There is no universal safe rate. Price your time, rights, risk, access work and maintenance, then negotiate from a defined scope.
Can I share audience numbers? Share only what you can define and substantiate, with period and context. Never imply that a metric guarantees sales, reach or approval.
What if a partner wants exclusivity? Define the topic, competitors, territory, channels and duration, and price the opportunity cost. Decline if the restriction would prevent useful independent work.
A transparent media kit is a reader-trust document as much as a sales document. Show evidence with definitions, price a real workload, separate rights and exclusivity, disclose the relationship, protect privacy and keep a correction route. There is no guaranteed market rate or campaign result. Offer the work you can explain, maintain and withdraw safely.
A clear archive note also helps the next editor understand why a rate, right or claim was changed.