Create a Media Kit and Stay in Hotels For Free

Want to stay in hotels for free on your next vacation? Or even want to work with hotel brands as part of your business? Create a Media Kit and you could!

You might be thinking that this is such a far fetched idea that you would never even attempt it. Or think that you can only stay in hotels for free if you have a huge social media following.

Well I am here to let you know that is NOT the case.

My first hotel collaboration was when I had about 14,000 followers on Instagram, we got 3 nights for free with an incredible brand in exchange for content. I was over the moon that we had achieved this goal – someone valued my work enough to work with me.

Now I have worked with hotels all over the world including Mexico, Japan, Canada, Thailand and the UK. Most of these were 4*-5* properties and working with them has been highlights of my social media career.

Do I Need to be a Social Media Influencer?

It’s true that brands value another audience that they can tap in to – but an audience is not the only thing that you can offer to a hotel in exchange for a free night or two.

Social media has changed in the last couple of years – people bought followers and likes which damaged the reputation for many. Brands took a long hard look at their social media strategies with lots of companies now preferring to work with micro influencers (1000 – 100k followers).

Why? The audiences of micro influencers are generally more engaged. Wouldn’t you rather have an actively engaged audience of 1000 people than an audience of 100K who just don’t care?

What Skills do I Need?

So not only can you approach companies with a small actively engaged audience, you can also approach them if you have no audience at all. If you have a skill that you can use to create something that the hotel is in need of or missing then use this to your advantage.

For example, you are a keen:

Photographer – They may need content for their own social media channels, newsletters, blogs etc. I once did a collaboration with a hotel where I created content at their property for my own social media channels but also created content for their own ones too.

Videographer – Maybe you could take some awesome video footage of the new spa pool you noticed isn’t represented on their website. Finding a unique proposition is key.

Drone Photographer – They may not have any aerial footage of their property and this is the perfect opportunity to offer that to them. Drone photography and videos are becoming increasingly popular.

Writer – You might notice that they have a blog but don’t have the resources to keep up with the posts, so you offer to write them some posts. Having SEO optimised blog posts is super important for brands in helping them appear higher up in Google search.

Leverage Your Skills

Think of it like this – before social media existed, brands needed to hire professionals to create adverts, hire PR agencies, professional photographers and invite journalists to review their properties.

Now with social media, people not only have audiences they can leverage but skills they can offer for a highly reduced rate in comparison to before. (ie a free night in a hotel instead of hiring a photographer and paying them)

Basically it costs brands a lot less to collaborate with influencers than hire professional photographers and teams of staff etc. You could be a videographer and pitch a brand, they accept and you are basically a one man band. You are the director, model, actor, editor etc. There is no need for them to hire a whole team when you can package all they need yourself.

If you want to know my 5 Tips for Pitching Brand Collaborations – check my blog post out here. It includes a free Email Pitch Template.

Before You Pitch a Brand

You need a Media Kit.

A Media Kit is like a CV for representing you and your work. When you reach out to a brand you always want to make sure that you are attaching an updated Media Kit. Look at it as your first impression you make upon the brand.

Here is what every Media Kit needs:

• Social statistics
• What services you can offer the brand
• Brands you have worked with in the past
• Showcase your photography that matches the brand you are reaching out to or your general style.
• Testimonial
• What to expect from you
• Ensure your branding represents you, so colours and fonts etc.
• Your website and relevant links
• Your demographics

You want to include all this information in the Media Kit to make it as easy as possible for the client to know everything they need to know. They don’t want to have to go and find out all your stats if you didn’t include them, they most likely don’t have time.

How to Create a Media Kit?

A great place to create a Media Kit is using the website Canva. It is a free design website where you design pretty much anything online and download it for free.

They have free Media Kit examples and templates that you can personalise. Ensure that you include the following:

Your Details

A brief introduction in to who you are, where you are from and what your niche is.

Social Statistics

These include things like your number of followers, views, subscribers and engagement rate on social media. Include all statistics across all the platforms that you actively use, eg Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Blog, YouTube, Pinterest etc.

Demographics

Include the demographics of your audience. This is your male to female audience ratio, age range and location.

What Services You Can Offer The Brand

So if you can offer them photography of their property – include this in the list of services. The same can be said for videography, drone photography and blog writing. If you have an engaged audience on social media mention that you can offer sponsored posts and stories etc.

Brands You Have Worked With In The Past

Give them an insight in to brands that you have previously worked with. If you haven’t worked with any brands yet, you can share an example of the type of work that you would create for the brand.

Showcase Your Photography

Here is a chance to showcase your best photography that matches the brand that you are reaching out to. Ensure that it represents your general style and stands out.

Testimonials

If you have any testimonials from previous collaborations, include a selection here so the brand can see. If you don’t have any yet that’s fine to not include them.

What To Expect From You

Give them an idea of what experience you will give them and explain how you like to work. This will give them an insight into what to expect from you.

Branding

Ensure that your branding represents you. This means that the colours and fonts all match and are the same across all platforms. You want people to be able to look at your website/blog/social media channels and know that it’s you.

Add Links

Make sure that you add links to your website, instagram, previous work etc. This makes it as easy as possible for them to research you further if they want to. Ideally you want to provide enough information in your Media Kit so they don’t need to search elsewhere but balance that with keeping it precise.

Where To Put Your Media Kit?

Once you have completed your Media Kit you want to have it available so that brands can easily find it.

On your blog – you can include a page on your blog that links to your media kit. That way if brands come across your blog they know where to find it.

As an email attachment – you can attach your media kit as an email PDF attachment. As you will be including links in your media kit – this is the easiest way to save it.

Add a link in your email – alternatively you can link your media kit in the email to the page on your blog.

Its own website – If you are feeling flash – why not create a website purely for your media kit.

Don’t forget that brands receive hundreds of requests for collaborations so it is important to stand out, offer as much information as possible without being overwhelming. Put your best foot forward and you will find the perfect fit.

Don’t forget to save for later – Pin to Pinterest

If you want to know my 5 Tips for Pitching Brand Collaborations – check my blog post out here. It includes a free Email Pitch Template.