TA well-stocked press kit anticipates all pertinent media questions and gives reporters multiple entry points.

For example, if your news release doesn’t grab the reporter’s interest, maybe your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet will. Fashion your information in pre-printed modules whenever possible so it’s ready when the press inquires.

This modular approach allows you to include some or all of the essentials, tailored to each publication’s needs.

The key is to have answers before you contact the media, and definitely before they contact you. Make reporters’ jobs easy, but don’t waste your money and their time by including stuff they don’t want.

Many press inquiries are time sensitive. If you help meet a reporter’s deadlines by being prepared and supplying in advance the answers to her every question, your chances of getting published increase accordingly.

Here are some essentials to include in your press kit:

News Release — This is the basic element of your press kit and generally concerns a timely or topically relevant newsworthy issue.

Photos — Pictures increase the chances your story will get published. At the least, editors and reporters will look longer at your submission, which increases its chances of publication. As every salesman knows, the longer you can engage your prospect, the better your odds of closing the deal. Find out the media’s preferences. Does the publication prefer black and white pictures or color, slides or prints, digital files, etc.? Give them what they want.

Graphics — Charts, diagrams, illustrations or other visual supplements pump up interest explaining the significance of your news. Consequently they also increase the odds of you being published. Again, find out the formats that publications prefer. Don’t forget to include camera-ready or digital files of your logo.

Frequently Asked Questions — Since it was popularized by the Internet, FAQs have increasingly become expected by the media. FAQs provide shortcuts to questions the media most often ask. A single sheet with all the answers helps busy reporters cut to the chase.

Fact Sheet — This may be overkill if you already have a FAQ sheet. But a Fact Sheet also can be helpful for listing relevant information at a glance. Use the five W and H format, then fill in the blanks. Who: XYZ Company, etc.

Reprints — If you’ve received favorable press coverage in the past, include photocopies of those articles. Reporters trust other reporters more than they trust you. They’re more likely to be persuaded that you have real news if you had real news in the past.

Brochure — Not every media outlet needs to see your brochure, but for those that do, a well-prepared brochure is like a guided tour of your company, products and services. Everything anyone needs to know ought to be covered in your brochure. This part of your kit may be most prized by trade publications. But more general publications probably will be less interested in who you are and what you sell than in what news you’ve got for them.

Quotes — This is a great cheat sheet. Don’t force reporters to search and extract your pearls of wisdom from your news release or from stammering live interviews. No one speaks as well off the cuff as they do when they’ve had the opportunity to rewrite and edit their own quotes. Say it best by saying it before the reporter telephones you for comments. Have your best quotes polished and extracted on a single sheet of paper.

Business card — This is the most obvious, and incredibly one of the most neglected elements in a good press kit.