Blog Media Kit: What to Include When Your Traffic Is Small
A blog media kit is a short document that tells brands who reads your blog, what you can create for them, and on what terms. When your traffic is small, the kit works by being specific and verifiable rather than impressive: a tight audience, honest numbers with proof, clear formats and clear rules. This guide covers what to put in each section, how to back up your numbers, what to lead with when traffic is modest, and a one-page structure you can copy.
What a media kit is for (and why small blogs need one too)
A brand or agency deciding whether to work with you needs answers to the same few questions every time: who reads this blog, how many, what can you make, what does it cost, and can I trust these numbers? A media kit answers them in one place, so the conversation starts at "which format?" instead of a long back-and-forth.
Small blogs often skip the kit because they think the numbers will not impress anyone. That gets it backward. Brands that work with small publishers are usually buying relevance, not reach: a specific audience they cannot easily get elsewhere. A clear, honest kit is how you show that.
What to include: the seven sections
- One-line positioning. What the blog is about and for whom. "Gluten-free baking for beginners, with tested recipes" beats "a lifestyle blog about food and life".
- About you. Two or three sentences on who writes the blog and why readers trust you: experience, credentials, what you test or make yourself. Add a photo.
- Audience. Who the readers are: interests, problems, where they are located, how they find you (search, newsletter, social). Use what your analytics actually shows.
- Numbers, with proof. The few metrics that matter, the period they cover and how a brand can verify them (more on this below).
- Formats and examples. What you offer: sponsored articles, reviews, newsletter mentions, giveaways, social posts. Link one or two past examples, even unpaid ones that show your style.
- Terms. Starting prices or "from" prices, what is included (revisions, images, how long the post stays live), turnaround time and your disclosure rules.
- Contact. Email, preferred response time, and a link to the live kit if you host it on your site.
Keep it to one or two pages. A brand manager will skim it in a minute; the goal is to make that minute enough.
Which numbers to show, and how to prove them
Show a small number of metrics you can defend, always with the date range:
| Metric | Where to get it | How a brand can verify it |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly users or sessions (last 3 or 12 months) | Your analytics tool | Screenshot with date range; or read-only access |
| Search clicks and top queries | Google Search Console, Performance report | Screenshot showing the property and dates |
| Newsletter subscribers and open rate | Your email platform | Dashboard screenshot |
| Top countries / devices | Your analytics tool | Screenshot |
| Independent site signals | A third-party checker | A public link the brand can open themselves |
The strongest proof is access the brand controls. In Google Analytics you can add a user to a property with the Viewer role, which lets them see reports without changing settings. Offer it to serious prospects and remove it when the deal ends. Our guide on how to check website traffic for free explains which outside estimates brands are likely to look at, so your numbers do not surprise them.
A public, third-party link helps too: it shows you are not hiding anything and saves the brand a step. That is one reason to include a Satelo Quality Score link; more on that at the end.
When traffic is small: lead with what you do have
If your monthly numbers are modest, do not bury them and do not inflate them. Put them in context and lead with your real strengths:
- Niche precision. "Readers are home bakers with celiac disease or gluten intolerance" is worth more to the right brand than a vague, larger audience. Spell out the niche in the first line.
- Search intent. List a few queries readers use to find you (from Search Console). Queries like "best gluten-free flour for bread" show buying intent a brand can understand instantly.
- Engagement. Comments, replies to your newsletter, saves or shares. Quote a reader comment only if it is real and you have permission.
- Newsletter. A small list of people who chose to hear from you is often the most valuable thing a small blog owns. Show subscriber count and open rate with the date.
- Content quality. Link your best post. Brands are paying for your work and your audience's trust, and the work is visible.
- Longevity. A sponsored article stays on your site and can be found in search for years, unlike a social post that disappears from feeds in days. Mention how long sponsored posts stay live.
Pricing follows from all of this. If you are unsure what to charge, our guide on how to price sponsored posts walks through the inputs.
Disclosure rules belong in the kit
State your disclosure policy up front, so no brand is surprised later. Two separate rules matter:
- Disclosure to readers. If you work with US brands or US readers, the FTC's guidance FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking says a disclosure should be hard to miss and placed close to the endorsement, and that a single site-wide disclosure page is generally not enough. That covers free products and trips as well as payments. Other countries have their own rules; our overview of sponsored content disclosure rules covers the main ones.
- Link attributes. Google asks that paid links be marked: rel="sponsored" is preferred, and rel="nofollow" is still acceptable. Say in your kit that all links in sponsored content carry one of these.
A line such as "All sponsored content is clearly labeled for readers, and links in it use rel="sponsored"" filters out buyers who only want a ranking link and reassures the ones who want a real audience. That is the clientele you want.
A one-page media kit structure you can copy
Here is a skeleton. The example values are for illustration only; replace them with your own verified data.
[Blog name]: [one-line positioning, e.g., "Tested gluten-free baking for beginners"]
About: [Name], [relevant experience]. Writing since [year]. Every recipe is baked and photographed at home.
Audience: [who they are]. Top countries: [from analytics]. Main traffic sources: [search / newsletter / social].
Numbers ([date range]): [monthly users] · [search clicks] · [newsletter subscribers, open rate]. Read-only analytics access available on request. Independent site check: [link].
Top reader questions: [3 real queries from Search Console].
Formats: Sponsored article (from [price]) · Product review (from [price]) · Newsletter feature (from [price]). Examples: [links].
Terms: [turnaround], [revisions], posts stay live for [period]. All sponsored content is labeled; links use rel="sponsored".
Contact: [email] · replies within [time].
Host the same content as a page on your blog (for example /work-with-me/) and keep a PDF version for email. Update both on a fixed schedule, such as every quarter, and always show the date of the data.
Niche variations: travel and food blogs
- Travel bloggers: add the regions you cover, upcoming trips (brands plan ahead), and whether you accept hosted stays. Hosted trips count as material connections, so say how you disclose them.
- Food bloggers: add recipe development and photography as separate formats, mention dietary niches, and show which recipe posts get steady search traffic, since those are the pages where a product placement keeps working.
- Any niche: include the formats you will not do. "No reviews of products I have not tested" makes the rest of your kit more credible.
Mistakes that undermine a media kit
- Inflated or undated numbers. Brands can check traffic estimates in a few minutes. One number that does not hold up casts doubt on everything else.
- Lifetime totals instead of recent data. "500,000 page views since 2019" says little about today's audience. Use the last 3 or 12 months.
- Vanity metrics only. Follower counts without engagement or traffic do not tell a brand what it will get.
- Promising rankings or "dofollow" links. It invites the wrong buyers and puts your site at risk with Google's link policies.
- Fake testimonials or logos of brands you have not worked with. Never. Show real examples or none.
- A ten-page design showpiece. Clarity beats decoration. One clean page wins.
What to do next
- Pull your last 3 to 12 months of data from your analytics, Search Console and email platform, and write down the date range.
- Fill in the one-page structure above and publish it as a page on your blog.
- Add an independent proof line. Satelo's free Quality Score check gives your site a 0–100 score built mostly from open data, with the evidence behind each number on a public page you can link from your kit, so a brand can verify your site in about 30 seconds without asking you for screenshots.
Once your kit is live, our guides on making money from guest posts and writing a sponsored article cover the next steps after a brand says yes.
FAQ
What should be included in a blog media kit?
A one-line positioning statement, a short bio, an audience description, a few recent metrics with dates and proof, the formats you offer with examples, your terms and starting prices, disclosure rules, and contact details.
Do I need a media kit if my blog has low traffic?
Yes. Brands that work with small blogs are usually buying a specific, engaged audience. A clear kit that shows your niche, search intent, newsletter and content quality makes that case better than raw traffic numbers.
How do I prove my blog traffic to brands?
Share dated screenshots from your analytics and Search Console, offer read-only access to serious prospects (Google Analytics supports a Viewer role), and add a public third-party site check they can open themselves.
Should I put prices in my media kit?
Starting or "from" prices save time for both sides and filter out mismatched requests. You can keep final pricing for the conversation, since it depends on format, scope and deadlines.
How long should a media kit be?
One or two pages. Brand managers skim; a clean single page with verifiable numbers and clear formats works better than a long designed brochure.
Do sponsored blog posts need a disclosure?
Yes. Under FTC guidance for US audiences, payments and free products should be disclosed clearly and close to the content, not only on a separate page. Google also asks that paid links use rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
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