18 sections that belong in every professional media kit. Plus bonus building blocks your competition is missing — and a profession-by-profession matrix so you know in 5 minutes what you actually need.
We answer this question by email five times a week: What actually belongs in a professional media kit? The answers you find online are usually one of three flavors — superficial ("bio, contact, done"), industry-mismatched ("influencer kits need engagement rates"), or positioned as bait before a template upsell.
We wrote this article because we see daily which sections in real profiles produce booking inquiries — and which ones organizers, journalists, and bookers skip entirely. You'll get the 18 must-have sections every media kit needs in 2026, plus five bonus building blocks your competitors don't have. There's also a matrix showing which sections matter most for your specific profession.
A media kit (also: press kit, speaker profile, EPK) is the page you show event organizers, journalists, booking agencies, and prospective clients when they want to know: who are you, what do you do, and why should they book or write about you? It replaces endless email loops of "can you send me your bio again?" and "do you have a higher-resolution photo?" with a single URL that shows everything.
Classically a PDF emailed around. Today: a live URL with everything packaged — bio, topics, press quotes, booking inquiry form, downloadable press photos, packages, more. Anyone still sending 30 MB PDFs is losing — organizers click links, not attachments.
What this looks like in practice: see a complete live media kit example — every section we discuss here, in a real example.
Your first impression. Three seconds to land it.
What belongs:
Common mistakes:
Where it gets concrete. Organizers scan exactly this section to decide if you fit their event.
What belongs:
Common mistake: Generic topics like "Leadership" or "Digital Transformation." Specific sells: "AI Leadership 2030 — How Boards Use AI as Co-Pilot Without Outsourcing Decision Authority."
Social proof is the biggest lever. Organizers prefer booking someone others booked successfully.
Separate clearly:
Per quote: source (with date or function), ideally linked to original. Three strong quotes beat ten weak ones.
Fastest trust signal: logos of media you've appeared in — TV, magazines, podcasts, conferences.
Tips:
Here opinions split: name fees or not? Clear recommendation: at minimum a range, ideally specific. Organizers with too-small budgets self-filter. You save back-and-forth.
Format:
Organizers need photos for event pages, programs, social posts in high-res. If you don't offer direct download, you'll be asked — by email, with "do you have it in higher res?"
What belongs:
Video is the next step after photo. Organizers deciding between you and a competitor want to see how you work on stage — voice, body language, energy.
What belongs:
Often forgotten. Anyone booked as speaker or expert often has podcast experience — and that's a trust signal.
What belongs:
Important for status signaling: regular bookings = in demand.
What belongs:
Proves your expertise. Organizers think: "If TED already had her, she can't be bad."
What belongs:
Concrete articles, interviews, talk shows with direct links. Different from Section 4 (logos only) — this is about content: what was written where?
What belongs:
Especially relevant for B2B and consulting contexts. Less so in B2C/influencer.
What belongs:
Which brands have you worked with? Logos speak louder than words. Microsoft, Google, IBM on your page = more trust than three paragraphs of self-description.
Tips:
For authors and experts a must. Cover, blurb, direct buy link.
What belongs:
Organizers often don't know what's bookable. Instead of letting them guess, list it:
So nobody asks "do you also do workshops?" — answer is on the page.
Golden lever — answers 80 % of email inquiries before they're written:
Saves you realistically 5–10 emails per inquiry.
The conversion core. Without this section, your media kit is a beautiful business card without a phone number.
What belongs:
At mediakitpro this section is built in from the Pro plan up — inquiries land in your dashboard inbox (Premium) or by email (Pro). See the form live.
In Germany legally required. In US/UK helpful for trust. Don't hide it in tiny footer print — organizers want to know who legally stands behind this.
What belongs:
Not every section matters equally for everyone. Quick reference:
| Section | Speaker | Coach | Influencer | Author | TV Expert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hero (photo + bio) | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ |
| Speaking topics | ✓✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Press quotes | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ |
| As seen in | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ |
| Packages & fees | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Press photos | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ |
| Showreel / videos | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ | — | ✓✓ |
| Audio / podcasts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Upcoming dates | ✓✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| Past references | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Media appearances | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ |
| Certifications |
Legend: ✓✓ = absolute must · ✓ = recommended · — = optional / can skip
Organizers don't forward email attachments. Your PDF dies in person A's inbox — person B (the actual decider) never sees it. A live URL gets shared, forwarded, tracked. Plus: every update on a PDF means complete re-export and re-send. Live URL: one click in editor.
Three paragraphs about your "journey" and "vision" aren't sales copy. Organizers want to know: What can you do, what does it cost, when are you available?
"On request" is on every media kit. Concrete range ("from $6,000") pre-filters the right inquiries and positions you in the premium segment.
"Latest reference: 2022" tells an organizer everything they need to know. Your media kit must be alive — upcoming dates current, new references added.
If the organizer scrolls and doesn't know how to contact you, you've lost. A booking inquiry button belongs prominently at the end — and ideally in the header.
Want to stand out from 95 % of media kits? Add these:
EN/DE minimum, ideally more. International organizers thank you. At mediakitpro multilingual is built in from Pro plan in 8 languages — automatic toggle top right.
Social media reach pulled live from APIs — not "120k followers (March 2024)." Anyone showing current numbers feels active and credible.
"Industry focus: B2B Tech · Healthcare · Automotive" — organizers scan instantly whether you belong in their world.
Structured data so Google recognizes your speaker status. Also important for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude — these models pull answers from such structured data. mediakitpro generates this automatically.
Won Speaker of the Year or Top Industry Expert? Show it directly in the hero as a badge, not buried in an "About me" section further down.
Three realistic paths:
DIY in Canva or Word: 4–8 hours of your time for a PDF, plus regular update load. At a $60/hour rate, $360 in hidden time. No hosting, tracking, multilingual. Honest weakness analysis: see our Canva article.
Hire a designer: $300–1,500 one-time for custom design, then maintain yourself. Detail: DIY vs. designer vs. SaaS cost comparison.
SaaS tool like mediakitpro: from $0 (free plan, EN+DE), $13/month (Pro with all 8 languages), or $27/month (Premium with booking inbox). All 18 sections pre-built.
If you want to compare different free vs. paid templates before deciding: our template comparison. For a complete platform test of 5 marketplaces: our buyer's guide.
A professional media kit in 2026 has more to deliver than the static PDF press kit of 2010. It must be current, multilingual, trackable, mobile-optimized, with built-in inquiry form and fast loading. The 18 sections in this article are the content checklist. The technical checklist (live URL, PDF export, tracking, multilingual) is barely achievable with the classic routes (Canva, Word, designer PDF) anymore.
Concrete next steps:
If you want the fastest path, building a complete media kit with all 18 must-have sections plus the 5 bonus sections takes under 10 minutes — free in our free plan: mediakitpro — start free.
Or first see how it looks in a finished example: Live demo with all 18 sections.
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| ✓ |
| ✓✓ |
| — |
| — |
| ✓ |
| Cooperation partners | ✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ | — | — |
| Books | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓✓ | ✓ |
| Booking options | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| FAQ for organizers | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Booking inquiry form | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓✓ |
| Imprint / legal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |