Most media kits for small sites are too long, too designed, and missing the two facts a sponsor needs. A good one fits on a single page and answers a simple question: who will see my ad, and what does it cost?
The six things that belong in it
1. Who your audience is, specifically. Not "engaged readers interested in home improvement". Try "people who have already decided to build a raised bed and are looking up timber dimensions". A sponsor is matching their product to an intent, not a demographic.
2. Real traffic numbers. Monthly pageviews and monthly ad impressions, both actual, both recent. Impressions matter more than pageviews because that is what they are buying.
3. Where the ads go. A screenshot of your site with the available slot marked. This does more work than any paragraph.
4. Sizes and formats. "300×250 in the sidebar, 728×90 below the header." If you accept text or native placements, say so — many small sponsors have no banner and will not make one.
5. The price. Publish it. A sponsor who has to email for a rate card usually does not email.
6. How to book. One link, one button. Every additional step loses people.
The four things that waste space
A long brand story. They are buying access to your readers, not your journey.
Detailed demographics you guessed. If your analytics do not report it, do not claim it. Inventing an age split is the fastest way to look unserious.
Vanity metrics. Social followers do not tell a sponsor how many people will see the ad. If it is not impressions, it is decoration.
A PDF. More on this below.
Publish it as a page, not a PDF
A PDF has to be requested, emailed, opened, and is out of date the moment your traffic changes. A page at yoursite.com/advertise can be found in search, linked from your footer, shared in one message, and updated in seconds.
It can also show live numbers. "41,000 ad impressions in the last 30 days" reads very differently when a sponsor can see it is current rather than from whenever the PDF was made.
The rate card
Keep it to three lines. For example:
| Placement | Size | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Sidebar, top | 300×250 | $200 |
| Below header | 728×90 | $300 |
| Newsletter, one issue | text | $150 |
Offer a discount for three months paid upfront — 10% is plenty. It gets you predictable revenue and saves you selling the same slot again in four weeks.
Say what happens after they pay
Two sentences is enough:
Send your banner and destination link, and it goes live within a day. You get a link showing impressions, clicks and any sales attributed to the ad, updated continuously.
This addresses the thing small sponsors are actually nervous about, which is not price. It is being ignored after paying.
Include what you will not accept
A short line — no gambling, no adult content, no political advertising, nothing you would not put your own name next to — makes you look like someone who has done this before. It also saves an awkward conversation later.