Should you show prices in the media kit?

The days of pricing grids are over. However, publishers need better ideas for packaging digital products in exciting and unique ways.

We looked at dozens of media kits and put the best examples of media kits for different products in the Media Kit Library along with our take on what they do well.  We also added a showcase of top examples from media kits of how to visualize digital products. 

But the question of whether and how to show pricing remains.

We found five basic approaches: Show prices, but simplify options. Don’t show prices. Use across-the-board discounts based on spending level. Charge hourly. Or show a “starting from” price.

Here’s a look at these options, along with examples of each:

1. Show prices, but keep it simple

Package levels are a good option for publishers who want to simplify the customer’s decision. Because of the abundance of e-commerce data, we know a lot about how people buy online.

The ideal number of package options seems to be three, and sales go up when one option is significantly better than the others.

Typically, this means a small, medium, and large price option, with the medium price being a significantly better value than the large.

It also helps to blow up and label the best option, “Best value,” so it stands out. Tell the customer what to do! As Kenny Katzgrau put it in the  Make a Media Kit that Sells webinar, you will get more callbacks if you “don’t make them think, don’t make them work.”

Using testimonials and/or value propositions also increases conversions.

When to use this approach

• The products can be purchased online with a card, and the seller only acts as customer support.
• Your magazine has “too many products” and wants to simplify bundles to make it easier for customers to decide.
• The product’s value is separated between content creation and reach. For example, small creates a video for the client’s website for one price, medium packages add distribution, and large adds even more.
• You want to incentivize longer commitments. For example, the smallest package is one week at a much higher price, medium is six months, and large is a year.
• The media wants to more closely define how to buy premium ad units.

Examples

Below is an example of a media kit with two basic choices that make it easy for the customer to buy. Sales are either $1500 a month or $2500 a month. The Premium level includes a video and a larger reach.

Even complex buys can be simplified this way. Below, a  “community partnership” program has three levels that increase content creation and distribution as prices increase.

Potomac Local does a great job of showing products, packages, and prices in a simple and clean format. No grids required. 

2. Don’t show prices

Another approach is not to show prices in the media kit at all. Proponents of this approach have a visceral feel for the “ick” factor of matching an inspirational visual, such as “Let us tell your story” at the top of this article, with a pain point, “that will be $1799.”

Besides, when a seller is present, they can introduce other elements, such as ROI or a recent click-through rate, that may be relevant. That is, all the soft tissue not in the media kit.

“I don’t want them making assumptions,” Katzgrau said.

Instead, he contends that the main job of the media kit is to build authority and credibility.  Katzgrau’s media kit template, available to use here,  is only seven pages, but packs a wallop.

In addition to owning local media RedBankGreen, Katzgrau is a technologist who invented Broadstreet, a set of super engaging premium ad units that really ought to be explained, since they are different from everything else.  But he’s not the only one that utilizes this theory.

When to use this approach

• The publisher believes customers who see prices at the outset may make assumptions about value and prefer a seller present when pricing comes up later in the sale.
• Products are complex, new, or aspirational. Introducing pricing could create information overload  – always a deal-killer – and interfere with excitement.
• The customers are larger businesses, and programs are always customized.

Examples

Parents Canada sells four videos: One-on-one, Quick Tips, Shop the Store on Location, and Round Table Interviews. Programs start at $17,000. However, the video “rate card” does not show rates but rather how the videos will look and the step-by-step process that makes it easy.

Instead of showing pricing page two of the media kit shows process. 

New Jersey Monthly also uses this approach.  It has four unique and more complex marketing opportunities. “Be a sponsor”  includes event sponsorships, polls and contests, charts of Top Towns and Top schools, and custom plans. The media kit works to show these new products.

Greater Long Island Magazine also has an innovative sponsorship program. Clients get their logo on every news story about the town they sponsor. Below, you can see how it is visually displayed.

Adding prices might be another piece of information for the client – and a stressful one –  while they are still learning and getting excited about the opportunity.

3. Across-the-board incentive discounts based on spend

We picked up this approach from Eric Shanfelt of Nearview Media. For example, an advertiser buying an exclusive email sponsorship could qualify for an additional discount if they buy another program – but it’s based on total spend versus extra months or distribution channels.

When to use it

• Products are already well defined, exciting, clearly delineated, and easily understood.
• There are no other conflicting package discounts.
• There is an initiative to obtain credit cards on file or recurring payments for larger buys

Examples: 

Another approach along these lines is to incentivize credit cards on file and auto-recurring payments. This idea can be applied to any of the above pricing formats. Below is an extra discount we found inside one media kit, for 10% off or up to 20% for non-profits. 

4. Charging hourly

Nelson Kirkland, the publisher of Central Florida Media Group, believes in this approach when selling services such as website creation, blogs, and other digital services.

There is a basic pricing range based on the number of website pages created, but because some clients take more of the company’s time than others, he charges weekly by the hour. At $75 an hour, a profit is built in.

“A website is like building a house. It can be a one-bedroom or 15-bedroom,” he noted. “Clients want you to give them a flat fee. Don’t do it,” he said.

When to use it

• Products that are largely services, custom publishing, and website creation, where it is difficult to determine how long the project will take.

• There is a minimum spend going into the project

You will need some method of tracking hours, but there are several apps and a manual system.  Note that when charging for video, for example, where creation is a service, some companies have a flat fee but only allow one post-production edit. Charging hourly is an alternative that meets everyone’s needs.

5.  Use “starting from” pricing

“Starting from” pricing is a good compromise for publishers who want to give customers some idea of the price of the media kit but leave the cost issue for later in the sale.

When to use it 

• The publisher wants to provide some pricing range without committing to an exact number.
• There is a low leader designed to pull the audience in or obtain a credit card
• Conversely, the packages are higher-end, and the seller wants to qualify customers

 You can download any of these media kits in the Media Kit Libary.