Tools and providers
How to refresh a creator media kit when rates, sponsors or platforms change
A practical routine for refreshing a creator media kit after rate, sponsor or platform changes, with version control, VAT checks and UK disclosure duties.
What to take away
- Refresh a creator media kit whenever a rate changes, a sponsor renews or ends, or a platform shifts your reach or formats.
- Version control means dated file names, a written change log and a copy of what each brand actually received.
- Move the rate card first, then the audience pages, then the contact and data notes.
- Keep VAT, disclosure and contact wording beside the numbers so nothing is edited out of context.
Trigger points that force a refresh
A media kit is a live sales document, not a one-off PDF. It starts ageing the day you publish it.
Three change types and what they touch
Rate change
- Speed
- Fast
- Pages hit
- Rate card
- Examples
- Price, currency, VAT
- Extra cycle
- No
Sponsor change
- Speed
- Slow
- Pages hit
- Logo wall
- Examples
- Renewal, exclusivity
- Extra cycle
- No
Platform change
- Speed
- Quiet
- Pages hit
- Stats pages
- Examples
- Reach, formats, demographics
- Extra cycle
- Podcast sellers
Three kinds of change push it out of date: rate changes, sponsor changes and platform changes. Each one touches different pages.
Rate changes are easiest to spot. A new package price, a change of currency or a VAT registration all alter what a brand owes.
Sponsor changes move more slowly. Renewals, exclusivity windows and category conflicts can invalidate a logo wall or a case study claim.
Platform changes are the quiet ones. Reach falls, a new format launches, a post is deleted and audience demographics drift.
Podcast sellers need a second cycle. Episode counts, download figures and host read rates change on their own timetable.
Four step media kit revision routine
- Collect source numbers from the same week
- Edit one master file, never a sent PDF
- Check every claim and sponsor permission
- Publish and log the version
A four step revision routine
- Collect the source numbers. Pull platform analytics, invoicing totals and brand reporting from the same week.
- Edit one master file. Never edit a PDF that has already gone to a brand.
- Check every claim. Confirm each figure still matches its source and each sponsor logo is still permitted.
- Publish and log the version. Record the date, the changes and who approved them.
| Media kit field | Typical owner | Review trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Rate card | You or your agent | Price change or VAT registration |
| Audience demographics | You | Quarterly analytics pull |
| Sponsor logos | Brand contact | Contract renewal or end date |
| Platform statistics | You | Monthly, or after a post performs well |
Example: a sponsor change handled in one afternoon
A skincare brand ends a six month deal in March. The kit still lists them on the logo wall and quotes their campaign result.
The afternoon order of work:
- Remove the logo and the case study line.
- Replace the result with one you can still support.
- Add an entry to the change log.
- Send the new link to anyone holding a live proposal.
A media kit that quotes a rate you no longer charge is a pricing problem, not a design problem.
Before another rebuild, work out the return on the kit using observed outputs and allocated value rather than projections. work out the return properly and you will know whether the next revision is worth the afternoon.
Rate card changes and the VAT line
The rate card is the first page a brand reads and the first page to go stale. Update it before any proposal leaves your inbox.
Add VAT as a separate line once you register. The UK threshold is 90,000 pounds of taxable turnover across any 12 month period.
Once registered, state whether your figures include VAT. Brands that can recover VAT will ask, and fuzzy quotes slow deals down.
Confirm the threshold on the GOV.UK VAT registration page before you publish a figure.
Sponsors, platforms and disclosure duties
A sponsorship change often changes disclosure wording too. Paid partnerships, gifted items and affiliate links carry different labels.
Ad disclosure should match the deal, and the ASA advertising codes set the standard for UK influencer marketing.
Collect brand contacts through a form and data protection duties follow. The ICO GDPR guide covers lawful basis, retention and subject requests.
Hosting the live version
A hosted page refresh is faster than a PDF rebuild, but only if the platform suits UK work. Hosting location, pound pricing and data handling all matter.
If you are choosing a host, compare portfolio website builders on UK GDPR duties, pound pricing and hosting speed before you commit.
Podcast kits and sponsor packs
Podcast media kits age faster than most because episode data moves weekly. A separate template keeps the numbers in one place.
Use a podcast media kit template to hold the one sheet, episode data, audience demographics and rate card together.
Common questions
How often should I refresh a creator media kit?
Quarterly is a sensible baseline, plus an extra pass after any rate change, sponsorship renewal or platform shift.
What is the simplest version control method?
Use dated file names such as kit-2025-03, keep a one page change log, and archive the exact version each brand received.
Do I need to show old rates to brands?
No. Archive them internally instead. Brands need the current rate card, not a history of what you charged last year.
Can one media kit cover every platform?
Rarely. If one channel drives most of your income, build the audience page around it and summarise the rest in a single line.
