Indie App Press Kit Checklist: What to Prepare Before Outreach

An indie app press kit should make it easy for a writer, curator or creator to understand the product and find accurate materials without a long email exchange. It is not a folder full of every design file. It is a small, tidy source of truth: what the app does, who made it, where to try it and which images are approved for use.

The right press kit will not guarantee coverage. It does remove avoidable friction when someone is already curious. Prepare it before outreach, keep it current, and make every claim easy to verify.

Start with a one-sentence description

Write one sentence that says what the product is for a specific audience. “A lightweight Mac app that helps independent makers turn an idea into a reviewed launch plan” is more useful than “the future of productivity.” Avoid strings of feature names and claims such as “revolutionary” that a reader cannot substantiate.

Follow it with a short paragraph that answers three questions: what problem prompted the product, what someone can do with it, and what makes its approach distinct. Keep this factual. If a capability is experimental or still in development, say so rather than presenting it as generally available.

Include the essentials

Create a simple page or folder containing:

• Product name, concise description and current version.
• A link to the product page and the relevant store listing or download.
• A short founder or studio biography and a press contact that is monitored.
• Approved logo files and a small selection of high-resolution product images.
• Captions that explain what each screenshot shows, including device and version where useful.
• Availability, supported platforms, current pricing and release date, with a date showing when those facts were checked.
• A privacy policy or support link when readers may reasonably need one.

Use descriptive filenames, sensible dimensions and image formats that open everywhere. Include both a clean logo and an image with a transparent background if available. Do not make a journalist guess which screenshot is current or whether an image can be cropped.

Make the images tell the story

Choose screenshots that show the actual product and a meaningful workflow, not just a set of attractive empty screens. Add one short caption per image. If you provide lifestyle or promotional images, separate them from literal interface screenshots so nobody mistakes an illustration for the product itself.

Check legibility at the likely display size. Remove private customer information, fake metrics and interface states that are not in the shipped version. If you provide a video, include a still image and a short note describing the clip; do not make a large download the only way to understand the product.

Add a compact fact sheet

A fact sheet reduces the chance that basic details are copied incorrectly. List platform, availability, supported languages if relevant, pricing as of a stated date, and the best link for trying the product. Keep technical details only when they help explain the story. A journalist generally needs a dependable summary, not the entire roadmap.

If the product handles personal or sensitive information, include a plain-language privacy summary and link to the full policy. Be precise about storage, account requirements and data sharing. Never imply stronger privacy protections than the product actually provides.

Make the kit easy to use

Put the press kit at a stable URL, make it usable on mobile, and avoid requiring an account just to download basic assets. Label files clearly and keep the page lightweight. Add alt text to meaningful images and ensure the contact address is visible as text, not embedded only in a graphic.

Before sending the link, open it in a private browser window and test every download. Check that store links resolve in the right region and that images are still available. Replace outdated screenshots after a substantial interface update and review the fact sheet whenever pricing or availability changes.

Keep outreach specific

A press kit supports a pitch; it does not replace one. In the first note, explain why this particular person or publication might care, state the most relevant angle, and offer the kit as a convenient source of details. Avoid attaching a large archive unsolicited. One useful image or a link is usually enough to begin.

For an independent maker, a good starting point is a small, honest story: a problem you encountered, a design decision that shaped the product, or a useful lesson from building it. The story should be real and specific, not a manufactured claim about traction.

A quick pre-send review

Read the kit as if you have never heard of the product. Can you tell what it does in ten seconds? Is there a working route to try it? Are the screenshots current and correctly captioned? Can a writer contact a real person? Do the facts agree with the product page?

If one answer is no, fix that first. A clear and trustworthy kit is more useful than a large one. For a practical way to organize product facts, launch angles and outreach material, see Palm's press kit workflow and the Palm product page.