Crafting a captivating bio

Often we underestimate the importance of our personal bio as one of the first sources of information about us in the physical and virtual worlds. And when we consider our self-perception, our bio can seem alien and confusing. Moreover, as we evolve and deal with different parties, our personal sense of identity will invariably change.

With this in mind, crafting that killer bio that’ll attract people and potential clients is an ongoing process and at its heart are the interconnected questions that you have to pose to yourself.

First, who are you?

This is the most important question that people tend to overlook in their mistaken assumption that their bio should compile all their most important achievements and external recognitions. Unfortunately, all that tends to do is tell people how the writer may perceive his/herself through the eyes of others.

Your bio needs to reflect how you identify yourself so spend some time thinking about how you would describe yourself. Ask yourself, what do people need to know about me? Make a list. It may include some personal background details or professional information about your education, work experience, or important awards and accolades.

Now, ask yourself, who am I really? And make a list of those things you think define you. In creating these lists, you start to consider the most important characteristics that will make their way into your bio…

Remember that identity is fluid and imagined. Your bio can only encapsulate some important considerations, but ultimately, it’s the reader’s imaginings that will define you to them. So when you compare the lists, extract those aspects that are most interesting and memorable to differentiate yourself from others.

Who are your target audiences and what do you want them to know and feel when they read your bio?

The content of your bio - its tone, length and the language used - all depend on the audience or demographic you’re approaching. Here you have to be as clear as possible about who your readers are. Are they recruiters? Industry professionals? Prospective clients? Are they under 30? Over 40? What sparks their interest?

For example, you may wish to use formal language on bios that will appear on professional forums and focus on your background and credentials as your target readers are established industry professionals in their 40s and 50s with whom you’d want to network for future prospects.

Alternatively, if you’re seeking prospective clients, you may want to establish a rapport and link to their experiences and as a result, while your language tone will depend on their backgrounds and ages, your content may focus on your own insights and contributions.

Remember, sometimes the 2-3 sentence short first-person bio conveys more about the person than a third-person one or two page summary of one’s career. Yet, both can be helpful to different groups in contrasting ways. As a result, you could consider developing a number of iterations of your bio, addressing varying audiences. Just make sure that all bios are consistent in terms of the information provided about you - dates, years of experience, names etc.

Keywords

It’s a given that almost every version of your bio or profile will have a virtual home and therefore, be accessible to the public at large. But you want to make sure that your bio is easily searchable. It’s for this reason that you have to always be conscious of the wording chosen throughout in each of the bios developed for you.

There are two elements to consider here: the words that will match your searchers’ interests; and search engine rankings. In relation to the former, consider using some of the terms that you know your searchers recognise and which help validate your distinguishing features. This is particularly important if recruitment is one of your objectives and your bio will be reviewed by an applicant tracking system.

And with regards to search rankings, search engine optimisation (SEO) is improved by the keywords used so think about, and apply, the words your digital searchers and engines will use to find you. For your own webpages, don’t forget to include other search tools such as titles and snippets to make your page and its content stand out.

Start by listing a few keywords that you would like your page to rank for and use an online keyword research tool to review both high and low competition keywords to help you pick the best words for you and that will lead online searchers to your page. You may want to consider using lower competition keywords if they are very specific and likely to be used by your searchers.

All these questions are intertwined as your identity, your target audiences and the keywords used have to reflect your intentions and address your objectives. Nevertheless, it’s important to ask yourself those questions because your answers will help you develop appealing content that attracts people to you.