Could your online bio use some work? Or has it been so long since you checked on it that you’re no longer sure how to answer?
Either way, don’t feel bad. You’re not the only professional who stands to benefit from a reintroduction to the wider world.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The best online bios tend to share the same core set of elements that combine to create something greater than the sum of its parts. While we don’t pretend to have the last word on publishing a “10 out of 10” personal bio, we do know what it takes to leave one’s bio better than before.
Ready to find out what you need to do to make yourself presentable to current and future clients, colleagues, acquaintances — and anyone else who might type your name into a search box?
12 Elements Your Online Personal Bio Absolutely Needs
You’ve come to the right place. Your online bio absolutely needs each of these elements to stand out. Here’s hoping it already has a few.
- One Word That Categorizes and Categorizes You
Were it even possible, you wouldn’t want to boil yourself down to a single-word descriptor. That’s reductionist and it’s not fair to you, a multifaceted and multi-talented professional.
Nevertheless, it is technically possible to describe oneself in a single word. It is preferable to do so early on in an online bio, where brevity is essential to grabbing and holding audience attention.
This word will almost certainly be a general descriptor that applies to many, many other individuals: entrepreneur, executive, evangelist, et cetera. That’s okay; you’ll have space to differentiate yourself in the sentences that follow. The idea here is to define yourself before adding detail.
- A Powerful “Elevator Pitch”
Here’s where the differentiation comes in.
Your “elevator pitch” should by definition be brief, no more than three to four sentences that take no more than 20 seconds to read aloud. It should be compelling and clear. Your audience should understand what you do and how you add value after reading. The website bio for Paul Esterhuizen, a South African entrepreneur, is a good example: distilling Esterhuizen’s multidecade career into a skimmable, detail-rich description.
- A High-Definition (And Recent) Professional Headshot
You’re a professional; you should look the part. If you don’t have a suitable recent professional headshot taken within the past two years, invest in an updated one, either taken in a studio with professional lighting or outdoors on a cloudy day.
- A Short List of Your Most Notable Recent Achievements
List two or three of your biggest professional victories of the past three to six months (or longer, if wins have been scarce lately). Ideally, these are accomplishments earned while in your current role and whose significance can be grasped by people unfamiliar with the details of that role.
- One or Two Goals You Hope to Achieve in the Medium Term (Not Tomorrow)
Include a sentence or two about your hopes and dreams for the medium term, anywhere from 18 to 36 months out. You don’t want to talk about goals you hope to achieve tomorrow or next week; they’ll be out of date before you get around to publishing your bio, most likely. If you’re stumped for what to discuss, take a refresher on setting variable-term goals.
- Your Most Recent Former Titles or Roles, If Relevant
While resisting the temptation to turn your website bio into a carbon copy of your LinkedIn profile, be sure to show continuity throughout the most relevant stages of your career (the most recent ones). To do this, include at least two of your most recent former roles or titles and briefly describe what their duties entailed.
- One “Little Known” Fact About You
This fact should be appropriate for a professional audience and not particularly controversial, but it shouldn’t be related to your job. You might reveal that you grew up in an unusually large family or once took a grueling survival course.
- A Sentence or Two of Personal Background Information (Family, Hobbies)
Segue from that little known fact (or the reverse) into a brief description of your personal background or situation. The most common information to include here touches upon your family life, hobbies, and assorted personal interests (again, keeping things professional at all times).
- A Closing That Tells Readers What You Can Do for Them
Your website bio shouldn’t be one long, unrelenting pitch for your services, but it’s clearly a self-interested exercise. The best bios sequester “sales-y” copy toward the end, ideally in the final paragraph. Here, you can make your pitch and tell readers what you can do for them.
- A Call to Action (and Contact Information, If Not Available Elsewhere)
In case the aforesaid pitch comes off as too subtle, finish with a clear call to action: “get in touch,” “reach out,” “call or email me,” “learn more,” and so on. You do want your readers to get in touch, after all.
- Links to Your Top Social Media Properties
Include live links to your top social media properties: definitely LinkedIn and Twitter, and perhaps Facebook if you use it for professional purposes. This makes it easier for readers to act on your call to action.
- When All Else Fails, a Premade Template
If you’re having trouble organizing your website bio or find that it doesn’t read as smoothly as the examples you’re trying to emulate, fall back on a premade template that guides you through the at-times overwhelming process of revealing your professional self. Try these out-of-the-box website bio templates from Wix, a popular website builder.
Here’s to a Better Online Bio
These 12 features could give your online bio the boost it needs to stand out in a competitive talent marketplace. Remember, even if your name isn’t especially common, you’re constantly being sized up against others like you: people with similar roles, titles, duties, not to mention personal interests, lifestyles, and more.
A better online bio won’t transform you into something you’re not. But it will help you put your best foot forward, starting as soon as you’re ready. That’s something you’ll agree is a very good thing.
Let’s get it done.
