Building your Bio
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else”
~ Judy Garland
So next to the home page on your website, the next most important page and most important content on your website is your “About Me” page.
It is the place where people go to figure out who you are, what you do and if they even like you. A good bio can make or break whether someone is going to pick up the phone to call you. On directories this is even more important because all you have listed is this page.
Think of it like speed dating for therapists.
You have a short period of time to build rapport, create trust and educate your potential clients about you and your work.
Things to consider:
Pick a style
Decide if you are going to speak in first person (conversational) or third person (more formal). Whichever one you choose, be consistent throughout.
Keep it clean
Use formatting such as white space (paragraphs) and bolding to draw client’s eyes to important information. Don’t write it all in one chunk or people tend to skip over it.
Create a flow
Your bio should ideally read like a story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Keep similar thoughts together, it should not jump around arbitrarily. Separate ideas should transition into each other.
Create a warm and friendly tone
You want this to be welcoming so make sure to not use overly clinical language. Use words and phrases your clients could relate to.
Be human
This should go with out saying, but allow your humanity to shine through. This isn’t a resume, this is the beginning of a relationship. Be a human speaking to another human.
Be yourself
Make sure the tone and language used is reflective of who you really are. Clients are using this to decide if they resonate with you. Even if it sounds great but doesn’t sound like you, potentials clients might call and be disappointed, or worse not call at all because they got the wrong impression of you.
Remember, it is important to really speak to your clients. Your bio is actually about them. What do they need to hear/see to know they can trust you and you can help them?
This is where it is helpful to have a specific client in mind (or a compilation of clients) when you write your bio.
Imagine you have that client in front of you.
- How would you introduce yourself?
- How would you establish credibility?
- What information would they want to know?
- How would you describe what you do?
- How would you describe your specialities?
- How would you describe how you would work with them?
- What would the outcomes of your work together be?
- How would you describe were they could find you?
When creating your Bio, make sure to include the following:
- Introduce yourself. Use whatever greeting feels appropriate for you.
- Introduce your credentials. Establish your credibility and position yourself as an expert.
- Create connection and build rapport. Is there some personal aspect of your story that inspired you to do the work you do? You may want to share your personal view on healing/ change/ growth.
- Introduce who / what you work with. What is the problem you are helping people solve? Use your clients words.
- Explain how you work with clients. Modalities used. Specific training. Highlight the benefits of these techniques for your clients.
- Describe the potential outcome of your work together. How would their struggles be different after working with you? Highlight the benefits.
- Tell them how to get in touch with you. Invite them to reach out.
Make sure you are answering the question that is going through your client’s head,
“What’s in it for me?”
Action Item: Post your bio in the group and ask for feedback.