A professional bio or overview, showing your background, experience, and knowledge, is a must for all business owners. This often overlooked marketing tool is a great way to introduce yourself and your business to potential customers and potential strategic business partners. It could potentially open up opportunities for speaking engagements, radio or television interviews, or a featured print article. While any information about you and your business is useful, information that is presented in a polished and professional manner can make a difference in how others perceive you. Consider these important points as you craft your own professional biography.

1. Wonder of a page.

Your professional bio should be a few paragraphs and kept to one page or less. One page is perfect for copying on the back of a brochure or flyer. Several paragraphs, justified to the left, facilitate reading and browsing.

2. First, second or third person?

Always write your biography in the third person. That is, to refer to oneself by her name or she/he as appropriate. It sounds more professional since it looks like a third party wrote the text. For example, “Alexandra has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Newsweek, and Time magazines.”

3. Business in brief.

Readers not only want to know what you do, they also want to know who you work with, because they just might want to work with you! A professional bio should include a sentence or two about your business niche (or niches), as well as the types of clients you serve. A modified version of your 30-second elevator pitch might be perfect.

4. And the winner is…

Be sure to include a list of any awards you have received. Readers are interested in learning about their talents and the organizations that recognize them for them.

5. Organizations.

Include the names of any organizations, clubs, or associations you belong to. A reader’s interest may be heightened by seeing that you belong to the same alumni association or professional business group. Once again, these connections could possibly lead to some interesting and exciting business opportunities.

6. Certifications and designations.

Include any professional certifications or designations you hold. Be sure to write their full names, rather than use abbreviations. Not everyone may know that CMA stands for Certified Management Accountant. And, perhaps, in a different discipline, it could represent something else, like a certified materials analyst. If you no longer have a particular designation, but have played an important role in who you are and what you do, feel free to make a reference to it. For example, “Ann is a former Certified Data Processor and has spent the last decade as an adjunct faculty member teaching higher mathematics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.” She doesn’t include abbreviations for college degrees, like MBA, as she comes off as unprofessional. The only exception to this would be for a Ph.D. designation.

7. Published?

Have you written articles, books, e-courses, or e-books? Self-published or not, your work adds to your level of professionalism and credibility. Show them off on your bio and you could earn additional royalties in terms of new clients or other opportunities.

8. Did I mention the media?

Have you been a guest on radio or television shows? Were you or your business featured or even mentioned in a newspaper article? If so, readers want to know. Again, these types of “mentions” add to your credibility and presence.

9. Call me anytime.

People who want to know about you will read your bio for precisely that reason. And, if it’s compelling, rich, and includes the information they’re interested in, they’ll want to contact you. Include complete contact information such as your title (if applicable), name, address, phone, fax, email, and website address. Make this information easy to find by including it in the last paragraph of your professional summary.

10. Write, rewrite and do it again.

After you’ve written your bio, edit, edit, and re-edit. You may need to do a dozen revisions before it’s right. Eliminate extra words, use descriptive words, keep sentences short but variable in length, and write in the third person. Ask a few friends to provide information as well. Be sure to check your bio regularly to keep it fresh and up-to-date.

Copyright 2004 by Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff.