Whether you want to be found by a hiring manager, want to find a new client or simply want to put forth your knowledge and skills you need to have your online biographies completed filled out. We have 3 tips to writing a professional bio that will help you make a great impression before you even say a word or shake a hand!
A professional online bio and a great headshot are what potential connections will see first and will, honestly, judge you on. If you purport to be a professional, but you can’t find a professional headshot… there is a disconnect.
3 Tips To Writing A Professional Bio
What should go into your bio to make you stand out?
As mentioned, a professional photo. Don’t take a selfie. Don’t have a photo of you in your tuxedo from your wedding. Don’t cut your face out of a group photo. Call a professional photographer and get one taken.
Your name and title (don’t make up a title that is so obscure and clever that someone couldn’t figure out what you do). What do you do in your current role?
Add your branding statement. A branding statement is like your mission or vision statement. It helps someone who is reading your bio to know what you stand for and how you stand out from the competition.
Should you write your bio in first person or third person? The jury is still out on that. First-person point of view would be: I am an accountant who has worked for XYZ Company and I was responsible for… A third person bio would be: John has worked as an accountant with XYZ Company and he was responsible for…
Your bio should be updated and refreshed regularly. If you haven’t crafted your bio or don’t know what your branding statement is, reach out to Rex Richard of Peak Dynamics and talk with him.
When people come to your blog are they likely to come back? Is it a good experience for them? The cliche of you only get one chance to make a first impression is true. We have tips on how to make a splash with your blog that will get your readers coming back for more.
Blogging is the way in which your website remains current and active in the eyes of Google search — and you want to remain active and seem viable in Google’s eyes as they can help drive your content up in a search.
How To Make A Splash With Your Blog
Here are tips to make a splash and rank in a search
Use Google’s people cards — this is esentially your brand’s demographic. If people are looking for you or your business in a search, you want to set up a Google Card/People Card so you come up in a search.
If you list your prices on your website, don’t feel that you have to justify them. If you do feel the urge to do that, talk about your prices in the terms of the value a customer will reap by working with you over the competition.
What is your personal brand? Are you funny? Serious? Sarcastic? Do you share your political views or religious leanings unapologetically? If that’s the case, that is who you are and your customers will come to you because they like what you’re saying OR they will move on because they don’t. If they move on they probably weren’t a good fit.
The “voice” of your blog is part of your brand. Are you a natural teacher? A leader? An experienced professional like no other? Then share that information with your readers.
Capture readers on your email marketing list. Your list is your most valuable company asset. Give people a reason to sign up for your email — a great lead magnet is key!
We know that blogging as a business endeavor has merit. We also know that if you are a blogger or if you’re blogging regularly on your website, you’re doing something even more powerful — you’re setting yourself up as the expert in your chosen business niche.
Some entrepreneurs do make a living as bloggers, but they typically enhance their bank account by blogging for others — many of them blog for entrepreneurs like you! If you’re an entreprenuer who isn’t a writer and doesn’t want to write, hire a copywriter to perform that task for you so you can focus on your core expertise.
Blogging As A Business Endeavor
If you want to focus your entrepreneurial efforts on blogging or writing, here are some ways to make it potentially profitable.
Position yourself as the expert. If you want to blog for others, show that you can blog, that you know how to blog and that you’re sharing valuable information on your blog.
Use Adwords to bring in some income. If you have a powerful niche and a following of readers, adding ads to your site may make financial sense and may fatten your wallet.
Become an affiliate. You can be an Amazon affiliate. You can find entrepreneurs who sell affiliate programs or services and partner with them. When you promote items or programs as an affiliate, you will earn a commission on sales made with your unique code.
Offer a sponsored blog opportunity. If your blog has a large enough audience you could bring in money by offering a sponsored blog opportunity; this means someone would pay you to post on your site. If you do this, make certain you’re offering those coveted spots to businesses whose values align with your own. For example, if you’re strictly vegan, would it make sense to offer a sponsored post to a beef producer? Probably not.
Position your blog in such a way that people know they can hire you. More importantly, they will WANT to hire you because of all of the valuable content you’ve been sharing that has positioned you as the expert (see number 1)
Are you a blogger, content strategist or writer looking to enhance your portfolio and grow your writing business? What steps are you taking toward that goal?
If you’re in start-up mode you need all of the help you can get and you also need tools that will help your start-up be successful. “Success” is different for each entrepreneur, but if you want to be a success you need to lay the groundwork and build a strong foundation. Here are the tools that I share with my clients as a way to get their entrepreneurial endeavors off to the best start possible.
Here are tools I recommend:
You should have a business plan in place. The business plan will guide your business growth from start up to selling. You also need to know the ins and outs of your business, what the goals are, what services you offer, what products you will make and have a plan in place for the growth of the business as it relates to potentially having to hire employees.
Work with a banker from the beginning of your business endeavor. You should have a business bank account and even a business credit card. Building a relationship with a banker will be of help when you look for capital for expansion.
What can you outsource? There are items that are likely outside of your area of expertise — social media, accounting, legal, etc. — and you might be better served to outsource these tasks to an expert in that field. Determine what you make hourly and if it’s a good use of your time to focus on areas that are outside of your area of expertise.
Establish an online presence. This could be one of those items that you outsource, but if you do, you need to determine where your ideal clients gather and have your social presence in those areas. If you jump onto specific social media platforms, make certain your profiles are complete and that you are being active on those platforms.
Make sure you know how to accept payments electronically. Today’s online world means that you should be able to accept payments online from your clients through your website. If you’re onsite at a conference, for example, you will want to be able to process payments on the spot.
Talk with your business coach or a colleague if you have any questions or concerns about whether your start-up is on the road to success.
Life and business is ever-increasingly being conducted online. In my business, my team is scattered across the globe and we communicate virtually, via video calls and share documents across multiple Internet platforms. Because of this and because of the importance of keeping our company and our client information protected, we have cyber-security measures in place. You simply don’t want to have a weak password lead to a security breach in your website or even having your website hacked.
Here are our top cyber-security tips:
Make certain your websites are up to date and that you have security measures in place to back up and keep the sites secure. Because cyber threats are continually changing, the method you used this week to protect your site could likely be obsolete next week.
Install antivirus software and update it regularly.
Make certain your employees are educated on your cyber-security practices. They need to use extremely strong passwords as a way to not allow a “back-door” entry into any of your sites or servers.
Don’t store essential or sensitive documents in areas that could be easily accessed by a hacker. If necessary, print sensitive documents to keep on site. At the very least sensitive documents should be password protected and only those who truly need access should have the password.
Don’t forget to encrypt and protect your mobile devices — smart phones and tablets included. All devices should be password protected.
If you’re not certain your sites and your servers are protected against cyber attacks you will want to work with a qualified, experienced IT firm to assure your security and the integrity of your information.
It’s sometimes hard to get motivated especially in the triple digit heat of an Arizona summer. Keep in mind though that chances are your competition isn’t taking the summer off. They are moving forward with business plans and business growth.
If summer has traditionally been a time for you where you kick back and take time off, I urge you to at least do undertake these five summer business strategies:
Make certain your website is mobile friendly. Having a mobile friendly website is critical to business success and that isn’t something you want to let go until autumn arrives.
Make note of your top prospects and then reach out and contact them. If you’re in a lull — whether self imposed or actual — they may be as well and might welcome a call from you.
Look at your marketing materials and start now to think about what you might offer or change up for the upcoming holidays. If you need new peripheral materials, now is the time to look at that so you can get the designing and printing underway before the rush of the season is upon you.
Update and review your business plan. We’re now more than through the half way point of the year and you should be making certain you’re on target with the goals you set at the beginning of the year.
Take on a project you’ve been dreading. We all have them and they aren’t going to miraculously go away. Work on it in bite sized chunks and get it taken care of this summer.
