THE BEST PROFESSIONAL BIO TEMPLATE
Need to write a professional short biography paragraph about your career? Discover these exclusive and premium best professional bio templates you can use to craft a winning professional bio today and turbocharge your professional career and personal brand.
Brought to you by Mau, a Senior Digital Marketing Specialist at eDigital.
WHY CRAFTING A PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Professionals of all ages and generations are thinking about how to make better career decisions and surely have found some creative ways to cement successful occupations.
The challenging – The unexpected – The blessings – The silly mistakes – The bit of luck – The amount of hard work – The ethical dilemmas – The commitment & dedication, The good we are – sometimes – doing bad things, etc.
We all have surely needed creative ways to solve and learn from all situations.
Creativity – in the form of creative writing – combined with a clear sense of purpose and passion are the ingredients to craft one of the most important pieces of copywriting you’ll ever write in your career:
Your professional bio!
Nailing a killer bio is a great asset not only for people working in professional jobs but also for people who want to work in some of the fast-growing industries that are always looking for top talent and the best professionals.
As we all change with new experiences, new jobs, new learnings and new beliefs, we can recreate our professional bio as many times as we wish. The idea is to bring a fresh look to your professional or life story with emotional triggers that can inherently influence the reader to the action you want them to take.
For example, we professional marketers – at some point in our careers – need to publish or share a brief biography.
A short professional and well-written bio should offer great information about your professional profile, career path, challenges and achievements (awards, etc.)
Some places where your professional bio may be needed are:
- A blurb on your social media profile “about” sections
- A personal website
- A company team page
- A blog where you are contributing as a writer
- At a conference or seminar, you have been invited as a keynote speaker
- Your company’s annual report
- A professional journal where a quote from you has been added
- A school where you are a seasonal teacher
- An industry website where they list you
- A new book you are publishing
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THE TOP BENEFITS OF WRITING THE BEST PROFESSIONAL BIO
✔ What you choose to highlight may play a role in others deciding to follow you, contact you for a business opportunity, interview you or invite you for a keynote speaking opportunity.
✔ It’s an opportunity for you -in a few lines- to showcase your work and list your top clients, competencies and areas of expertise. In short, it’s the first look at your skills, interests and personality.
✔ A well-written bio sells. Yes, it brings revenue to your business. When was the last time you decided on a yoga teacher, a psychologist, your private language tutor or your best marketing agency after reading their bio?
Note: Just because bragging about yourself is a proven action that makes people happy, it does not mean you go over the top when talking about your qualities.
You may also think you can humblebrag in your bio but readers may notice it as fake.
If you are awarded or complimented for your work, you can add those awards and compliments to your bio as long as it adds value to the reader.
In the above funny example, a cat compliments a bird for its bio. The bird then – trying to show humility – “surprisingly” confirms that it just copied the bio without even knowing why it did it.
The comment from the bird will make the cat feel the bird is far less likable, less competent and less trustworthy.
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SHOULD PROFESSIONAL BIOS INCLUDE HOBBIES?
Adding a few hobbies to your bio is a very personal choice and it depends on the context.
For example, I recently drove the Brisbane to Cairns Road trip visiting top places for a few months and while I was doing this epic road trip and meeting so many new great people along the way, I was more interested in knowing people’s hobbies than their work competencies.
Obviously, when you are in a holiday mood you do not need people to recite their professional bio to you.
But when you are invited to contribute your professional ideas and opinions to an industry report, publication or blog; readers may also enjoy finding out a couple of hobbies you are interested in.
Some of the most popular and highly relatable hobbies you can add to your bio are sports, travel or food, art, or fitness. Be short and brief if you decide to add them to your professional bio.
PROFESSIONAL VS. PERSONAL INFO PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT YOU
If you are a successful entrepreneur and you have been asked for a bio for a keynote at an industry event, you do not need to tell why you stopped drinking alcohol completely when what they all want is to know how you grew your business so fast or so successful.
You do not have to add extensive details about your passions or hobbies in your bio, just name a few hobbies (your top 2) offering the readers a great idea of the things/activities that highly interest you outside work.
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PROFESSIONAL BIO COPYWRITING – KEY ELEMENTS
Expert tip > Writing a professional bio is like a fitness workout. You need to train your writing every day so you can keep your bio sharp showcasing the most authentic version of the great person you are today.
If you see writing your professional bio as a dull task, The result?: an inauthentic, boring bio.
You will be better off asking one of our best virtual assistants to write it for you.
You can carefully and passionately craft a unique bio story by distilling it into a few paragraphs your readers will love. Remember your readers could be potential managers, clients, recruiters, business partners, colleagues, etc.
Top tip: The best well-crafted bios are published with a portrait photograph or a great graphic design or illustration. Ensuring you write a creative photography brief is key to making the photo for your bio shine!
It is important to feel inspired to write your bio. A weekend getaway outside the buzz of your town could get you in the right mindset to write your bio. If you are still stuck, you can always brief a professional copywriter.
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THE TOP PROFESSIONAL BIO FORMATS AND STYLES
Like with fashion, there are many different ways professional bios can be crafted.
From serious in tone to light and fun.
Some successful bios follow a similar format and are somewhat formulaic in their approach, however, if you know your audience or readers and they know you back, then you can be more creative with the information you will share about yourself and the feelings you would like to spark in the reader’s heart.
Check out the below easy-to-follow template for getting started on writing your own bio.
FIRST-PERSON
I am [Name] and I help [who] [solution] by [what you do]
I believe [what you know/believe about the work you do]
I have [landed/secured/garnered/worked at/supported] [insert your most compelling experiences and wins – max three]
I am a [trained/certified/awarded] [insert relevant training, awards, honours, etc.] OR I hold a [insert degree] in [insert area of study] from [insert university]
You can contact me on [insert your website] or follow me on [insert top two social media channels]
Some folks prefer using the below “third person” style as it reads as if someone else is highlighting your career accomplishments on behalf of you, sounding less “bragging“.
THIRD-PERSON
[Full Name] is a [profession] who works with [who you help] to [how you help them]
[First name] [knows/believes] [what you know/believe about the work you do]
[First name] has [landed/secured/garnered/worked at/supported] [insert your most compelling experiences and wins – max three]
[First name] is a [trained/certified/awarded] [insert relevant training, awards, honours, etc] OR [First name] holds a [insert degree] in [insert area of study] from [insert university]
You can contact [First name] on [insert your website] or follow [First name] on [insert top two social media channels]
CREATIVE BIO TEMPLATE EXAMPLE FOR INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONALS, CONSULTANTS OR FREELANCERS
With over [YEARS] years of experience working as a [POSITION], I have become an expert in executing profitable [ACTIVITY] for [CLIENT TYPE]. I hold a [DEGREE NAME] from [UNIVERSITY NAME], where I specialise in [MAJOR NAME]. In [YEAR] whilst working in [ACTIVITY] at one of the largest [INDUSTRY TYPE], I trained and managed a team of [NUMBER] [ROLES]. I led the strategy for over [NUMBER] ad accounts and oversaw $[NUMBER] million in Facebook, Snapchat, and Google ad spending at a profitable return. During my [NUMBER] year tenure at [COMPANY NAME], I came to realise that [ISSUE] and I could provide much more value to brands working independently as a [NEW ROLE].
In [MONTH] of [YEAR], I made the leap to leave [COMPANY NAME] and started offering my [SERVICE NAME] services on a freelance basis as [NEW BUSINESS NAME]. I now service a handful of the top [CLIENT TYPES] including [CLIENT’S NAMES] to execute their [CAMPAIGN TYPES] campaigns. Not only do I provide [SERVICE NAME], but I’ve also partnered with one of the top video ad designers to provide new ads weekly for my clients.
Many of my clients worked with [COMPETITOR TYPE] before coming to me and were frustrated by the decreased return on [METRIC] and lack of [ACTIVITY] by those [COMPETITOR TYPE]. My clients appreciate the work I do because I provide a robust [SERVICE NAME], and every decision made in [ACTIVITY] is based on raising their business’s bottom line. My clients are never handed off to an account manager or novice [ROLE NAME] while working with me, but rather my clients are always working directly with me on the strategy. I like to see myself as an extension of my client’s internal team as I often work very closely with the entrepreneur each day to grow their business.
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POWERFUL ENGLISH LANGUAGE WORDS FOR YOUR PROFESSIONAL BIO
Depending on the number of stories you would like to include in your bio and/or the depth of each story; you may want to use a few of the words below. It is advisable a native English speaker reads your final draft to make sure it all makes sense.
- Words to evoke curiosity: Shocking, imagine, be the first, behind the scenes, sneak peek, limited, top-secret, off-the-record, unbelievable, confession, cover-up, the real secret or controversial revelation.
- Words to build trust: Proven, reliable, research, confidence, believable, rock-solid, no-obligation, track record, refund, expert, genuine, bestselling, no risk, cancel anytime, don’t worry, well respected, care, consistent or interesting.
- Words to express great results: Skyrocket, boost, turbocharge, dramatically increase, soar, instant, on fire or won the “x” award.
- Words to show confidence: Assurance, belief, conviction, determination, no doubt or tenacity.
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PROFESSIONAL BIO TEMPLATE – TOP TIPS
- Add emotional triggers. that influence the reader to the action you want them to take.
- Be clear and avoid cliches. The worst is to have a message that sounds like it is not you! Own your personal voice and show it with authenticity.
- The second sentence is the most important as readers want to know why you do what you do. If you’re not sure how to answer this, ask yourself: Why do I do what I do? What inspires me to do this work? What do I believe about it?
- Tweak or delete sections if you find that you need to add an extra couple of sentences or determine that a section doesn’t feel relevant to how you wish to present yourself, you can tweak it or delete it. Just don’t make it too long; more than 8 sentences, and you’re starting to get wordy.
- Use a shorter version for social media. The template above will be too long for social media. Instead of starting from scratch, you might want to only use the first two sentences.
- Your bio should evolve. As your professional career and profile do, your bio should evolve. If you are looking for a new job, you could have a new exciting achievement to add to your bio, or if you just feel ready to update your bio, go for it.
- Update your bio at least every year. Save this page and put an alert in your calendar to rework your bio – I do it once a year – from time to time as your interests grow and change and you get more comfortable describing who you are, what you do and why you do it.
- Link to your online portfolio. You can do it in several ways:
- Indicate the link immediately among the contact information
- End your bio with a small paragraph inviting the reader to view your portfolio
- Use anchor text. For bios published online, link keywords to your portfolio so readers check your work immediately.
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Conclusion
A well-crafted biography is a powerful tool for shaping your personal brand, making a memorable impression, and opening doors to new opportunities.
eDigital can help you conceptualise, plan, develop, run and optimise successful digital marketing campaigns that generate leads and sales for your brand.
Our digital marketing services include:
- Strategic planning for social media and other digital marketing channels.
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- Brand development. Logo creation, brand personality development and design of marketing materials.
- Consumer contests/competitions/giveaways.
- Email marketing. Dip sequence design and deployment.
- Conversion rate optimisation. It is also called “path to purchase” optimisation.
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THE BEST PROFESSIONAL BIO TEMPLATE
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