ScrapbookMarketing.com

So my cyber-friend Clara Wallace, of Matter of Scrap, emailed me tonight about writing bio’s:

I need to write a good bio - do you have any tips?

I’m going to be on the editorial board for Simple Scrapbooks Digital Scrapbooking mag! So, that’s why I am emailing - I thought you might have some tips on writing an intriguing bio. This would make a good topic for your marketing blog too.

Indeed it would! (And yea for Clara!)

The best advice I got on writing a bio was from a Special Report I bought from PublicityHound.com. It’s Special Report #46: Tips for Rewriting Your Boring Bio. It helped me rewrite my bio to my current one: About Angie Pedersen. I have slightly different versions on my Typepad About page and on my WordPress About Angie page. Also read the Publicity Hound’s own bio for a good example.
Basically a strong bio tells a story. It helps people get interested in why you’re interesting. For Clara’s, for example, she could answer such questions as:

• How long have you been digi-scrapping?
• Why digi? What do you love about it?
• Any amusing (short) anecdotes about first digi projects?
• What is the foundation of your expertise? (background in graphic arts/design, college major, etc)
• When did you start selling your designs online?
• What success have you had? What are you known for? Give specific numbers, quantities, length of time, subscribers, etc.
• What gets you jazzed, professionally, or in regards to your work? What makes you “geek out”?
• What turning points or milestones have you experienced professionally?
• What DT credits do you have? Who have you worked with?
• What projects have you been involved in behind-the-scenes? What have you spear-headed?
• What are your professional goals?
• Where do you live? (general geographic area is fine) Who do you live with?

Seek out bios of other professionals, both in your industry and outside it, and try to pinpoint what you like about it. If you like the casual, almost irreverent tone, try to figure out how you can achieve the same feeling when writing your own story. And remember that it IS a story, like I said. The bio’s that list off work history and accomplishments are all well and good, but the ones that draw you in and make you want to meet the person tell a story, and give a glimpse of the subject’s personality.

A good place to put your bio is on your website/blog (it basically becomes your About page) and in your scrapbooking press kit. You can also craft a shorter version for brochures, resource boxes for the end of articles, class descriptions, and basically any marketing communication that needs a touch of your history and personality.