What’s your story?
If you run a business, do you have a well-written biography on your website and in any other communication materials? I am continually astonished by the prevalence of successful professionals who don’t have a bio.
Then there are those who have poorly crafted bios that appear to have been scrawled hurriedly as they strolled the aisles of a Whole Foods, hunting for milk and eggs. (Sometimes, it’s better not to have a bio at all than to have something slipshod that reflects poorly on you.)
If your biography (often found in the “About Us” section of websites) falls into either of the above camps, you are squandering a huge opportunity to:
1. Differentiate yourself from the competition.
2. Forge a deeper connection with your prospective clients.
3. Lay the groundwork for news releases that help promote your product or service.
A case in point: a month ago, I wrote a biography of Denise Hauser (pictured), a talented kitchen and bath designer who for 18 months had been running her Oak Park-based business, Denise Hauser Design, without the benefit of a concise, compelling bio.
Less than two weeks after I crafted her story, the bio formed the bulk of a news release on Denise’s recognition in a local charity kitchen walk.
The story (“Longtime biz exec carves out kitchen and bath design niche”) is on TribLocal.com and was prominently placed on page 2 of TribLocal’s weekly print edition, which went to some 10,000 subscribers in the three-town area (Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park) that is in the heart of Hauser’s suburban Chicago market.
Without the bio in hand, the article would have been considerably less effective and much less likely to have gained inclusion in the Trib’s print version.
To see biographies embedded in other Inside Edge PR news releases, here are pieces on Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors and another on Five Accessories.
