107: My most-popular episode: How to write your small business bio {Greatest Hits}
Do you love your bio? As business owners, a bio is something we all need, and it’s one of the first things we write for our business.
In this replay episode of ill communication, I’m sharing one of my most popular episodes of all time. It's the number one most downloaded episode on my podcast, and I think it's because it answers a big pain point or a search topic all business owners have.
We're all searching for an answer to the question of how to write your bio.
Your bio is a piece of writing that should share who you are, why you are special and amazing, and pique the interest of your reader so that they’ll want to get to know you a little more and take the next step with you.
The tricky part is that you’re supposed to try to do all of that in just a few sentences, so how do you write a bio you can be proud of that fits everything you want to say?
In this episode, you’ll learn my simple, 5 sentence formula that will strike the right balance of authority and personality and help your reader take the next step with you.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
Mistakes that you definitely don’t want to make with your bio
The key to creating a cheat sheet of awesomeness
The five sentences every good bio needs
I know that when writing this type of thing, it can be easy to feel braggy or arrogant. But I promise, if you are worried about that, you are not the braggy or arrogant type!
Visit the episode webpage to get a handy recipe card with the 5 Sentence Formula at https://www.kimkiel.com/podcast-1/how-to-write-your-bio-with-the-5-sentence-formula.
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[00:00:01] Hey. Hey, friend. This is the one. The big kahuna la favorite. If my podcast was the Paris Olympics, this episode would be the gold medal winner. It's the number one most downloaded episode on my podcast, and I think it's because it answers a big pain point or a search topic all business owners have. We're all searching for an answer to this question how to write your bio. And while this episode was among the first four I released when I launched this podcast two years ago, it quickly became a favorite and it continues to outrank every other episode by quite a lot. And for good reason. It's short. It's actionable. It solves a problem. So without further ado, may I present to you a rebroadcast of episode number two, how to write your bio with the five sentence formula. Welcome to ill communication, copywriting tips and sales strategies for small business. I'm your host, Kim Keel. I'm a copy coach, sales strategist, and direct response copywriter. It's my mission to help women leaders and changemakers amplify their voices through copy. It's why I'm dishing out all the juicy tips, writing prompts, and sales formulas to help you generate more leads, book more calls, and get more high value clients on repeat. Sounds pretty good. It's time to ditch the overwhelm you might be feeling and find confidence in your copywriting so you can get your message out there and attract more soulmate clients. Let's get started. Hello! Welcome to episode two of the Ill Communication podcast that shares copywriting tips and sales strategies for small businesses.
[00:02:03] This week's episode is going to give you a simple formula to help you write or rewrite something we all need as business owners. Heck, any professional can use this formula. You may use this for your social profiles, for your website, or when you're invited to speak on a podcast or on a stage. It's probably one of the first things you'll write when you start your business, and you'll update it and write it constantly. And even though it's one of the first things you'll write for yourself as an entrepreneur or professional, it's often one of the hardest things to write. I'm talking about your bio. Your bio or biography is a piece of writing that should share who you are, why you're special and amazing, and pique the interest of your reader. So they'll want to get to know you a little more or take that next step with you. And the trickiest bit is you should try to accomplish all of that in just a few short sentences. So often when we sit down to write our bios, one of two things will happen one, you can't think of anything to say, or you don't know what to say or how to say it, or two. You say too much. You give too much detail or tell too many stories to be relevant to the audience or the purpose of the bio. So today's episode is going to give you a simple five sentence formula to help you write an amazing bio that will strike the right balance of authority and personality, and help your reader take the next step with you.
[00:03:28] And just a note about Bios in general. There are some instances where you'll write a long form bio, especially if you're in academia or in a legal profession. You'll probably have a pretty long and very formal bio. Your about page will also be longer form, but probably a little more casual and conversational than an academic bio. I'll definitely record an episode about how to write an amazing about page in the future, but in general, the best bios are short. They answer the one question your audience is always asking what's in it for me? That's why you should write different bios to serve different purposes and different audiences. The bio formula I'm talking about in this episode is best for guest expert sessions, media or public speaking. But before we talk about how to write a good bio, we have to address the elephant in the room. A lot of us, and especially women, find it very difficult to write about ourselves in a positive promotional way. It's often hard for us to see our own authority and expertise and genius. So if that's something you struggle with a little bit, here's a way to get around it. Spend a little time journaling or writing about all the awesome shit you've done in your life and in your business or career. Write it all down. Write down your travel, your school, some of the hard stuff you've gone through in your personal or family life.
[00:04:52] Jot down the results your clients have had with your support and services and your own business. Badassery and milestones. One of my copywriting mentors, Joanna Wiebe of Copy Hackers, calls this the cheat sheet of awesomeness. Keep your cheat sheet of awesomeness next to your desk. So any time you need to calm your inner critic or Negative Nelly, you can review your cheat sheet to remind yourself what a badass you are. It'll boost your confidence before you hop on a sales call or on a stage, and it'll help you write your bio, too. So if you want, you could pause the podcast and go write your cheat sheet of awesomeness right now. And with your cheat sheet of awesomeness in hand, we can begin to write your Easy-breezy bio using the five sentence formula. I'm just going to list out the five sentences right away, and then I'll break down each one in a little more detail. Sentence one powerfully claim who you are. Sentence two build credibility and make it relevant to your audience. Sentence three what is your why or tackle an objection. Sentence four share something personal and light to connect human to human and sentence five share a next step. So let's go back to the top. In the first sentence, describe who you are and what you do. Include power words like premier or in-demand, highly sought after or leading. Here's the first sentence from my bio for an example. Kim Kiehl is an in-demand direct response strategist and founder of the boutique copywriting agency Kim Cheol copy.
[00:06:25] Since to use this space to build your credibility and describe the audience you serve, you can infuse some data points like the number of years you've been in business, the number of clients you've served, or some of the results you create. Here's my second sentence. With 15 years of writing multi six figure campaigns for small businesses and nonprofits, Kim helps brainy brands and experts share their gifts and positive impact with the world. In sentence three, you have a couple options. You could share your why and the transformation or impact you create. Or you could use this sentence to tackle a common objection you hear and show how you do things differently. My third sentence reads. She has a knack for instantly capturing a client's voice and writing elegantly persuasive copy that sells without sleaze. In sentence four, share something personal, surprising, or delightful to connect with your audience, human to human. Here's mine. When she's not nerding out on sales psychology in her home of Edmonton, Alberta, you can find her tromping through the Canadian wilderness with her kids or continuing her quest to find her favorite whiskey. A lot of people stop their bios there, but it's missing the next step or call to action. So in sentence five, let people know how to connect with you or give them a next step. You could share your social handles or invite people to visit your website. My sentence five reads. Subscribe to Kim's VIP Copy and Cocktails Club to receive the best copy, tips, sales strategies and the occasional recipe for cocktail hour at Kim Dotcom.
[00:08:04] Slash newsletter so here's what it sounds like altogether. Kim Keel is an in-demand direct response strategist and founder of the boutique copywriting agency Kim Keel Copy, with 15 plus years of writing multi six figure campaigns for small businesses and non-profits. Kim helps brainy brands and experts share their gifts and positive impact with the world. She has a knack for instantly capturing a client's voice and writing elegantly persuasive copy that sells without sleaze. When she's not nerding out on sales psychology in her home of Edmonton, Alberta, you can find her tromping through the Canadian wilderness with her kids or continuing her quest to find her favorite whiskey. Subscribe to Cam's VIP Copy and Cocktails Club to receive the best copy, tips, sales strategies, and the occasional recipe for cocktail hour at Kim Dotcom. Slash newsletter. Now the five sentences is meant to be a guidance, not law. You can definitely add in a couple more sentences if you want, but I certainly wouldn't double this to ten sentences. But just know use this as a starting point and edit from there. Now before I go, I just want to touch on something that might be coming up for you. Sometimes when we write or talk about ourselves and our expertise, we worry about coming across as braggadocious or arrogant. Please know that if you're worried about it, you're probably the least likely to cross over into arrogant territory. Those who come across as super braggy and arrogant are not asking themselves if they're too braggy and arrogant.
[00:09:36] You will come across with the perfect blend of authority and humility, and the five sentence formula will help you strike the right balance. Well, that's it for today's episode of Ill Communication, featuring the five step formula for an easy, breezy bio. I hope you found the five sentence formula helpful. And if you have a speaking engagement coming up, or if it's been a while since you updated your Bios, you can use the five sentence formula to quickly craft a great bio that'll share your authority, connect with people on a personal level, and help your audience take the next step with you. If you didn't catch the full formula for all the sentences, check out the show notes. For today's episode, you'll find a link to the episode webpage where you'll find a handy recipe card for the $0.05 formula. You can easily copy and paste. That's it for today. Catch you next week! And that's a wrap on today's episode of Ill Communication. Hey, if you're picking up what I'm putting down, I would love if you would leave a rating and a review to let me know. And don't forget to follow the show so you never miss out on the tips, prompts, and strategies I share in every episode. They're designed to make you an ill communicator too. As always, you can check out all the links and resources from this episode on the web page. Just head over to Kim Keele compered cast. I'll chat with you again next week.
Resources Mentioned
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Additional Resources
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