Your eCommerce site’s blog is one of your best outlets for communicating with your customers and potential buyers. It’s an ideal way to reach them with content entirely in your control.
The one thing your blog shouldn’t do, however, is leave them wondering why they should read it. Just who are you, to be giving them advice and telling them how to do things?
And that’s where your professional author’s bio comes in. It’s not just for networking on LinkedIn or for guest appearances on influencer’s podcasts; it’s there to offer your readers a small peek at who you are, what you do, and why you do it.
It’s a small window into your personality and world that can make a huge difference to the success of your blog, and by extension, your business.
So today, we’re going to be examining the five aspects of what makes a good professional author’s bio, as well as giving you examples from other professionals. When we’re through, you’ll be prepared to create a killer bio to match the killer content on your blog.
1: Your Professional Author’s Bio Needs Some Facts
Your bio should open with a short summary statement of “just the facts.”: your first and last name, your brand, and a brief description of your experiences and professional accomplishments.
Many scanning readers may not get past that first line or two, so you need to give them the most important info right up front. While more patient, thorough readers won’t mind the short synopsis and will be looking for more details later on.
Where many professionals go wrong is that they stop with those bare minimum factoids and go no further. That makes for a very dry, boring, and ineffective bio. It might do for a resumé, but it won’t do for your blog.
Here are two examples of eCommerce bloggers with awesome introductory statements.
The first screenshot is from romance writer Mia Sosa. We’ll come back to Mia’s bio in a bit, as she has created a truly great About Me page. For now, though, we’ll examine her “I-Don’t-Have-Time-To-Read-All-Of-This-Bio” bio.
The second excellent example of a “summary” bio comes from the Sustainably Chic blog, and highlights author Michelle Polizzi.
2: Your Professional Bio Introduces Your Brand, Too
As well as introducing yourself to your readers and potential customers, your bio is the perfect opportunity to introduce them to your brand and its offerings. It’s also ideal for making your brand’s values and mission known.
Why would you want to do that? Just imagine this scenario:
A reader comes to your blog from a shared social post, or from a SERP result. They’ve never heard of you or your company. They have no idea what you do, what you offer, or who you are. All they have is that one blog post.
If your blog author bio has a bit about your brand, they don’t have to go searching for more info. Your readers don’t have to go anywhere other than your blog to learn if you have more than just a blog post to offer them.
Let’s look at a couple of blog bio examples that do the branding thing really well.
Notice how Rita’s bio describes her as writing on “food, travel, pets, faith, and the arts.” Guess what topics you’ll find quite often on the MockingOwl Roost: food, travel, arts, and more. You don’t have to read any further to get a taste of what the Roost has to offer its readers.
Next up is Aimee Broussard, a cookbook author and award-winning cookie baker. We know that because her bio tells us so. And with that, we can figure out her foodie brand and what it’s all about.
3: Your Blog Bio Should Brag a Little
You’ve given them the bare bones of who you are. You’ve mentioned your brand in some way, and what you have in store for them. Now, it’s time to brag a little. Bio bragging can take different forms, including:
- Your education – degrees or certifications, where you studied
- Your professional accomplishments – what you’ve done to get you where you are today
- Outstanding or unique experiences – anything from guest speaking to hosting a conference to mentoring with a guru in your field counts
- Awards or achievements – those prizes you’re so proud of
Let’s look at two bloggers who know how to strut their stuff. First up is author Courtney Milan.
Notice how she mentions her starred reviews and the prestigious publications who gave them. Also, the mention about making not one, but two, bestsellers’ lists; that’s bragging while giving valuable info to the reader, too—it says she’s an author worth reading.
And here we have Meghan Telpner. She wows the reader with her extensive list of credentials and experiences. Like Courtney, she establishes her authority and credibility. Her lifestyle blog and business mean business.
4: Your eCommerce Bio Needs a Creative Touch
Just because you’re creating a professional bio for your blog or business’s About Page doesn’t mean you have to be all seriousness and “professional” about it.
Adding in a bit of creativity or whimsy helps the reader get to know that there’s a lighter side, a human face, to your eCommerce business.
This is especially vital if your brand projects a hip, cool, or fun impression to the customer or reader. It’s also fairly essential to anyone whose brand is a personal one, instead of product-oriented. When selling yourself, you want to be seen as someone worth buying.
Let’s look at two “brands” that put the whimsy to wonderful work in their bios.
Christy Hui’s brand is all about tea, and not just the stuff in Grandma’s teapot, either. Her brand 9 Dragons Tea is luxury tea with a capital “L,” selling for thousands a package. That’s some serious business.
And yet, her bio is fun. It’s “brimming” with creativity. Using tea-related words like “zest” and “fruit-bearing”, it creates a picture of a fun-loving woman you just might want to join for a pot of tea and conversation.
Remember author Mia Sosa, from our first section? She’s back, and this time, we’re looking at another section of her About Me page.
Mia has not one, but three bios on that page: the bare facts we’ve already shared, a “serious’ bio in the middle, and a very unserious one to lead off with. Here’s the first paragraph.
Menudo, middle school, and romance novels give you an idea of the type of person Mia is, and a bit of what you might be able to expect from her romance writing. It’s also a great way to introduce herself to otherwise new readers.
5: Your Professional Bio Needs to Be Personal
While a whimsical, creative touch can bring a bit of humanity to your eCommerce blog or About Page, adding some personal info to your bio brings a whole lot more.
It’s perfectly fine to mention personal details about yourself, your interests, your “outside-of-work” life. It really helps your readers and potential customers get to know you.
Some ideas of just how personal to get without going into TMI are:
- Snippets about your family
- Hobbies, interests, and favorite diversions
- Favorites such as sports teams, movies, TV programs, books, magazines, podcasts, YouTubers, and other things you’re a fan of
- Dreams, goals, personal values, personal mission statement
The two examples below have cleverly combined personal and professional, so that you get a fuller picture of the personality behind the brand.
We know that John has an apparel brand, and we also know that he’s an animal lover, a gardener, and a baker. He’s also a family man. Penny’s got herself a good owner there, and Jupmode’s customer’s have a good company founder, too.
And now, Preethi Venkatram, of Harry and David’s blog. We don’t know much about Preethi’s personal life with this bio, but we know her personal values and mission because she has expertly woven it into her author bio. See for yourself.
Your eCommerce Blog, Your Business, and Your Bio
Your blog is a vital part of your business and your brand. Your bio puts your personal and professional stamp on your blog in a way that little else ever could. Here are some last tips to ensure that your bio is as good as the rest of your blog content:
- Keep it short. Unless you are writing a full About Me page for your entire site, your blog author bio should be 300 words max.
- Write in third person. Or not. Many professionals use the third person point of view for their bios. We’ve seen, however, with Mia Sosa, that first person can work well, too. Just be consistent. And if using third person, use your name and not just “he/she” repetitively.
- Include a CTA. While not all of our examples do this, if you have something you’d like the reader to do, or a product you’d like to promote, your bio is the perfect place to tell them about it. See John, Meghan, and Courtney’s bios above for inspiration.
- Focus on valuable information. Remember, the purpose of your bio is to introduce you and your brand to those who don’t know either, and to those who want to know more about you. Give them info that helps them decide if you, your blog, and your brand are something they want to support. Weed out those not in your target audience with your bio.
Here at CopySmiths, we’re all about eCommerce blogging. We do it for eCommerce businesses. We also help eCommerce business bloggers like you through our CopySmiths ezine, CopyZine. It’s full of informative articles just like this one.
Join the CopySmiths family and get the know-how you need to make your eComm site the best it can be, from your bio to your best-selling products. CopySmiths and CopyZine can get you on the road to eComm blogging success today.
Share on LinkedIn:
