The impact of a professional bio is easily overlooked, though it is likely one of the most important things you’ll ever write.
For many people, writing a professional bio for your website can be tedious and time consuming. “Hassle” may be the first thing that comes to mind. You may even wonder if it’s useful – do people read these? YES. An abundance of people read them: patients/clients, prospective clients, peers, coworkers, prospective employers, current employer, journalists, publishers, competitors, and more.
People will always read your professional bio, but will it make them care? Or will you be utterly forgettable? Will it compel them to choose you over another professional? Will it make them remember you? The answer to these questions is found in how well you know your audience and present yourself to them.
Everyone Loves a Good Story
Your bio should never be a bland recounting of your C.V. or resume. You are not applying for a position. You are (ideally) engendering trust and interest with your audience. Asking yourself a lot of questions is the first step in thinking outside the mass market box that many bios have become. What’s your story? That is a bio.
Are you the sum of your accomplishments and accolades? No one is. You are a human being, just like your patient or client, that must be able to relate to each individual on an equal level. If your bio is the first thing a patient or client reads to get an impression of you, what kind of story have you told them?
Don’t forget an engaging picture! You may feel silly, but practice in a mirror until you feel comfortable and approachable.
Your clients need to personally connect with you to trust you. While a peer may be impressed by the 50 research articles you’ve written in peer-reviewed journals, a patient is more likely to care that you are active in the community as your child’s coach, or a volunteer with a food bank, that you have children, you have seven rescue dogs because you can’t help yourself, that you knit sweaters, your favorite book is one they’ve read, or all of the above.
Yes, a patient wants to know that you are highly qualified to treat them or their loved one. They are there because they want the best care. But they also need to know you emotionally care and understand what they are going through. Everyone loves a story.
In a Walnut-Sized Nutshell: Writing a Longer-Form Professional Bio
- There’s no need to make this complicated – your goal is to create context for what you’ve done and who you are.
- You likely have a whole page to yourself, so you can expand with more accomplishments.
- Let your readers know why they are important to you.
- You also have the opportunity to distinguish who you are outside of your job.
- Don’t forget a contact form or email link to let readers easily get in touch.
- A clear call-to-action statement is integral so clients can reach you.
- Our easy-to-use fill-in template gives you all the prompts you need to create the best professional bio.
Skip the Buzzwords
In general, people do not like to be sold to, even when they need to acquire something – even medical care. Your clients have read and heard enough marketing-speak to recognize the buzzwords: uniquely qualified, superior care, utmost confidence, highly qualified, best in the field, finest quality, etc.
Even when true, these words can detract from your bio and take away from its genuineness. Pay attention to phrasing and don’t go overboard. A little bit of “highly qualified” goes just far enough.
In a Pistachio-Sized Nutshell: Writing a Short Professional Bio
- Full name and credentials
- Current role(s) or title(s) (what you do)
- Your company/practice/employer
- At least one professional accomplishment
- Your values and how they direct your career
- Your goals
- Who you are outside of work
- A dash of humor, quirky fact or a personal story
The Versatility of a Great Bio
Once you’ve taken the time to create your bio, you can maximize its effectiveness by using it for so many things beyond your own business website:
- LinkedIn profile
- Speaker profile/Lecturer profile
- Author profile
- Instructor profile
- University/Medical School website
- Hospital system website
- Facebook page for your practice
- Journal and magazine articles
- Feature stories about you
- Guest blog posts
- Networking
You can add or subtract from your bio as needed depending on how you are using it. Once you’ve created a full and engaging bio, altering it for other uses takes very little time. Some organizations will even alter it for you. If you use a template like our downloadable one, you may send them the template and let them craft the information as they wish, such as for a lecture series you are participating in.
You’ve filled out the template, but just can’t force yourself to write that bio? We’ve got you covered. We carefully craft professional bios for our clients at Points Group. We also offer this service as an á la carte affordable solution. We provide simple bio writing to a full suite of different bio styles you can use for a variety of sources, such as the lecture circuit, in journals, associations, LinkedIn and more. If you’d like to use our services to craft your bio, even if you aren’t a current client, please contact one of our content specialists. We’re here to help!
Need more help managing your practice’s website data, like bios and scheduling?
Check out our TriageTrak product. TriageTrak was designed with busy practices and healthcare systems in mind. It is a centralized data repository for your practice’s most important patient-facing data like doctor information, location information, insurances accepted, services provided and much more. It can all be updated at the click of a button—no IT expert needed—and patients and staff will have the right information at their fingertips.