Your Bio is the Center of Your Digital Universe

August 27, 2014

“All roads point to Rome,” they say… Well in the world of real estate marketing, all roads should point to you.

The whole purpose of blogging, social media, business cards, networking…of marketing, in general, is to get the word out to potential customers that YOU, and only you, offer the goods and services they need, and that they shouldn’t waste their precious time looking elsewhere. You want them to know who you are and what you can do for them. That is the purpose of your personal bio, and that is what makes your bio the single-most important, most often used, and most powerful marketing document you will ever write.

Aside from a face-to-face meeting, your bio is often your best, if not only, opportunity to convince potential clients that you are the person who can best help them. Put yourself in the mind of the client… Imagine spending hours looking through websites and the countless numbers of often generic, cookie-cutter agent profiles available on the Internet these days. What would YOU want to see? Wouldn’t you be drawn to the agent who offered a compelling, vibrant image and a well thought-out, comprehensive yet personable profile? Don’t be just another boring page on the Internet. Be the agent who grabs and holds the attention of the consumer, and you will get the phone calls.

To get started, go with the classic “Who, what, where, why and when” approach.

• Who are you? Where do you come from? What makes you interesting?
• What do you do? What are your specialties? Do you work with buyers or sellers? Both? Do you know a lot about vacant land or short sales?
• Where do you operate? What’s your market area?
• Why are you the best person to work with? Why do you care about what you do?
• When did you start doing what you do? How much experience do you have?

If you can answer those questions, you’ll have the foundation of a decent bio. Throw in some personal flare, maybe a quote or an anecdote, and you might be able to make it a great bio. Once you’ve got that, along with a decent headshot, you need to direct attention to it at every opportunity. Every blog post you write, every new listing you put out, and every e-mail you send should have a link to that bio.