At least once a month, I revisit and overhaul my Linkedin bio. Mostly because I’m constantly honing my niche, and refining my pitch.
You see, the worst thing is to labor over your profile, and then do a ton of ‘outbound marketing’ through comments and posting content – and get a bunch of views, and no leads.
That means there’s a hole somewhere. And usually it’s because my bio is off.
Usually because I have the ‘curse of knowledge,’ and I’ve skipped a step for my audience.
Case in point was my bio a month ago; I thought it was amazing. But I wasn’t getting any leads. And so I spoke with a coach, and he pointed out that I’d missed a crucial step of talking through the pain points.
I’d spent too long talking about my services, and not enough about the pains and the dreams of my target audience.
Darn it!
And I’m in branding too! After all the lessons and pointers I constantly give my clients, I fell into my own trap. (Hence the value of talking to someone else to help you read the label on the outside of your bottle.)
And then a client reached out to me and asked to learn more, because ‘I don’t really understand what you do.”
That did it.
And then I stumbled into an amazing profile, by Michelle Barry Franco. And as I read it, I realized that it had powerfully pulled me in, and inspired me to keep going through to the end.
Reeling, I went back to the beginning, and realized that she had used a structure.
I instantly grabbed her bio, copied it into a table, and tried to see if I could break down the talking points into a template.
And it worked!
I rewrote my bio from scratch using this new template, and think it turned out pretty well! You – and future leads – will be the judge of its effectiveness.
Now granted, there are as many ways to write bios as there are people on Linkedin. So if you’re struggling to write something more interested than ‘Exceptional ability with Microsoft Word’ and listing other apps you’re good at, this could really help you.
So I reached out to Michelle, and asked her if I could use her bio as inspiration for this blog. She kindly agreed, and mentioned that she’d even involved a professional consultant to help her craft her bio.
(Confirms for me even more that there’s gold here!)
So here’s an amazing LinkedIn template, courtesy of Michelle, with her and my bios for a breakdown:
- The Dream you have for your client
- Background and client problem
- Your proof, credibility, and/or experience
- Your method, program, or services
- Tie it back to the dream
- Final call to action
The Dream you have for your client
Michelle
World-changing impact happens when we share our best ideas with clarity, confidence and conviction. My mission is to embolden every thought leader, mission-driven company leader and team member with the communication skill and mindset that allows them to communicate with ease, care and strength.
Dominic
Success as a public speaker happens when all your efforts (on and off stage) work together. When your audience becomes passionate members of your tribe. My mission is to empower world-changing speakers to capture their captive audiences, and create a living that brings them the freedom to dream again. You have a career of experience, and a newfound passion to ignite change.
Background and client problem
Michelle
I started speaking in high school after a family tragedy left me searching for a way to use my experience to help others. I earned a Master’s degree in Speech Communication and taught at the college level for over a decade. After working in insurance and then high-tech during the dot com era, I realized that I wanted to commit my professional life to helping others use their voice to make a positive difference in our world.
Dominic
Here’s your biggest problem: Your audience is ready to get involved after your talk. But, you have to leave immediately. 10 of them huddle round you, and block off everyone else. One superfan isn’t letting anyone get a word in. The majority of your audience are hemorrhaging away, forgetting everything you said… How many could be ripe for coaching, workshops, your new online course, or your free guide? If you could just get their email? Instead, you’re losing them. The event planner can’t get you the email list. Every event is starting from scratch. All of it is keeping you up at night, dreading the future, racing to book another event.
Your proof, credibility, and/or experience
Michelle
Since 2008, I’ve had the honor of coaching many C-level executives, award-winning founders, thought leaders, business creatives and TEDx speakers. I’ve facilitated training for companies and nonprofits in a huge range of industries from financial services to technology to education and health care. I’m proud of the rave reviews we receive as a company for our training and coaching.
Dominic
I get it. My family business was in motivational speaking. In mid 2019, I realized that my mission for helping wildly passionate speakers needed to come front and center. I’m taking 15 years of trial and error, and 1000s of hours of attending conferences, building websites, and testing ideas, and partnering with you.
Your method, program, or services
Michelle
ENGAGING COMMUNICATION TRAINING: “Michelle’s training was thought-provoking, engaging and informative.” CAPTIVATING & INSPIRING SPEAKING: “Michelle was the best presenter of all the sessions I attended. Very engaging, passionate and sincere.” THOUGHT PARTNERING: “Michelle is one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with in any field.”
She’s even used quotes to support the ideas!
Dominic
You need to start connecting with people now. Capture your captive audience. I help you fill up your mailing list, create content to connect with people, and help you thrive, without stressing out.
Tie it back to the dream
Michelle
My keynote and breakout presentations engage and motivate audience members to connect with their own powerful voice and use that to delight their audiences and become the kind of presenters and communicators who light up their teams, client meetings and the world with their ideas.
Dominic
I’ve written a short guide that helps you with your #1 missed opportunity that you can instantly fix, without hiring me. It’s called #smartevent. Can I send it to you?
Final call to action
Michelle
I’m honored at the impact I get to make by helping incredible leaders make a real difference in the world. If you are ready to unearth your brilliant ideas and share them with the world, let’s talk. ☎ (415) 226-6707
Dominic
Connect with me right now! Schedule a free call: https://dreamagainmarketing.com/schedule-now/
As you can see, she has more evenly weighted her sections, whereas I spent more time on the pain points.
And on LinkedIn, I’ve punched up my copy with a lot more emojis and spacing.
Now give me a few weeks, and I’ll likely have some new edits and changes.
But I really like how this has given me a fill-in-the-blank structure. A framework within which I can brainstorm.
If you’ve used this, or have questions or suggestions, please leave a comment! I’d love to see how you’re doing with it.
Over to you!
