For the past few months, some of us at Rasor Marketing Communications have found ourselves knee-deep in drafting and editing several hundred bios for one of our clients.

Naturally, over time, we have come to develop a pretty efficient and thorough process for developing consistent, yet personal bios that convey just the right amount of professional and personal information. And I’ve learned a few things that I would like to share. Some tips, if you will, on what I believe makes a good bio- what to include and what you might NOT want to include :

•  Keep it brief, but include enough relevant information to demonstrate your background, experience and skills. Ideally, this would be two to four paragraphs for most people.
• Consistency is key. Especially if you are drafting bios for several individuals with the same company or organization. Create a template that can be easily adapted to be customized for the individual, yet consistent enough that readers know you are with the same company. I am partial to our agency bios and particularly love the Fun Fact(s) at the end that give people a glimpse into our personalities.
•  Personality plus! it’s a good idea to include some personal information to make your bio relatable. But not too much.  During this process, we edited a bio that, while hilarious, wasn’t exactly the kind you would want to post on a website or include in a media kit.  The details found in this person’s bio revealed a disdain for politicians, a love of hiking and drinking beer, and hobbies that some people might have found a little polarizing. So, while it was funny to read, it did beg the question of, “is this really the professional persona this person would like to present to the world?”

Happy drafting!