Picture the scene. You’re at a party, drink in hand and with your best fake smile spread across your face. You’re thinking about a project that really needs to be done.

Aching jaw, tired feet and inability to stay away from the buffet all in check, an interesting looking chap approaches.

“Hi, I’m Jeremy’s brother, Tim. What do you do?”

*Gulp*. What’s your elevator pitch? You’re a small business owner and surely you’ll have loads to talk about, right?

“I write copy for small businesses, you know, ebooks, articles, sales materials, websites, brochures, leaflets that kind of thing…”

Yawn. Boring.

Yes, you answered the question directly, but it’s unlikely to make anyone’s heart race, and I guarantee they’ll be thinking about those sausage rolls at the buffet before you’ve finished your sentence.

What goes where in your bio

For something a little more special than what we’ve just heard, use this structure:

1. What your job is: I’m a copywriter
2. Who you help (ideal customer): small businesses
3. How you help them (benefit): sell their awesome ideas
4. The feature or how you help them: by putting their epic ideas into words that persuade, convince and make action happen.

That’s all well and good for a party elevator pitch but it won’t do for a LinkedIn bio (or similar). You’re going to need to add a few more parts to this to make it zing, pop and any other onomatopoeia you care to add.

Talk about your values

I began copywriting because I had seen so many poorly written websites, brochures and emails. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had to do something to help.

There were businesses with amazing ideas going to waste, simply because they couldn’t communicate their message. There’s no point in having the world’s best idea if nobody understands it or even knows it exists.

I want to help these businesses get their message across to the people that need to hear it. I want to do this with a human touch, without sounding like a corporate robot that doesn’t (yet) have human emotions.

Be human, use stories and humour

I think it’s fair to say that, in your personal bio, your personality should shine through. You might be able to squeeze a personal anecdote in too. Even better if it’s about why you got started, what you do now that makes you stand out or an achievement you’re proud of.

If you’ve got a great sense of humour it might feel natural to add a dash of this into your bio. Nothing too cheesy though and keep it brief.

There are so many bland bios online that are little more than meaningless jargon swamps. With a personal touch, you’re already well on your way to standing out and being remembered.

Write in the third person

Instead of writing in the first person consider writing in the third person. The majority of bios you see on book covers and ‘about us’ pages are written in the third person. This adds an air of objectivity to your bio.

Use the epic toolkit

You can craft your elevator pitch with this customisable toolkit:

Hi there, I’m a (what you do). I help (target customer) to (benefit) by (feature).

1. Talk about why you do what you do, your values and how that helps customers.
2. (First name) believes/knows that (your values). (Why you believe this). This means (benefits) for (first name’s customers).
3. A personal story or anecdote can really bring your bio alive, something that showcases your personality and values.
4. Consider writing in the third person.

Follow this guide and you’ll craft a personal bio that people remember by showing them you’re a person worth talking to.

As you evolve and grow your bio should change too – so don’t forget to keep it up to date.