Ok, it’s to the point where I have so many online profiles I don’t know what to do with them all. It would be great if one of the profiling services caught on and the majority of sites started linking to that. There have been a bunch of attempts but the marketplace is still completely splintered and every sites wants their own database of users, so your stuck repeating the same bio over and over and over and over again. On the plus side, it’s easier to acquire more links and present a stylized or custom marketing message for each web community than it used to be.  Some things to ask yourself to make sure your getting the most out of your profiles include:

Does it have a call to action (CTA)? This doesn’t have to be a sales pitch, but you should give some hint at what you would like your visitor to do after reading about you. The simplest call to action is just “if you need professional XYZ services visit my website www.websitehere.com.” It’s surprising to me how many profiles I read that don’t even say what the profile’s author’s website is about, much less direct viewers to visit it.

Is it short? People don’t spend that much time reading profiles, it’s mainly clicked on by people glancing or scanning through, so you have to get to the point quick. You can write a longer profile, but many sites have character limits and you’ll still want to have some form of CTA near the top.

Is it unique? The Internet is often referred to as de-humanizing, so put something unique in your profile and let them know they’re looking at a real person’s profile not a robot, some quirk, something that sets you out from everyone else.

Do you include a good picture? If you’re building a business or online community use a good professional photo of yourself or an avatar that represents who you are and what you do. People are visual; don’t forget the photo.

It’s possible that each of your profiles may be viewed thousands of times if you’re a member of an active community so the next time you fill out a profile be sure to give it some thought and don’t be afraid to use different profiles for different sites. Corporate or professional sites may do better with more formal third person language while blogging directories or other communities may give better results with a first person perspective with a little humor thrown in.

This is Israel Rothman, I have done a great deal of editing here but let me take credit for this one little nugget all myself: ask yourself: “So what?”  when you say who you are, what you do, SO WHAT?

Whether your website is a sales site or a government information site, the purpose of the site is usually to be used.  Tell people to use it, and add the answers to the “so what?”

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