Tips for Writing a Great Etsy Bio

A succinct, clever, well-written profile is essential to the success of your Etsy shop. Your bio lets buyers see who they're buying from. Through your bio, you become a bona fide human being in your buyer's eyes. A great bio lets you toot your own horn a bit. Maybe your work has been recognized in some way. Or maybe you studied your craft at the most prestigious school around. If so, you want to make sure that everyone who visits your shop knows about it!


If writing your bio seems a bit daunting, don't freak out. Writing your bio is a process, just like anything else. It starts with writing down answers to a few key questions:




  • Who are you?




  • What's your educational and/or artistic background?




  • What do you make? Do you have a signature product? If so, what's the story behind that product?




  • What do you enjoy most about making the things you sell?




  • What are your hobbies?




  • What are you passionate about?




  • Who or what inspires you?




Armed with your answers, write the first draft of your bio.


When you're writing your bio, unless you're the queen or you play in the NBA, stick with first person: "I opened this shop because . . . ," "You should buy kneecap warmers from me because . . . ," and so on.


With your first draft complete, it's time to tinker and tweak. As you do, try incorporating some or all of these tips:




  • Say hello: If you were the proprietor of a real-world boutique, you'd greet customers as they entered your store. Do the same for folks visiting your Etsy shop. While you're at it, thank them for stopping by. It's just good manners.




  • Start strong: The first paragraph of your Etsy bio needs to seize buyers by the eyeballs to convince them to read on.




  • Be friendly and approachable: This strategy will yield substantially better results than taking the opposite tack. Also, a little bit of humor can go a long way.




  • Tell a story: An anecdote about how your business started or a story about the spark behind your store name may be just the thing to pull a buyer in.




  • Keep it short: It's your Etsy bio, not War and Peace.




  • Break your information into sections: People perusing your profile will appreciate your use of sections, with titles, to break up your information.




  • Proofread: Before you post your bio, triple-check it to make sure that it doesn't contain any spelling or grammatical errors.




  • Be professional . . . sort of: No, you don't have to wear pin-striped suits and practical pumps and drive a no-nonsense four-door sedan. But you do need to project an air of competence — even if your shop is all about fun.




The tone of your bio needs to match the tone of your shop and products. If your business is about whimsy, a stuffy bio just won't do!


In addition to sharing your story with readers, you can use your bio to include the following information:




  • Press clippings: If you or your business has garnered a nod in the media, don't hesitate to provide a link to the story in your bio.




  • Shop policies: Yes, your shop policies really belong on your Shop Policies page. But nothing's stopping you from including a brief list of policies in your bio as well.




  • Product info: If you find yourself answering the same question about one of your products over and over again, consider spelling out the information in your bio.




  • Disclaimer: If your product merits a disclaimer, you can include it in your bio. For example, if you sell vintage items, you may want to include a disclaimer indicating that your goodies are old and used.




  • Contact info: Do you maintain a Facebook page or website for your business? What about a Twitter feed? If so, include a link to it in your bio.




  • Charitable giving: Many Etsy sellers donate a portion of their take to charity. If you're one such seller, indicate that in your bio.












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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/tips-for-writing-a-great-etsy-bio.html

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