Your professional biography is the crux of your brand. It’s a core part of your professional image and is one of the first things leads will read. Real estate agent bios answer critical questions for leads: What can this agent do for me? What makes this agent different than the rest? Why should I use their services? Hubspot, the authority on inbound marketing, says “the ‘About Us’ page is one of the most important pages on your website… [but] it happens to be one of the most commonly overlooked pages.” From professional headshots to video content, what does your agent bio say about you?
Real estate agent bios contain boilerplate language: In other words, the content in your final professional bio will be the basis from which you can write more professional copy when the need arises. Your final bio will be your reference when building out additional content for presentations, elevator pitches, networking events, and even open houses.
Make sure you dedicate one afternoon auditing your resume, personal experiences, accomplishments, and anything you can think of to highlight your personal growth. You want to write as much as you can initially. To get started, create bullet points of your achievements, including volume of homes sold, listed, and/or transactions brokered.
Hint: Ask a team member or friend to conduct a mock interview. You’ll be able to dig out more information. Also, collect the other bios you have across the Internet on other websites and put them all in a single document. Take note of the differences and remember to update those sources when you are finished.
If you Googled the word ‘Abode,’ I promise your leads will be equally confused if you use it too. Be conscious of the type of language you use when writing your bio. Not sounding like a robot or angsty teenager is harder said than done. Although you could shell out cash and hire a professional copywriter, writing natural sounding content for your bio is easier than you think. Besides, according to Marketeer and Writtent, it can cost you upwards of $150 to $200 an hour to hire a top-tier professional writer!
Before you touch that Thesaurus, know that Thesauruses are dangerous! It will send you down the wrong path by electing destitute idioms for your competent anecdotal narratives. Unfortunately, Thesauruses will pick words out of context, so although I tried to convey “choosing the wrong words for your professional biography,” it came off as a painful fumble which was unable to deliver my message.
In an effort to set yourself apart, don’t adjust individual words on the fly unless you know their definitions without looking them up. When writing your first real estate agent bio, write naturally and comfortably. Be conscious of the tone and point of view.
According to an article from Realtormag.com, it’s best to use 1st person (“I grew…”) in smaller, more intimate markets, whereas it’s best to use 3rd person (“Nancy accomplished…”) in larger markets like New York or Chicago.
Hint: If you have the need to use a Thesaurus, use a Dictionary instead. At the bottom of the definition, look at the top two related words and look up their definitions. Pick the one with the closest meaning!
What to include in your real estate bio will ultimately set you apart from your competition. Your first instinct might be to list your accomplishments along with the number of transactions you’ve completed in a given year. In the same Realtormag.com article, professional copywriter Valerie Haboush champions the “humanizing approach,” which will answer “the basic stuff: What will you do for me? Will you listen to my needs? Will you help save me time and money?”
It’s important that your real estate bio answers the most critical (and often common) questions your leads want to know. Ultimately, you should be able to answer:
In addition, make sure to explain why you decided to make a career in real estate. Leads want to know what makes you passionate about your industry. After all, you are selling much more than physical property: You are selling a life-changing experience. Wlison Leung of Keller Williams Peninsula Estates mentioned in our exclusive interview that real estate was a passion passed down from his parents. Ask yourself: What makes me excited about real estate?
Hint: If you’re feeling stuck, put yourself in your leads shoes: What brings you to an agent’s bio and what information are you looking for?
Your headshot is the first impression leads will see in your agent bio. It’s important your professional headshot is just that: Professional! Make sure you are wearing business casual attire at the very least. But before you or a fellow agent picks up the camera, consider hiring a professional photographer. An expert in composition, lighting, and post-production, the photographer knows how to encapsulate your brand in a single image.
Hint: If you’ve considered hiring a professional photographer for property photos, make sure to read our beginner’s guide on real estate property photography first!
Lastly, make sure to include your contact information in a clear and easy to find location. The best location is always in the footer of your idx website, but it’s great to include your phone number and email directly below your headshot. Don’t forget to include your license number, too!
Real estate property videography and even VR tours are cutting-edge ways to capture the attention of leads. Best of all, you can even use video in your agent bio! According to Quicksprout, videos increase people’s understanding of services by 74%.
Even the Nielsen Norman Group highlights the importance of video content for real estate agent bios, “especially when it shows interesting or complex products, reports on corporate events, or showcases the personality of the CEO or other key staff.”
Make sure to read more on social media marketing for agents and to schedule a free demo today of Chime!