Why My Bio Stinks

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #690 Feb. 12, 2013
Publisher: Joan Stewart

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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. Why My Bio Stinks
2. LinkedIn’s Icebreaker
3. Nonprofit Annual Reports Vanishing
4. Hound Video of the Week

This Week in the Hound House:
I’ve pared my TV watching down to about five hours a week and wondering why I’m paying for hundreds of channels when there’s little worth watching. Should I ditch my TV and entertain myself with good books? Weigh in on my Facebookprofile.

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1. Why My Bio Stinks
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Don’t you hate it when you think that something you’ve written really rocks, and then somebody who you respect critiques it and
starts the conversation with, “I’m going to be frank…”?

That’s what happened yesterday when Nancy Juetten, “The Bio Doc,” was talking to me about the webinar I’m hosting on Thursday with
her on “How to Transform Your Boring Bio from Wallpaper to Wow toAttract Clients Now.”

Nancy said my bio states that I help “anybody” with free publicity. “You need to identify your target audience right in your bio,” she said. “Otherwise, people who are your ideal clients won’t know you’re talking about them. And your message might go right over their heads.”

Gulp.

Nancy, one of the nicest people I know, doles out tough love with heart and smarts.

I did a quick rewrite in my head and started rattling off the new, edited version that includes my target audience: small business owners, nonprofits, authors, speakers, experts, publicists, and PR and marketing pros.”

“That’s much better,” she said.

Before she could say anything else, I promised I’d be one of her best students and pay close attention during the free webinar on Thursday. I hope you’ll join us. It’s from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern Time, and if you volunteer, you might be one of the lucky Publicity Hounds whose bio gets a quick makeover right there on the call.

Register at here.

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2. LinkedIn’s Icebreaker
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When you find somebody on LinkedIn who you want to do business with, check out what Wayne Breitbarth calls the instant ice-breaker.

On that person’s profile page, it’s the little graphic in the right margin under the headline “In Common With…”

If you see a big circle, with your avatar on one side and the other person’s avatar on the other side, and lines within the circle connecting both of you, you’ve struck gold because you have at least one thing in common.

LinkedIn is telling you whether that person shares your skills and expertise, groups, interests and field of study. Hover your cursor over the smaller circles and you’ll see exactly what you share in common with them.

“When I was talking to an event organizer about the possibility of being a keynote speaker at a national conference, I first looked him up on LinkedIn and I saw he is a scuba diver,” Wayne said. “So am I. We quickly hit it off on a personal level once we started talking about our diving trips.”

Diving with the sharks in the Bahamas is no guarantee he’ll get the gig. “But I was able to quickly build a relationship with a total stranger, and that may lead to income some day. And it helps make business a lot more fun!”

Indeed. It pays to also mention your interests and hobbies in your profile.

That’s just one tiny nugget from all the LinkedIn jewels Wayne shared with Publicity Hounds on Thursday during the webinar “LinkedIn Update: What’s In, What’s Out & Under-the-Radar Tricksto Help You Crush It in 2013.” I recorded the two-hour session and split it into two videos. They’re available now for download, along with the big package of bonuses.

If your competitors were on the call, they may be over at LinkedIn right now doing exactly what Wayne told them to do: (I know this sounds mean) crush you.

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3. Nonprofit Annual Reports Shrinking
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Many charitable nonprofits have drastically pared down their annual reports.

Gone are the clunky, glossy and often boring annual publications, in favor of one- and two-page summaries.

VolunteerMatch opened eyes with its 2011 annual report, consisting solely of one long infographic.

Does anybody even read your annual report? Check out the article “Are Annual Reports History?”

Sandy Rees, a nonprofit PR expert, shared ideas galore on the video replay of the webinar “Failproof Publicity Tips for Cash-strapped Nonprofits to Raise Money, Recruit Volunteers & Promotea Worthy Cause.” Find out what you’re missing.

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4. Hound Video of the Week
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When a man has the flu, man’s best friend is at the ready. Take a look.