What Does Your Agent Profile Really Say About You

? 7 Minute Read

Writing about yourself is challenging, especially if you’re using cold text to introduce yourself and warm up to potential leads and clients. It’s even more challenging if you’re not naturally inclined to write.

However, your bio is one of the most essential tools in your online real estate agent marketing toolkit. It’s your only chance to make a first impression in the digital world. Right now, as it stands, what does your agent bio really say about you? 

The good news is that you don’t have to be a writer by nature to draft a compelling bio. There’s a formula you can follow, step-by-step, that can work you through the process of writing and updating your bio. Here’s a formula to follow to keep your bio professional and inviting.

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Here are 11 Steps for Writing Your Real Estate Agent Bio

• State who you are but start the journey by selling your environment. Talk about why you chose to stay or move to your current location.
• Add the reason you started working in real estate in your area. What inspired you?
• Show readers how you connect with your community by highlighting any volunteer work, financial contributions, or philanthropic endeavors.
• Talk about your core values, what you believe in professionally, and the foundations on which you build your business.
• Describe what it is that makes you different from the pack. What is your unique selling proposition?

• Display your certifications, awards, and accolades.
• Include fun or interesting personal facts about you.
• Tie all the information together and reproduce it in a third-person point-of-view.
• Use a current, high-quality, professional photo.
• Let it rest, then review, edit, and publish.
• Update frequently.

You don’t want to make the mistake of confusing your bio page for advertising space. Your goal here is not to sell yourself or your services but to guide the reader to understand why you would be their most logical choice of real estate agents.  People are connected to the story. It’s the story that you tell on your bio page that will win them over or send them searching elsewhere.

Sell Your Environment First

Your first sentence is going to state who you are and where you live. For example, John Smith is a real estate agent in Las Vegas, Nevada. But your second sentence is really where your bio begins. 

Your second sentence, and two or three sentences following, is your opportunity to explain to a reader the benefits of living in your area. What makes your region attractive? Is it the awe-inspiring landscape? The upbeat vibe of urban living? The tranquility of rolling hills against a rural backdrop? The recreation? Restaurants? Parks and schools? Quaint, small-town charm? Close-knit neighbors?

You’re not directly selling, but you are pointing out why a person might want to move to that location. You’re gently leading them to a conclusion.

You’re either a native of your city and can list the reasons you chose to stay and build a career there, or you’re a transplant who can talk about the reasons you decided to relocate to that area.

Why Did You Start Selling Real Estate?

Everyone started in real estate for a different reason. Of course, there’s the money. But there’s something beyond the money that drives you. There’s a point of satisfaction in helping someone buy a home or guiding someone along in a sale that garners high returns. Some people sell for other reasons.

A former military member turned real estate agent because she understood the frustration of trying to buy and sell properties while on active duty.

A woman who survived domestic abuse started a real estate business to help other survivors find homes they could afford where they could feel safe.

What is your underlying reason? What motivated you? What is the story behind your involvement with the industry? This is also a good point to talk about what broker you’re with and why. Often, it’s because the brokerage’s practices align with the agent’s core values

Show Readers How You Connect with Community and Humanity

Another part of your story that draws readers in with more interest is seeing how you give back to your community and to charity. How do you connect? If you’re not currently engaged in any philanthropic endeavors, it’s an excellent time to consider where you might be able to invest your time, money, and energy to support a worthy cause.

For example, some real estate agents work with local programs to help shelter the homeless. Others volunteer at food banks to contribute to the solution for hunger. Some get involved in church, local school boards, community clean-up efforts, or offer financial support to charitable organizations.

Here, you’re showing your readers your heart.

Talk About Your Core Values

What is the mission statement or vision for the foundation of your business? On what morals and values do you practice? 

Some might answer faith, family, and community. Others would say dignity and integrity. Honesty, sincerity, dedication, and honor are other core values an agent might have.

Where your connection with community shows readers your heart, talking about your core values gives them a peek into your soul. 

It’s the heart and soul of your story that convinces readers to stay on your page to learn more.

Define Your Unique Selling Proposition

Something makes you stand out from the pack, and it’s your job to make that clear to the reader. What makes you different? What can you offer that agents might not?

For example, one woman became a real estate agent after working in home mortgage loan processing. She has a deeper understanding of home loans than other agents might.

Another person worked in a law firm before becoming an agent, so she had a well-developed understanding of legal contracts.

What experiences do you have, what can you bring to the table that makes you different from your competitors?

Show Off Your Success

You don’t want to tell a reader why you’re the best agent. You want them to be able to discover that by allowing them to see how you’ve become an expert in your field. This is a way to toot your own horn without sounding arrogant or like a salesperson.

For example, have you taken steps to become a Realtor® through NAR? Are you a certified luxury property specialist? Have you earned honors and awards through your brokerage? Do you have an exceptional sales record?

Take advantage of this portion of your bio to use bullet points to break up your text, making it easier to read and more visually pleasing.

Include Fun and Interesting Facts About You

Your bio page is a chance for readers to get to know you on a deeper level. It also allows you to attract like-minded individuals. At the very least, it can serve as an ice-breaking talking point based on common interests. 

For example, do you love to cook? Garden? Travel? Are you a movie buff? What do you do with your spare time that brings you joy? This is also a part of your story that allows readers to feel like they’re getting to know who you are below the surface.

Tie it All Together with Third-Person Tone-of-Voice

First-person point-of-view, in writing, is when you use the words I and me. For example, “I am a real estate agent living in Sarasota, Florida. Hire me for your real estate needs.”

The third-person point of view, however, is as if you’re talking about another person. For example, “Nicole Smith is a real estate agent living in Sarasota, Florida.” Write your bio in the third-person point-of-view. It sounds less like bragging and more like highlighting someone else’s best qualities.

Use a High-Quality Professional Photo

Your bio page is not the place for that selfie of you and your significant other, your dog, or a highly filtered photo of you in your car, nor is it the place for that outdated glamour shot. It’s important to use a current, high-quality, professional headshot for your bio and your social media.

Smartphones have excellent cameras in them, along with editing capability. But it might be wiser to invest in a professional photographer who has access to proper backdrops, understands and has the tools for lighting, and can pose you in flattering ways.

Dress and style yourself the same way you do when you meet with a client. You want them to see who you really are, and it’d be beneficial if they could recognize you when meeting for the first time.

Let it Rest, then Review and Edit

It might take you a couple of days to move through the steps, to gather the information, and sort it out on paper. By that time, you’ll have read that bio dozens of times. You need to let it rest. 

Give it two or three days without thinking about it. Then, when it’s not the freshest thing on your mind, you can re-read it more objectively, find those little typos and awkward sentences, and polish it for publication.

You might also choose to ask a family member or friend (or a few of them!) to read and critique your bio. Get other perspectives. Be open to constructive criticism and unexpected insights.

Refresh and Update Your Bio Often

At least once per quarter, revisit your bio. It’ll look different to you each time. You’ll find little things to tweak, a word or two to change, or you might have earned more designations, certifications, and awards since your last update.

If you’ve changed your appearance considerably since your last professional photo, such as cutting or dying your hair, shaving a mustache, or growing a beard. When you update your written bio, update your picture, too, if necessary.

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Additional Tips for Creating a Real Estate Agent Bio

• Use natural language. Write exactly how you’d speak. Don’t try to use fancy vocabulary or start using words like thus and therefore, if you don’t typically use them in conversation. Don’t try to sound overly professional; that can come across as being cold. Just be you.

• If you have trouble coming up with your core values, mission statement, vision, or unique selling proposition, ask your friends, family, and perhaps even clients if they could share their perspective of you with you. It helps to see yourself through someone else’s eyes.

• Make sure your written text is clean, meaning it’s free of misspellings, grammar errors, mistakes in punctuation, and that it looks sharp and professional. Your bio is a reflection of you, so if it looks unprofessional, so do you.

• The best length for a real estate agent bio is between 300 and 500 words, with 400 words being the sweet spot. You want to give the reader enough of a snapshot that they have an idea of who you are and how you tick, but you don’t want to bombard them with too much information, content that isn’t relevant, or by delving too deep into your past.

• Know when to ask for help. If you try to follow the steps to writing your bio but find yourself frustrated or overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to outsource the job to a professional.

Conclusion

Start with your location. Explain your connection to your community. Include the reason you started selling real estate and why you chose the brokerage you’re with. Be clear about your core values. Detail your unique selling proposition, and then proudly display your certifications and awards. 

Top it off with a fun fact or two that sheds light on your personality outside of real estate. Organize your information and write it out in third-person point-of-view. Have a few relatives or friends take a look and share their opinion, contributing what they can about your character. Use a current, professional photo. Then, review and edit often, at least twice per year, if not per quarter.

Above all, enjoy the process of portraying yourself in the best light possible on your real estate agent bio.

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