Tell Your Story: How to Write a Business Biography
April 20, 2009 by Rita Marshall
A business biography is a great promotional tool for a business to have, right up there with business cards and a logo. Instead of scrambling for words when you’re asked to provide a written description of your business, a well thought-out business biography comes in handy as:
Business Biographies – What to Include
Your business biography needs to “tell and sell”. It should be a little story that both entertains your reader and informs them why your business is the best choice. To help you brainstorm what your story should include, answer the following:
- How long you’ve been in business
- Why you chose your particular business
- Where your business is located
- Unique services and products you offer
- Who your customers are, including unique or well-known clientele
- Customer compliments
- Awards and accolades received from your community or industry
- Expansion or additional services being offered
- The size and staff of your business
Read over your answers and see if you can pick out a story. You’ll probably find that your business has more than one story, so think of your audience and your business goals when deciding which one to tell, the way my local weekly newspaper did.
Business Biography — An Example
In this community profile I helped polish, here, the Mitchell Advocate explains why it is the best choice for local readers instead of free news websites or 24-hour cable news. The story of this business bio is of a close-knit, small staff dedicated to the close-knit, small town they live and work in. CNN or the Toronto Star’s free website simply can’t compete in terms of knowledge or dedication when it comes to telling you everything that’s happening in town.
The business story of Longbow explains how I combined my journalism background with years of working with customers, job candidates, news sources, agencies and medical patients to develop a simple and effective writing style. I tweak the story into different business biographies depending on the situation.
Different Styles for Different Needs
Why should a business biography be tweaked? Well, a short, sweet, and memorable business bio is perfect for concluding a press release, or a piece you’ve contributed to a local or trade publication. An engaging, longer corporate profile works the best for conference or event programmes, or if you’re giving a major speech or presentation.
If tweaking, or even writing, a business biography isn’t for you, hire a writer. One way to get more bang for your buck is to ask your writer what kind of discount you’ll get for different versions of the same piece. Recently, I wrote a piece for a client who has two slightly different client bases. While the piece would’ve worked well for both, some minor tweaking made an even better piece for one of her groups. She got a “two for the price of one” deal — I charged her for time spent writing the piece, but not for the few minutes I used to tweak it into an extra version.
Final Words on Your Business Biography
Whether short or long, always end your business biography with one or two ways potential clients can get in touch with you. Update it as necessary, and don’t leave it hidden in a drawer somewhere — now that you’ve got a great business bio, get out there and use it!
Giving people the information they need, simply and effectively, is how Longbow Business Solutions connects people to the businesses trying to reach out to them. Based in southwestern Ontario, Rita Marshall writes for print and web in a smooth, informative, easy-to-read style. The results? Readers and clients who learn more, do more, and ask for more. See for yourself at www.longbowbusiness.com. Rita can be contacted at 1-800-403-9832 or rmarshall@longbowbusiness.com
Graphic by Yoshi Aka