If you’re a craftsperson, you have great talent and love to share your abilities, with weaving, creating pottery or jewelry, woodworking, sewing, and so much more. When you work on a project, you’re comfortable and confident of the result.
However, that may not be true when you have to write about yourself in order to market your wares. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be a difficult or time-consuming task. Let’s break it down.
1. Who’s your audience?
Are you writing for repeat customers, trying to attract new fans, or addressing other craftspeople? Most bios are designed simply to introduce the artisan to an audience; they don’t have to be too technical.
2. KISS—Keep it simple, silly.
Again, unless you’re creating a bio for a juried show and need to impress the judges with your knowledge of greenware and batik, keep your bio simple. Let the audience know who you are, what you love to make, and how long you’ve been making it.
3. Start with the basics.
There’s nothing wrong with a bio that begins with, “Hi. My name is____________ and I love to make and sell____________________.” Be sure to add the “sell” part, because if you’re like most craftspeople, you do love to make your wares, but you also enjoy paying the bills.
4. Strut your stuff.
This could also be called establishing your bona-fides. How long have you been doing this? Were you formally trained in your craft? Have you won awards? Were your pieces chosen for prestigious craft shows? How many pieces do you make in a week, a month, or a year? You can put all of that in just a few sentences, like this:
“Ever since I took my first pottery class in __________, I have loved making painted and glazed water jugs. One of my cobalt-blue jugs won Best in Show at ______________. My work has been featured in_____________ magazine and on the _______________ Web site. Each month, I make twenty-five unique jugs, all hand-decorated and triple-fired.”
5. When in doubt, cut it out.
You don’t have to tell your readers about every single craft fair you ever attended or list all the online courses that you’ve ever taken. You want to keep readers interested, not give them a laundry list of minutiae.
6. Start plump, end lean.
By that I mean write down everything that you think might be important or interesting to your audience. Once you have six pages, read through everything and start pruning. See if you can get six pages down to three, and then go through again and see if three pages can become two—or one.
7. Always link up.
Be sure you provide links to your gallery page, your blog, your Facebook page, your Etsy store—wherever you advertise or sell your wares. It’s a big digital universe; you want to make as many connections as possible. Think of your bio as another of your finely-crafted items.
A good bio will help you sell more, reach more potential customers, and grow your business. If you need help, ask a professional writer or use one of the craftsperson bio templates that are available. All you’ll need to do is add the decorative touches.