Writing a quality real estate bio is surprisingly difficult.

It’s a balancing act. You want to share personal details without sounding self-absorbed. You want to explain why you’re the perfect person for the job without sounding like an advertisement. And, as always, you’re striving to be professional while still letting your authentic personality shine.

So, no, writing your real estate bio is not easy. But I’m here to make it as easy as possible for you. As a professional real estate writer, I’ve written dozens of agent bios, and I’ve come up with a bulletproof real estate bio template for you.

But first, a few ground rules…

Real Estate Bio Ground Rules

There are 5 ground rules to keep in mind while writing your real estate bio.

Rule #1: Focus on Your Unique Audience

What does your audience want to know about you?

In most cases, they’re simply looking for assurance that you know your stuff and you can get results. They may also want to learn a few personal details so they can feel some level of personal connection. Everything in your bio should be focused on providing answers for your audience.

Your bio is also an opportunity to qualify clients. Use your bio to appeal to people you want to work with, and don’t worry if that discourages other people from contacting you. You only have a limited amount of time; use it to serve people in your ideal market, and let another agent handle the other clients.

For example: If your chosen real estate niche is helping empty-nesters downsize, focus your real estate bio toward that market. Explain how you help sell the maintenance-heavy 4-bedroom homes for top dollar so your clients can live the good life in a carefree condo. You don’t need to try to simultaneously appeal to first-time millennial buyers.

For goodness sake, don’t be one of those agents who tries to appeal to everyone. There’s just too much competition for that “strategy” to work. You’re effectively competing with every single agent in your market when you’re open to anyone and everyone. Instead, pick a sub-market and become the go-to agent for that niche. You’ll be competing for a smaller market share, sure. But you’ll have far less competition.

Rule #2: Every Sentence Must Be Relevant

Let’s face it; people now have the attention spans of goldfish. To keep your readers’ interest, keep your bio 100% relevant to them. As you craft each sentence of your real estate bio, ask yourself, who cares? If the answer isn’t my ideal audience cares!, that sentence has no place in your bio.

Rule #3: Stay Local

Real estate is a hyper-local business. Your reader should know within seconds which community you serve. And community references should be sprinkled throughout your bio.

Rule #4: Be Authentic

You do you! If you’re a natural storyteller, craft an origin story with your bio. If you’re analytical, stick to the facts and explain their relevance. Trying to be someone else is a recipe for disaster when your clients meet you and you don’t match the person they met online.

Rule #5: Your Bio’s Not Complete Until Someone Else Proofreads It

You can read and re-read your bio a dozen times and still miss a typo that will jump out at everyone else. Proofreading your own work is nearly impossible because you know what you mean. So as you’re reading, your brain filters the words for your meaning. To catch all the little grammar errors and make sure the bio reads well, you need a proofreader who isn’t in your head; they will see the writing separate from your intentions.

Real Estate Bio Suggestions

In addition to the 5 Ground Rules, I have 3 suggestions for you.

Suggestion #1: Write Your Bio in the Third Person

Which of the following statements reads better?

My discipline, dedication, and hard work have resulted in over $50 million in sales and made me one of the most in-demand, well-respected agents in the business.

OR

Stephanie’s discipline, dedication, and hard work have resulted in over $50 million in sales and made her one of the most in-demand, well-respected agents in the business.

The first statement probably came across as boastful. But the second statement just sounds impressive. Most people don’t want you to toot your own horn. They want to hear how great you are from a third party. Writing in the third person makes your accomplishments sound less braggy.

If you’re concerned about losing some of the personal touch by having a third-party perspective on your bio, you can offset this with a video introduction on your website. The introduction would be less about your accomplishments, and more about how excited you are to help your buyers or sellers close their real estate transactions quickly and smoothly.

Suggestion #2: Strategically Work Your Photos

As a real estate professional, you need a professional headshot. A photo taken by a friend isn’t good enough to represent your brand.

But that doesn’t mean your photo needs to be stuffy. Feel free to take your photo shoot out of the portrait studio. Outdoor shots in business casual attire come across as modern, personable, and still professional. You could also incorporate your community by having your photos taken at a local landmark.

And, please, keep your photos current. If the photo is more than 5 years old, it’s time for a new photo. The last thing you want your new clients thinking upon meeting you is oh, I expected her to be about 10 years younger.

You might get additional brownie points with your audience by posting a semi-candid secondary photo (if this bio is going on your website). If you’re promoting yourself as family-friendly, a family photo would be a nice touch. If you’re all about giving back to the community, consider posting a photo of yourself doing some volunteer work.

If you need new headshots, but can’t afford them at the moment, consider getting an AI real estate agent headshot while you budget for professional headshots.

Suggestion #3: Keep Your Paragraphs and Sentences Short

Today’s readers panic at the sight of a wall of text. And viewing a bio on a phone or tablet makes the wall look even more imposing.

Keep your content bite-sized. Think short sentences (most sentences under 20 words) and short paragraphs (5 sentences is pushing it).

Your full bio should fall between 250 and 500 words.

PS: I’ll also show you how to write a short bio at the end of this post.

The Killer Real Estate Bio Template

There are five parts to my real estate bio template:

1. Open with Your Differentiator
2. Demonstrate Your Local Expertise
3. Provide Relevant Stats AND Explain What They Mean for Your Reader
4. Show Some Love for the Community
5. Close with a Call to Action

Let’s take a closer look at each part.

Part 1: Open with Your Differentiator

Start with Why should your clients choose you over your competitors? What makes you different?

Your differentiator (also called a unique value proposition or unique selling proposition) states clearly and concisely why you are the best person for the job.

Ask yourself, What things can I do better than my competitors, and which of those things best serve my clients? Here’s a diagram showing the sweet spot for your differentiator.

Also, your differentiator should include your full name and your community. Who you are and the area you serve should be immediately evident.

Keep it simple and straightforward.

Part 2: Demonstrate Your Local Expertise

What makes you a local expert? Did you grow up in the community? Were you driven to learn everything about your new community when you moved there?

This is the place to expand on your differentiator and really show off your unique services. It’s also the place to start getting a little personal as far as why you chose to live in your community.

This section may be several paragraphs, but that’s ok because you want to drive home the facts that 1) you know real estate and 2) you know the area!

Part 3: Provide Relevant Stats AND Explain What They Mean for Your Reader

Why should your clients care that you closed 50 transactions last year? Or that you’ve sold $60MM of real estate over the course of your career? If you have a high volume of transactions, explain that the experience has made your systems hyper-efficient. If you have a high-value portfolio, explain that you have the specialized experience the luxury market requires.

Average days on market and sale-to-list ratios are also relevant stats. Are you the listing agent who gets homes sold quickly? The listing agent who gets top dollar? Or maybe you’re the buyer’s agent who negotiates the best deals.

You don’t need to give all your stats. Focus on the one or two stats that most support your differentiator.

This is also the section to explain your professional certifications and designations. Use the full designations and explain what they mean in terms of benefits for your clients. For example, don’t just say you’re an ABR. Your clients don’t know what an ABR is. Specify that you’re an Accredited Buyer’s Representative with specialized training in negotiating on behalf of first-time home buyers.

Part 4: Show Some Love for the Community

I love to tie personal information, like hobbies, in with some love for the community. It keeps your personal information relevant. If you’re a runner, talk about how you run through specific parks or neighborhoods. Or share your love of supporting local artists at local museums and events.

This is also a perfect opportunity to talk about community volunteer work. Everyone wants a real estate agent who’s actively working to make the community a better place to live. So shout out your favorite local charities and community service projects.

This is also a great place to mention your local affiliations. And to remind your prospective clients that you have industry connections in the local market that will make the entire transaction seamless.

Part 5: Close with a Call to Action

End strong by inviting your readers to contact you. Be clear on who should contact you and why.

Thinking of buying or selling? Call me! isn’t good enough. Give them a reason to contact you. Tell them to contact you for a free custom CMA or for a free guide for first-time buyers.

Notice What’s Missing from this Template…

There is no fluff in this bio template. Every sentence is entirely necessary and relevant.

There’s also no mention of your business goals. Your business goals don’t matter to your clients. They don’t want to be just another transaction on your way to netting a million. Any talk of real estate goals should be based on your clients’ goals of buying or selling.

And there’s no alphabet soup of professional designations. Your clients don’t know what “ABR, CRS, CDPE, MRP, MA” means. A designation or two after your signature can carry some weight. But for your real estate bio, only mention the designations relevant to your clients. Mention them by their full name, and explain what that designation means to your clients.

How to Write a Killer Short-Form Real Estate Bio

What if you just need a couple lines for a brief bio? Maybe you contributed an article to an industry publication and the publisher needs a quick author bio? Or you’re being credited for speaking at an industry event, and the promoter needs a few sentences explaining who you are.

It’s easy to pull a short-form bio from your full real estate bio.

Simply open with your differentiator and close with a call to action. Leave out parts 2-4. So simple, but so effective!

Need a Sample?

If you want to see how this all comes together for a perfectly polished real estate bio, I’m happy to share a real-world sample with you!

Just enter your email below, and the sample will be delivered to your inbox in just minutes!

Still Struggling?

If you still can’t find the words to write your own real estate bio, it might be time to call in the big guns.

You can outsource your bio to a professional real estate content writer (like me!). The writer will ask you several questions about yourself and your business (most of which have been covered in this post). Then they will craft an effective bio for you.

In most cases, you can get a professionally-written bio for under $200 (I’m currently offering custom bios through my Etsy shop). The best part is that this will probably be a one-time fee. Most professional writers will turn over the rights to the bio to you so you can update it as needed. Every year, simply update your stats as needed to reflect your career growth.

Whether you write your own bio or hire a professional writer, I encourage you to take action today. Writing your real estate bio is a task that often falls to the back-burner and stays there. Don’t spend another day with a sub-par (or completely missing!) bio. Cross this item off your to-do list TODAY!

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