Heather Kew, RMT 
Did you know? 80% of your new clients are finding you online. But before they press that Book button, your potential clients are researching you! They need to feel like they can get to know you, trust you and like you. That is where a good biography can make potential clients feel at ease with you.
The Pic
A picture makes potential clients feel like they are getting to know a real person instead of a faceless computer. But a picture that is too casual or inappropriate can have the opposite effect. I recommend splurging and getting professional photos taken, but its not necessary. Having your photos taken in your clinic space gives your clients perspective of what its like having an appointment with you. A picture of either you giving a treatment or a professional headshot in your clinic space are best. If your clinic has a theme, such as sports or yoga, a good picture of you participating in this theme as a supplemental picture can be really beneficial. A fun picture, such as you posing with an anatomy skeleton, can work as a supplemental picture as well. The most important aspect is that your picture is professional in feel and good quality.
Getting to Know you.
Clients want to get to know more about you. Here are some questions that your potential clients are asking:
- How long have you been a Massage Therapists?
- How did you become a Massage Therapist (Schooling)?
- What kind of experience do you have? (Where have you worked - What kind of clinics or clients have you worked with?)
- What modalities do you offer?
Take the answers to these questions and make them as general as possible. Remember, your potential clients are not Massage Therapists, so we need to speak in such a way that they can relate and understand to what we are saying and not have it go over their heads. Make your answers as concise as possible, but if you think something is unique or important to you, go into some detail about it.
Getting to Like you.
To like their Massage Therapist, potential clients need to be able to relate to you. We want this part of our biography to be more about our potential client and how we can help them. Here are some questions to ask yourself about your potential clients:
- What concerns, issues, or complaints to they have that they want you to solve?
- What tools, techniques, styles, or modalities do you use to get X results?
- What successes have you had with your cases?
- What types of cases do you love to work on?
Once you have the answers to these questions, we write them into your biography as how you help your clients. Be as specific and personal as possible. If you try and cater to everyone, you end up catering to know one. So make sure you are speaking to your niche - the clients you want to work with - If you are unsure who your niche is - check out this article on Talking to your Niche.
Getting to Trust you.
Clients want to feel like they can trust you. After all, they are coming in to you, revealing their medical history and then letting you treat their body. They are trusting you with a lot. Revealing something small, but professional, about yourself makes you seem more human - not just a massage robot. Examples could be:
- When (Your Name) is not at his/her/their clinic, you can find them...
- While massage is (Your Name)'s first passion, she/he/they still make time for...
- Before (Your Name) was a Massage Therapist, he/she/they were in the exciting field of...
- Massage has been such a big part of my life and has helped me overcome...
Make sure whatever you share is comfortable for you to share and not awkward for your potential client to read. Clients will often bring this topic up as an ice breaker topic when they come in for their first treatment, so make sure it is comfortable and appropriate to talk about it a massage setting.
Some extra tid-bits on writing your bio:
Tense
If you want a more professional bio, write your bio in the third person. If you want your bio to be more relatable or casual, write it in the first person. While neither is technically incorrect, I always recommend writing in the third person.
Length
A bio that is too short feels like you don't care and are unprofessional. A bio that is too long will lose your readers attention and they won't finish reading it. Aim for 3 short paragraphs with your total bio being no more than 1/2 a page long.
Audience
This bio is being written specifically for potential clients. If you do other things, such as teach, or have other passions, write a specific bio for those ventures. Don't try and write one bio to please everyone.
Where does it go?
EVERYWHERE!! Your webpage, your brochure, your booking site, LinkedIn, your Facebook Pro page, you Linktree, etc. Anywhere people are looking at you!
Update
Review and update your bio every 6 months to include new techniques and to update your experience.
Last, but not least: DON'T OVERTHINK THIS EXERCISE! Find a couple of good bios that you like, use this formula and get it out there. You will be constantly tweaking this - so done is better than perfect!
