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How to write the perfect Instagram bio- Ashlyn Writes

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Date:
December 10, 2020

Author:
Ashlyn Carter

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Hey! Ashlyn here, OG copywriter for creatives—reporting for duty. 

Let's get you a message so tight you can bounce a quarter off of it. Around here, we serve up science-based storytelling strategies the creative set.  Even while raking in more than 1.26M in agency work since I've been at it, I firmly believe working from a place of rest (not hustle) IS possible—and I want the same for you. Words matter. Best be sure they work (and oui, with math) ... and know how to party while they're at it. 

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Reading time: 6 min.

Need help on how to write the perfect Instagram bio copy? Or maybe you need some Instagram bio ideas for business. I get it—that 150 character count is tight. 🙂 Today, I want to walk you through how to create the perfect Instagram bio and WHAT to put in your Instagram bio.

PLUS, I’m throwing in some Instagram bio tips and tricks I learned at Social Media Marketing World & implemented this year. These Instagram bio ideas will be great to make your Instagram bio better for 2021!

Let’s hit it!

How to write the perfect Instagram bio- Ashlyn Writes

200 million, that’s how many of us find ourselves tapping our way over to a business’s profile on the ‘gram every. single. day. And if we are spending just under about a half hour on the app every single day, is your creative small business’s profile one of the ones that they are checking out and hanging out on?

Now, yes, in some writing projects, you are going to get the luxury of having thousands of words to be able to state your case and make your point. BUT like most copywriting projects, not so much with your Instagram bio.

You only have room for a few words to really make your point and explain who you are—annndd by a few words, I mean you’ve got 150 characters, that’s it.

Let’s get to the 3 steps to write your perfect Instagram bio!

⬇️Don’t forget to click here or down below to grab your freebie— 41 Call To Action Copy Ideas!⬇️

41 call-to-action copy ideas - Ashlyn Writes



No. 1| Explain what you do in one line.

This needs to be ~sooo~ simple that a 6th grader could understand what you do.

Think of your Instagram bio as an elevator pitch of sorts. We need to first start with what you do and how you help others.

You need to say that as simply as possible.

You’ve probably heard me say something like this –> “I help creative entrepreneurs like you make more money with your words so you can work from a place of more rest, less hustle”— that is a part of my elevator pitch. It’s kind of a version of it, but I’m gonna say that so much more simply here in my Instagram bio.

Instagram Bio Copy Ideas- Ashlyn Writes

 

I’ve whittled that down to “I hook up women with words”, which is as tiny as I could get that character count.

What’s really interesting about that phrase is it’s stuck for years. There are so many times I’ve wanted to change it, but every time I’m thinking that, somebody will say it back to me or introduce me and use that phrase to explain what I do. Which I think is the ultimate compliment of an elevator pitch, that someone can say it back to you.

If they can say it— then yes, they get it. It was so easy, it was so simple that it stuck.

I heard from my friend Tyler McCall say, at Social Media Marketing World, “All social media has done is put a megaphone up to word-of-mouth marketing”.

That’s why I keep landing on that … I want you to get this so simple that you could say it out loud to a sixth grader and they would be like, okay, I kind of understand what it is they do.

 

Going in to edit your Instagram bio is pretty easy and I walk you through it on this week’s episode on my youTube channel— you can watch it here!

Related:How to Explain What You Do for a Living in 5 Steps


No. 2| Put in the right words for SEO purposes.

So let’s flesh out your Instagram bio a ~little~ bit more practically by leaning on primary and secondary keywords.

(yesss, like the type of keywords that you’re considering as you’re drafting your website copy)

Your primary keyword is going to be the keyword that you would want to show up for, or you most closely associate with what it is you do.

HubSpot recommends putting your primary keyword both in the display name as well as in your handle. I recommend just your display name. I understand the sentiment and I think if you’re just getting started, it would be great to put it in your display name and your handle. But we want to keep our handle the same across platforms. That’s what I decided to do—Ashlyn copywriter wasn’t necessarily what I wanted to pick when I went on the app. I also think you need to keep that in mind as you may pivot over the years, but definitely put it in your display name.

Then I’m gonna sprinkle in my secondary keyword throughout my Instagram bio. So we’ve got that elevator pitch portion in, and now let’s slide in a couple of your secondary keywords.

Reminder: make a little list of your primary and your secondary keywords, and then add those in.


(Pssst— I talk more in detail about primary and secondary keywords here⬇️⬇️)


When you are changing your name and adding in those primary keywords there, remember you can only change your name, TWO times every 14 days. So get really firm about what you want and then pull it in there. For changing your Instagram bio, you could update that so much more often.

Related: The Top 8 SEO Copywriting Tips You Need to Apply in Your Business


No. 3| Wrap it up with a CTA or a call to action.

Now I’m going to say something a *little* bit controversial here…

BUT I have been testing this hypothesis and working through it since 2017 and I’ve stuck with it soooooo yeah, I’m going there. 😜

I do not recommend using LinkTree or any menu focused link in your bio. Instead, I am team “change up your bio link” a lot. It’s a *little* more work, but you can do it. 😉

Whatever I am promoting or pushing is going to be that link in the bio. If this means changing it multiple times in a week, that’s okay, it’s pretty easy to do.

I actually first wrote about this for HoneyBook in 2017, while it’s so natural to think that you’re spoiling your follower with a bevy of choices and ways that they can engage with you and new information, the whole point of that CTA is to nix that analysis paralysis and give them one single focus or step to take when they land there.

As they’re scrolling through Instagram, they’ve got a million distractions going on, they click on your profile. I don’t want them to have to then click on a link and they get a whole new menu of different things that they could click on.

If you need to do some testing to figure out what hyperlink works best in Instagram for that audience, then do that.

Again, worth the work.

➡️➡️ It is paramount that you can give your reader a single sole step to take and focus them towards that conversion. Otherwise, we’re gonna risk losing them in transit. Back to that analysis paralysis, I knowwww you know the feeling.

social media and content marketing funnel- Ashlyn Writes

So in this step, I want you to clean up your CTA copy and change out that link and if you need to roll through that different CTA copy in your Instagram bio itself, then go for it.

Maybe you want to lead to one of your content hubs, a podcast page, a YouTube channel. Maybe you want to lead directly to a tiny offer or your homepage or a freebie that you offer. And, like I always say, test things out.

Related: The Secret to GREAT Instagram Captions


Two Bonus Instagram Bio Strategies:

No. 1| Get colorful in your profile pic

(and I say this as the queen of my favorite colors are neutral and neutral)

I really think it has benefited me to put a pop of color in there. It’s something that I was a little nervous to do but I think it helps, I’m keeping it.

No. 2| Adopt a string of emojis

We know that visual information is relayed at light speed—use that to your advantage and utilize emojis in your Instagram bio for those random 1 and 2 character slots. You have the opportunity to use any type of emblems or symbols that you want people to see and think of your business, almost like your brand mascots. There are so many emojis, the likelihood of there being an emoji that communicates that for your business is pretty high.

I use these emojis constantly: ✏️💙🧡📧🍾🥂

Example: I use champagne as a visual reference to communicate welcoming someone or celebrating a launch… I use these over and over again and again.


If you want call to action snippets of copy that you can use, then click here or down below for your free download: 41 Call to Action Copy Snippets. This freebie is FULL of 41 different arrangements of words that you can use not just for your Instagram bio and captions, but across your website, across your sales pages, and MORE.

Now you’ve got your Instagram bio working when you can’t or when you’re not on the app, how can we make sure that your email copy is doing the same? Click here to watch this video where I’m taking you through three of my tried and true strategies. 

Here’s to working from a place of more rest, less hustle. 🥂

41 call-to-action copy ideas - Ashlyn Writes


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How to write the perfect Instagram bio- Ashlyn Writes

Reading Time: 7 Minutes Reading time: 6 min. Need help on how to write the perfect Instagram bio copy? Or maybe you need some Instagram bio ideas for business. I get it—that 150 character count is tight. 🙂 Today, I want to walk you through how to create the perfect Instagram bio and WHAT to put in your Instagram […]

12/10/20

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