You have about eight seconds and 150 characters for your prospects to decide if they are going to continue reading your attorney biography or click to another page. In an engaging LMA conference presentation, Anne Heathcock and Mary Trice of Winston & Strawn reported on what works now in biographies.
Your Photo
Make your photo shine so that it immediately engages the viewer. It should be relatively large and not just your standard head shot. You want your photo to show personality and warmth, i.e., trustworthiness, and to convey that you’re someone the prospect wants to work with. The fact that so many lawyer headshots are still point ‘n shoot gives you the opportunity to strongly differentiate yourself.
Scan-ability
Your bio needs to be a fast read. This is so the reader can get a quick snapshot of who you are and your area of expertise, and then determine what else they’d like to learn about you and your firm. That doesn’t mean short; it just means use headings to break the copy into sections so that it is scan-able.
Extended Profile
A quick read gives people a sense of who you are and what your firm is about. When prospects want to learn more, you can have them click to an expanded version. Remember not to repeat anything people have already read in the quick-read version; don’t waste those precious 150 characters and don’t waste their time. And no more “Mr. Smith” or “Smith.” Today, we’re on a first-name basis.
The Story
You want to keep in mind that people are not necessarily going to come to your website through the home page, especially when they are doing a search on a particular lawyer or a particular area. They’re going to come in directly to your bio. So to some degree, your bio has to tell your firm’s story as well as your story.
Print Version
Think in terms of how your bio will look when it’s printed out. Prospects often print out several bios and compare them side by side. They may be comparing education, areas of expertise, experience, etc. You don’t want to lose the beauty contest because of poor readability and graphics.
Visuals
Visuals are one way to make your bio stand up well against your competition. Whether headlines, graphics, icons or even colors, think about how and where you can incorporate visuals; for example, add school logos to your education section. They’ll make your bio (and website) more interesting, easier to scan and easier to communicate your information.