Profile vs. Bio

[Former_Member]

Hey everyone,

Just curious about a few things regarding the profile and bio for shops...

I know it's been suggested to let your customers know who you are in both. I'm just wondering what the probability of people reading either of these. I've seen some incredibly long ones and some straight to the point short ones.

I'd really like to hear everyone's input.

[GraniteMountainGems2]

I've seen people refer to a "bio" on Etsy lately (like in a listing), but was wondering if I am missing something. I only see the announcement at the top of the shop, and the profile. Feeling kinda silly...

And yeah, I always wonder if shorter or longer is better. I have a hard time keeping things short, LOL!

[Zehland]

I'm with you, jKistlerStudios. My profile is a long-ish one. But I'm not sure about the bio either. I thought we only have a profile? Where do we find the bio to fill it in?

I've heard that some people will check the profile before buying. When I look at my analytics, it looks like 16% of people check out my profile when visiting for the first time.

[Former_Member]

Oops! Sorry ladies. I meant Announcement vs. Profile!!

[TheSilverBranch]

Well I always took it to mean that the profile is about you - who you are, what you like, etc. Announcements I typically see are regarding the actual shop, or about why you are creating or selling the items in your shop.

[TheSilverBranch]

I prefer short and sweet profiles and announcements. I never really read the War and Peace length profiles I come across. But oddly enough, I like long item descriptions. It's all preference.

[GraniteMountainGems2]

TheSilverBranch says "Well I always took it to mean that the profile is about you - who you are, what you like, etc. Announcements I typically see are regarding the actual shop"

yes, that's how I see it too.

What I don't read are the super-loooong announcements. Granted mine isn't really short, but I've seen some ridiculously long ones from supply shops. But I have to say I tend to be suspicious of a shop with no announcement and no profile filled out. Makes the shop feel less personal.

[Former_Member]

I think the announcement at the top of your shop is more for search engines, that's where you put the words that matters for browsers to find you and the profile is more a friendly intro about yourself, kind of a mini resume and I think it should reflect you and/or your shop, it's a very personal tool and only you can decide what to put in it. That's just my 2 cents...

[SubtleHarmony]

I agree about the announcement being a good place to put terms for search engines (at least that's what I've heard) and so our announcement begins with a list of the types of items we sell. There's really nothing in the announcement about "us" - I put that stuff in the profile. I did add links in the announcement area to the former shop (changed shop names), facebook, twitter, blog, etc. It's a fairly short announcement but unfortunately there's still the need to click the read more button.

Our profile is much longer. I'm sure not everyone would read one that long, but since this shop is run by two people (me and my husband) we wanted to mention something about each of us. I also wanted to include something about what led to making the things we offer in the shop. I made some changes to the profile a few weeks ago and I'm sure I'll rewrite it again at some point. I doubt I'll make it really short, though.