eWomenNetwork Blog

Guest Post by Gail Z. Martin, President, DreamSpinner Communications

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at eWomenNetwork profiles.  I’ve reviewed hundreds of profiles out there.  Some profiles make me want to pick up the phone and call the person right away.  But many of the profiles are not nearly so exciting, not as attention-grabbing, not as likely to get a call or an email from a prospective client.

What makes the difference between a “wow” profile and one that just doesn’t get a response?  You might be surprised.  It isn’t fancy degrees or experience with big-name companies.  In fact, what catches my eye is something that could be working for everyone with a profile on the site:  Personality.

Most of the profiles I see on the eWomenNetwork site and other sites really don’t give me a sense of who the person is.  I don’t get a sense of personality.  I don’t grasp what they can do to make my life better.  There’s no clear explanation of how their product or service makes some kind of transformation for their client, if they even describe their product or service.

On the other hand, there are some profiles that I’ve seen out there that would make a wonderful introduction if they were a keynote speaker at an event, but they don’t show the benefits for me as a reader that would make me want to contact the business owners.  I might walk away feeling, “Wow that person has won a lot of awards and they must be very important and they’ve really achieved a lot.  Good for them.”  But it doesn’t make me want send them an email because I don’t see what they’re going to do for me.

So the first thing in making your profile magnetic to the type of clients that you want to attract is to truly make it personal with your passion for your subject.  This is where you become focused on benefits and not just features.

If you give me a list of bullet points that name your products, you have given me a list of features.  If you give me a list of bullet points about how I will feel or what will be better in my life after I’ve used your product or services, you have given me a list of benefits.

You want your profile to be benefit oriented so that the person reading down through your profile can hardly wait to get to the contact information because they’re saying, “I want one of these.  I want this in my life.  I want to make those changes.  Wow.  How do I get it?  Where do I sign up?”  They’re not going to feel that urgency to contact you if your site is all about you.  It’s got to be focused on what’s in it for them.

Your profile has to be passionate.  It needs to be personal.  One way to make your site more powerful is to share what got you started in this business in the first place.  What did you want to do better?  What did you want to change?  What did you set out to do or how do you make a difference?  That needs to shine through your profile.  Infuse the profile with your passion, and with the benefit that the reader is going to get out of working with you.  If you do this, your profile will stand head and shoulders above most of the profiles, not only that are on eWomenNetwork, but on all of the online groups.

Your profile needs to have some other very basic, very valuable information.  It needs to have your name and your company name, as well as an email address that you check frequently. Make sure that you have your phone number and your website listed.  Have a good, professional photo that makes you look friendly and welcoming.

Now moving down into the body of your profile, think “benefit oriented.”  Think about the problems that you solve for your clients or what your product does to make the people’s lives better who buy it.  Focus on what they get out of it as opposed to what you might want to tell them. They want to know what’s in it for them.  Think about your benefits more than your features.

Let your passion shine through and help us see you as a person.  So many of the profiles out there are so bland.  They’re so lifeless.  There’s just nothing energizing about them that makes us read them and go, “Wow.  I want to meet that person.”  They’re just boring.

I’d also suggest that your photo be fairly recent so that if someone meets you they’ll recognize you. I just had to renew my driver’s license and I guess that’s the state’s way of making sure that you’re not forever sixteen.  Make sure that the photo makes you look good and is a professional and recent photo.

Spice up your profile with a link to a business-related video you’ve posted to YouTube, or an audio greeting.  Create a link to a free download on your web site to give people a reason to click through to your home page.  When they request that freebie from your website, now they’ve opted in, which gives you permission to stay in touch with them. Give them a reason to get in touch with you now.

Your profile is the first step toward getting to know all of the fabulous women who are a part of eWomenNetwork.  Make the most of your eWomenNetwork profile so your ideal prospects and potential partners will be attracted to you.  Don’t be shy about finding other members whose profiles attract you and introducing yourself to get the conversation going.  You might be surprised at what can happen!

Join Gail Z. Martin 6.7.11 at 1:30pm CST on Success Institute to learn more about “Working the Room: Six Figure Tips to Maximize Your Networking”