Your bio is not a resume. It is a positioning statement.
The difference matters because a resume lists what you have done. A positioning statement tells potential clients whether you can solve their problem.
Most freelance bios are resumes. They say: "X years of experience in Y and Z, specialized in A, B, and C, previously worked at [companies]." Nothing in that tells a client why they should choose you specifically.
The question your bio should answer
"Is this person likely to understand my problem and solve it?"
Every word in your bio should help answer that question. Everything that does not help answer it is noise.
The structure that works
One sentence: what you do and for whom.
"I help e-commerce operations teams turn scattered data into dashboards that actually get used."
Not skills. Not years of experience. The problem you solve and the person you solve it for.
One to two sentences: what working with you looks like.
"Most of my projects start with a messy spreadsheet and a frustrated team. I spend the first week asking more questions than writing code, because the right tool for a misunderstood problem is still the wrong tool."
This tells a client what to expect from the engagement and signals that you take the problem seriously before the solution.
One sentence: proof without a brag.
"I have been doing this for [companies in their industry/size] for [time period]." Or a brief mention of a specific outcome if you have one worth using.
One sentence: what to do next.
"If this sounds like your situation, [contact action]."
Four sentences. Maybe five. That is a bio.
Platform adaptation
Your LinkedIn bio is longer because LinkedIn rewards it and people expect it.
Your portfolio site bio is shorter because people are scanning.
Your proposal bio is one sentence: one line that reminds the client why your expertise is specifically relevant to their project.
Same information. Different length and emphasis for different contexts.
What to leave out
Previous companies that are not relevant to what you do now. Technologies you are competent in but do not want to be hired for. Anything that broadens your appeal but dilutes your positioning.
The bio that tries to appeal to everyone appeals to no one specifically.
The Solopreneur AI Toolkit includes prompts for writing positioning statements, bios, and LinkedIn content that attracts the right clients. EUR 12.
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