5 Tips for Writing the Family Bio on Your Adoption Profile

What do you want expectant parents considering adoption to know about you? (Part 2: Adoption Profile Series)

Sarah M. Baker September 24, 2015

When writing the bio for your adoption profile, you may be stumped as to what to include. You have been taught how to write a resume and how to promote yourself using fancy buzz words. Is writing the bio for your adoption profile like a resume, a resume of your life?

While it is true that you are selling yourself, you will want your pitch to be honest, accurate, clear, and humble. It’s time to lose the upsell techniques you learned in business or communications classes and focus on writing the bio just as though you were sitting down with a new person. Here are some tips for writing your family bio for your adoption profile.

1. Be genuine.

Don’t oversell yourself into someone you are not. I have seen countless adoption profiles that overemphasize religion, wealth, hobbies, or other areas that they think an expectant mother will want to see from the family they place their child with. Some agencies will even tell you to put the focus on those topics. But don’t try to appeal to the masses, appeal to the one person who is a right fit for your family.  Be YOU!

2.  Use images.

The right images will speak for themselves. Captioning a great image with a short description will keep the reader “on task” and help them better understand your family. Many people learn through visual aids. Seeing your family participating in favorite activities together will “show” vs. “tell” the story.

3. Write the way you talk.

Don’t dress up your words. If you would feel uncomfortable using the words you are writing in a conversation, don’t include them. If you were face to face with the expectant mother and you didn’t have the adoption profile to introduce you to her, how would you speak and what would you say? The luxury of writing a bio in your adoption profile is that you get time to think through your words and hopefully not put your foot in your mouth.

4. If it’s important to you, include it.

Do you have a sport you play every Thursday night? Include it! Is your dog the size of a small SUV? Don’t be afraid to show him off!  Do you have a room totally dedicated to Star Wars? Guess what, someone else will think that rocks! Don’t hide who you are out of fear that the person reading your bio won’t pick you.  You shouldn’t be looking to create a profile that fits everyone, but rather a profile that is all about you, who you are, and the relationship you will build upon in the future.

5. Does it set you apart?

I have heard many funny stories about why expectant parents selected the adoptive family they did. One was because of the guitar pictured in one of the photos.  One was because of the baseball jersey that was in several photos. One was because they were dog lovers. One was because they had a bunch of kids already and wanted their child to have a lot of siblings. You may obsessively worry about the photos you are selecting and what information to share, but if you are yourself, you are bound to find someone who loves everything about who you are! Find the niche that sets you apart from the crowd and roll with it. I’m a crazy cat lady with a few tattoos, a nose ring, and an insane passion for the Cincinnati Bengals, and I’m married to a major computer geek, yet we still got selected by amazing people to parent their child!

Writing your family bio for your adoption profile may seem like a daunting task, but once the pen gets moving, you may find yourself enjoying the project. You may even learn something about yourself along the way.

(For tips on writing the introduction to your adoption profile, read more here. )

**Stay tuned for tips on other sections of your adoption profile**