It’s no secret writers need a way to stand out on all of their platforms. We only have a few seconds to convince readers to stay engaged, or they will find something else to occupy their minds.

One way to do this is create a compelling bio. It’s worth your time to craft an amazing bio, instead of just throwing one together, because your bio can help you gain more fans on so many different platforms!

Bios can be found on your website, your twitter profile, your Amazon book pages, your Amazon author page, your Facebook profile and pages, on blog posts if you’re guest posting, pretty much wherever people can find you or your writing needs a compelling and catchy biography.

Your bio should not be a shortened memoir. You need to put some serious thought into these 10 tips to create a short and sweet bio that represents you and resonates with the right people –your future fans!

1. Know what you write about

Whether you are a screenwriter or novelist, the first step to creating your online brand and finding your fans is to know what it is you write about. Among all the creative work out there, where does your writing fit in?

2. Know who you write for

Similarly, you need to be clear who you write for. Who are those people who are most likely to not just like, but LOVE, what you have to share with the world? Will those people want to know that you’re a credible expert in your area? Or will they be drawn to your spunky personality or unique viewpoint?

3. Keep it short

It will take effort and practice, but aim to include the most important information about you and your work in 75 words. The agreed upon best practice is a max of 150 words, so you have some wiggle room, but keep narrowing down to the most important details to keep it concise. Most people don’t want to read seven paragraphs of text.

4. Know which personality and tone fits

Keep your personality for your bio consistent with your work. If you write comedy screenplays, add a humorous tone to your bios. If you’re a thriller writer, incorporate suspense. Keep everything about the work you’re promoting and your bio united to create a memorable author brand.

5. Have a punchy, attention-grabbing intro

You may only have your first sentence to grab a reader’s attention, so make it punchy, like Lucy’s: “Straight talking script editor with an eye for structure.” You know what you’re going to get there. If you’re interested in a no-BS script editor, then you’ll probably poke around to learn more. If you’re not, then you know right away you’re not in the right place.

6. Use third person

It might be awkward, but it’s best to write in the third person when writing anything, “About the Author.” Everyone knows you wrote it, but it sounds weird (and a little conceited) if you write I did this and I did that…

7. You are not an “aspiring writer”!

This one’s simple: do NOT include the words “aspiring writer” anywhere on your website, profiles, or bios. If you are writing, you ARE a writer.

8. Establish credibility, but don’t overly brag

Don’t be shy here. Unless you’re a household name, you need to tell people why they should read/watch/buy your creation over the millions of others. If you won an award or were featured in a bestseller list, share that! These things help people begin to trust you.

9. Use it to connect

Use your bio to share more about you and your work, as well as where people can connect with you. A bio on your website can include your social media links, while a bio on your social media profile should include your website. That way, wherever people happen to find you, they know where else you mingle online.

10. Finish with a call to action

At the end of your bio, tell readers what to do next. What do you hope readers will do? Buy your book? Visit your website? Follow you on social media? Finish with a specific call to action to help people stay engaged with you and your work, so they turn from your readers into your fans.

Here are some of my favorite  that model many of these tips for creating a bio that turns readers into your fans.

BIO: When Dave Chesson is not sipping tea with princesses or chasing the Boogey man out of closets, he’s a Kindlepreneur and digital marketing nut. Dave teaches authors advanced book marketing tactics at Kindlepreneur.com.