CHALLENGE: Refresh your bio and headshot in 7 days

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This post was updated Dec. 16, 2024.

How old is the current headshot you’re using? Isn’t it funny how time flies? It may seem like just yesterday that you launched your real estate career, sat for your headshot, put together a bio and began marketing your services. 

Do that math, however, and you’ll probably find that it’s been a while since you updated these important foundational pieces of your marketing setup. After all, the agent headshot that looks nothing like the agent is something we’ve all joked about with each other.

If you’re a newer agent, let this be a lesson that you’ll want to check back on your bio often — like every time you add a new niche, earn a designation or have other significant growth. Make it a habit, and start now. Check back on your headshot at least every 3-4 years, or more often if you’re creating and updating content frequently. 

The new year is a time for renewal, not just in the natural world but in your business as well. It’s also the time when the market is heading into spring, so you need to keep it fresh. Take this seven-day challenge, and put your best face (and bio) forward.

Ready to update your bio? Here’s where to start

When I write bios for clients, they often say, “Is that really me?” That’s because over time they fail to realize how much growth has taken place in their businesses and in their professional lives.

Regularly updating your bio is an essential element in helping you to promote yourself in your market — and helping you see yourself and your potential more clearly.

Here’s your step-by-step guide to updating your real estate bio:

Gather together your previous bios, resume, CV and any other information

Update information as needed, adding new certifications and designations, new niches and new professional accomplishments like awards or rankings

Determine whether you’ll include testimonials and reviews, and identify the most compelling ones

Create a draft, then copyedit and refine it until it reads the way you want it to

Turn one draft into multiples, including long forms in first and third person and short forms in first and third person

Get a second set of eyes on your bio. If there’s no one in your home or office who can proofread, consider engaging a well-reviewed professional copyeditor from Fiverr or Upwork.

Determine what other formats you’d like to have, including video bios or a graphic bio with headshot

Update bios across all of the platforms you use including:

• Online portals
• Social media accounts
• Personal website
• Brokerage website
• Referral platforms
• Marketing collateral

Ready to update your headshot? Here’s where to start

We all have a pink-cloud past self who we picture when we visualize what we look like. That ideal self may be younger, skinnier, and less wrinkled than the person we see in the mirror each day.

The reality, however, is that your current self is the one who clients and colleagues meet when they show up to work with you. You need to look like yourself — your current self — so that you can connect with others before they see you in real life.

Here’s how to get your real estate headshot in shape:

If you’re looking to bootstrap your headshot, check out: “Need a headshot update? Here’s how to DIY in your living room”

Find a photographer in your area who specializes in professional headshot photography. Possible resources include Instagram, Google or simply reaching out to a colleague whose headshots you admire

Schedule a photography session with the photographer. Discuss the following:

Number of setups

Wardrobe options

Headshot vs. full-body photographs

Settings, including interior, exterior, formal, informal

Discuss brand-related settings, including local landmarks, luxury property, farm and land

Scope of post-production editing

Schedule professional hair, makeup and skincare appointments as required

Gather wardrobe items and ensure they are freshly steamed or ironed

Bring options for neckties, jewelry and other accessories

Schedule plenty of time on either side of your photography session so that you can be as relaxed as possible. (If you’re stressed and rushed, it will show up in your photos.)

Spend time choosing among the options provided by your photographer. Ask for a top three from trusted friends and colleagues and compare to your own list.

Once you’ve received your files, update headshots across all of the platforms you use, including: 

• Online portals
• Social media accounts
• Personal website
• Brokerage website
• Referral platforms
• Marketing collateral

Take into consideration how different styles and different settings will translate to different platforms. For example, a more informal outdoor shot may be perfect for your personal website and social media accounts, while a more professional, formal shot might work better for your brokerage’s website and referral platforms.

Now is the perfect time to do something good for yourself and your business. Freshen up your marketing so that it’s as attractive and effective as possible.