10 items to include in a memorable author bio

Serious online authors should pay serious attention to their article bios.

To a great extent, your bio is your brand. If it falls short, you risk being perceived as a novice, an illiterate hack, an oddball or something else that will prevent people from standing in line to publish your work.

Here are important tips for creating a brand-enhancing and memorable bio:

1. Your name. It should always be the same, and the same as what you call yourself on your social media sites and elsewhere online. Consistency makes your brand strong and memorable. To state the obvious, your title should always include a first and last name. If you hold a Ph.D., be careful about using “Dr.” in your name—it will impress some, but put off others.

2. Your title. This should also be kept the same. Some authors change their titles to fit better with the site for which they are writing. I think this is a mistake: If your title is that far off, you could be writing on a topic you don’t truly understand, or your title itself should be changed.