Give Your Twitter Bio a Boost

As I'll show you tomorrow, your bio on Twitter is key to attracting high-quality followers. Does yours need a boost?
Twitter allows a whopping 20 characters more than the standard tweet for your bio, so try to differentiate yourself from other artists in a maximum of 160 characters.
In your Twitter bio, tell us about your interests so that we want to follow you. Intrigue us. Make us want to know more. Make us laugh.
For inspiration, here are some of my favorite artist Twitter bios, which I feature in the 2011 edition of I'd Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion.

Park ranger turned fiber artist, out to change the world, one felt hat at a time—Carrie C. Mulligan, @ccmfelthats
The Cycling Artist—London based professional artist, computer geek & perpetual academic—Tina Mammoser, @tina_m
If you like conceptual art, think about honking—Michael Mayer, @studiomayer
Using hammers and a torch to make the world a more beautiful place—Wendy Edsall-Kerwin, @wtek

Can yours compete? Share it here or point us to some of your favorite artist bios on Twitter.

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47 thoughts on “Give Your Twitter Bio a Boost”

  1. Would love to have comments on how I could improve and boost my bio
    Stone Sculptor, carver, lettercutter – creative artist inspired by wildlife who loves to shop at the quarry

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      Jennifer: I don’t think you need the word “creative” in there. Otherwise, I think it works.

  2. I worked really hard to keep mine to 160 characters. I don’t think it says a lot about my art, but it says something about me and my interests.
    “I grow organicallly, cook from scratch, read like a maniac, and work with paper mostly. I compost. And I run. When not avoiding it, I write a little.”

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      Elizabeth: Tina’s comment below could be helpful to you. She’s right that it’s hard to see from this that you’re an artist.

  3. Got excited for a 5 minute task I could do on my coffee break… and I’m in the post! heehee! Thanks Alyson.
    Elizabeth, if you don’t mind a comment the one thing I’d say is people won’t even know you are an artist. Remember Twitter is folk from all different backgrounds, they won’t necessarily know what “work with paper” means. I had to click your avatar to see if you are an artist or a writer (and wouldn’t have assumed either if you weren’t on Alyson’s blog).

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      Yeah, but do you tweet about mother and wife stuff? Does that need to be in there? Love the rest!

  4. Okay, I need all the help I can get. Following is mine – what say you fine friends?
    Former city-slicker printmaker turned tree-hugging painter. I no longer fear the flora – I paint it!

  5. Maybe not specific enough, but mine is “inspired by dogs” I work both as a pet portraitist and offer holistic services for pets.

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      Beth: I’d love to see you add a little more personality. “work as” and “offer” could be supplanted with something juicier.

  6. Simply delighted by the shout-out, Alyson. I wouldn’t even be on Twitter if you hadn’t assigned giving it a try as homework! Thank you.
    Sometimes, I consider warning potential followers: “Also, complete hockey nut.” But I hate to dilute the message. And, followers will figure out the hockey nut part soon enough. No need to spill all right away, I figure. 😀

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      Carrie: Yeah, we can’t get everything in. I’d have to add my football obsession, gardening, and cooking – not to mention the cats.

  7. Pingback: High-Quality Connections on Twitter — Art Biz Blog

    1. I love the snow globes and “has a creative inspirapreneurial mindset” part! Although the “creative” might not be necessary.

  8. Thanks Alyson (and thanks for the encouragement, Amantha) — Alyson, I think I’d better go read the thread about art and mothering. I did take out wife and mother, and think professionally it makes sense, but I felt like a bad mother doing it! Never want the kids to feel unimportant (and mine are young adults). Hmmm…. another conversation…

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      Julia: The reason I thought you might not need it is because 1) that’s probably not the focus of your tweets (wife/mother) and 2) it doesn’t distinguish you.
      IF, however, you do tweet a lot re those topics, throw them back in, but maybe with a twist.

  9. This is going to be a challenge…I always avoid writing bios! But here goes: Formerly a New York girl, currently a Midwest girl, hoping to be a Southwest girl…the one constant? My cameras.

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      I like it, Deb. You could also say: Past: New York, Present: Midwest, Future: Southwest (?) . . .
      Or “Was, Am, Will Be”

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      I don’t know why husband/father work better here than mother/wife did for me with Julia. Is it sexist on my part?
      Why do you use Husband/Father? Do you tweet about these things?

  10. “Web design enthusiast, editor, writer, consumer of books (both paper and e), craftypants, science nerd, thrower of frisbees for Huxley, dreaded millennial.”
    I worry that the bit about my dog is superfluous, but I think it’s funny. Is it only funny to me?

    1. Nadine, I like that you’re trying to keep it light. My instinct, though, is that the bio’s too long (or maybe more that there’s just a lot thrown together in it?), and that since we don’t know Huxley is a dog (vs. a school — like in an ultimate frisbee team), maybe just drop it out. And also, what do you mean by “dreaded millenial” to describe yourself? May be a common term, but I’m not familiar… Hope this is helpful!

  11. Hmm, I redid mine but it’s tough to try and be relevant and amusing at the same time. Not sure I quite managed it.
    “Highly opinionated artist that still shoots film and spends too much time in the dark(room).”

    1. hmmm… one other thing Dana. When I go to filmisntdead.blogspot, it shows me a “Mega Site of Bible Studies”. Doesn’t seem to have anything to do with photography. Am I missing something?

  12. Hi Alyson – this is a tardy reply to your Twitter bio posting. I’m busy building my new website (the current one is a bit broken!) and starting my Delight Detective blog – and thought “now is the time to jump into Twitter!” Yes!
    Thanks to your great post and everyone’s comments I crafted this bio:
    Artist and delight detective who promotes a happy, YES filled life through color, fiber, words and laughter. Founding member of The Glue Stick Society.
    Cheerio from Port Townsend, WA! Frances

  13. Ok, your post inspired me to revisit my bio. Here it is as of today:
    My soap looks beautiful and makes you feel great in the shower. No, you can’t marry it, but you can pick out some bars at [this is where Twitter automatically inserts my website address].

    1. Alyson Stanfield

      Ruth: Looks good, but I’d like to see it be a little more personal – a little about yourself. Right now, if I saw that, I’d think you’d just try to sell me soap constantly. Does that make sense?
      IOW, I wouldn’t use your bio as a sale pitch.

    2. Point well-taken. How about:
      You can take the girl out of the laboratory, but you can’t take the science out of the girl. My latest experiment: handmade artisan soap. It’s chemistry + art.

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Get a transcript of episode 182 of The Art Biz (Rethinking Mailing Lists for Artists) followed by a 3-page worksheet to evaluate the overall health and usage of the 3 types of artist lists.

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