Your success as a Telmie Pro will always be determined by the quality of your sessions with Telmie users, however, before a client chooses to make their booking with you, your profile must clearly present who you are and the value you can offer them.
Below are 3 ways in which you can optimise your Telmie Pro profile for the best results.
Your profile photo
Your profile photo is your Telmie avatar and the first thing that prospective clients will see when they are looking for a Telmie Pro to help them to achieve their goal. So what does your photo say about you?
Ideally, you’d want to come across as confident, credible, and professional. This doesn’t mean you have to spend an afternoon with a professional photographer, in fact, a professional-looking image can be achieved with as little as a smartphone, and daylight.
Example of the ideal Telmie Pro profile photo
Examples of suitable self-captured profile photos
Follow these steps to capture a profile photo that will make a great first impression
- The easiest way to get a good photo of yourself is to ask a friend or family member, however, you should also be able to capture a suitable photo by holding the phone and taking a self-portrait, or by using the self-timer on your camera or phone.
- What you are looking to achieve is a photo that captures your full face, ideally from the chest up.
- Leave some space between the top and the side of your head to ensure you don’t completely fill the frame. What’s important is your face, not the background, so if you can ensure that you fill most of the frame, then your background shouldn’t be a distraction.
- Face a window or a good light source and stretch your arms out while you hold the phone or camera in portrait mode. The camera should be between you and the light source. So in this example, the sequence would be a window, camera, then you. Flip the camera so that you can see yourself.
- By holding the phone in front of your face, and at eye level, your arms won’t be visible in the frame. You can also use both arms for stability by keeping your elbows close to your body rather than wide and to the side.
- Look directly into the camera lens, which on a mobile phone is usually at the top of the phone. Try not to look at yourself in the photo as that will appear like you are looking away from the camera.
- As you look into the lens, think of the following two words: Friendly and approachable. What thoughts or feelings come to mind when you think of these words? Hopefully, you’ll be smiling slightly, ensuring that your eyes stay open.
- Take a couple of photos in the exact same pose. Eyes to the camera lens, with your forehead tilted slightly forward.
- Choose the photo from your selection that you feel accurately represents who you are.
- Upload your photo as it is to your Telmie profile without cropping, adding filters, text or artificially enhancing the colours.
Examples of unsuitable profile pictures
Your profile bio
- Your Telmie Pro profile description has a 10 000-character limit, but time is precious and few people will read a thesis, so as a general guideline we advise you to keep your profile description between 150-200 words.
- You can download this 158-word profile bio template to guide your own profile description.
- Make sure that your profile bio includes the following information:
- Who you are
- The services you offer on Telmie (Specifically, what is your area of expertise or focus?)
- How you work (Set the expectation for your potential client)
- Why your clients choose to work with you?
- Your availability and/or preferred method of communication on Telmie
The key to a good bio or profile description is specificity. The more concise and precise your description is, the easier it will be for potential clients to quickly decide whether you can help them to achieve their goals. We also recommend that you do a grammar and spell-check before submitting your description.
Your profile video
Adding a profile video is optional, however, a video can be very helpful for potential clients to understand who you are, how you communicate, and quite simply, whether they like you. A video introduction is a great way to show your personality and talk about your experience with more depth and detail.
Follow these guidelines to create an engaging video for your profile:
- Make a shortlist of key messages that you’d like potential clients to know about you and your service. This could include a summary of who you are, your experience, your qualifications, what they can expect when working with you, and the outcomes they can expect.
- Once your key messages are defined, set up your camera for a practice run.
- Set the scene. Set up your camera, mobile phone, or record your computer screen with Zoom, Quicktime Player or Loom. Take a look at your background, if the room you are in is filled with clutter you might want to re-arrange a couple of books or move the positioning of your camera so that your background is empty or clutter-free. If you’re using Zoom to record your screen you can also upload a custom background.
- For optimal video quality ensure that you have enough light in the room when you start recording.
- Keep your video short. Ideally no longer than 1 minute in length. You can edit your video however you like, or upload it directly to Youtube. You can add the link to your video on your Telmie Pro profile settings page, on the Telmie web platform or iOS app.
Add a thumbnail image to your video for best results.
