Use photos to visually tell your story

Imagine that expectant mothers’ aren’t able to read a word of your profile, will they still be able to understand what you’re trying to communicate to them? Photos are visually powerful to tell your story and highlight your main points. So be sure to include photos that help to introduce different chapters of your life. For example, include photos of you engaging in your favorite hobbies, your friends and family, your home and some fun times.

Use design to reflect your personality and style

You can’t underestimate the impact of a well-designed profile book, letter or website. Most likely expectant mothers are reviewing a number of profiles at the same time yours is being reviewed. So, how will your profile stand out in the crowd and be memorable? A design that reflects your personality and style will speak volumes about who you are without reading a word.

Organize your information

Think clearly about how you’re presenting your information so it is organized and easy to follow. One suggestion is to break it into key topics such as Home, Family, Hobbies, Dreams, etc. By organizing your information with key topics, you are able to easily convey what’s important to you.

Use titles for your key topics

Oops, that’s using words, but it’s still a great idea!!

Video

Get out your video camera and shoot an adoption introduction video. That will give a lot of insight into your personality, style and demeanor. Don’t be afraid to give a tour of your home or show a special skill or talent that you have. It will make it more memorable and engaging.

For more ideas about how to tell your story in your introduction letter (a.k.a. birthmother letter), adoption profile book and website, refer to the Teeny Peanut™ Insightful Adoption Ideas eBook which is available at www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/ideas.html. To view some examples of adoption profile books and websites or to get more help developing your adoption profile book or website, go to www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/designlibrary.html.

However, an adoption profile is not the time to tell them everything but rather to get the expectant mother’s attention in a positive way.  Keep in mind that she will be reviewing a number of profiles at the same time, so it will be an overwhelming task for her.  If there is simply too much to go through, her eyes will glaze over quickly.  So, keep it simple and easy to view. Here are some tips to do that:

Assess your space

If you’re writing an adoption introduction letter (a.k.a. birthmother letter) or developing a 12-page adoption profile book, that will guide you as to how much space you have, and therefore how much information you can include. Be careful not to crowd the page and leave some open space as it will be more inviting. The reader will be able to get your information more quickly.

Outline your key points

What are the most important points you’d like to make? Remember the key word is:  POINT.  You’re not writing a thesis or need to share your entire viewpoint on any subject. Keep it short and to the point.  That’s my point.

Edit and cut

After you’ve gone through and written your first draft, go back through it and do some editing and cutting. The first draft is generally way too long, but don’t get discouraged because it’s easier to edit than to write it from the beginning.  Ask friends and family members to also read it and get their insight. Ask them if you feel everything in it is insightful to an expectant mother or are you just rambling.

Apply the 10-second test

Imagine that you had no more than 10 seconds to view each adoption profile book page or adoption profile website page. What would you come away with? Are you able to hit your key points? Here are some suggestions to help the reader zoom in quickly to get your key information:

• Use lists – Lists are easier to scan than text that is put in paragraph format, so if you have a lot of text that can be broken into a list such as hobbies, educational history, favorite vacation spots, etc.
• Incorporate photos – Photos are like 1,000 words, so let them do the talking for you! Make sure each photo provides different information – don’t have 6 photos of you posing in front of 6 different non-descript backgrounds.
• Start with titles – Break your adoption profile book or website into sections to keep it organized, and then use titles for each section or page.
• Take advantage of captions – People tend to be drawn to photos before they read the text, so add captions to your photos to relay additional information.
• Add some “white space” – If you crowd the pages with text and photos, it gets difficult to see the trees through the forest, if you know what I mean.
• Don’t distract with unnecessary stuff – Don’t let your creativity get the best of you. Yes, it’s nice (and even recommended) to incorporate a complementary design and some supporting graphics, but don’t let it take over. If you have too much additional bling, ribbons, stickers, embellishments or color, it may distract the reader and take away from your message.

For more information about what to include in your introduction letter (a.k.a. birthmother letter), adoption profile book and website, refer to the Teeny Peanut™ Insightful Adoption Ideas eBook which is available at www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/ideas.html. To view some examples of adoption profile books and websites or to get more help developing your adoption profile book or website, go to www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/designlibrary.html.

Determine your needs

Figure out exactly what materials you will need to develop and what materials you would like to develop. Once you have determined that (i.e., website, 4-page profile book, outreach postcard), find out exactly what information and photos should be included in each item. Don’t get overwhelmed. You’ll quickly discover many of the same things can be used for different pieces with just some text modifications.

Make lists

Lists help you capture all of the possible items you would like to include while organizing your thoughts. They’re easy to review, change and update. Also, they will help to keep things simple and concise as you start to write your information in paragraph format. To help you get started with the lists, I put together a worksheet which can be downloaded for FREE at www.teenypeanutdesigns.com. It includes ideas about what specific contact information to include as well as primary topics to address….you don’t need to include ALL of them and you may have some different ones to include. Use the worksheet to jot down your initial thoughts and supporting photos. An expanded version of the worksheet is included in the  Teeny Peanut Insightful Adoption Ideas eBook.

Get input

It can be difficult to write about yourself. Ask family and friends to share their thoughts about you. Having other perspectives can be insightful and can enable you to look at things in a whole new light. Use family and friends as sounding boards before, during and after your development process. Of course, if you know someone who has gone through this process already, tap into them for their experiences and words of wisdom.

Prioritize

You could probably write a novel about everything in your life but don’t! You have limited time and resources to catch and maintain the expectant mother’s attention. Figure out what is most important and focus on that. One way to help your prioritize is to think about what you would be looking for if you were in the expectant mother’s position. Because every expectant mother is different, there is no wrong answer, but it will help you stay focused. It’s also easy to digress, ramble and to include details which really aren’t necessary at this time. So, when thinking about specific items to include, simply ask yourself, “Will this provide valuable insight into my life?” If the answer is no, then leave it out.

Good luck as you proceed with your adoption profile book or website.

For more information about getting started and developing your adoption profile book and website, refer to the Teeny Peanut™ Insightful Adoption Ideas eBook which is available at www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/ideas.html. To view some examples of adoption profile books and websites or to get more help developing your adoption profile book or website, go to www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/designlibrary.html.

Benefits of adoption marketing

Even if you’re registered with an adoption agency or working with an adoption professional, the reality is that you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket. There are many benefits to taking some action on your own, including:

• finding your child quicker
• saving a portion of your adoption fees (check with your adoption agency/professional to see what would be saved)
• maintaining stronger control over the process and outcome
• exploring more bonding opportunities with the expectant mother.

If you’re working with an adoption agency or professional, you’ll need to check with them to see if they can process the adoption if you find an expectant mother on your own. If they cannot do that for you, then you will need to find an adoption attorney to help you get through the legalities. Also keep in mind that if you are adopting a baby from another state, every state has different adoption laws so make sure that the attorney you use knows the state laws in the state you are adopting from.

Just remember that the more feelers you put out there, the more your odds are increased for bringing home your teeny peanut sooner. Check back for future blogs where I’ll share some specific adoption marketing ideas.

For more specific adoption marketing ideas, refer to the Teeny Peanut™ Insightful Adoption Ideas eBook which is available at www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/ideas.html. To view some adoption marketing material examples or to order some beautifully designed adoption marketing materials, go to www.teenypeanutdesigns.com/designlibrary.html.

Here are the advantages (and some disadvantages) of various means of contact, minimizing barriers to expectant mothers contacting you:

Personal website

If you have an adoption profile website, it makes it extremely easy for expectant mothers and those supporting her to review information about you 24/7. They are able to look at your site in the privacy and comfort of their own home (or location of choice) and at their own convenience. A website address is a great first step for an expectant mother to take, so it should always be included in any ads, mailings or postings. Once an expectant mother has decided she would like to further communicate, you should have a number of ways to begin direct contact, including e-mail address and telephone number at a minimum.

Social media

Another way to be found and relay information online is through social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace. You can set it up similar to a website or at a minimum have additional photos and information about your life. For Facebook, once you get 25 people to “Like” you, you can secure a unique address such as www.facebook.com/yourname. That address can be used much like a website address.

E-mail address

Even if you don’t have a website, an e-mail address is an easy way to contact you. The expectant mother is still able to maintain some anonymity while gaining some additional information. This is an easy contact source, especially if she is shy or is seeking a high degree of discretion. Be careful not to use your work e-mail address so you don’t get into any trouble with your employer or you reveal too much information about yourselves until you’re ready.  You can easily set up an e-mail account from a variety of providers at no charge to you. Just be sure you check your e-mail frequently or have it forwarded to an e-mail address you do check on a regular basis.

Telephone number

You want to easily be reached by a telephone number that you will answer most times of the day; many people don’t like to leave a message or don’t want to leave a number to call them back at. A cell phone number is a good choice since you can take it with you at all times.  A great feature on some cell phones is to set up automatic call forwarding that will forward the call to another number if you don’t answer it after a certain number of rings; this enables you to automatically forward it to your home or work number if you don’t answer it in time. Many landline phones allow you to forward calls also so you can forward calls to where you’re physically at, but be sure you remember to unforward it when you return. It’s ok to list multiple numbers as long as it doesn’t get too confusing or overwhelming.

1-800 number

You can’t count on the fact that an expectant mother will be in your neighborhood or even in your area code. There’s a possibility that making a long-distance phone call may be enough of a deterrent that she won’t contact you at all. To minimize any resistance or potential cost to call you, it would be a good idea to get a toll-free number in which she can contact you. You can get toll-free telephone numbers that start with 800-, 888-, 877- or 866-. Thus the caller won’t have to pay anything, and you will only pay for calls made to that number. You can easily get a toll-free telephone number by searching “toll free number” online. There are a variety of inexpensive plans to fit your specific needs.

Text address

If you can receive/send text messages, you can indicate that. While it limits the amount of information that can be exchanged, it still can initiate communication but should not be relied upon as a primary way of initially contacting you.

When figuring out what contact information to include, you basically want to provide ways in which the expectant mother can reach you on her own terms, in a way when there needs to be some anonymity, at a convenient time for her, at no cost to her or in just the most comfortable way for her to start communication. We aren’t suggesting you have to have ALL of the aforementioned communication paths in place, but we just want to encourage you to think through how you can easily be reached when the time comes. We wish you all the best!

For more ideas on ways to make your adoption outreach effective, you can purchase Teeny Peanut™ Insightful Adoption Ideas ebook which is available at www.teenypeanutdesigns.com.

Or, you can make an even greater impression by incorporating a complementary design for your layout. What is that?  That basically means to incorporate color, appropriate backgrounds, matching accents, interesting layouts and creativity to make your photos and text more visually appealing. An effective design serves a number of key purposes:

Catching the readers’ attention quickly

When your adoption profile is being reviewed, most likely it is amongst a number of other adoption profiles that are also being reviewed. So, you need to create a way to stand out amongst the crowd. By having an eye-catching design, it will more quickly get the reader’s attention and help to make a lasting impression.

Reflect your style and personality

A big challenge when developing any adoption profile is to truly get your personality to shine through. When you only have words and your photos to demonstrate that, it’s more challenging. Your style and personality can easily be reflected in your design, giving greater insight into the type of person you are. Even the colors or combination of colors will be a reflection of you.

Complement your photos and text

No matter how carefully you select your words and choose your photos, it can still be improved upon to reflect who you truly are. Imagine that you took your photos and hung them on a white wall. The room is still bland no matter how fun the photos may be.  Then add some paint, wallpaper and perhaps some interesting accessories.  Suddenly the room comes to life and shows so much more than the photos.

Case in point

The first adoption profile I designed was for Linda who was looking for an expectant mother and had been waiting for quite awhile. I worked with her to ensure the photos reflected her story and the text encompassed everything she wanted. Once we got the content done, then I went to work on a design that fit her style. The first thing she commented on was how I had captured her personality in the design I created, so it made her presentation even more impressive and insightful. As a result, she was the only single person selected amongst a large selection of couples. We believe the design helped to really show her warmth, fun nature, light-hearted attitude and priorities in her life. Within a few months, she brought her daughter home.

For more examples, go to www.teenypeanutdesigns.com to see a variety of designs that were created to make a lasting impression.