How to Make an Adoption Profile

How To Make An Adoption Profile

As you start thinking about making your adoption profile, you are likely confused about what to do first and want to make sure you are not wasting your time or your money. No matter how you are matching your adoption, you want someone to tell you what steps to take in what order so you can save yourself time, and money and, most importantly, make your adoption profile stand out from the crowd. Right? Well, today, you are in luck because I am going to break down for you the 5 steps to creating your adoption profile no matter your method of matching.

I am so excited to dive into today’s blog because I know that this is going to be incredibly helpful for you no matter if you are self-matching, independently matching, private matching, using an adoption agency, adoption consultant, or even using an adoption attorney. Keep reading as I walk you through how to make your adoption profile by giving you the five steps that I walk my 1:1 clients through inside The Adoption Profile Masterclass.

Step 1: Get Clear On Your Story

The number one problem I see with adoption profiles is that hopeful adoptive families feel like they need to share every single thing about their life. When that happens, it actually just clutters up their profile, so just like most things in life, we need to stay focused on the main point. It’s easy to want to share every little detail about yourself, but that can be overwhelming for expectant mothers. Instead, it would help if you shared your story in bite-size pieces.

When I talk with expectant parents and ask them why they picked this family versus another, they often say that they didn’t choose a family because it was too hard to get to know them. They also say that they don’t choose a family if their adoption profile is ‘screaming’ at them. Expectant mothers are already processing many emotions, so being super clear on your story is critically important. I teach my clients how to do this through The Adoption Profile Clarity Builder System, which is designed to help you do just that, get clear on your story.

Step 2: Know How You Are Going to Share It

Once you are clear on what your story is, then you need to know how you are going to share it. There are common patterns of the different profile elements that you need to be using based on your method of matching. You need to be really clear about what you're sharing because the content that you're going to create needs to be fit for form.

If you're matching via self-matching, I have a secret tip for you. Based upon my conversation with expectant parents and asking them how they find someone to match with, they often say that they find someone to match with on Facebook. They do that either through receiving social media ads from Facebook, from hopeful adoptive families, or they're seeing people in adoption groups. So if you're self-matching, the first thing you need to do is have a Facebook profile that is specific for adoption and that is set up to treat it like your adoption profile. The second thing you need to do is to have a website, so they want to go learn a little bit more about you in-depth. The third thing you need to have is an adoption profile video.

Step 3: Determine What Elements to Make

First, let’s define what an element is

Next, let’s determine what elements you're going to make whenever it comes to sharing it. These elements can be pre-described based upon your prerequisites or pre-prescribed upon the agency partner you're using to match with. If you're self-matching, you can use the success path that I have identified by talking with expectant parents about what their expectations are but knowing exactly how you're going to share it. Knowing what profile elements you may need to make is really important because the content that you created in step number one needs to be fit to a purpose-based on those elements.

For example, if you are on your phone and you are scrolling through a Facebook group looking for potential expected or hopeful adoptive families to match with, you want to get just a little bit of information about them. This helps you determine whether or not they meet your basic qualifications. A few questions to consider include:

Do you meet the basic qualifications you're looking for?
Are you in the right state?
Are you a married or single couple?
Are you a stay-at-home parent or a working parent?
What are the facts about your family?

Once the expectant parents read more about you, then they're going to click out and go to your adoption website so that they can learn more about you. You want to give them content that is fit based upon the element that they're into the right level of depth. The key takeaway that I want you to understand when it comes to step number three is that the elements are important and what you put inside of those elements really are important as well. Be clear on how you are going to share it, and use that to help you determine the aspects of your adoption profile. If you need help with this, I have a system that I teach my clients to use here too, but the heart of it is choosing where do you feel comfortable both in real life as well as in digital formats to share your profile.

Step 4: Make the Elements

Now it’s time to create the elements of your adoption profile. There are some elements you can do an okay job of making on your own without any help from a professional. But it can also impact the quality of your adoption profile and the speed by which you match. I have proven it time and time again with my clients. I have clients that were waiting three to four years to match with an agency. When I work on their profile with them, I help clear out the clutter; we get really clear and focused on how their profiles are being shared and in what order it's being shared. So we're giving the right level of information in the suitable spaces and right places. Then the couple matches way faster. I had one couple match within two weeks after having waited four years. Now, you cannot tell me that the quality of their adoption profile is improving so dramatically. Their profile being represented also had an impact on being matched.

You can create your profile elements yourself, but know that is the risk you take, my friend. There are reasons why experts exist to help you along in your journey. So for the love of all that is holy, do not open up a MixBook scrapbook and create your adoption profile and be like woohoo, I've created it and be super excited about it. I know that sounds harsh and hard, but it is really important that you lean into the experts around you. You don't have to hire someone to create your adoption profile; you can go buy a template off of it to do a super cheap DIY.

Whatever you do, do it with purpose. Get the help that you need and deserve on your journey. Please remember that if your adoption profile is not visually appealing, if it's not clutter-free, then you're not going to do yourself any favors.

Step 5: Share Your Profile

Once you have put all the hard work in, actually share it! The number two mistake that I see hopeful adoptive families make is not sharing their adoption profile enough. The truth is, nobody in the world will chase and carry your dreams the way you will. When it comes to sharing your adoption profile, nobody else in this world is going to work as hard as you in sharing your adoption profile.

Posting on an opportunity in a group and saying that that is sharing your adoption profile is honestly just setting yourself up for disappointment. You need to create an actual sharing plan. You also need to ask friends and family to share your adoption profile. You can also run social media ads and share your adoption profile in real life. However you share it, you need to have a plan to execute it each and every week. My one-to-one clients that do that and use me as their accountability buddy. These are the ones that self-match in six months.

Remember that you are the driver of your adoption journey. It doesn't matter if you’ve hired an adoption partner, an agency, attorney, or consultant to go and help you. They aren't going to have the same sense of urgency about fulfilling your dreams as you will.

Time to Make Your Adoption Profile

Well, there you have it! How to make your adoption profile in 5 easy steps.

Get clear on your story
Know how you are going to share it
Determine what elements to make
Make the elements
Share your profile

I know that the process can seem terribly overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I have tons of resources to help you no matter where you are in the adoption profile creation process. Need help creating, editing, or sharing your adoption profile? Then check out The Adoption Profile Masterclass. Don’t forget to join us over in the Facebook group for more adoption profile discussions.

Remember, anything is possible with a plan and support, and I am here with you every step of the way!

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