If you are looking for bio ideas, you probably have your profile open in another tab with the cursor blinking in that box. So here it is: the lines below are sorted by the job each one does, and further down there are full bios by trade that you can copy and swap the words.
It helps to know where the rush comes from. Someone watched one of your Reels, found it useful, and tapped your name. Your bio is what they read before deciding whether to follow you, leave, or message you asking about price. The field holds 150 characters, so each line has to earn its space.
The four things a bio has to say
Before you pick a line, know what it is doing there. A business bio answers four questions, in this order:
| The line | What it answers |
|---|---|
| First | What you do, in the words someone would search for |
| Second | Who you work with, or what you fix |
| Third | Where you work and when |
| Fourth | What the reader does now |
A bio with only the first line reads like a business card. A bio with only the fourth reads like an ad. All four fit in the space, and the examples below show how.
Lines for the first line, the one that says what you do
Write the service with the word a customer would type. People search for "hairdresser", and they rarely search for "hair artistry studio".
- [Service] in [city].
- [Service] and [service] in [neighborhood].
- [Service] for people who [everyday situation].
- I help [type of customer] with [concrete problem].
- [Service], by appointment, [day] to [day].
- [Trade] in [city] since [year].
- [Service] in [city], online everywhere else.
- Just [one specific service]. That is what I do all day.
Lines that say who you work with
This is the line that separates you from ten similar profiles in the same town. The more specific it gets, the easier it is for someone to recognize themselves in it.
- For people who sit at a desk all day.
- For anyone who has tried everything and stopped halfway.
- For people who are nervous about [situation].
- For first-time parents.
- For people who eat out on workdays.
- For small businesses with no marketing team.
- Working with [audience] since [year].
- I work with [type of home, skin, hair, training].
Lines for where and when
This is where someone decides whether you are a fit before they ask. It saves you a message thread that was never going to turn into a booking.
- [Neighborhood], [city]. Tuesday to Saturday.
- I come to you, anywhere in [area].
- Online everywhere, in person in [city].
- By appointment only, no waiting.
- Evenings and Saturdays.
- Two blocks from [landmark].
- Parking right outside.
Lines for the last line, the one that asks
Pick one, and pick the one you can keep. If you take two days to answer a DM, do not write that you reply right away.
- Book through the link below.
- Prices and openings in the link.
- Message me on WhatsApp, link below.
- Send me a DM with the word QUOTE.
- Work is in the highlights. Message me any time.
- [Month] is open. Link below.
- First chat is a message, no commitment.
Full bios, by trade
These fit inside 150 characters. Swap the city, the neighborhood and the service for yours and the bio is done.
| Trade | Bio |
|---|---|
| Nail tech | Extensions and nail art in Brooklyn. By appointment, no waiting. Book through the link. |
| Personal trainer | Training for people who sit at a desk all day. At home or in the park, in Austin. Message me for openings. |
| Nutritionist | Nutrition for people who eat out on workdays. Online and in person in Leeds. Prices and booking in the link. |
| Hairdresser | Cuts and color in Camden. Tuesday to Saturday, by appointment. Booking link below. |
| Wedding photographer | Wedding photography in Portland and around. Galleries in the highlights, message me any time. |
| Architect | Apartment renovations in Chicago. From drawings to the last day on site. Message me for a quote. |
| Esthetician | Facials and peels in Phoenix. By appointment, evenings available. Openings in the link. |
| Real estate agent | Homes in Tampa and around. Licensed in FL. New listings every week, straight to your messages. |
| Dentist | Dentistry in Manchester, evening appointments. Practice in the Northern Quarter. Booking in the link. |
| Pilates studio | Reformer and mat classes in Denver. Small groups, mornings and evenings. Timetable in the link. |
If you are a dentist, there is a longer version of this in Instagram bio for dentists, with the Name field and the highlights that usually go with it.
What to take out
These five things take up room and bring nobody in.
- A motivational line with no service in it. "Turning dreams into reality" does not say whether you cut hair or sell houses. Someone who just landed on your profile wants that in two seconds.
- An emoji on every line. One or two help separate the information. Seven slow the reading down on a phone screen.
- "DM for info" with no link. If the link is right there, send people to it. If it is not, add one.
- Hashtags in the bio. They turn into links, eat characters, and take the person who tapped them away from your profile.
- Only your name in the Name field. Instagram itself says a profile name related to your content helps you show up in search, so that field deserves the service and the city. On that, it is worth reading how to show up in Instagram search in your city.
In the reference set of carousels ZapPost put together in August 2026, the Name field can be read on 114 niche accounts, most of them Brazilian. Of those, 50 use a bar, a dot or a dash to add something next to the name, almost always the trade or the subject of the account. Only four add a city, like the architect Evelyn Garcia | Arquiteta | Alphaville -SP. Adding the city is the step nearly everyone skipped.
One note if you hold a professional license. Dentists, psychologists, nutritionists, physiotherapists and other licensed trades follow advertising rules set by their own board, and those rules change by profession and by where you practice. Before you put a promised result, a price, or a before-and-after photo in your bio, check what your board allows today.
How to write yours now
- Write the service and the city, in the words a customer uses.
- Add who your customer is, in five or six words.
- Put in where and when you work.
- End with one action, the one you can answer quickly.
- Read it out loud. If you stumble, cut a line.
- Check it on a phone. The bio breaks into different lines on a small screen, and part of it sometimes hides behind "more".
Once the bio is fixed, the next problem is often silence: the profile looks right and nobody writes. If that sounds familiar, read what to do when nobody messages you on Instagram.
ZapPost delivers the carousel, the Reels script and the caption ready to go. No writing prompts, no Canva, no new tool to learn. You review and publish.
Frequently asked questions
How many characters fit in an Instagram bio?
The field holds 150 characters, and spaces count too. That is tight, so it works better to write the four lines first and cut afterwards than to try to land it on the first try.
Do emoji in the bio help or hurt?
One or two help separate the information and mark where the phone number or the address is. When every line starts with a different emoji, reading slows down on a phone screen and the words get lost between the pictures.
Can I change my bio every week?
You can, and the last line is the one worth swapping: this month's openings, this week's offer, a new time slot. The first line, the one that says what you do and where, is worth leaving alone, because that is what people recognize when they come back.
What should go in the Name field above the bio?
Your service and your city, next to your name. Your name and your handle are both searchable on Instagram, so "Anna Reed | Nail Tech Brooklyn" works better than "Anna Reed" on its own. Someone typing the service into the search bar can find you that way.