Creating A Waiting Family Adoption Profile: Do’s and Don’ts

Creating an adoption profile can feel like an overwhelming and daunting project. But as you get into it, you’ll find that it becomes an exciting step toward welcoming a child into your family.

Use this handy guide to help you easily and efficiently create a great adoption profile that shares your personality and style with the expectant parents.

Tips To Create A Great Profile

DO:

DO Be more intentional with fewer words – take time to consider what is most important to share with the expectant parent
DO Leave room for pictures – large, engaging photos that will catch an expectant parent’s eyes and make your words feel stronger and more sincere.
DO Keep word count between 1,000 to 1,500 words total
DO Use headings such as the following for your pages:
- Dear Expectant Parents
- Our* Story
- Meet (Adoptive Parent 1)
- Meet (Adoptive Parent 2)
- Our Home & Community
- Meet Our Family
- Our Work
- A Few of Our Favorites
- Thoughts About Parenting
*if single, you may simply replace pronouns throughout
DO Include unique, fun facts – share anything that might set you apart

DON’T:

DON’T Overcrowd the pages with too many words – too much text on a page is overwhelming to a reader. The quality of your words is more important than the quantity.
DON’T Write more than 3 paragraphs per heading/page
DON’T Use fancy, academic-type language – instead, use conversational, casual language throughout your book
DON’T Use identifying information – preferably do not include the name of your city or area of town
DON’T Include favorite quotes or Bible verses – these can be very off-putting to some expectant parents
DON’T Overshare intimate details about your journey to becoming parents (i.e., details about infertility, loss, etc.). General statements are best used in these explanations.
DON’T Assume the adoption is already complete. If you mention the child, be sure to say “your child” rather than “our child.” The parent needs to feel in control of the process.

Tips for Photos:

When an expectant parent looks at a profile, the photos will be the first thing that captures their eye. Before a word is read, they will scan the photos and gather an impression of your family. As they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Your profile will be the single most important piece of your adoption outreach and your photos will be the best tool that you have to share your story with expectant parents. We want to help you portray your family in the best, most genuine way.

When choosing photos for your book, it may be helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

What is the focus of the photo? Is it your family or something unnecessary?

When was this taken? – is this photo outdated or does not portray the current ‘you’ (excluding wedding photos and similar)? Photos that are visibly old, grainy, or have a brown tint should not be included, no matter what memory is represented.

Why should we include it? – Photos evoke emotion. Looking at these photos should give the expectant parent a certain feeling about who you are. Do the photos share something relevant about who you are and how you live your life?

Here are some helpful tips when choosing pictures for your profile book:

Choose a great cover photo – this photo should be a high quality, fun, and loving picture without lots of background activity. You/you and your spouse should be the focus. This would be a great photo to have professionally done.

Check the quality of your photos – make sure to use photos that are clear, not blurry in any way, and focus on the people in the photos.

Include pictures of your home and community – this shows the expectant parents what your environment is like. Do not include any identifying information in these photos or text (house numbers, street signs, etc.)

Include candid photos – while everyone loves a good vacation photo, we don’t live on vacation. Make sure to include candid photos from your everyday life that show your family’s interests and hobbies.

Include photos of family and friends – incorporate pictures of you enjoying time with friends or having a family gathering to give a glimpse into the “village” that surrounds you.

Make sure at least 50% of the photos are of you as a couple and/or individuals.

Change outfits during a photo shoot – try to change up your look during any professional photos for variety.

Watch out for the following “no-no’s” that may cause distraction in your photos:

Alcohol and cigarettes
Sunglasses
Revealing clothing
Swimsuits
Distinct logos
Inappropriate gestures

Important note about cell phone photos: it is critical to use high-resolutions images.

Do not email or text photos to yourself to get them off your phones as this will destroy the quality. Instead, connect your phone to your computer using a cable and manually move the photos from the phone to the computer. If you have cloud storage for your photos, download them directly from the cloud.

How to check the quality: You may check the resolution of a photo by right clicking on the photo to look at the file properties. Anything sized 640×480 or less than 150kb should not be used. If scanning is necessary, professional scanning of 300dpi is highly recommended for these photos.

For professional photos, keep your backgrounds as neutral as possible – foliage, beach, park, etc. are great options.

Photos should come from a variety of settings and activities.

Include photos of you and/or your spouse engaging with children, showing genuine and warm smiles.

Tips for Developing a Great Layout:

Expectant parents do not want to feel like they are reading a book report when looking at your profile. Using a good flow of pictures and text from page to page makes it interesting and intriguing to read! Remember, oftentimes, less is more!

Here are some tips for developing a great layout:

Choose a layout that compliments your family. We provide you with several options. Make sure to choose one that fits you and goes well with your pictures.

Add captions to describe photos – try to include brief, but creative captions along with your photos. Instead of saying “this is a picture of our backyard”, say something that will grab the reader’s attention like, “we love making s’mores on the campfire in our backyard!”

Need a few ideas for content? Here are a few examples of lists/categories that you can use:

Favorites Lists – sharing each parent’s favorite things (vacation spot, place to take a child, holiday tradition, hobby, dessert, food to make, sports team, musical artist, etc.)

Top 5 Lists – sharing a top 5 for each parent. Some ideas could be:

5 things that make me/us happy
5 favorite family traditions
5 characteristics that define me/us
5 favorite books/tv shows/movies
Closing/Inside Back Cover:

To close your profile book, include a nice, professionally done photo of your immediate family (spouse, any other children) and a closing note to the expectant parent.