For many artists, an online biography is the first point of contact with a potential collector. A well-written biography gives collectors a reason to want to learn more, putting them one step closer to a sale.

But there are several common pitfalls with writing artist bios that could cause a collector to skim over them or search engines, like Google, to ignore you.

Artsy has created over 7,000 bios, and over the years we’ve learned a few things about what online collectors find valuable. Read our guide on best practices and mistakes to avoid for your gallery’s artist bios.