The adoption process can be quite exhausting. Forms, background checks, finger prints, home studies – you name it. And after all that, who wants to sit down and create an entire adoption profile, complete with books, a website and video? We imagine not that many people would be all gung-ho about doing the extra work.

That’s where we come in. Parentfinder works one-on-one with families to help them build and host the best possible adoption profiles. But where do you begin? What should you start preparing now to make the process go smoothly? Here are some tips to help you jump start your adoption profile.

Tip 1: Start by creating an outline of your writing. This will make it easier when you actually want to sit down and type it all out. Also, consider making lists of things that make you unique and jot down questions to discuss with your partner or coach when writing. Here’s an example.

Chapter One: Our Story

– Thank you for reading. Adoption has always been our plan.

– Love Story. Met in 2012 during senior year in college. First date was to the Opera.

– Married in 2014. Learned in 2015, we were unable to conceive.

– Adoption was an easy choice. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do, regardless of fertility.

Things to Mention in Profile

– Sara was adopted at birth, looks forward to sharing that with a child

– Super Bowl Tradition (Maybe put it into Home section, along with our Fourth of July Party?)

– Summers at the Lake House (Do you think this should go in Traditions? or Family?)

– Dan has coached youth football for five years, loves working with kids

– Love spending time at our family restaurant, been in family four generations (Does this go in Home or maybe Hobbies?)

Tip 2: After you’ve created your outline, and generally know what you’re going to write about, it may be smart to start looking around for the right photos. While you’re doing this, it would also be smart to check the file size. Remember all Parentfinder photos must be above 500kb in file size.

We recommend starting to compile photos in specific, chapter-related folders on your desktop. Start with Our Story and dig out all those original files! And then move on through all seven chapters. As a rule of thumb, you’ll want about 80% of the photos to match the text. So if you mention going to the lake house, make sure to have a picture of that!

Hopefully, by the time we’re done with editing your writing, you’ll have your photos ready to upload. That will make the process move much quicker for you.

Tip 3: Take the video camera with you wherever you go! You never know when a family event or just a walk in the park may make for some good b-roll footage. While we don’t want you giving our editing team 10 hours of raw footage to whittle down, we certainly want to have some extra footage besides you talking directly into the camera. Also, this will mean less direct screen time for you! Lots of people hate seeing themselves on video, so maybe this b-roll will be your saving grace.

Tip 4: If you are ever in doubt or have no idea what you’re doing – refer to the Quick Start Guide that was sent with your first meeting email. This will be the best place to go for examples, questions about the process or just a quick reminder of where something goes. If the quick start guide doesn’t help, shoot Kim Noeth an email. She’s our Adoptive Parent Coordinator and can answer just about any question you may have.