Posting your adoption profile online can be a great way to find an adoption match and adopt a baby.
In order to adopt a baby, you need to connect with a pregnant woman or couple who are interested in adoption.
Sharing your profile on the web, whether it be by adding a link to your social media accounts, building your own website or joining a self-matching adoption site, lets you connect with them faster and easier by expanding your reach and raising our visibility.
Marketing yourself on the internet gives you the freedom and the potential to take your adoption journey to the next level.
It’s an alternative to signing up with an agency and having them network your profile for you for a lot more money.
But even if you are working with an agency or other adoption specialists, the extra exposure you receive complements their work rather than conflicts with it.
Sharing your story on the Internet can help you reach people you and they could never reach otherwise, especially now during Covid-19 when in-person networking techniques aren’t as effective due to physical distancing restrictions.
Everyone else is gravitating online, shouldn’t you be too?
You may have vowed early on in your journey that you would never go online. You didn’t feel comfortable putting your personal details out there or maybe you wanted to keep your adoption journey under wraps from your family, friends and co-workers.
But today, months after the beginning of your adoption search and more than a year into the pandemic, you’re starting to lose hope that you’ll ever become a parent.
You explore other options, including whether to put your profile online.
Knowing what to expect can help you navigate the challenges ahead and move forward more confidently.
Here are some of the pros and cons to consider before making your move onto the web.
Boosts your online exposure
Pro: Yes, adding your profile to the internet will help you reach more people more easily and could help you find a match quicker and more affordably.
Con: It will also attract the attention of scammers and trolls. Are you prepared for that?
Saves you money
Pro: If you find a match quickly, posting your profile online will not only shorten your wait time, it could save you a lot of money.
Con: There is no guarantee you will find a match quickly. Most matches take anywhere from 9-12 months or more. And even if you were to find a match, if it turns out to be a scam or it becomes complicated due to legal or financial issues involving the expectant parents it could end up costing you more than you bargained for.
Helps you find a match easier
Pro: Putting yourself out there on the internet will help you connect to people you would never reach otherwise.
Con: If you’re adopting on your own through independent or self-matching adoption, you will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of your journey, including handling all of the responses that come from your profile yourself. That includes the good ones (legitimate leads from pregnant women looking to place) to bad ones (fraudsters and desperate people from overseas looking for someone to adopt them).
Gives you more control
Pro: Creating your own profile and marketing it online allows you to take charge of your adoption journey, giving you the power to call the shots.
Cons: If you thought adoption was an emotional rollercoaster before you posted your profile on the web, just wait for all the highs and lows you encounter when strangers from all over the world start contacting you.
More economical than working with an agency
Pro: Finding a match on your own can be done faster and cost less than going through an agency.
Con: Agencies are generally more expensive than going solo. But they also offer more services such as support and counseling with experienced professionals, which could be useful if you don’t find a match quickly or the connection you do make goes off the rails. Plus, they’ll vet all of the responses to your profile for you, saving you the stress and aggravation of doing it yourself.
Lets you be creative
Pro: Creating and marketing your own profile can be fun to do (really!), allowing you and your partner to tell and share your story collaboratively.
Con: Just because your profile sounds or looks good to you doesn’t mean it will resonate with expectant parents. If, after posting it you don’t get results you’re looking for, it could be because it lacks heart or fails to hit the right notes.
Allows you to be more flexible
Pro: When it comes to deciding where to post your profile, the sky’s the limit. Everything from social media to adoption profile sites like America Adopts! are fair game.
Con: Some platforms are better than others. Free ones like social media networks are tempting to use especially if you’re budget-minded but they do take a bit of work to keep up to date and don’t automatically guarantee results. Paid services like self-matching adoption profile sites could give your networking campaign a boost, but they’re not a slam dunk either. When choosing a site to post on, ask yourself the following questions: how do expectant parents find the site? What kind of web and social media presence does it have? How many profiles are there? How much exposure do you get? How easy is it to find a couple?
Enables You to be more proactive
Pro: Waiting to adopt can be tortuous. Some days, even if you’re just started your journey, you feel like you’ll never find a match. Being able to take a more hands-on approach provides hope and gives you peace of mind that at the very least you’re moving forward with your adoption plan.
Con: Keeping your hands and mind busy are great for your mental health, especially if you’re feeling isolated and cut off from the rest of the world due to the pandemic. But managing your expectations is the key. If you think putting in the extra work will guarantee you a match faster and easier and that doesn’t materialize, you could be back to square one and feeling the worse for wear.
Whether it’s creating a website, linking your site to your social media account, or building a profile on a self-matching adoption profiles site, posting your parent profile online lets you take your adoption search into your own hands and elevate it to the next level. To help you decide whether it’s the right move for you, compare the pros and cons and evaluate whether it’s worth adding to our outreach toolkit.
Learn more about our adoption profile plans or contact us for more information.