When I discover a blog for the first time, it’s rare that I will look at the posts on the home page. Instead, I will usually click straight onto the About page, as this will hopefully tell me about the author and the general theme of the blog itself. If I’m pressed for time, I’ll often make a quick decision based upon what I see there as to whether I wish to delve further. They are also a place where I will go if I want to ask a blogger a question that isn’t related to any of their posts.
Today I noticed that a number of people had clicked on my About page and came to the realisation that it is in need of some serious updating, particularly as the rest of my blog has undergone a huge transformation recently, and I have gained a number of new followers.
In order for me to do this, I had to think about what to include, and with the process came a whole list of ideas of things that I look for when snooping around other peoples efforts. So, before I update my own, I thought I would add to my ‘Blogging Advice’ series and discuss tips for creating a great About page…
Esssentially, the About page is what will draw in potential readers and make them want to find out more. While it is important to remember that there are no right or wrongs in any area of blogging, in my opinion there are three main questions that need to be answered:
Who am I?
This is fairly self explanatory – who are you? Give the reader a little insight into yourself. This shouldn’t be your life story and doesn’t need to include a description of your daily routine and bowel movements, but an interesting short and snappy biography will establish an immediate connection.
Why am I here?
Why did you start your blog? What brought you here? You’d be surprised how many people will have had similar experiences and can relate to your journey.
What is my blog about?
Each blogger, and therefore each blog, is unique, but with millions of blogs out there you have to be able to stand out from the crowd. What makes you unique? Why should anyone read your blog? Some have themes and focus on a niche. Others chop and change on a daily basis, depending on the mood of the author. Regardless, it’s important to make a big fat statement that explains what the reader should expect from you and your musings. What do you stand for? What do you believe in? For example, if your passion and predominant focus of the blog is to talk about your new found love of crocheting exciting hats for your pet cat, then say so.
However, it doesn’t stop there. Once the reader knows who you are and what you do, there are lots of things that you could include that may inspire them to check out even more:
- A picture or two. Some may want to see you and your cat sporting a rather fetching hat.
- Links to a few of your favourite and/or your most popular posts. Give readers a reason to stay on your blog.
- Published a book? Include a link to your Amazon page.
- Also have a vlog? Include a video.
- Have a newsletter? Include an opt in.
- Links to your social media sites.
- Testimonials. Of course, you shouldn’t include a list of everyone who has retweeted you during #SundayBlogShare (yes, a shameless plug there) or a note from your mother or husband authenticating how great your blog is, but if you have been featured somewhere or have worked in collaboration with others, then be sure to put in the relevant logo.
- Humour, where appropriate. If someone makes me laugh, (or brings me cake for that matter), they’ve immediately got me on board.
Ultimately, the About page is a guide to you and what you have to offer. Keep it short, keep it snappy, keep it interesting and make it look good.
Right, I’m off to update my own!!
What about you? Have you got any tips for creating a great About page?
You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog and don’t forget to hop on over to my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks , my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks
Don’t even know what I put on my About page – guess I need to update!
Haha – me too. Got a bit distracted with the post instead…
What do you think about the overall look, feel and function of my blog/page? I have done some renovations lately. Is it easy to get around and use? Feedback welcome.
It does what it says on the tin… It’s defintiely the shortest About page I’ve ever seen haha! Definitely need a bit more info though…
Thanks. I will add more.
I haven’t touched mine in two years now. I guess maybe that is a bloggiversary goal (sometime this month) LOL π
Ooh that’s a good idea! Let’s start an About Page revamp!
Thanks for the advice π Now for a little tweak!
Thanks! Hope it’s useful!
Would you mind letting me know what you think? If you have the time? π If you don’t no worries! I called my about page ‘The life of a young seminarian.’ Thanks again.
Short, snappy and to the point. It tells me who you are, what you do and suits your blog. Like the pic too!
Thanks very much! π People do like to see the personal touch I think, that’s why I included the photo.
I agree – I always like to put a face to a name…
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Like Suzie, I also check out blog About pages – Read and action YOURS as necessary folks AND List ALL your online links so people can follow you everywhere… π
Thanks for the reblog Chris!!
Welcome Suzie – Great points – my other big beef is the lack of info on Gravatars…
Ooh yeah that’s frustrating – particularly if their website isn’t linked in…
Exactly…
Hmm. I’ll have to take a look at my “About” page. You’ve got me thinking… Who am I? Why am I here? Such existential questions for a blog page.
I was very tempted to write just a big ’42’ on my page, but i reckon lots of people wouldn’t get it…
That is the ultimate answer to the universe, right?? π
Absolutely!
Hm, I’m thinking I need a redo of my ‘about’ page. It’s nice to have an update now and then, makes your blog feel ….well…up to date! π
Ooh looking forward to seeing the update. We should have some sort of reveal party!
That sounded a bit wrong…
LOL….well we can reveal without being too revealing. π But a party sounds great!
Haha! A party is always great…
I do not have an About page. What do you think my blog is about? Aviation? I think using the full functions of the Gravatar is good enough. Mind you, my blog is orbiting somewhere beyond the orbit of Pluto, so you might be wary of my opinion. I must say, the blog parties you promoted, Suzie, helped a bit.
I love your blog, particularly the aviation posts π
The secret joke is my career was in aviation!
Haha! See, it’s not as secret as you thought!
I think you were one of the first I followed because of your content
I totally agree that the about page is the first thing I click on and if it takes me more than 30 seconds to find it then I give up. I look forward to seeing your new about page and have my fingers crossed there is hats and cats involved. I’ve recently updated my about page and would love to know what you and the Suzers think of it. I’ve decided that your followers shall forthwith be called Suzers π
That sounds like they should be in Fraggle Rock…
Nothing wrong with that – just don’t sing the rude theme song lol
Haha! Down in Fraggle Rock, grab a Fraggle by his… foot.
If it’s a foot then that’s a lucky fraggle lol
Bahahaha!
Suzie, great advice! I just updated my About Page and have included most of what you advise. Not published, so no links. Also have shortened the Welcome page message, and will feature one blogger friend’s sunset or sunrise photo each week. There are so many world-wide photos in the gallery, it may be overwhelming to scroll through all of them. Christine
Wow, that’s awesome! I’ll go and check it out! Bear in mind I haven’t followed any of my own advice and done absolutely nothing with my own about page yet!
There are so many encouraging comments on your post, maybe now you can! I got ideas from reading a ton of bloggers” Abut Me” pages! Christine
That’s great! I love the comments section of people’s posts, you get involved in a much bigger conversation!
Reblogged this on Steve Says… and commented:
What are you all about?
Thanks for the reblog!
Nae bother π
Great advice Suzie!
I feel pretty good about my “About” page but I might ad a few things on there like another picture or two.
Thanks… π
Thanks Courtney!!
That is where I have been going wrong (by giving a detailed description of my bowel movements on my blog …)! I would be interested, if you have the time in your feedback on my About page please. Kind regards. Kevin
Loooooooots of links, but it doesn’t tell me anything about you personally at all! Congrats on your book btw!
Oh, and not forgetting – what does everyone think of my About page on my music blog? http://talkaboutpopmusic.net/2015/05/15/welcome-to-talk-about-pop-music/
It was your about page that made me think of my own…
Really? Ok, so you will need a video too. Do a showreel – go on!
I read that with a father ted accent…
Would you like a cup of tea father? Lol. Fab show!
Ah go on. Go on go on. I still can’t walk into an underwear section of a department store without thinking about it
I still use this one aaaall the time http://steve-says.net/2015/07/01/heres-a-tip-sorry-not-sorry-2/
Thanks for the advice
You’re welcome!
Great advice, Suzie. I haven’t checked on mine in a while and probably should. Time for a tune up.
Thanks my lovely! I look forward to seeing it!
I’ve been meaning to refresh mine for a couple of weeks so thanks for the gentle nudge – this will be the first job for the morning!!
Thanks! I’ll hop on over and check it out later!
I’ve started setting up a series of posts relating to blog content (and set up), so this is a wonderful find. (Found it through Chris TSR’s reblog). Mind if I snag a reblog when I get to talking about laying out a blog?
I’m so sorry about the late reply – I found you in my spam folder this morning! You’re more than welcome to reblog anything, thanks!
Thanks for the reply. I know how the filters can be. It may be a few weeks yet, but having the approval ahead of time helps.
I’ve been avoiding my “About” page, because I just couldn’t decide what to put on it beyond a boring bio. Great ideas here to get me started! π
Thanks CJ! Really pleased you found it useful!
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Love this post! It makes me want to redo my about page. It seems most people stumble when it comes to making their about page pop with information that will help a visitor decide whether to follow or not.
That’s great! I read so many about pages without actually being able to find out who the blogger is and I end up switching off…
This is a good reminder that I should go revisit mine. I do have links to my social media and my best-of page, but I could probably be more specific about what my readers can expect from me and double-check that my description of myself matches me now, given that I wrote it over a year ago.
Thanks Sabina! I need to add in links and things and generally update my information…
This is so helpful! I really need to update my about page, too! Thank you π
You’re very welcome! Really pleased you found it helpful!
It took me about six months of blogging before I knew what I wanted to say.
I have had many positive comments and lots of excellent feedback since then. I guess one of the only things might be that some might consider the About Me page to be on the lengthy side. I think it accurately expresses who I am and why I write and blog.
That’s brilliant! I need to sort mine out too and make sure that I’m happy with it! Pleased that you feel happy with yours!
Good post re: the importance of the About page! Better check mine out
Thanks my lovely! I need to sort mine out too – I got a bit distracted haha!
Reblogged this on Journey To Ambeth and commented:
A great post by Suzie Speaks. It made me realise that one of the first things I do when I visit a new blog is visit the ‘About’ page. Then it made me realise that I need to look at my own ‘About’ page!
Thanks my lovely!
Hi Suzie, I reblogged this on journeytoambeth.com. It made me realise, with mild horror, that I haven’t updated my own ‘About’ page for quite a while! xx
Thanks for the reblog my lovely!
Any time! It did make me think about my own ‘About’ page – it just sort of sits there and I never really consider that people would go and have a look at it. But of course that’s what I do on every blog I look at! But I honestly find it the most difficult thing to write.
It’s odd isn’t it – it’s that process of having to talk about ourselves without feeling like we’re boring people!
It’s the worst thing ever, trying to make it interesting without being over the top about yourself.
I know. Perhaps we should all just write READ MY STUFF, IT’S BRILLIANT and then nobody needs to feel like they are being arrogant…
Ha ha, wish it was so easy. Now I’m mortified thinking of people visiting my About page first up – think it’s time for a revamp!
Thanks for your advice! Such an easy page to neglect so I’ve had a revamp and added some photos at https://theentiretyoflife.wordpress.com/about/ x
I saw! Looks great!
Thanks for this advice! I’ve been generally happy with my About page since I started my blog, but you’ve given me some ideas to spruce it up, so I’m grateful.
Shae xo
Diary of a Beauty Padawan
Thank you – I’m really pleased that you found it useful!
Such good advice Suzie…I have to admit my about page isn’t all that great!! I’ll take on your advice! π
Thanks my lovely! Really pleased you found it useful!
You’re very welcome. I was always unsure what you actually put on that page so your post has helped a lot! π
Thanks for the inspiration. I’ve had “update my About page” on my to do list for at least a year! Your post gave me a much needed nudge. I’m on it! π
Haha that’s great! I need to do mine properly too!
Thanks, Suzie. I’m definitely going to include a link to the most popular posts.
Thanks April! I need to do mine too haha – I never quite got round to it!
‘….your new found love of crocheting exciting hats for your pet cat…’ This just slayed me for a good 30 seconds LOOOOOOL
Daisy was sitting next to me as I was writing it – she’s always my inspiration!
D’awww!
I have noticed that people do click often on my About Me which is woefully in need of an update. I’ll keep your tips in mind when I do!
Thanks Jan!
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Ah! Revamping this has been on my “to do” blog list for a while now. That and toying with finally doing a Facebook Page for my blog. As far as my thoughts on what I like on “About me” pages? Be genuine and don’t apologize for yourself (ie: I don’t know what I’m doing! Or beating around the bush before stating what you really want – eg: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but no one will ever read me etc….). I’ve sort of landed on the opinion that your blog is where you can do what you want to do with confidence. Sure, you will learn as you go, but tell me what you are really about – be it writing poetry, reviewing books or journaling about family life.
And yeah – I’ll work on applying most of that when I update my page π
Please forgive my late reply my lovely! I love your advice too. I set up a separate Facebook page a while ago and it has indeed been useful for increasing my traffic, but it is something I don’t pay as much attention to as I should!
Thanks for the advice Suzie. I will have to do a bit of tweaking on mine soon! π
Thanks my lovely! Glad you found it useful!
Great tips Suzie, will have to take a look at my About page soon and see whether I might need to update it a bit, more than likely as I wrote it many moons ago!!
Thanks very much! I’m going to carry on updating mine too – I started but them got a bit distracted haha!
That’s easily done Suzie! π
Reblogged this on Love, Laughter, and Life and commented:
Here are some ways to step up your ‘About’ page. Good advice. Thanks!
Thanks so much for the reblog!
Absolutely knocked the nail on the head with this, Suzie.
The main problem I find is actually finding the ‘about me’ page on a blog. If I have to spend more than a few seconds trying to locate it then I give up and move on (usually without pressing the follow button). So I would add to your list ‘make finding your ‘about me’ page easy to find.’ Put it in your menu bar or have it as a widget towards the top of your page.
That’s spot on Hugh, I hadn’t thought of that!
Writing an about page is all jolly good if you’re a rock-solid stable type of person with some kind of vision or plan for your blog and where it’s going.Although I don’t change with the wind, I have had some significant side=swipes hit me during the 3 years I’ve been blogging and it’s been quite difficult to know how to handle these both in terms of my About page and also in my post content.
I guess for me, I’ve tried to leave the About page with the bigger, overall picture and not alter it too much with the ups and downs. My chronic health situation has gone up and down and this has been hard to address because it isn’t me and I don’t really write about it a lot on my own blog but I do refer to it quite a lot in comments on other people’s blogs and my About page establishes my credibility. I’ve been through a bit and so I can empathise with suffering and also I hope offer people with some hope and tips on how to get through hard times, especially when they don’t seem to be going away.
As you can tell, I struggle with being concise but it’s also time to go to bed.
xx Rowena
I think that because every blogger and every blog is unique, it’s always a philosophy of ‘each to its own.’ There’s no right or wrongs…
You are so right, I always pop and read a bloggers about me page, which certainly means mine needs refreshing.
#LifestyleLinkUp
Angela – Garden Tea Cakes and Me
Thanks Angela! I need to sort mine out too haha!
I think it’s about time I updated my about page too! I used to do it pretty often but of late it’s been a little lost and unloved! Must give it some TLC! Thanks for the tips!
Sarah π
Saloca in Wonderland
Thanks very much Sarah!
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Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often and commented:
Introducing Suzie Speaks!!
Thanks for the reblog!
My pleasure!
My blog Stacey is Sassy is fairly new. I never thought of adding links to my facebook page and twitter posts, or highlighting a certain post. Thanks for sharing the information π β₯
Thank you – so glad you found it useful!
Great tips, thank you!
Thank you!
This is such a handy article! I really should update my about-page! I loved you suggestions and I can’t wait to work on my own!
Thank you!
Great Reminder! I need to update!