Archive for the Category »About «

May

The “About Me” page of a blog is often the first thing a new visitor will read. After all, they want to know who is behind the words.

They may want to know, can the words be trusted? Is the author an expert of some sort? Or, what makes the person who is writing the blog, tick?

Unfortunately, for some, the “About Me” page is the hardest page to write.

Today’s Lesson

For those who have trouble writing your about page, I’d suggest starting with the five “W”s.

Who
Here’s your chance to tell your readers who you are; a brief description of yourself. A place to show your personality. Your humor.
What
What can a reader expect to find on your blog? Now, or in the future.
Why
You could include a paragraph or two of why your started blogging. What you hope to accomplish with your blog.
When
If you want to let your readers know how often you’ll be updating your blog, you could include it in your about page
Where
Where else can readers find you? On Twitter? Facebook? Other blogs? Via a feed? Or updates via email? Don’t forget to include the links.

If you feel comfortable having your photo online, your about page is a great place to publish that, as well.

What I would advise NOT to include on your about page:

Your full birthdate
Publishing your birthdate online could lead to identity theft, as could publishing a post stating “I turned 40 today”.
Your physical address
Although some bloggers feel the need to publish an address where others can contact them, I’d suggest using a contact form or post office box instead. Publishing a physical address could lead to stalking.
Childrens photographs.
I’d also advise bloggers with children or grandchildren to be careful of the photographs they publish of children online. With so many sickos frequenting the internet, one never knows what could be done with those photos or where they could end up.

For those of you who are publishing blog posts under an alias, readers still want to know “something” about you and what they can expect to find when they visit your blog.

In the guest post by Greg Blensoe of “Positive Waves Baby”, Greg mentioned how he incorporates a page titled “100 things About Me” as a way to tell his readers a little more about himself.

Today’s Assignment

What do you like to see on “About Me” pages?

What’s on yours?

Care to share?

signature for blog post .

P.S. For earlier discussions on the about page, see the archived post “About me – The Most Important Page On Your Blog”

P.S.S. Just as I was putting the finishing touches on this post, professional blogger and social media consultant Vered, shared a link on Facebook to a post titled,”Consumer Reports: Half of Social Network Users are “Oversharing”; Endangering Privacy. It’s a great read which reiterates the necessity of self monitoring that which we share online.

Category: About, Archives, Blogging Lessons, Writing Tips 63 Comments

Apr

About Me – The Most Important Page On Our Blog

Barbara Swafford

One thing about buying books from Amazon is they let us “search inside the book” before we make a purchase. Often we will see the table of contents, get to read the first page or two, the back cover and they even have a “surprise me” option which takes the potential purchaser to an unknown page in the book. The process gives us enough information in order to make an informed decision to purchase or not.

The “About Me” page on a blog can be viewed as the same. When a new reader lands on our blog, they often want to know what they can expect, who the author is, and/or what the author’s credentials are. Even though the posts may be of the highest quality, if a visitor isn’t impressed with the author’s credentials, they may choose not to return.

An “About” page can either sell a blog, or sink it.

A good example of this would be a blogger claiming they’ll show their readers how to make money via blogging, but when we read their “About Me” page, we discover they are new to blogging and haven’t made a dime.

Today’s Lesson

For many bloggers, the “about me” page is often harder to write than a typical post. We don’t like to sound like we’re bragging, but on the other hand, it is imperative we sell ourselves and our work in order to grow our blog.

So, what can we include in an “about me” page to better inform our readers who we are?

1) Obviously, who we are.

This is where we want to tell our readers a little about us. The “about me” page is also a great place to share personal photographs. In the event we’re protecting our true identity, than our efforts need to be directed towards enticing a reader to want to stick around.

2) What our visitors can expect to read/see on our blog.

Whether we’re sharing articles on personal development, business, blogging, product reviews, photographs and/or a variety of topics, a statement explaining our blogging goals will tell our readers what they can expect to find when they visit.

3) Our credentials

If we’re an expert in a specific field, we can list our degrees, experience, etc.

If our blog will discuss business, we can tell our readers what our experience is. If we are a mommy/daddy blogger, we can explain we’re a working or stay at home parent with “x” number of children. If we’re young and have little to no experience in any given field, we need to let your readers know that, as well.

4) Why our blog is named what it is.

Many have asked me why I named this blog “Blogging Without A Blog”. In my “about” page, I’ve included the explanation.

5) Why we are blogging.

We can share a short story with our readers telling them what it was about blogging that attracted us, or how by blogging we feel we can help others.

6) Where else can we be found.

If we’re on Twitter, Stumble Upon or other social networking sites, we can include a link to our profile. If we have other blogs, this is the perfect place to link to our other sites so our readers can find more of our work. If we have authored books, a link to those books would not only help to show more of our talent, but could drive sales. If we offer an additional service, this is an ideal place to plug that, as well.

7) What is our posting schedule?

By posting our publishing schedule, we can alert our visitors how often they can expect to receive updates from us. This would also be a great time to suggest they subscribe via RSS feed or email and provide the appropriate links.

Having a good “About Me” page will not only tell our readers a little about us and what they can expect when they visit our blog, but by following the steps we’ve outlined for our readers, we can stay more focused on our blog’s purpose.

Today’s Assignment

Did you have a hard time writing your “About” page?

What information do you include?

When you land on a blog, do you look for and read the “About” page?

How important do you feel an “About Me” page is?

Care to Share?