Writing the about me section of your blog can be a little tricky. It can feel a bit like trying to write a dating profile to try and entice people into wanting to read your blog. But, here’s the thing, while a dating profile should almost definitely be all about you, your about page should almost definitely not be all about you.
You want to use your about page to sell your blog to your readers, to let them know what it’s about and how amazing it is. Sure, you want to introduce yourself as well and give it a personal touch, but ultimately the readers are coming to read about whatever your blog is focused on, not about you (unless your blog is all about you).
So how do get that balance between introducing yourself and introducing your blog?
Show some Personality
I’d say that one of the most important things with your about page is showing a bit of personality. You don’t want it to read like a CV or an awkward dating profile. When people read it they should be able to get a vibe of the kind of person you are, and it should have the same kind of tone as the rest of your posts. You wouldn’t want a really professional sounding about page if your blog posts are written in a funny quirky way. Try and make sure that the style of writing on your about page is similar to the style you use in your blog posts.
Start with a Hello
Like with a normal everyday conversation, you’ll want to start with a nice hello. This doesn’t (and often shouldn’t) be a straight up “Hello”, but try and think of some interesting way to welcome the reader to your blog and introduce yourself.
Keep it fairly short and sweet. If you can keep it down to a sentence or two that’s probably the sweet spot.
Introduce your Blog
Now that you’ve introduced yourself, it’s time to introduce your blog. You’ll want to keep this fairly short and sweet as well, but not as short as your own intro. Try and write a paragraph that gives the reader an idea of what your blogs main focus is. You want to really quickly establish what your blog is about so that the reader will know whether or not it’s the right blog for whatever they’re after.
What makes your Blog Unique
Giving your blog a quick intro normally isn’t enough. Once you’ve given your readers an idea about the kind of content you’ll be writing about, you want to let them know what makes your blog different from everyone else’s.
For some of you this might be a little tough. You might think there isn’t anything special or unique about your blog, but you’re probably wrong. Almost every blog has something special about it, whether that be the writing style, the topics you cover, a unique aspect that you focus on.
If you’re totally stuck then try and add in a paragraph expanding on your blogs topics and themes, and come back later to change it up when you’ve figured out what it is that makes your blog so special.
Back to You
Now your readers know why your blog is special, it’s time to tell them what makes you the right person to be running it. This is going to be different for every blog. It could be that you’re just passionate about what you’re writing about, maybe it’s something that you have real world experience of, or something that you’re qualified in. Whatever it is, avoid making your about page turn into a CV where you list the reasons why you are the best person to be talking about the subject of your blog. Keep it light hearted and friendly, think of it like chatting to a friend rather than a potential employer. Remember, the about page should have the same kind of vibe as the rest of your blog posts.
Tell them where to Go
It’s unlikely that your about page is the first place that a reader will land, but incase they do it’s best to give them a little direction on the best place to start on your blog. You might want to put together a page that lists some of the most popular posts on your blog, or a page that lists some posts targeted towards newbies to your blog, and then link that from your about page. It’s a good idea to put together a few of those types of pages to give them some different options for where to go next. Failing that, you could always link to a category or tag page that will show them all the posts you’ve written on a certain topic.
Basically don’t leave them hanging at the end of your about page.
Ask them to Subscribe
If you’ve got a newsletter setup for your blog (which you really should have!) then don’t forget to mention it.
Don’t use something that looks like the newsletter signup you’ve got in the side bar. In general they look a bit big and flashy for an about page, you want to keep the about page personal. Instead just link to a separate page that has the subscription form on it, and invite your readers to subscriber to your newsletter.
Don’t forget the photo – How To Write An Amazing About Page For Your Blog
Not everyone is going to want to stick a photo on their blog so that’s entirely up to you. I would advise sticking some kind of picture up even if it’s of your pet cat or something related to what you’re blogging about if it’s relevant – for this blog putting up a picture of my laptop probably wouldn’t be the best idea.
Having a picture of you up is going to make it feel more like a real introduction. People like to see the face behind the words. Make sure it’s a great photo though, something that fits with what you’re blog is about, not one where you’ve got the dreaded red eye flash back that makes you look a bit like a demon, and not one that looks like a corporate headshot (unless that’s the tone you’re going for with your blog).
Revisit your About Page – How To Write An Amazing About Page For Your Blog
It’s well worth revisiting your about page every few months to give it a little refresh. This is extra important if you are just setting up your blog because you might find that three months down the line things have changed up a little, you might find your blog has gone in a different direction than you originally thought it would.
Even if you’re old hat, your blogs been around a while, it’s still worth just popping back for a little read and making sure that you’re happy with your about page and there’s no little edits that you want to make to it.
Don’t Worry Too Much – How To Write An Amazing About Page For Your Blog
I think that the about page of your blog can be one of the most difficult pages to write. Writing a blog post is a cinch compared to the about page! But, don’t worry too much about it. It can take a while of going back and forth and little tweaks before you end up with something you’re truly happy with, so just keep tweaking away at it until you’ve got something that you feel proud of, and think serves as the perfect introduction to your blog.
Another reason why you needn’t worry too much is because not that many people end up reading your about page. For most blogs people will already have read quite a few blog posts before they decided to check out who the person behind the words is, and if that’s the case chances are they already like what you’re doing and are just interested in finding out who is writing the content they like so much.
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Good Luck on How To Write An Amazing About Page For Your Blog
Best of luck with putting together your about pages guys. If any of you are struggling let me know in the comments and I’ll try and help you whip something up. If any of you have any other tips for writing great about pages let us know in the comments!
