Now is an opportune time to quit all of those traditional ways of writing the About page and start something new.
Something real and convincing.
Something good enough to convert every single visitor to your blog into a reader. Before we continue this journey, I would like to say this – if you have not been seeing your About page as a virtual sales pitch then you have not started blogging.
It bits my imagination that so many bloggers are yet to key into the power driven features of an About page. If there is one single page on your blog which you must pay utmost attention to, it’s the About page.
This is where you as the boss tells the world what they need to hear and not what you need them to hear.
Remember the blogosphere has grown to the extent that it’s nearly (if not already) approaching its saturation, so it’s no longer business as usual, now it’s the fight of the fittest!
One way to play smart and stand tall among the crowd is by cleaning up your blog and making it a food which every hungry man would like to eat, and the best page among all the pages on your blog to help you achieve this is the “About” page.
I think of the About page as a virtual sales page because it’s the king of all the pages on your blog. Get it right and you will see a handful of visitors turning into real time readers – people who visit your blog and have the conviction they have arrived at the right place, get it wrong and you see how quickly people will bounce off your blog. I am sure you don’t want this to happen to your blog?
To help you write an “About” page that converts, I will be sharing with you 6 simple tips to get you started.
Let’s take a look at these blog tips…
Let the Tone of Your Blog be Heard in the About Page
Every blog has its own tone, and each tone has an industry which it belongs to. Before you ever raise your pen to write your About me pages, the first thing that should come to your head is the tone of your blog. Once you understand this, it will help you to write in line with what your blog preaches and at the same time maintaining a balance in your chosen industry without deviating.
It will be odd to write with the tone of an affiliate marketer when your blog preaches on how to build a better blog. Make your page fit with the tone of your blog.
Skip All Those Wacky Stories
Most bloggers misunderstand the concept of the About page. Because it’s called About does not mean it’s a place where you write or tell all those wacky stories or tales of how you graduated from Harvard University or how you got a first class ticket to speak in a conference in Washington.
Please don’t get me wrong, there is room for all these tales, but the idle thing would be to make it brief. The operative word here is make it brief, which means you need to select what to write and write it such that it doesn't take over the whole page. Filling your page with these long tales is a way of telling your readers what you've achieved and not how you can help them achieve their goals using the resources on your blog.
Sell the Benefits of Your Blog
Starting from day 1 when you launched your first blog post, your blog became a public place where anybody can visit and that means the blog is no longer your personal diary, it’s become something big!
Telling people what you have done in time past is not enough; you need to tell them how the services rendered on your blog will benefit them.
Every reader on visiting your blog has one common thing he or she hopes to achieve, and that’s exactly the benefit that comes with the reading and implementation of what the blog preaches.
Listing the benefits are also not enough, you need to welcome them with services or tips that are applicable, that way they will be certain they are reading the right blog.
The About page on Basic Blog Tips is a good example of a virtual sales page. It has everything a visitor will need to get started on a first visit.
Reader Engagement: Words First Before Keyword Ranking
You don’t need keyword ranking what you need is reader engagement words. What this means is that your About page must be written with reader engagement words and not just keywords which you are targeting on your blog. You will use these keywords anyway but not making them primary to words that help readers understand what your blog is all about.
A blog that covers blogging tips, make money tips and SEO can be fine tuned with words like – build a better blog, make money, save money, get tremendous traffic and so on…
The idle thing is to know those words which will attract a reader to keep reading and even make the golden decision of joining your blog league. By using these reader engagement words in your writing, you make your blog “About” page useful and above all engaging such that visitors can come and stay.
Let Them Know You Are Behind The Blog!
Readers are looking for who to trust, and it begins the moment they arrive on your About page. Build trust by adding your recent picture and write boldly that you are the host, and the one in charge of the blog. Make them understand you are there for them personally and passionately.
Create a Call to Action!
The idea is to make sure every single visitor gets converted to a loyal reader.
Don't blow this opportunity, make it count by creating a call to action.
Make the page sticky by adding your most popular posts say 10-20 of them and make the color of the hyper links stand out where they can be seen. When using these posts, make sure you incorporate them smartly into the conversational tone of your About page and keep them engaging!
Apart from using your most popular posts as a call to action, you can equally place an opt in form asking them to subscribe to receive more of the tips on what they have been reading so far.
When Last did You Update Your Blog “About” Page?
I noticed that not many bloggers updates or considers their blog “About” page as a virtual sales page. In a way to refresh your memory, I would like you to take a second look at your page and check if these tips are implemented already in the writing. You can make amends today!
What other tips have you used to update your blog About page that is not listed here? Let me hear you in comments…
Nice post Jackson. I actually spent a good couple of hours writing the about page for my new blog yesterday, which seems like an incredible amount of time for what is only about 400 words or so, but I agree that it’s just such an important page. I always try to inject a bit of humour in to show that the site is run by a ‘real person’ and not a robot!
Hi David,
You did well. It doesn’t matter how long it took you to write the one page that can help turn your blog for good.
I also invested an incredible amount time when I wrote my own About page.
Thanks for your comment mate!
A timely post by Jackson. I was just looking at revamping my about me page and you have given me some great food for thought to incorporate into the update.
As all of us are constantly growing and changing then so should our online presence reflect this. It’s a journey that we’ve made showing where we’ve come from and where we’re heading that people are interested in and can most identify with.
Hi Alex,
Wow! Is really a timely post as you have said. Just go ahead and explore more on your About page…
We cannot and will not seize to grow in blogging, it’s a continous process and as it changes it’s recommended we change and flow with it.
Thanks Alex for your comment.
Cheers!
Jackson, very informative. I have just updated mine but I don’t think I really have a call to action. You have given me a lot of food for thought here. I am sure I will be updating it again very soon. Thanks for all your tips and glad you mentioned to keep it brief. I don’t enjoy reading some about pages that tells a whole life story with every little detail 🙂 Have a great day Jackson!
Hi Lisa,
Is great to hear you just updated your About page. Having a cal to action is one beautiful way of marketing your blog by pointing all first timers to the different pages of your blog.
I have gained a handful of readers using this technique.
I am glad you found this piece interesting. Thanks for your comment…
Hey Jackson,
Really great tips. Thanks a lot to share. Don’t forget to include email signup forms in the About Page.
Hi Emma,
Guess I asked for tips which were not listed in this post? Thanks for contributing to this post…
Cheers!
hi jackson
About page is the heart of any website or blog,so if our ABOUT page carries more value than any other pages. I agree with your all points on how to create compelling “About” page. Most of the readers will have a habit of reading about us page at any blog. So it must be interesting and expressive.
Hello Hiren,
You are definitely right, an About page is the heart of any blog or website. It’s there that the value of both the author and the entire blog is centered.
Thanks for your comment buddy
Well said Jackson! Many of us get so wrapped up in trying to create good content for each post, that we forget the magic of the ‘About’ page. Thanks for the reminder – I’ll definitely be reworking ours…
Hello Ken,
What you just said is actually what is killing so many blogs today. Most bloggers and website owners pay very little attention to their About page because they see it as a STATIC page without really knowing the powers behind it.
It’s really a reminder and a wake up call…
Hello , Jackson
Now the days we can see an autonomous about page , We should have a an creative about us page , something different, Something unique that people will love . Thanks for sharing such a wonderful post .
Hi Sohini,
I am glad to hear the word “unique”, things have changed in the industry… it’s now a fight which you must prepare very well to win.
So far, the only thing I know that can make you stand out is passion and uniqueness, when you wield the power of passion and bury your blogging career in a passion pit you will definitely get yourself announced…
Thanks for your comment Sohini.
Hi Jackson,
This is a great post. An About page can definitely be a powerful conversion tool- especially when you realize that the people who land on it are: 1. Already visitors to your blog; in other words they are a targeted readership, and 2. They are interested in finding out about you or your company.
That said, there does seem to be some leeway regarding what works and what doesn’t. You really need to know your readers well and of course, test various versions of the page to see which versions get the most engagement.
Hello Susan,
You just helped me to run a recap of this post…
All visitors are targeted readers who are interested in finding out what your blog have to offer. Give or take, the About page is unique.
It’s the king of all pages and that makes it a powerful conversion tool just as you rightly said…
I am glad you read and commented on this post. Thanks for your comment.
Those were pretty useful tips Jack. In short, an about page should convey everything about us (bio, contact) & our blog (topics covered, achievements).
Radha,
You are the bomb! Well said… an About page should convey everything about us and our blog especially when done in a reader compelling way.
Cheers buddy!
Just about to write the about page for a small blog I’m involved in, so this is great advice! Especially like the idea of giving letting the reader know that the blog is going to be highly relevant to them, to get them to come back.
Wow Paul!
This is definitely a catch to help you write the about page for the small blog.
Go ahead and explore your writing buddy…
Thanks for your comment.
hi Jackson,
excellent article, thanks,
the about us page is surely one of the most underrated page on a blog. most people tend to forget the importance of it.
I agree that the about page can be used as a sales pitch, it can be both personal and at the same time very useful in catching readers.
Great advice about showing the benefits – that is the first rule of copywriting, show the benefits not the features. It is always about, – “What is in it for me?” that matters the most to any reader.
thanks,
Uttoran Sen,
Hello Uttoran,
Well said… these days it’s no doubt people visit blogs for one reason or the other. Most times, the reason is usually what they can benefit from spending their precious time on the blog.
Any blog’s About page that failed to put this into consideration will find it hard gaining convertible visitors.
Thanks for your comment buddy…
Alex,
The title itself drew me to this post. As I was reading, I was knodding my head, making plans to make some changes to my about page. It’s true, this is a way to sell yourself by showing how you can help your readers. Once your readers can get a feel for this, then you will definitely reap the rewards. Thanks for the tips!
Sherman
Hello Alex,
Is good to meet you again! Reaping rewards comes after thorough work has been done on our blogs and major part of the work should be done on the About page because it’s from there that the hope for gaining readers and clients comes from.
If you can’t write an About page that can convince and convert, then reaping the reward of blogging is far from your reach…
Thanks mate for reading and commenting.
Yes it’s important part of any site/blog because this is place where visitors can read about your services and all. So you shouldn’t take any chance with it and try to improve this part of your site/blog.
Hello Hyptia,
Well said… thanks for your comment.
Finally i found this great piece of writing while searching for tips to write an awesome about page for my blog.
Thanks Sir.
Wow! What a timing post you have then…
I am glad you have something to guide you write that About page that converts.
Cheers!
OOPSS, I haven’t made a “About me” page for my blog. Going to make just now.
Ajay,
You just need to get started immediately…you don’t want run a blog without an About page, do you?
I wish you the best as you write one today.
Cheers!
I have just started a new blog and haven’t come out with my “About Us” page.
Thanks for writing these tips. They will be of great help to me.
One of my suggestion is that we should include a picture of the blog author, as pictures connect better as compared to just plain text.
Hello Karan,
Is good to know you started a new blog and ready to write its About page.
I think your suggestion of the author adding his recent picture was already addressed on tip #4…
Any way thank you so much for commenting on this piece
I’d better go back and revise the “About” page. There’s no clear CTA, though I do think that the page does establish my “voice” as a blogger.
What it doesn’t do is really spell out the benefits to the reader. My site is about marketing a business on a shoestring budget, but I don’t really pound that benefit in my “About” page. How crazy is that! I think I need a full-time employee on staff to read my blog posts and tell me if I’m clearly spelling out the benefits of each page and post and giving a clear call to action, whether that action is to subscribe, click a link to related topics, or leave a comment.
Thanks for the wake up call on something so basic as the “About” page. Now I’m off to fix it 😉
Keep Stepping,
Kurt
Hello Kurt,
I can’t say that it’s late for you because at point one can say “No time is late” the major thing is that you are off to get this fixed.
I am happy you are stepping up your game today…
Thanks for your comment. Cheers!
Hello Jackson,
For quite some days I was thinking of revamping my about page, and now your post has given me much more enthusiasm to do it.
Well, I do have some call to action buttons on my page, but I need to add more information about what my blog is all about, and what my readers can find on my blog.
But I am in a bit of confusion. I am also thinking of creating a welcome page (specially for the first time users) where I can give similar information. So I am in a dilemma now.
Hi Sourav,
Personally for me, your welcome page should be the About page because that’s where you will add all those rich and informative articles to direct your new visitors to other areas of your blog.
However, there is equally the need to create a welcome page otherwise called “Landing Page” especially for all your guest posts. It’s not professional to direct first time visitors to your homepage, you might loose them if you do so.
If you are looking for a way to write a welcome page for your first time visitors do a little search on Ms. Ileane’s blog or click on “DailyTipsDiary.com” in my byline to see how I wrote mine.
Thanks for your comment mate!
Writing a perfect and appealing about page is always hard. Thanks for giving us these tips 😀
Hi Deepanker,
I am glad you can get started with these tips today!
Thanks for your comment…
I think it is time that I gave my about me pages a bit of an update, I don’t ten to touch them very often, about once every couple of years.
Hi Dean,
I wish you the best as you start this journey once again…
Cheers!
Hi Jackson, these are amazing tips and one of the most important is let your reader know that there is someone behind the blog instead of just publishing without even letting your readers know who you are, which content will be hard for readers to trust the amazing piece of information that you spend time on.
Hello Ferb,
Yea are right buddy, readers are always at peace knowing who they are dealing with.
Thanks for an awesome comment mate…
I have thought many times about how the about page should be structured in order to get the most benefits. Nevertheless, reading this great article has given me a lot of ideas.
Hi Julian King,
I am glad you have more ideas to work on now…
Cheers!
Thanks for the tips! I find “about me” pages to be pretty difficult to write sometimes. In a lot of cases, I’ve already introduced who I am and what I do on other pages :/
Hi jackson,
Thanks for the awesome tips, Writing an about page is a very difficult task, its easy to write someone else about us page then ours, better way is find a blogging friend and exchange the about us page, ask him/her to write yours and you write for them, by this way you will get a genuine awesome about page for your blog.
Hello Nishant,
That’s awesome!
It can also be a better way of writing an About page as you said. But don’t you think you stand a better chance of knowing what your blog is all about than your friend?
Thanks for your comment buddy…
Great tips on writing a killer about tips. I may have to redesign the whole structure of my about page. Thanks for a nice post.!!
Hello Yash,
You will be doing great if you take that bold step today in redesigning and restructuring your blog About page.
Thanks for your comment!
I thought ‘about’ pages are literally for a narrative about you, the company your represent and its history, etc. I never thought about using it as a sales platform to egg readers to read more about your blog.
This is a very interesting insight that I could use now! Thank you!
Hello Ramy,
I am glad you now know the power driven features of the About page as a Sales pitch.
Now you can start using that to your advantage…
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for this great article ! about us page is one of the most important page on any website, it gives insight about product or services on that site, I personally believe that a humorous way of writing can do wonders in terms of engaging readers.
Hello Dhiraj,
You are certainly right… the about page is the most important page on any website.
I am also an advocate of your believe about writing to engage readers.
Thanks for a wonderful comment.
Great post! To be honest, I first started by making an about page on my blog, but haven’t really done any work on it since I first created it. Reason be no one ever looked at it. Ok there is only a link to the about page in my footer, which would probably be half the reason no one looks at it lol….but the site gets 15,500 visitors per month and last month 1 person looked at it 🙁
Great blog! Keep up the tremendous work!
Hello Charles,
15,500 visitors per month is a good one… you seriously need to give a new life to your About page for more conversions on your blog.
I am glad you enjoyed reading this piece.
Cheers!
I agree with you. The About section is not the place to write all kind of stories. I too expect it to be brief and simple. I am only interested in what the person can offer me and what can I learn from them. That’s all. Thanks for sharing this great article!
Hello Dan,
The about place is a business arena and must be taken serious…
Thanks for a wonderful comment mate!
I think I have added and/or changed my ABOUT page at least twelve times! Not because I have added my more recent experiences, but I see others and get ideas. So, blogging is not just about the content, but about the ABOUT!
Wow! Chavol, I like your concept of “Blogging is about the ABOUT” I really subscribe to this…
Thanks for your comment.
Hey Jackson,
Superb article. Concrete writing. An about us page created after reading your article is surely going to work out as an OFF-TRACK an impressive page indeed.
Indeed you have made a great read for me.
Thanks a lot for such a great share.
A learn-y reading. 🙂
Regards
Hi Charmie,
I am really happy hearing all these words of commendation. I actually owe more of it to Ms. Ileane who gave me the opportunity to share this piece with you.
Is good knowing you enjoyed reading it and above all learned some Superb from it.
Thanks for a wonderful and CHARMING comment…
This information is so useful. I have written a page about myself on my blog but with what I have read i need to go back and update information on that page. This will help me to update more information and make the page convert more for me.
Thanks a million!
Hi Joseph,
I am glad to hear you have found a heads up to update and resturcture your about page.
Thanks for reading and for a wonderful comment…
Fantastic guidelines. Thanks a whole lot to share with you. Don’t neglect to add in electronic mail register types within the About Site.
Hello Laura,
Thanks for your suggestion about adding email opt in form. I already mentioned it on the post under “Call to Action” maybe you didn’t read that part well.
I am glad you enjoyed reading this post.
Thanks for your comment…
Maybe i need to add an extra information or improvement on my About page. This is really help me out! thanks for sharing this information!
I had to rewrite my About page about a month ago but seriously, this article got me feeling like I need to do that again.
One thing to note is that you shouldn’t make your About page sound “too official” and at the same time, it shouldn’t be a place where you must tell the whole story of your life.
Nice writeup, Jackson.
Hello Don,
I am glad to have you here. You are very right, the About page shouldn’t be too official and also shouldn’t be a place where you tell all those wacky stories…
Thanks bro for dropping such a wonderful comment.
Cheers!
I’ve made some minor tweaks and updates here and there, but my about page definitely needs a major overhaul. Thanks for sharing these tips.
Hello Tom,
One thing that is permanent in life is “Change”
We all need to make some changes from time to time to come up with the best in what we do.
I am glad you found this post interesting.
Cheers!
Hi there!
This is sweet stuff. I have always been wondering what and how I should write my About Me page. I have wrote like a dozen of it and still doesn’t seem to be able to find … my voice.
This is very good and I’ll definitely keep in mind.
Thanks for sharing!
Reginald
Hello Reginald,
Change is permanent… we learn everyday and will continue to learn.
I am glad you are out to make your About me page a rocking one!
Thanks for a wonderful comment…
I especially like the point about making sure your content is the primary attraction, not necessarily keyword dropping. Keywords are important, yeah, but it’s not a long-term guaranteed solution when compared to good ol’ original, quality content. Good stuff.
Hello Jon,
Yea you really got the message of this article. While we target keywords for ranking, there is always the need to keep the primary reason of blogging which is “reader engagement”
Thanks for a wonderful comment Jon…
Really this is a great and informative blog post. I just found this site. I’m glad because i seem i get a source of knowledge about writing the best blog. i would like to look back and enjoy the site.
Hello Jeremy,
On behalf of Ms. Ileane, I gladly welcome you to Basic Blog Tips where you will find a wealth of blogging knowledge.
Thanks for reading, looking forward to seeing you again.
Cheers!
Wow, this is an eye-opener. Honestly, I’ve never thought of the About Me page as my virtual sales page, and I must have been really missing a lot. Thanks for the share.
Hi Joy,
Yea, the About Me page is a wonderful page that acts as a virtual sales page when properly written.
You will no longer miss out again! Just go ahead and write a smashing and converting page using the tips you’ve learned today…
Thanks for a wonderful comment.
Cheers!
This is so true. The “About Page” is one of the first things I look for in a website, and I’m sure a lot of people do the same thing. If this page is effectively written, it can really spell the big difference for many online readers.
Hi Kristine,
I like your comment “If this page is effectively written, it can really spell the big difference for many online readers.”
You really got the message of this article, I am glad you’re already a fan of the About Me page!
Thanks for an awesome comment…