Joining us today is Liz from a belle, a bean & a chicago dog. Not only are we thrilled to have Liz guest post, but she is providing information that you just can’t miss! If you are in the market for a fabulous and FREE About Me page, then your search stops here. Learn more from Liz about the About.Me website and how you can have a one-stop description just as fabulous as hers.
Undoubtedly, your blog’s About page is something you’ve crafted with great care. An About page is a necessary website element, and probably the first item a new reader will check out after reading your latest post. The SITS Girls have already done a great job of providing tips and ways to razzle dazzle readers with your blog’s About page, so today I’m going to talk a bit about a different type of About page: an About.Me profile page.
What is About.Me?
About.Me is a free, custom profile builder that lets you create an online hub of sorts for everything related to – well – YOU! About.Me is an easy-to-use and completely free tool that allows you to create your own .com, with details about yourself and links to all your sites and related social media accounts. About.Me provides you with a branded URL (About.Me/FirstNameLastName) and includes basic statistics like visitors, time on site and Klout.
Below is my About.Me page.
Your About.Me Photo
If you haven’t seen an About.Me page before, you might be taken aback by how “front and center” the photos are. About.Me does allow you the option to include a thumbnail image of yourself in your Biography section, and also provides a limited selection of basic backgrounds to choose from. However, you’ll see when viewing their directory that the best and most distinctive pages are of a single unique photo that fills the screen.
Your About.Me Bio Box
From the Edit Profile mode, you can build your biography box with your name, additional text about yourself and links.
You can choose your font colors and styles, the color of your links and what services you’d like your Bio Box to include.
Once you have written your bio and added your services, you can drag and drop your Bio Box to whatever position on the screen works best with your background photo.
Who Should Create an About.Me Page?
Anyone who finds themselves saying, “Well, I have a personal blog at this web address, run two Twitter accounts, do some freelance ork for a couple sites and – oh – here’s my Facebook fan page and LinkedIn information, too!”
It seems like the longer you are active in the blogosphere, the more sites and profiles seem to attach themselves to you. While we all work hard to include all relevant links to other sites and profiles on our main blog, we usually can’t display our other affiliations as prominently as we’d like there. Creating an About.Me site makes it easy to share (and remember!) all your information with 1 short URL.
All About About.Me on Vimeo
About the Author
Liz is a 30-something marketer and mom to 2 girls and a dog. She writes about parenting, marriage & life in general at a belle, a bean & a chicago dog, tweets from @BelleBeanDog and helps small businesses use social media at Eli | Rose Social Media.
Wow that is so neat! I need that! I have a hard time keeping track of all my photography links for my photography business plus my blogging information. Thank you for sharing this! I think I will definitely use this!
Hope Easter recently posted..Your Blog Needs Images.
Twitter: BoonieSooze
says:
Very, very slick. Very professional looking. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Susan in the Boonies recently posted..Graduation Day
It’s so, so easy to use and you can add as many links as you want!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
That’s really cool!
Teresa (Embracing the Spectrum) recently posted..Come on, Irene
As my blog is about to have a serious overhaul, this is perect timing for me. Thanks
It’s such a great “one stop” type resource, so easy to set up AND totally free. What could be better?
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Liz,
This is so great! I have been using About.Me for a few months, but now I am going to adjust a few things based on your tips. One question I have is how do you actually center a picture? Every time I try to do this my picture ends up way too big. Any thoughts? Here is my page: http://about.me/christinalinnell
Christina recently posted..We went, We conquered…
There are options at the bottom of the “Add a Photo” view in the Bio Box. Centered, Tiled and something else. I know that I had to change my orientation for it to work. Also, you can view the maximum pixel size to help you appropriately size the photo you want ahead of upload.
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
This is a fantastic post, never knew about About.Me. Thanks for all the wonderful information, heading over now to make my profile
Mommyof2Girlz/StephD recently posted..Strawberry-licious Cake & Recipe
Please share it when you do! You can tweet me at @BelleBeanDog! Have fun building your page!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
What a cool site/service! I will have to think about setting one of those up
angela recently posted..Eggs and Manicures
Let me know when you do, Angela!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Twitter: anoptimisticmom
says:
Totally clueless about the About.Me website. Thanks for giving me more great information to consider.
Optimistic Mom recently posted..Paralyzing Decisions – Real Talk
Twitter: osvme
says:
see just in time for me to redo MY about page. it kinda sucks but i havent been in a coding mood lately.
Jenny recently posted..Mailbox Moth
It might be neat to include your about.me link on business cards instead of trying to add all the social media links!
Life As Wife recently posted..Sucker
Yes! It’s a great simplifier!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Great explanation Liz! I have an about.me page, but it is sad and in need of attention. I need to do the up close and personal headshot to place on it, plus update it with ever-changing information.
Thanks for the push!
Bernice
Successful Woman’s Resource Center recently posted..Are you too busy to take care of YOU?
Many people say the photo is the hardest part! Thanks for your kind words, Bernice!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Twitter: RachelVoorhees
says:
NOW this??!?!? Is #AwesomeSauce!!! I can’t wait to create my About.Me page!!
Rachel {at} Mommy Needs a Vacation recently posted..My Big *Wino* Announcement
You better share on Twitter when you do it! Boom.
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
It looks so professional!! Wow, I would have to dig out the makeup and spiffy clothes for that picture.
Lady Jennie recently posted..Napping
Knowing a good photog can help with one’s About.Me page…
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Twitter: EverythingEvie
says:
This is so great! I’ve been meaning to create a page for myself, but haven’t had the time. I’ll def make time now. Great article, Liz. You are awesome as usual!
Eve recently posted..Scrumptious Sunday – Shopping at Whole Foods
You are so kind, Eve! Thank you!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Oh Liz, I was totally just working on this yesterday! So this is so timely…and can I tell you once again how much I love your profile pic???
Sherri recently posted..In The Face of Change
Of course you can tell me! I’ll gladly accept your compliment AND tell you Thank You repeatedly.
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
thanks for sharing this is great information
This is pretty awesome. Im really trying to get into my blogging more so having this will help out. I love the tips. I made a page but when I get home I will probably update it a little more.
Sara recently posted..Not excited
I LOVE this idea! I’m signing up now! I run 3 blogs and a social media business so this is GREAT news for me!
Mimi recently posted..Video: Chuy Chihuahua Likes to Hop!
It is perfect for you then! I give the creators of About.Me tons of credit for the fab concept. Have fun building your page!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
I love this information, very useful and something I am going to look into more.
Thanks, Jen! I bet Jeff would take an awesome photo for you to use.
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Fabulous post, Liz. So glad you shared this with us. I’ve got a kick-butt about.me page now, thanks to you!
Kristi {at} Live and Love Out Loud recently posted..Crazy Days of Summer Sweet Summer Finale {$200 Prize Pack Giveaway}
What a great site to place all of your connections! Thank you for sharing this wonderful information.
Simplegirl recently posted..Small Mudroom Entry Reveal!
Hoping the kids sleep a little longer so I can set this up today!
Kimberly recently posted..Tuesday Tip: Getting Ready for Pre-School
I need a new bio picture taken badly…..
I sooo wish that Liz would have used the fab picture that I edited for her. It was quite hilarious. The @SITSGIRLS all know about my use of thought bubbles…{giggle}
Julie {Angry Julie Monday} recently posted..Summer Education Via Aquarium Of The Pacific
You are a constant, looming threat, dear Julie. Though at least I now know other women are aware of your dastardly ways!
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
What a great post! Thanks for the excellent explanation and tips, Liz.
If you have any questions for about.me don’t hesitate to reach out to help@about.me. If you have a page already, you can click the Help link in your dashboard to reach us.
Thank you!
Laura
- Community Manager for about.me
Thanks so much, Laura! You have such a great tool with About.Me.
liz recently posted..Observations of a Kindergarten Mom
Twitter: greatfun4kids
says:
That’s Awesome! I am so going to check this site out and use it.
Thankyou for this information… another great tool and more great blog advice from SITS girls!!
Luv it.
x
Simone @Greatfun4kids recently posted..If Consistency is the Key to Good Parenting, I’m Stuffed.
Love it! It’s like a digital business card. Gonna do this tonight!
Wendy recently posted..At Last! Our New Kitchen!
Twitter: jmroubinek
says:
Off to create mine right now!
Jamie recently posted..Playgroup Love
I LOVE it!!! and yet another thing I must do and keep up with… =) But, i’m all in!
summer recently posted..today i celebrate both love and death…
I love this, Liz! I knew about About.Me pages before and may even have one, but it needs some TLC. Thanks for the tutorial. Of course it’s so much easier than I thought. If I run into any snags, I know who to ask!
Nice to see you here, BTW.
Tonya recently posted..Pushover
Wow! I really love how the photo is large and in charge, and it includes all the contact information anyone could possible want to know!
I am so impressed with the About.Me page. I’m going to have to play around with it and see if I can create something I like better than my current page.
Chrysta Bairre recently posted..Market Yourself!
Never heard of this. Love it – thanks. I’m going to check it out. And that pic of you is totally awesome!
Missy | The Literal Mom recently posted..Literal Truth about Binge Drinking
Thanks so much. I need to get a good photo. I feel like I need to keep a running list of things to do. This was very helpful
Leigh Powell Hines (@Hinessightblog) recently posted..Lights Out, Life Unplugged
Oh I {heart} this! I created mine: http://about.me/Elizabeth_McLachlan
Now I need to find a pic that will work. Thanks – this is great.
Twitter: decondemand
says:
Ohhh I like this, will need to consider it for me.
Marie Cole recently posted..Life is NOT a HGTV Show
I’ve seen a few of these profiles around and was wondering about them! Now to find a photographer for that profile pic…
Mrs. Jen B recently posted..Lemon Risotto
Twitter: #!/Reviewer11
says:
That is so awesome and so beautiful! Thank you for sharing this wonderful site with all of us.
Reviewer11 recently posted..Writing Prompt #1
I’ve been seeing these about.me pages and I’m very impressed. I think I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the information!
Rebecca recently posted..My World Of Quotes #3
This is awesome. Thanks Liz! One question tho, how do you get the Facebook & Twitter links to shows up name like that? I tried to added mine but I can’t get the name to shows up. Here’s a link to mine: http://about.me/TatterScoops Note to self: Asked my awesome photographer brother to take some good pictures to put there
Tatter Scoops recently posted..And So I Face The Final Curtain
Twitter: kg_photography
says:
Thanks for sharing this tip; I’m excited to started on my profile. Ahhh to have everything in one spot would be devine! Now that I have two blogs and I’m working on a podcast and two newsletters, it’ll be so nice to consolidate everything and start directing people to one place.
And this will be helpful for my new business cards!
Kimberly Gauthier, Adventures in Blogging recently posted..3 Easy Tips to Writing a Pitch
I just updated mine today after 5 months and just go the nicest note from someone visiting my blog for the first time. It was so touching so thank you for this very helpful tip, it was awesome!
Shannon from ‘Mynewfavoriteday’ recently posted..The Moon or a Ball, you make the call. What do you see?
This is an excellent post! I signed up! Here is the link: http://about.me/theladyofthehouse/
Floors Of Gold recently posted..Cornmeal Casserole With Black Beans
Soooooo interesting. Great info, I am definitely going to check it out! Thanks!
Leah recently posted..Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal
Twitter: simplywebly
says:
Love the idea and will create my about me page today. Thanks for the info.
webly recently posted..Happy Dance Therapy
What a great post! Prior to seeing this sent out on Twitter, I’d never even heard of this service but love it now. Thanks for an informative post!
Kendra recently posted..My Midlife Crisis
Twitter: romanceonadime
says:
Thanks so much for sharing this! My husband and I just created about.me pages. This is a great idea and can be used in so many ways. I like the idea of having an online business card to share with others.
Betsy @ Romance on a Dime recently posted..Take it on Tuesday Blog Hop: Basement Curtains