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We’re almost halfway through our 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Summer Challenge for 2011, and Day 14, how to write an about me page, is one of those days that’s easy to overlook because on the surface it’s not as edgy as Opinion Post day or as fun as how to write a link post, but it’s my supreme goal to show you how edgy, fun, and even a little bit sexy (see number 5 below) updating a key page on your blog, specifically your About Me page, can be.
Am I up for the challenge? Oh, yes I am. And as you’ll see below, I’ve brought some kick-butt back up to help prove my point.
Writing a Great About Me Page
In this task, Problogger taught us that the About Me page on your blog can be used to do some serious damage in the “influence” department because the people most likely to read it are first time readers and those wanting to know if they should invest time in building a relationship with you: potential partners, advertisers, collaborators, journalists, PR people, and other bloggers.
When you write your About Me page, your job as a blogger is to DAZZLE your audience.
About Me Page Examples To Learn From
How can you impress VIPs and have them begging for more of your awesomeness? Well just for you my friends, I became a blog super spy and stalked About Me pages of successful bloggers to learn how.
Give Them Some Eye Candy
I’m not talking about plastering pictures of Gerard Butler from the movie “300” all over your About Me page (although, if you did, I certainly wouldn’t mind), I’m talking about making your About Me page pop. Yes, pop. That’s exactly the word that I would use to describe Sarah Prout’s “About Me” page. With its extreme visual appeal, bold font changes, and memorable picture, her about me page just popped off the screen at me.
Show Them Your Genius
Don’t be shy about showing your readers your stuff. If you have posts that you’re particularly proud of because they’ve received lots of comment love, backlinks, or are just plain groovy in your humble opinion, then by all means, list them in your About Me page. And if you’ve created some applause worthy products, showcase them as well. This is how Ali Luke of Aliventures caught my attention on her About Me page.
Charm Them With The Real You
Put a video clip on your About Me page to welcome your readers with the real you. Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn completely charmed me with her video on her About Me page. If you don’t feel comfortable with video, you can always charm your readers with authentic and down-to-earth pictures of you. If you feel the need to awaken a blast from the past and throw up a picture of yourself in that ‘80s polka-dotted prom dress, I, for one, would become an instant super fan.
Kill ‘Em With Kindness
When I first found Erica Douglass of Erica.biz, she scared me with the size of her brain (she sold her own web hosting company for over $1 Million at the age of 26). I mean…WOW… But, I quickly forgot my brain-envy when she showed her generous side and gave me her beautiful ebook, “Blog Success Manifesto” for free on her About Me page. Moral of this story? It’s great to be smart, but even better to be kind. Give something of value to your readers on your About Me page.
Woo Them:
I’m serious. You want a relationship with them, so woo them. This is not the time to play the shy, introverted wallflower – you want your readers wanting more of you after they read your About Me page. After I read Abby Kerr’s About Me page, I literally got butterflies of excitement because she inspired me, engaged me, and most definitely wooed me with her wording. She had me at hello when I read her opening, “I help entrepreneurs up their addictability factor”. I don’t know about you, but I sure as heck want to be addictable. How can you woo your readers with your wording?
Be A Team Player
I’ve been reading Annabel Candy’s work for awhile now and I adore her because she continues to help the little guy and takes the time to get to know her readers and make them part of her community. Even on her About Me page she thanks her loyal readers and tells them that she’s their personal cheerleader. Very nice to thank your loyal readers on your About Me page, don’t ya think?
Be Loud and Clear
In order to not sound like a blah, blah, boring resume on your About Me page, kick it up a notch and use your voice. Cori from Big Girl Branding has a BIG voice on the page. Her personality shines through with every post she writes, and she didn’t forget to ‘bring it’ to her About Me page. Her mission statement is loud and clear: “To bring forth quality info to readers, who can then use said info and apply it to their own biz, branding, and marketing shenanigans. May contain info unsuitable for overly sensitive people. Dork label required.” Awesome. I like shenanigans and I’m a dork, so count me in, Cori.
Make It About Them
What can YOU do for your readers? I know the About Me page is supposed to be about you, but what if you made it about your readers? Stephey Baker of Marked by the Muse uses the words “you” and “your” a total of 55 times on her About Me page. And the effect? I felt like she was a trusted, warm-hearted friend giving me advice on art, creativity, and life, while we sipped lattes somewhere in some inspiring café.
Belief is a Powerful Thing.
Telling your readers what you believe in on your About Me page can do two things beautifully, 1) Gain their trust, and 2) Inspire them. Catherine Caine of Cash and Joy gained my trust and inspired me when she told me 13 of her powerful beliefs on her About Me page, including, “Never, ever apologize for something that makes someone smile.” And she totally made me smile.
Impress Them
Show off a little by providing testimonials on your About Me page. My jaw dropped when I saw Jade Craven’s testimonials from her peers, clients, and authorities on her About Me page. Any woman who has a video of Darren Rowse admitting he enjoys her blog is in a word: Impressive. Also, without Jaden Craven this post would’ve never happened. I read all of her “Bloggers to Watch” viral posts to find most of the very talented women on this post. THANK YOU, Miss Craven.
After becoming the blog super spy, I feel a need to update my own much neglected About Me page with some of these ideas. How about you? Do any of these ideas appeal to you?
No matter how you choose to update your About Me page, just remember to dazzle them, my dear. DAZZLE them.
The 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Summer Challenge is a program that Darren Rowse, aka Problogger, designed so that bloggers can improve their sites in about a month. Follow along in our Forum, with the #SITS31DBBB hashtag on Twitter, and on Facebook. It’s never too late to jump in!
Here are the topics we’ve covered to date:
- Kick Off Post: Learn How to Blog {Better} with Problogger
- Join a Forum and Start Participating
- Why Top 10 Lists Work for Bloggers
- Analyze Another Blog (With a Twist)
- How to Blog using Link Posts
- Monitoring Content with Google Alerts
- What Did a Calendar Ever Do For You?
- 10 Ways to Dazzle Readers with your About Me Page
- Using Google Analytics to Find Blog Topics
- Can You Find the Spam Blog Comment?
- Problogger Wrap-Up and Look Ahead
- Twitter Party Alert! California Psychics - Nov 17, 2020
- Aprilaire Twitter Party Happening! #HealthyAir - Nov 20, 2019
- Twitter Party Alert! Fighting PPD With Mom Genes - Nov 19, 2019
- Why Top Ten Lists Work For Bloggers - Jan 23, 2017
- Content is King: How to Determine What To Blog About - Dec 28, 2016
- 4 Ways to Find {And Keep} Your Motivation - Oct 31, 2016
- How To Be Happy: 5 Things All Happy Women Do - May 2, 2016
- Can an iPhone 6S Survive Inside a Paint Shaker? - Oct 25, 2015
- How Many Ads Are Too Many Ads? - Oct 15, 2015
- How To Get Healthy Sleep Webinar - Sep 14, 2015
- How To Have A Safe Summer - Jul 30, 2015
- How to Sleep Better: Top 7 Sleep Hacks For The Best Rest - Feb 5, 2015
- Neglecting this CAUSES Anxiety, Weight Gain, Numbness, Back Pain and Depression - Jan 29, 2015
- Making a Homemade Box From Christmas Cards {Upcycle} - Dec 11, 2014
- Get Your Kids Involved In Healthy Living: Fuel Up To Play 60 - Oct 10, 2014
That inspired me to fix my About section. I did it at like 12:30 in the morning so we’ll see how good people think it is.
I’m not doing the challenge officially but I’ll be back to see what’s next. It’s fantastic things to learn
of course i forgot to come and link up my about me page… erin this is an excellente post! it is so helpful on so many levels… great stalking where o where did you find all of these great sites?
Have I mentioned I love this series?
Because I do.
Like a gun at a knife fight, it’s something that comes along at just the right time.
And I clearly need to update my about me page.
I’ll just do that… tomorrow.
Fabulous post! I loved it, loved it. Those are some of my fav bloggers. Once Abby told me she liked my About page and it made me smile for a week…however, that was before I was Etsy focused, so now I need to get crackin’ on a new one…gonna do it…tomorrow, maybe 🙂
There are some great tips here! My About Me page is very important, as it’s a representation of myself, so I want people to be drawn into it 🙂
Glad you like my tips! About Me pages are definitely like a mini-representation of your blog and must draw the reader in.
Just when I thought there’s no way I’m going to spend more time on the appearance of my blog, you’ve completely inspired me. Thank you! I actually really like it much better! I linked it up – it’s nothing as fancy as many of the other ones, but it was really fun to create! Thanks for the tips.
Oh, so glad you had fun updating your About Me page! That was what my post was all about – trying to make something that is usually not so fun – FUN! Because if you have fun writing your About Me page, it will show through to your readers.
This is my About page – a long way to go to match the level of the bloggers in your post but they do provide great inspiration!
http://becomingyou.co.za/about/
Glad they inspired you! My About Me page has a long way to go, too, to get to their level.
This has made me realize I need to revitalize my about me page. I linked up my page, but I need to make changes. That will have to be an upcoming project.
No worries about still needing to tweak. I also need to as well. Hopefully you will get some good critiques from the linky.
Let’s just say that my mind is not functioning correctly today. I entered it twice. The first I didn’t type in my site address correctly. Second, I linked to my home page not my about me. GRRRRR……Soooo….here is what I needed to do….(SMH)
http://www.thatstoocute.com/about/
Please check out my About Me page and tell me what you think!
LOL! My brain is like that EVERY day! You are in good company. I will check it out! Thanks for braving the Linky.
Great post Mrs Erin. I really need to update my About me. I will work on that tonite once I get off work. I am check out the ladies you mentioned to get some ideas.
Thank you, Miss Angela! Just read your latest post(closing door) and it’s so true. Keep those thougth provoking posts coming.
What great ideas!!! I updated my page about a month ago, but I’m totally gonna tweak it again. Thanks for the awesome info!
Glad you like the ideas! Tweak away, my dear!
Wow, I keep up with my About Me page, but all of a sudden I feel like I need to go add some sparkle!
ohhh..sparkle! I should’ve put that in my post. Like that. Yes, add some sparkle. =)
Hi Erin, thank you so much for this very inspirational post! I love it! I was just thinking the last few days that I should work on my ‘About Me’ page and you’ve offered so many wonderful examples for us. When I look at my own page now, I feel so embarrassed! Time I get working!
I’m embarrassed with mine, too. =( But, this whole blogging thing is a learning process, and I’m taking it one step at a time. Glad my post inspired you.
Oh, I so can’t wait to apply some of these tips! My About page has been on my to do list for some time now, but I’m feeling inspired to update it once and for all! Thank you!
So glad I inspired you to update it. That’s what I was going for, because I know how uninspiring updating About Me pages can seem.
Excellent post! I did a video for my About Me page, but I think I need to add some more dazzle after reading this! Thank you!
Oh, cool! I really do think videos work well on the About Me page. And definitely add as much dazzle as you can, my dear. 😉
LOL! You don’t need any more dazzle, girl! Not with jazz hands going on!
Thanks for this! I had fun looking at some of your example pages.
Me too! It was fun to find the examples and share them with everyone. I’m one of the people that gets extremely excited when I find new and talented people to stalk.
These are excellent tips! I’m about to set up my portfolio site, and these will be a big help. I want to create a kick-ass About Me page for my freelancing business; one that will attract potential clients!
Btw, I don’t know if it’s just me, but your Linky was giving me an error. And then it posted an image that I did now choose.
Glad the post inspired you! I didn’t create the linky, but it does seem to be creating some issues. I will let Fran know. BTW…your site made me blush. You’re kind of awesomely uninhibited. 😉
Spent most of today revamping my about page. Not sure it is perfect but it is better than before. Thanks for the great tips and examples.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Hi Erin,
Thank you so much for including my about page here. It’s an honor:)
I love that you highlighted the importance of about pages because they are always one of the most visited pages on any blog. Of course new readers will go straight there to find out who you are, what you do and why they should read your blog.
So I think your tip number eight is super important – we have to tell readers on our about page how our blog will help them to build a fast connection.
I’m always tweaking my about page. Mine is rather long but I’ve made it easy to scan so people can get an idea of what my blog and me are all about without even reading it properly.
For me blogging is all about the readers. I love mine and take any opportunity I can to let them know how much I appreciate their support. The about page just seemed like a natural place to show that.
Your about page looks and sounds good but one quick fix I’d suggest is to move the gorgeous pic of you and your family at the bottom right to the top where people can see you in action as a happy, busy mum straight away.
It will help people make an instant connection with you before they even read anything:)
It’s great to connect with you again here and thanks again to you and the Sits Girls!
Thank you SO much for stopping by Annabel and giving me an awesome tip about my pic! I’m a little embarrassed as I haven’t updated my About Me page yet. #8, making the About Me page about your readers, was the biggest eye opener for me as I did my research. It’s so true, and something that is very overlooked. You have always impressed me with how much you support others through your blogging and social media, so I was just really happy to add you to this amazing list of women. I hope those that read this post will continue to follow your work. =)
Great tips, my page will def be getting a makeover!
Thank you! My About Me page is also getting revamped after stalking all of these blogs.
I’ve been wanting to change up for “About Me” page for about 6 months. Thanks Erin, for a great article. I’ll follow your steps and let you know when I’m done!!
Hey there, lady! Thanks for commenting! I wouldn’t implement EVERYTHING I listed. =) Definitely just choose a few that resonate with you. Let me know when you’re done so I can check it out!
Those are some fantastic pages–talk about throwing the gauntlet! I revised mine about 2 months ago, but I’m thinking I have more work to do–but I’d love critique!
LOL! Yes, I guess I did throw down the gauntlet! These ladies are very talented so make sure you check out the rest of their work.
I love these tips. About Me pages are such a struggle. I’m not sure about a video though. I rarely watch vlogs. I’m not sure if I would watch an About Me video. I would have text too for sure, or I would just close it having learned nothing.
Good point about including text. I skip vlogs on regular posts sometimes, too, but on About Me pages, I’ve found that I do watch them to get a good feel for the person behind the blog.
I have learned so much over the past few months about About Me pages, but I still learned even more here!
Thanks for sharing this with us!
Bernice
Pretty Neat~ book giveaway
So glad I helped you come up with new ideas!
I have been doing this challenge with another group and we are on the exact same day!
But your post has inspired me to go back and look it over one more time to see if it needs any more changes. It might need a little more razzle dazzle. And I don’t think I mention my free ecourse anywhere on the page, so I need to change that, too!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Jeanine
Oh wonderful! What other group is doing this? I’m so glad I inspired you to put your free e-course on your About Me page. I specifically wanted to mention that because it’s an awesome way to promote yourself but help your readers from the get-go as well.
Well, I am not sure of the exact name of the group, now that you ask, but they have a challenge every couple of months called the 31 Days Blog Challenge (31daysblogchallenge.com, I think) and we read Darren’s book and post our efforts on the group page on FB.
This is my 3rd time around and it still helps but I might be getting a wee bit bored with it, because I skip days ~ just completely forget them ~ and then, have to scramble to catch up!
I have a really hard time with my about me page – I’ve spent most of my life hiding from people and NOT wanting them to know all about me lol Although mine is truthful and upfront about why I started my blog, I don’t think it really tells anything about me at all. Off to revamp it now…
You brought up an interesting point. About Me pages seem to be difficult for everyone, and maybe it’s because specifically talking about ourselves can be a bit scary. Just, share what you feel comfortable with. Good luck with updating it!
Great tips! I’m redoing my About page today, definitely! I’ve been meaning to.
Thank you, Kaley!
Love the advice. I am so not in love with my about page. But am kind of at a loss for how to make it better. These tips will help.
Hey there, missy! Thanks for commenting! Glad I inspired you to update your About Me page. I figured you would have a laugh-out-loud one! Saw you linked up, so I will be checking it out.
WOW WOW WOW– this a SUPER amazing post, Erin. Lots of awesome examples mixed in with tips. I love it! And I love me some razzle.
I love me some razzle, too, obviously. You gave me the idea to find awesome examples with your previous post on reviewing sites out of your niche, so THANK YOU!
So after reading this, I’m feeling a bit sad about my About Me page – clearly I need to up the ante. http://speedskatingmom.com/about-me-2/
Oh, my gosh. Please don’t be sad after reading this! These women have been doing this for a long time. This post is meant to inspire you and get you thinking creatively about your About Me page. Just make a list of things you’d like to implement, and implement one at a time as you have time. As many of the ladies said above, About Me pages are usually a work-in-progress. Be sure to add your blog to the linky above!
Wow…what an amazing post. …and so perfectly timed. On my “to-do” list for the past 2 weeks has been “update about-me page”. Guess this is a sign! Thanks 🙂
Thank you! I also believe in signs…so you’d better get on that “About Me” page. I hope you found some new ideas from my post.
Thank you for the tips! I wrote my “About Me” page some time ago and it may need some spicing up… with these tips in mind. Like Tracy mentioned above, it’s a work in progress, so a few tweaks every now and then go a long way! Check it out at http://bepositivemom.com/about
Thanks, Steph! About Me pages are always a work-in-progress for me, too. As I do more and more with my blog, I keep adding and tweaking. Did you add your blog to the linky above? I didn’t see it.
I’ve been wanting to update my about page for a while, and these give me some good ideas 😀
Glad you liked them!
Some ace tips! I needed to update mine so have done! Thank you!
Thanks, Hayley!
Wow, great advice~ One step at a time… a work in progress 🙂 Thanks for all of the wonderful advice, it’s time to take a second glance at my about page… ~Take Care…
Thanks! I just replied to the previous comment that I also remind myself to go step-by-step. Nobody is perfect from the start.
Great tips. I’m always looking for ways to make improvements on my blog. Maybe it’s the perfectionist in me, or maybe I’m still finding my true voice online. Either way it’s a great learning experience, and I’m always eager to learn new things. Thanks again! 😉
I’m always on the look out for new and cool things to do to my blog as well. I have a list of so many things that I want to improve, that it’s almost depressing how far I need to go. I keep reminding myself that it’s important to improve step-by-step. Nobody is completely awesome on their first day.
Great post. Here I thought I was done with About Me page and as usual I was mistaken. This post inspired me to spruce it up even more…
Glad I inspired you! It inspired me to update mine as well.
wonderful post! great tips!
i don’t even have an About Me page. oh, my!
have a happy week ahead!
Thank you! I hope I inspired you to think about adding one to your site.
Great tips! I haven’t re-vamped my About Me page since I started my blog. Sounds like it’s about time to look at it with fresh eyes, since I am more clear in the direction my blog is taking than perhaps I was in the beginning.
Very good point! I think it’s so much easier to write your About Me page when you’ve actually figured out what your blog is all about. Maybe that’s why I keep re-writing mine…I keep changing my focus.
Great post! Love those about mes
Thank you!
Thank you! I was very lucky to find some good ones!
These are GREAT tips. I have a video with an intro to my blog I did for something else, but it’s a great idea to add it to my about me!
Oh, yes, do that! When I saw how remarkably well video works on the About Me page, It got me toying with the idea of doing that, too…Once I have better video recording equipment.
This is an excellent post, Erin! Loved all your tips and how beautifully this post was formatted!
I just redid my site’s About page, so I’m eager to get feedback from my wonderful SITStas! The linky is a cool idea!
Well Fran totally hooked me up with improving the formatting and including the linky, so I can’t take credit for her genius. I will be checking out all the links this week and I can’t wait to read yours, Ms. Smarty Pants!
What great tips. Here I thought I was being clever with my About Me page. Apparently, not. Thank you for showing us some great examples. Like Jenn, I’m just going to leave it and hope for a critiques. It took me forever just to get that page up.
LOL! There is something about writing the About Me page that takes forever. I also thought I was severely clever with mine until I checked out the blogs above. I have LOTS of work to do, too.
What great ideas. Now I just have to figure out how to get those headings made at the top of my home page….techno idiot that I am!
Oh, my gosh. I hear you! My blog is still all funky because I have no idea how to fix some of the techie issues.
My about me page is always a little tough for me. I’m not selling product, just explaining the nature of my blog. I’ll have to take some time to edit it tonight though.
I wrote the product part just to remind bloggers who have products to be sure to promote them on their About Me page, so don’t worry about that if you don’t have a product. But, don’t be shy about listing a few of your favorite posts so we can all see your brilliance. =)
I linked up my About Me page and also my Welcome page. I haven’t updated them for the challenge, because I thought I’d like to hear a little critiquing first and see what people think that I should change. I’m going to need to change my Welcome page since it seemed to make more sense when I started the blog, but now a year into it, not so much. Wondering if I should combine it with my About Me page and eliminate things that aren’t relevant anymore. I’ve always really liked my About Me page, but after reading this post I think I may need to try a little harder and kick it up a notch! 🙂
Ohhh…I’m gonna check out your welcome page. That sounds interesting. I will be going through all the links above this week, so thanks for linking up!
Excellent tips and great entry and I love how they are numbered as well, because these are all important!!!
Thank you! And they are in no particular order. I felt they were all very important.
Great post! I don’t even have an about me page! Gonna have to do something about that 🙂
Oh, yes, my dear, you need to get on that. 😉 And don’t worry…I’ve updated mine like 10 times. It’s never finished!
Very inspirational post!!! At the suggestion of a pro blogger, I recently added an About page. Wow: do I have some work to do to improve my little effort! But I took away two concrete suggestions that I want to implement, so I found this post to be exceptionally helpful. Thank you so much!
Great! So glad it helped. Which 2 stood out for you?
I love this post! Thanks for all of the fantastic examples– makes me want to up my game on my About Me page. Also makes me want to go check out all of those fabulous blogs! Thanks for the great advice.
Thank you! Definitely check out these bloggers. I’m stalking them now, as well.