One thing all bloggers seem to struggle with is writing their own bios. They can talk about themselves all the live-long day in blog post after blog post, but when it comes to summarizing themselves in an About Page or a Bio, they choke.
For any blogger who wants blogging to be more than an occasional hobby, a good About Page is essential. And it should be prominently linked from the navigational menu at the top of your blog because it is the first place a marketer or new reader goes to learn more about you!! My About Page is consistently one of the most often viewed pages on my site.
The first thing you want to decide is if you are going to write in first or third person. This depends on the purpose of the blog and your writing style, but most bloggers will want to write their About page in first person. If you write your blog from first person point of view, then definitely write your About Page the same way.
Not only that, but write it in your voice. Don’t try to suddenly sound like a press release. This is part of your blog’s resume, and you want it to sound like you and showcase your personality and your writing ability.
Here are the components of an About Page. Not everyone will use all of these components, but this is a checklist that gives you a place to start.
Components of an About Page
1. Bio. Who are you? What makes you special? What sets you apart? Where do you come from? Keep it short and to the point, but make sure to infuse your personality into this section. Be specific. Tell where you are located, how many kids you have and their ages, and what you do. Keep this part current because marketers may be looking at your blog, and they often will choose participants for campaigns based on age of kids and geographic location.
And make sure to use a photo. People want to know who is talking to them.
Here is mine:
Welcome!! I’m Jo-Lynne, and this is my blog. I’m a 39-year-old wife, mother, blogger, brand advocate, community manager and social media consultant living outside of Philadelphia with three lively children (ages 6, 9 and 12) and a very easy-going husband (because someone in this house has to be!) We make our home in a rural suburb of Philadelphia.
I go on to share more about myself a little bit later, but this is the Cliff’s Notes version.
2. Mission Statement. Consider this your elevator pitch. Everyone should have one — a short summary that quickly and simply defines your product or service — or in this case, your blog. You need a paragraph that says clearly what your blog is about. What can people expect to get when they visit?
Here is mine:
Musings of a Housewife is a personal memoir and lifestyle blog where I write about faith, food, fitness, fashion, family travel, and anything else that strikes my fancy. (I’m also a fan of aliteration, can you tell?)
3. More details about the blog. Here is where you can expand on your elevator pitch. Think about who you are writing for, what services you are providing, what problem you are solving. I’ve heard it said that if you can solve a problem for someone, you will have a successful blog. Perhaps you offer craft tutorials for busy moms or recipes for vegetarians living on a budget or review travel destinations for families or entertain by storytelling and anecdotes about life as a stay at home mom of five. Whatever it is, expand on that here.
Since my blog is a bit of a potpourri, I take a few paragraphs to explain the key topics I write about — faith, food, fashion, fitness, family travel.
Use photos and links. Link to some of your most popular posts or categories. Use a lot of paragraph breaks. Keep it interesting.
4. Resume. You may want to provide some basic resume material — especially if your blog is one that provides a service. I detail briefly some of my professional gigs and accomplishments so that if a brand is reading, they get a sense of what I have to offer. This is not an extensive resume. I offer that in my Media Kit. But this gives an overview of who you are in the social media space and what you have to offer brands — if that is of interest to you, of course. If you are blogging as a hobby, you can use this section to tell what you do in your professional life, or just leave it out — but your readers will enjoy knowing that too!
Blogging has opened up many exciting doors of opportunity. One of my greatest honors was being named one of the 50 most powerful and influential women in social media by Nielsen Online in 2009. I’ve made appearances for Hebrew National, Huggies, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales and traveled to the corporate headquarters of TJMaxx, iRobot, Chick-Fil-A and even Disney World.
I am a regular contributor to The Skinny for Therapon Skin Health and Family Your Way, I occasionally write for major companies such as this series of articles for Udi’s Gluten Free Foods and this post for Boston Market, and I’ve been a brand ambassador for Kidworth and YouGiveGoods. I’m currently a Community Leader for Udi’s Gluten Free Living Community and Social Media Manager for Rose Romano’s Italian Gourmet Toppings. I also recently joined the ranks of the FitFluential Ambassadors.
In the local sphere, I own Eat Local Philly, a resource for locally sourced foods; and I facilitate the vibrant networking group, Philly Social Media Moms.
5. Call to Action. At the end, you want to make a clear call to action. Anyone who makes it to the end is likely interested in what you have to say or what you have to offer and wants more. Tell them where to get more.
Do you produce a product? Tell them how to buy it. Do you offer a service? Tell them where to find it. Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter? Follow you on Twitter? Facebook? Subscribe to your feed? Tell them how. Use links. Make it easy for them.
I do it all. Perhaps it’s a bit of overkill, but I want to make sure people know where to find me.
If you like what you read, you can subscribe by RSS. Or subscribe by email and get daily updates right to your email inbox!
My monthly email newsletter is another great way to stay in touch. And be sure to follow me on Twitter — I’m JoLynneS. I’d also love it if you’d follow my Facebook Page. We have a lot of great conversations over there.
I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to email me anytime at info@musingsofahousewife.com.
Then be sure to make your About Page available. Link to it in your nav bar or put it at the top of your sidebar. I do both. I link to mine from my little photo/bio box at the top of my sidebar, as well as providing a link in the nav bar.
One more thing to consider: make a video! A short video is a great way to introduce yourself to your audience and showcase your personality. I keep meaning to make one and add it to my About Page. I’ll get around to it some day.
Was this helpful? Can you think of anything I left out? Feel free to leave questions in the comments.
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great post, Jo-Lynne! Sharing!
Jo-Lynne! Thank you so much for writing this. I always struggle with what to write, what I should be saying, how I should be saying it. This puts it all down for me and tells me the ins and outs of what a GOOD about me page should look like . Thanks again…cant wait to spruce up my place
Thanks for writing such an informative post! I was wondering how you got your mini about me at the end of each blog post? In addition to an About Me page I think that’s an awesome idea! Does it automatically update how many posts you write?
Hi Chelsea. It is a plugin for WordPress – Better Author Bio.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am one that freezes when I have to write a bio about myself. This is SO helpful.
Great ideas! I love this post. Now if I can only rework some things in my schedule to make time! Any tips there
Thanks for this!!
Great post, Jo-Lynne. Super helpful tips. Heading out to share on Twitter, G+, etc. By the way, that’s a gorgeous photo of your family.
These are great tips. I redid mine last year and I scoured blogs trying to decide the best way to write mine so it would reflect me and what I write about.
Great tips! Looks like I need to work on my “About” page.
~FringeGirl
Yikes! Looks like I’ve left out most of what should be on my about page! Time to revise! Thanks for this great helpful post.
Hey, I just discovered your blog. Thank you so much for this post! As a fairly new blogger, it’s extremely helpful.
Thank you for this extremely helpful post. I am a newbie blogger still getting my site all set up. The About Me Page has been difficult for me to write. Your ideas will certainly come in handy. Thanks!
I’m a newbie blogger too, still trying to get my site set up, and looking for ideas…
I just read your bio Nicole- I think you did an awesome job!
Great post, sharing!
Thanks for this post! I’ve definitely revised my page many times. This is really helpful.
GREAT! I’ve had this on my to-do list for so long and I’m hoping this will give me the jumpstart I need to finish it
great tips!
This is awesome! I’ve been meaning to update my bio for MONTHS now and this is exactly what I need to bump me in the right direction! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience =)
Great post! I want to update my profile soon! Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the help! I’ve been struggling with this for awhile! If you are interested here’s my new and improved about page! http://www.jaseyscrazydaisy.com/p/about-me-crazy-daisy.html
Thanks!
Jasey, it looks great! It’s only missing one thing — a photo of you!!!
Thanks for this post! I needed these tips
This was great, thank you! I am starting up a new website, and really was not pleased with my about page. There are wonderful pointers in here that I will be able to go back and rework my about section. It might take a few rounds, but I look forward to refining it!
Thank you for the tips and for always being so generous with your advice. Your blog is an inspiration on so many levels.
Great post! I’ve followed your advice to help me write the About page for my new business blog. You’re right, it’s one of the hardest pages to write but I think with your advice I’ve done an OK job. I’d love to know what you think! http://amysbuttonbox.wordpress.com Amy xxx
It looks great!! So glad my post was helpful.
Thanks for the great post. Going to share with my students in “Information Design and Usability” at The University of Texas at Dallas.
I am honored, thank you!!
Jo-Lynne!!
Thank you SO much for writing this! I came across it on Pinterest. You helped me TREMENDOUSLY!! I just wrote mine. (:
Thanks so much for the great tips!
Jourdan
Hi Jourdan. It looks GREAT! A couple things I would change.
The links at the bottom, you don’t want to ever link to the word “here” because it doesn’t help your SEO value. You want to choose words that would be picked up by search engines. So instead, you might want to say “follow Two Million Miles on Facebook.” and etc.
And what about a picture of YOU!??
Good luck!!
Right! That makes sense! I will go change that now! I planned on adding pix, but it was like 1 in the morning when I was doing it, so I went to bed. Fixing it now. Thanks so much again!!!
Hi Jo-Lynne,
I just rewrote my about page applying many of your suggestions
http://www.origamispirit.com/about-leyla-torres/
Thank you for all your pointers and advice.
Leyla, that looks GREAT!!
Great post. I have been putting off writing my About Me page for a few months now, and this article was the fourth result when I searched for “Creating a blog about me page”. I took a few of your tips, mixed them with some that I read elsewhere on adding sections, and came up with what I think was a pretty good about me page. I did my About Me in third person; do you have any thoughts or comments on doing it in third-person as opposed to first person? http://ronaldsteelman.com/about/ to see what I mean.
I think it depends largely on your audience and your goal. It seems as if your site is more professional in nature, so 3rd person works. You could add a photo tho! Otherwise, it looks great!