Does your Blog have an about page? Most likely it does? If someone happens upon your blog they might want to know who is behind the blog post they just read or more importantly what the blog is about. The about page is one of the easiest ways for someone that has no idea who you are or ever been to your blog to get the scoop quickly and easily. Its your job to take the time to put together a nice page describing all this.
Before I go any further I want to address a problem I see on a lot of blogs out there. People are installing WordPress and not taking the time to clean up after the initial installation. What I mean is they don’t even pay attention to the default About page that already comes pre-made with a message that says something like, “this is an example of an about page blah blah blah”. I’ve seen this on blogs that have seemingly been up and running for quit a while. So before you do another thing, if you are guilty of this you need to fix it.
Now more on building a better about page for your blog. There really is no good, better and best way to do this. Its your opportunity to write something great to draw readers in and hopefully click on that subscribe button. Here I will offer you some tips on things that are important. You can pick and choose which things you want to use.
What your blog is about - Even more importantly than who you are people want to know about the blog and what they can expect.
Who you are - and why they should listen to you with regards to what you write about.
How often you update - This is just nice so readers know when to expect new content.
Provide ways to subscribe - You always want to tell readers how they can get your content.
Video post is good for the about page - Video is more personal and readers can get a glimpse of your personality right from the beginning.
Contact information - If you don’t provide a contact form you can provide information for people to get in touch with you via email, address even phone if you’d like.
Any other - The floor is open for you to share anything else you’d like to add.
Rob O. | April 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am #
Contact info is a huge one for me. Nothing is more aggravating than wanting to send an idea, comment, or complaint directly to a webmaster or blogger and not being able to find any means with which to do so.
On my own About page, I’ve provided links to both a web-based contact form and a direct MAILTO option.
amy lenzo | April 24th, 2008 at 1:28 pm #
Thanks for this blog Jason (and your comment, Rob). Now I have to go look at my “about” page and make sure it’s up to snuff!
One thing I’d add is how nice it is to see a photograph of the author on a blog. Many people have commented that being able to “see” me makes me seem more accessible and personable. Blogging (like everything else) is so much about relationship that anything that helps your readers get a better sense of who you are can’t help but be good.
superjason | April 24th, 2008 at 2:04 pm #
Good timing! I was actually just wondering if I should create one. I don’t think Blogger gives you one though :cry:.
–SuperJason (my tech blog)
jblanton (Post Author) | April 24th, 2008 at 2:25 pm #
@SuperJason I think there is a profile you can use on Blogger but it would be kinda nice to be able to create a second page as your About page.
amy lenzo | April 24th, 2008 at 6:02 pm #
I’ve never had much admiration for those automatic “About” pages - you can almost always make something much more personal and effective yourself.