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Content is king when it comes to blogging, right?
Well, not always.
You can write the best content, design the coolest courses and sell the neatest product but, if you can’t connect with your audience, no one is going to pick up what you’re putting down.
The proper phrase should be “brand is king” and there are many ways to develop and showcase a strong brand.
One such way is to optimize your about page to give your readers a clear idea of who you are and why you’re there.
If you feel it’s time to give your about page a once over, never fear! Here are all the right reasons why you should and exactly how to do it:
Table of Contents
Why is an About Page Important?
You may be surprised to learn that your about page has nothing to do with SEO – which is why it’s often an overlooked aspect of your website.
Instead, your about page is all about creating a user experience. It helps to answer your audience’s questions about who you are and what you’re about.
It’s an important opportunity to communicate directly with your visitors. Your content is a great way to inform your readers and help them deal with their challenges, but your about page is like having a conversation with them about why they should trust your information.
It’s also an important aspect of creating your image and your brand. A brand is the overall impression visitors get when they visit your blog.
Even though the look of your site is important for your brand, you also need to inject your voice and personality in order to build trust and connection with your readers.
Your readers want to know who you are and what your story is. They want to know why you are passionate about helping them.
Creating an about page is not difficult but you do want to include some important aspects in order to build this connection. Here is what you should have on your about page:
What to Include in Your About Page:
Your about page should be short and sweet – yet effective. It should have a comfortable flow while providing all the information necessary to create a bond with your visitors.
Even though I’m going to list certain elements you should have on your about page, it’s important not to simply list everything like a resume.
Just write what comes naturally and keep these aspects of your about page in mind:
Your Name and a Picture
First of all, you want to make sure your visitors know your name and what you look like. This will help strengthen your brand and give your site a voice.
I’ll admit, I’m camera shy. For this site, because I adopt a more playful tone, I decided to just slap a Snapchat pic onto my about page and call it a day:
I even call myself out in my intro.
If you’re offering a professional service, such as coaching, you may want to opt for a more professional image.
Your readers just want to be able to put a face to your content.
Your Mission Statement
Your site’s mission statement is a brief summary of your goals. Explain what it is your doing and why your visitors should care.
You can make your mission statement clear with one line of text. Some sites clearly state “this is our mission statement” while others use a simple headline to summarize what their site and product is about:
Life is Good is an online t-shirt company but with this one line you can surmise that their mission statement is to spread happiness, positivity and optimism through their products.
Your Site’s Story
People are interested in finding out how you got to where you are – it helps them connect with you personally.
Highlight your journey’s milestones and provide a bit of a back story as to how your site was created.
Try to steer clear of personal stories – you can certainly include a little blurb about who you are but you don’t need to include the history of your life.
HostGator is a web hosting company that uses a visual timeline to explain their company’s history:
This gives visitors a clear understanding of where their company began and how they grew into the entity they are now.
Your Passion
Visitors want to know that you are serious about the content and services you are sharing, so explain your passion for your niche.
Include your “a-ha!” moment that led to you creating your site – explain your challenges and how you came about finding a solution.
I go on to explain how discovering Holistic living solved this existential issue I was having. My “a-ha!” moment was reading a book that inspired me to find balance in my life.
Your Audience
You can build a connection with your audience by speaking directly to them. Describe your core audience – those who share the challenges you wish to provide help to.
There’s no guesswork here: Twins Mommy was created for moms who want to make money blogging. If your a mom who wants to make money blogging, you’ll know you’re in the right place.
Your Offer
While you may understand your niche and product front and back, you need to explain what you are offering in terms that your visitors will understand.
Not only does this build trust and connection, but it will compel them to buy into whatever you are selling – whether this is information, an eBook, a course or any other type of product or service.
If you visit the about page on this site, I mention 3 ways that Mama Needs Coffee can help mom bloggers:
I kept it simple and straightforward with a little visual appeal.
You don’t even have to get that fancy – a bullet list will get your point across as well.
Your Values
Building a connection with your audience means treating them like human beings, not just a potential sale. By sharing your values, you are letting them know that you are a human being too with a passion to help.
This sort of cycles back to your “why” but provides a little more in depth information as to why you want to help your visitors bring about significant changes.
Tailwind uses a video to showcase their values as well as their company culture:
A video is a fancy way of communicating your values but you can even just add a blurb like I did on SpiritSoulMe:
I also list my vision and my mission statement – you can find these in the sidebar on the about me page.
Fun Facts
While you want to focus your about page on building trust in order to generate leads, it’s also important to give your visitors a little insight as to who you are as a person.
On Twins Mommy, site owner Elna shares some facts about herself:
If you notice, nothing she talks about here has anything to do with her site or blogging. These are just extra facts about herself to round out the about me page and drive that connection with her visitors.
Getting to Know You
The online world can be so cold and impersonal, which is why it’s important to make the effort to connect personally with those you are reaching out to.
You can’t do this on an individual basis, but you can create that personable connection by sharing your story and your passions through your about page.
How’s your about page looking? Ready for an overhaul? Come back and drop a link in the comments so we can check it out!
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