3 Of The Most Important Things Your About Page Must Do (And Probably Doesn't)
You’ve got your about page charged up and ready to go.
You’ve included a picture of yourself that you like. You’ve shared your life story with your readers. You’ve been hearing all these things about how your about page is one of the most important pages on your website, which is why you’ve written it like this.
But is your about page performing as best as it could be for your online brand?
Did you know that your about page is always one of the most viewed pages on your website? Why? Because it’s usually one of the first places visitors will click through to when they get to your site.
If they aren’t impressed by it, you can expect them to leave without reading your amazing content, signing up for your newsletter or following you on social media.
This is what the average about page does:
Describes who you are
Tells the reader where they can find you on social media
Includes a picture of yourself
I’ve worked with several bloggers and seen lots of about pages and sadly, most of them just end up not being of value.
So what’s going to make your about page stand out? Well, I’ve got three critical ingredients that you need to keep your readers coming back to your blog time and time again.
And to make it easier for you, I've created a free cheatsheet of how to structure your about page and what to include. Just download it below!
3 THINGS YOUR ABOUT PAGE PROBABLY DOESN’T DO
#1 | Your about page doesn’t state how you are going to help your reader
It doesn’t matter what you blog about or what niche you’re in. Your blog is here to:
Entertain
Educate
Inspire
Your blog could do one of those things or a mixture of all three. The thing you need to do is figure out the purpose of your blog. Ask yourself these questions:
Are you educating a reader about something? (e.g. how to cope with sensitive skin)
Are you inspiring her to fix her mindset about her career?
Are you educating your reader about how she create her dream home on a budget?
Identifying this is the first step. Next, you need to understand why readers should come to your blog over others. What can you give them that makes you stand out?
You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need to have years of experience and have a load of sponsorships under your belt. You don’t need to be earning 6 figures or have proof that you’re the best.
You just need to know your reader and what they want.
Are there certain things you did that got you to the best position in your career? Have you transformed your body through health and fitness? Do you make recipes that people absolutely love on a limited budget?
These may seem obvious to you, but there are some people who WANT to know how to do some of the things you’ve done.
So share some of your experiences on your about page. Give them a glimpse of what your blog is all about and how their lives will be benefitted by reading your content.
#2 | Your about page doesn’t point people to join your mailing list
You tell your readers what they can expect and where they can find you on social media. But do you invite them to join your mailing list?
You’ve probably heard the importance of having an email list and what this can do for your online brand. The people that sign up to your mailing list are like your cheerleaders. They’re the biggest fans of your brand.
So while I know you’re probably sick of hearing about email lists so much, the principle behind it is to encourage your reader to connect with you on a deeper level.
By inviting them to join your mailing list, you are establishing another connection and you are able to look directly into what your subscriber needs. Their responses give you insight to the content they actually want to read.
But how do you say that on your about page without sounding really obvious?
The best thing is to give them a reason to sign up, an incentive. People won’t just hand over the email address for nothing in return - so what’s in it for them?
If you’re a fitness blogger you could offer them a weekly or monthly workout schedule. If you’re a food bloggers you could give them a PDF of your most popular recipes. If you’re a DIY or designer blogger, you could give away a desktop background or print.
Your opt-in incentive has to be specific to your niche and simple enough. You want to be able to say, “hey, I’d love to connect with you further, you can do this by joining my mailing list and if you do, do you’ll get a free download of my most popular recipes EVER.”
#3 | Your about page doesn’t tell people what to do next
What does your reader do when they’ve finished reading your about page? How do you get them to remember to check out your newest blog post when it goes live? How do you keep them on edge thinking about something they read on that page?
You can do all of this by giving your readers something to do next.
You don’t want people to click away when they’ve finished reading your about page. You want them to stick around your website for as long as possible. Give them a call to action. Better yet, give them a few, but don’t overwhelm them.
“If you’re interested in what this blog has to offer, be sure to find me here on Bloglovin so you never miss when a new blog post goes live.”
“If you want to continue the conversation further, I’d love for you to say hi! Come find me here on Twitter and give me a tweet.”
“I’d absolutely love to have you as part of the community! You can join 200 others in our free Facebook group - click here to join.”
These are quite basic, but overall, you get the idea.
Now you might be thinking…
How are you going to put all of this into one about page without it being a million words long and your reader being completely overwhelmed with all you have to say?
I get it. An about page can only contain so much information.
Which is why I recommend planning it first and only including the most important, relevant information.
The purpose of your about page is to:
Tell them about your brand
Get them interested in your best content
Advise them on how you can help them what makes you stand out
You can set your about page out in any way you wish, but that’s the basics of it.
STRUCTURING YOUR ABOUT PAGE
This is how I structure my about page:
I open with a one liner describing to my audience what my website is all about.
Then I embed a YouTube video which basically as an about me video.
I have a few paragraphs where I try and convey how my reader is feeling, how I can help them and why my blog is the best place for that to happen.
I include a picture of myself.
I share a brief history of myself but relate it to my reader and why I’m the best person to help them.
I tell them where they can find me know and incorporate all my social channels and free Facebook group into that.
I end with a quote.
By the end of your about page, you should have created a solid foundation and impression of your blog, and delivered as much value as you possibly can. This is like a trial for new readers, to show them what they can expect from your blog and how you can serve them.
Anyone who clicks away, doesn’t follow you on other platforms or sign up to your mailing list is not your ideal reader. Don’t worry about that.
It’ll take a bit of time to get your about page up to scratch, but once you do, it’s there forever and it’s going to be a tool to help your website get more results.
You decide what you want your reader to see on your about page. Its purpose is to encompass everything you, your blog and your brand is all about.
Go and take a look at your about page now. Where can you inject more of the things we just talked about? How can your turn your about page into a tool that makes your readers want to come back for more?
P.S Don't forget to download your own about page cheatsheet!
