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About About Pages

Posted By Darren Rowse 17th of May 2006 Miscellaneous Blog Tips 0 Comments

Brian at copyblogger today asks What’s Your Blog Really About? and gives some good tips for writing an about page, using mine as an example of how to write it:

“Of course, I’ve been reading Darren’s blog for quite some time. But if I had just stumbled upon it today, I would have clicked on the ‘About ProBlogger’ link to see what was going on.

And that page would have done its job well. It caught and kept my attention, and it would have resulted in a subscription. All because he told me a story that demonstrated exactly the reason why I would want to read his blog, and at the end, he asked me to subscribe.

That’s what the ‘About’ page of your blog is for. Without a static homepage, and with numerous potential entry points via links or search results, the ‘About’page of a blog is an important opportunity to convert a new visitor into a regular reader.”

Keep in mind that like Brian says, writing an ‘About Page’ around a personal story like I’ve done is not appropriate for every blog. I use it because my story is central in my style of writing but also adds some level of credibility to the topic at hand. In fact I get a lot of readers tell me that the reason they keep coming back is because they somehow feel involved in the story of ProBlogger.

However for some blogs a personal story is not appropriate. Brian sums it up well:

“The necessity of understanding exactly what your blog is really about is why we examined remarkable benefits, how to find them, and how yours must be expressly communicated before we started with this series. Because if you are not crystal clear on why your blog is worth paying attention to, potential subscribers are not going to figure it out for you.

Most blog ‘About’ pages tend to be about the author, not about the blog. And most of the time, that’s where visitors will click away, never to be seen again, because they were provided with no compelling reason to ever come back.”

I always head to the “About” pages on blogs that I visit for the first time. What I find there often helps me determine whether I’ll return. It’s worth putting significant time into writing it and making it as engaging as possible. It’s also worth considering what action you want the readers of your About pages to take once they’ve read it and to leave them with something to do at it’s conclusion.

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. Great post! About pages are pretty essential in my eyes. I find they really establish trust and rapport with the authors I come across. The ‘net is such a huge anonymous place and when I can learn a little more about the person behind some good work, it really helps me build affinity with them.

    That said, they do have to do good work. If they don’t have good content even the best “about me” page won’t do much for me, if I even get that far. Guess it all comes down to content again…go figure.

  2. Ditto on the About Pages. It’s always the first page I look for when checking out a new blog. You can learn a lot about a blogger from his/her About Page. If nothing more, you at least get a feel for their style of writing. I particularly like an About Page with a little humor or something that makes you feel comfortable or welcomed… know what I mean?

  3. Hey Darren, thanks again for giving me a great example to write about.

    Charlie, you’re absolutely right about content. I think the key is that every element of your blog should get the same attention and effort as your very best post. It raises the bar a bit, but you’ll see the difference in your numbers.

  4. Excellent post, Darren. This was something I was completely missing on my blog. I created an About My Blog page and I think it’s pretty good (although I reserve the right to change it as time goes on). I put a link to it in my Subscribe section, right below my Disclaimer link on each individual post, and underneath the Disclaimer link in my RSS Feed.

    Also, have you ever done a post on the different ways to tackle your blogroll? I don’t have a very big blogroll because I only add sites that I actually read on a daily basis, but I actually created an “About My Blogroll” page that describes why I link to these sites and what they could offer other potential readers.

    Anyway, great post as usual. Thanks for the keeping us in the know.

  5. It occurred to me that I’ve always thought of about pages as being about the blogger, rather than about the blog. Darren’s post shows that he considers his abouts to be about their respective blogs. I guess they have to be when you have multiple focused blogs.

  6. About About Pages (via ProBlogger)

    Via ProBlogger, via Copyblogger, here’s a discussion About About Pages. Both Brian at Copyblogger and Darrin at ProBlogger make a really good point about making your blog an effective marketing tool. Brian writes:Most blog ‘About’ pages tend to be…

  7. I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:

A Practical Podcast… to Help You Build a Better Blog

The ProBlogger Podcast

A Practical Podcast…

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