Guest post: 4 steps to an About Me page that sizzles

By Andrew Wise

Blogging isn’t easy. We are constantly being pulled in a million different directions, so it’s not uncommon for one task to take precedence over another. In our haste to get out blog posts out, we often neglect the little things . . . like the importance of a well written “About Me” page for an author.

Believe it or not, the About Me page on any given site is usually somewhere in the top ten most visited pages. It makes sense, too, when you consider that nearly 80 percent of daily blog visits are from new visitors. They want to trust that the person they are getting their information from is reliable, and the About Me page is the place where they find that out.

If your About page lacks content, hasn’t been updated in some time, or doesn’t exist at all, you’re making a huge mistake. Fortunately, there are some easy ways go to about fixing that, whether you write fiction or nonfiction. Here are four tips that will help you transform your About Me page. (Note: To see the infographic better, click on it, then click on the image on the new page a second time to enlarge it.)

1. Prove yourself to be an authority in your industry.

Why should someone turn to you for information and what makes you more trustworthy than the next guy with a website? Simultaneously build your brand and prove that you know your stuff by adding reader testimonials or subscriber counts to your page.

2. Show your personality.

An About Me page may be a visitor’s first look into who you are and how you write. Try to sound like you’re engaging them in conversation as opposed to regurgitating textbook jargon at them. Be polite, be positive, and be friendly. Having an approachable, conversational tone in your writing really does go a long way.

3. Add a picture.

Time is precious and no one enjoys reading giant blocks of text, no matter how important the information may be. Adding a high quality picture to break things up a bit may help a lot. Humans are visual creatures and visual creatures are stimulated by pictures. For an author About page, you want to include photos of yourself.

4. Conclude properly.

A great college professor once told me that you should always finish a presentation by asking if anyone in the audience has any comments or questions. You should end your About Me page in a similar manner. Whether it’s offering the reader a simple way to join your weekly newsletter list or simply suggesting comments and opinions either via a comment box or your email, make sure you’re giving them an outlet to express themselves.

What’s the first thing you will do right now to improve your “About Me” page?