This post is more than three years old so may contain incorrect information, or opinions I no longer hold.
The Importance Of An About Page
Having a useful about page, like mine, is very important as it lets your readers both learn about you, and connect with you.
I love discovering new blogs, and when I do, I really enjoy wading my way through the backlog of that writer's content. However, before putting my waders on, the first page I usually look for is an about page.
That's because I like to know a little bit about the person who wrote the content I'm enjoying. Do they know what they're talking about? Anything in common? Ultimately, can I relate to the person who's content I'm reading?
In this post, I'm not going to provide any advice on writing the perfect about page. I'm just going to write about some of the things I personally like to see when perusing an about page.
Give us a piccy!
It's all well and good knowing about a person, but I really like to see who the person is that's writing the content too. As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words.
I have my avatar on my home page, but that's not an actual picture of me. Plus, I look quite grumpy on it (go to my homepage and hover your mouse over my avatar - or tap it on mobile - I might not look grumpy any more).
I'm generally not grumpy in real life, so on my about page I have an actual picture of my ugly mug. I just think it's more friendly.
An about page isn't a CV
While I like to read about a person's credentials, I don't like to read their entire CV (or resume if you're American). For example, on my about page I talk a little bit about my current role and a couple of sentences about my background. That's it.
During the day I work in the Information Security industry. I’m currently a Senior Vice President at Bank of America, where I lead the Cyber Threat Operations Centre (CTOC) across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
- My about page
I think that's enough to satisfy the requirement. You know what I do for a living and you've learned a little bit about my background too.
What about hobbies?
I always like to read about a person's other hobbies outside of their career, or what they're writing about (which are usually synonymous). Many of us have hobbies which may not be covered by a blog.
For me, that's fish keeping and motorbikes. I sometimes write about both on here, but it's very rare as that's generally not what my audience is looking for. I could literally write a blog about both of these subjects - but I don't have the time. ☹️
If I discovered a new blog and found that the author is a fellow aquarist or motorbike lover, I'd be thrilled and it would definitely compel me to subscribe and/or contact them. Without an about page, I'd never know that though.
Final thoughts on about pages
So you see, about pages have a lot of advantages. They allow your readers to learn about you and connect with you. Ultimately, this is a good thing - if your readers feel connected to you as a content creator, they're more likely to engage. Well, that's my opinion at least.
The rest of your site is the practical appeal, but the ‘About Us' is the emotional appeal.
For me, it's all about engagement. When I added the reply email button, my engagement really went up. I genuinely think that my about page (check it out here) is a large part of that, because my readers can connect with me both on a personal and technological level.
What about you? Do you have an about page? If not, why not? Maybe this page will inspire you to write your own about page. If so, please use the button below to let me know - I'd love to learn a little about you.
Want more?
So you've read this post and you're still not satisfied? Ok then, here's some other stuff for you to do: