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.
