The first thing you should do when starting a new blog is to write your “About Me” page.  The “About Me” page will probably be viewed by everyone that ever visits your blog and reads your articles.  It is essential to helping you to connect to you readers.

Use your “About Me” page to sell yourself to your readers.  Take the opportunity to let them know you’re the expert when it comes to the topics in your niche, and that your blog is the place to go for information.

Why You Need An About Me Page

Most often than not, your readers want to know more about the person writing the posts on your blog.  They want to feel like their interacting with a human and not a robot.

Have you ever noticed when you go into Walmart, they have the new do-it-yourself check out lines?  Have you also noticed that alot of times these lines are empty and shoppers are waiting in line to go through a human operated checkout?

It’s because, even with the big role technology plays in our society, people still feel more comfortable with human interaction.  I don’t think we will ever see that part of society fade away.

Your “About Me” page helps you to connect with your readers on a more personal level.  They will feel more comfortable with the information you provide, and will trust your judgement and advice more than if they only knew the blog and not the author.  Making this connection with your readers is what keeps them coming back over and over again.

Some readers will continue to come back to a blog even if the content sucks because they like the person behind it.

The Main Features Of An About Me Page

  • Photos – Include your photo.  It doesn’t have to be professionally done.  And it doesn’t have to be your best pose.  As long as it show the real you.  In fact, funny and odd pictures usually work more often than professional looking photos.  Look at my About Me page for an example.
  • Your Blog’s Objective – Let everyone know why your writing your blog.  Even if it’s only to make money, let them know the truth.  Most readers will see beyond any smoke and mirrors you show them.  Be truthful and most people will understand.  Lie to them, and they will not come back.  They might even tell others about you.  So make sure you do everything possible to make your readers feel like they can trust you.
  • Self Introduction – Introduce yourself, aside from your blog.  Let readers know a little about your personal life.  Tell them your name, or what your favorite hobbies are.  Hell, even tell them you like to cross dress if you want.  The more controversial you can get may help to bring back readers that want to try to prove you wrong and other readers that want to defend you.
  • Contact Details – Include a way for your readers to get in touch with you.  There are alot of potential business partners or job offers that could come from your readers.  You don’t want to miss out on something because you didn’t provide a way to contact you.
  • Promote Yourself – Add links to your other blogs, your business website, or other blog posts that you think are some of your best work.  This helps to bring readers further into your blog, and along with the contact details, could eventually provide you with an exciting job opportunity that you may not have otherwise known about.

How To Create An About Me Page

If you use Wordpress, simply write a new page in your admin panel, and click publish.   A link should automagically appear in your navigation menu for your readers to easily find.

If you use something besides Wordpress, like Blogger, all you do is write a new post, backdate it for sometime around when your blog first started, and create a link to that post in your sidebar menu.

Things To Think About

  • Privacy – If you have a problem with privacy, or even if you don’t, you should always try not to give out too much personal information.  Don’t give out your address, or where you will be everyday at 2:00 pm.  If and when you start getting thousands of readers, you may end up attracting those that would want to hunt you down and hurt you in some way, especially if you’re an attractive female blogger.  The best way to add the contact details that I mentioned above is to add a contact form to your blog, so that readers can get in touch without knowing any personal information about where you live.
  • Keep It Short – Don’t bore your readers with a ridiculously long “About Me” page.  Try to keep it shorter than 400 words.  Anything longer than that, unless you’re amazing at telling stories, will cause your readers to lose focus, and click off on some other website.
  • Keep It Relevant – If your blog topic is about Monster Truck driving, don’t go off on a story about how you used to be a ballerina when you were younger.  Try to stay within the topic of your niche.  The chances of a reader wanting to read something other than related information about your niche when they visit your blog is pretty slim.
  • Don’t Hide It – Be proud of your “About Me” page.  Don’t try to hide it from your readers.  They want to see it, and they want to be able to easily find it without thinking too hard.  If you’ve taken the time to sit down and write a really good page, shout it from the rooftops.  No one else is going to toot your horn for you.  You have to do it yourself.

This isn’t the definitive guide to creating an “About Me” page, only my personal opinions and experiences about the subject.  Feel free to play with it and try different things.  Be original and standout from the crowd.  You’ll be surprised at how far it’ll take you.

Let me know some of your opinions on writing a great “About Me” page in the comments below.

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