One of the first things to do after starting your wellness blog is to write an effective about page. Albeit, a lot of bloggers might not have one or put it off for later because; they do not have the right words, do not see it as important or simply forget about it.
Well, I didn’t write my about page until after my first 6months plus of blogging. When I finally got to it, I wrote a very shabby about me and got it over with. I didn’t know any better and had no guide. A lot of my blogger friends then had an about page like mine so I thought it was just fine after all, who looks at an about page?
I couldn’t be more wrong!
In fact, I cringe when I remember the shabby self-absorbed 5lines I put up as an about page. And to think I had that up for several months while I gave people blogging guidelines is just mind boggling.
After a while of blogging and actively reading other blogs, I realised they was a pattern in my behaviour. Whenever I read a blog and loved its contents, I tried to find out the person behind the blog. I still do.
A lot of bloggers agree that they do this too.
Then it started to done on me that an about page is actually important.
Usually, an unedited about page looks like this:
My about page looked this way for months before I changed it. Imagine all those people being greeted with an about page like that and later a self absorbed 5lines of my awesomeness. I know I don’t take anyone without an about page seriously and so do brands. My about page was missing something important- THE POINT.
Your about page is where your readers/clients/customers meet you for the first time and you know what they say about having only one chance to make a first impression.
According to popular belief, it is the most visited page on your blog and a perfect opportunity for you to convert a random visitor to a subscriber. So, if like me, your about page is missing the point, then this is for you.
In this post, you will learn why you need an about page, how to sell your services on your about page without sounding smarmy, basic SEO tips to include in your about page, the general dos and don’ts of an effective about page etc.
And By the time you finish reading this you would have all the information you need to write an effective about page for your wellness blog.
Some Reasons Why You Need An Effective About Page
1) It is a way to make a good first impression
2) It helps you get free organic traffic
3) It gives you an opportunity to tell visitors about your services and products
4) It helps you direct visitor where you want them to go on your blog.
5) It humanizes your blog and improves your brand image
6) It helps you get subscribers and ravings fans through your clear call to action.
How To Write An Effective About Page
Call It What It Is- AN ABOUT PAGE!
Please don’t try to be too smart. Let your About page be called an About page not a fancy inside joke name only you and your high school classmates understand; this would be fun if your blog was a WhatsApp group for you and your friends but if it is for the general public, you’ve got to fix it. Once I check the menu pane of a blog and can’t find an ‘about’, ‘who is’ OR ‘start here’ in clear terms, I simply assume there isn’t one. I refuse to be stressed. Don’t try to stress people unnecessarily.
Write A Headline
Writing a benefit driven headline is really important and this can either be a question, a promise or an assertion.
Don’t get confused. I’ll give examples
Method 1: Question
You can see that Problogger started with a question “Do you dream of making money from your blog?” that is a benefit driven headline that is in form of a question and surely any blogger looking to make money from their blog will be interested in reading it.
Method 2: A Promise
A promise is one thing you tell your visitors you can help them do that makes them want to check you out and get you to help them.
Method 3: Assertion/ Factual Statement
This is a headline that is a true fact about your service or ideal reader’s core frustration. See how some bloggers did it.
With all this in mind, you should find that one thing people will benefit from your blog and use it as your headline. You should spend time on choosing a headline carefully in order not to sound pushy. Your headline should be reflection your reader’s core frustration and how you are the best at solving their problem.
Introduce Yourself Properly
Say your name before your visitor has to find it. The first step of an introduction is name stating. Even if your blog URL is “yourname[dot]com” it is important that you state it again.
You may start with “Hi there! My name is so-and-so” or “Hello! I’m so-and-so” it humanizes your blog. Do not let your subscribers have to use a microscope to search for your name. Not your nick name or a misspelled name like Mhiz Hot Baybie. Although you may successfully blog under an alias (what you want to be called on your blog).
Example: Hi, I’m so-so and so, I help (enter your target audience) with (enter your services) to help them (enter your ideal reader’s results)
After introducing yourself you might want to jump in to your ideal reader’s core frustrations like Meera Kothand
Add At Least One Good Photo Of You/Your Team
Keyword: YOU. Having a photograph of you or your team is a great way to introduce yourself. Do not upload a picture of a model in a perfect picture except you are the model in the perfect picture and that’s what you are promoting. Show a real recent photo of you. Not your photo from 10years ago before you gained weight!
I do not also mean you should upload a photo of you backing the camera and staring at the ocean. We know you slayed in the photo but it would again more appreciation on your Instagram feed.
You shouldn’t upload a photo of you looking grumpy, worn out or as uptight as their university lecturer. People want to put a face to your words and your picture will help them do just that. They are cases where a person may blog anonymously like naija single girl but those cases are rare.
An anonymous blog may be thriving from the fact that it is anonymous e.g. naija single girl may probably be having her feet rubbed by her ever doting husband with her quadruplet toddlers tugging at her arm as she writes about how she is single AF at this moment and we would buy it because no one knows who she is.
Share Your Qualifications
Let your readers know your expertise. Highlighting your degree, a certificate or experience in a particular wellness field helps boost your authority. Your about page should help position you as a wellness expert. You may include the symbols of any professional industry you belong to.
Clearly state what is necessary and try not to come off as boastful. You may include an award or two you have gotten from your field and maybe some reviews/testimonials especially from top influencers. It builds your authority. Just so your readers know that you know what you are talking about.
Basic About page SEO
1. Make it readable even for a skimmer:
A lot of readers like to skim through so make your work easily readable for easy scanning, by including paragraphs and subheads. After writing your about page you may observe that it is a bit lengthy. Weed out unnecessary information details (straight to the point information) and include relevant subheads to make it more scan able.
About page URL:
According to this post by Neely of itstartswithcoffee.com you should change your about page URL immediately. Usually the link to your about page looks like this: yourblog.com/about or yourblog.com/about-me, but you should correct this to yourblog.com/yourcity-yourniche-blogger e.g. Yourblog.com/Nigerian-wellness-blogger etc. I searched for Dallas lifestyle blogger and she came up as number 6 on SERPS, Go figure!
Her blog was also mentioned in the post that ranked number 1 so it’s still good.
I remember when I decided to start blogging about wellness, I wanted to see other Nigerian wellness blogs around and I kept searching for “Nigerian wellness bloggers” and “wellness blogs in Nigeria”. I wasn’t searching for “about us”. She makes a very valid point and I might be making the change soon.
2. Use keywords:
Input your keywords naturally into your about page. This would connect you to your customers through organic search. As always, avoid keyword stuffing.
3. Length:
There’s no generally accepted word count for an ideal about page and I reckon you do you. It’s all about what your ideal reader thinks. They either think “boring” or “I what to know more”.
Personally, I have read all lengths and while some are really short, they don’t get my attention and I still skim through while other long form about pages have gotten me hooked from the first sentence.
4. Internal linking
Link up to other relevant posts
Like every other page on your blog, your about page should not be without links. This gives your visitor somewhere to go and it helps to reduce your bounce rate. You might just link something your reader is interested in. I can’t count how many times I have been directed to something I am interested in from just viewing an about page.
For instance, if you have a post about why you blog or something that would help your readers know you a little better or would help them solve a problem. You could briefly share a sneak peek, share the links and ask them to read the entire thing if they are interested. Virtue is in the middle so ensure that you do not overdo it.
For the purpose of this article, we are going to use a virtual blogger and we’ll call her Tara. Tara has an effective about page so we will use excerpts from her about page as examples.
Example1
You may read some 10 not so boring facts about me and my full blogging story
Example 2
Here are some posts my readers have loved and found really helpful in the past. These simple power packed posts will help you get you started:
I. How to write an effective about me page that converts
ii. 5 reasons why your about page sucks and how to fix it now
iii. The ultimate guide to bad-ass about page writing for wellness bloggers
Assuming all the sentences in bold are actual links, Tara would have successfully linked up and made sure her visitor had somewhere to go after reading her about page.
Share a link to the services you provide
As a wellness blogger you are probably offering free or premium services and you should share a link to them. Do not make it smarmy or too sales like. You are trying to get in the good books of your visitor so they should get to know you first. I recommend a link to a service or work with me page where interested readers can learn more. (This point will be explained in more detail below).
Share your Contact information
Share a means for your readers to reach out to you. Your contact page or email address will do. If you do not have a separate contact page you may include a contact form at the tail end of your about page and/or a phone number depending on which is convenient for you.
Social media links
Some people would want to know more about you and what better way than on social media? Highlight your social media links because there’s a high chance your social media platforms has useful and relevant information on your personality
Tell your story and weave it into why you chose to blog about your chosen niche and get a little personal
This is where you’d state your big why. Why did you start your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it? How do you hope to achieve it? Etc. Having a blog mission and vision and a clear picture of your why, who, what and how, will help you flawlessly fill in this section.
Everyone has a story about how they started blogging, why they started blogging and why they blog about what they blog about.
Now this story should be told as it relates to your blog. Not a story of how on the day of your birth you were lifted up by your grandfather as he pronounced you a wellness blogger. I’m sure your story is very interesting and would sell out theatres even more than Black Panther did.
But then, not everyone has the time to read to your lamp tales especially when they are not just getting to know you. You may tell the history of your blog name briefly, include a sneak peek of your humble beginning when you had it all wrong and how you are broke through or are breaking through.
People want to know that you know what they are passing through and you didn’t always have it together. It makes them relate to you on a more personal level.
For instance: Let’s assume that Tara is in the about page niche would likely have a story that looks like this:
TARA’S WHY
“When I started my blog 2years ago, I had an ineffective about page for 13months. This made me lose clients even when I was an authority in my locality. I needed to reach out to more people and word of the mouth wasn’t reaching as many people as I could provide services for. It sucks to have the knowledge and not know how to get the word out. I got frustrated and thought of quitting more than once but had already been laid off my job and I needed to put food on the table at least for my son- Tee (From this, you can see that Tara got a little personal by mentioning her son but not giving out his full name, she may choose to reveal more but for now she isn’t putting too much other there)
….. Then with practice and multiple trainings, I realised all the things I was doing wrong and took action. Since then, I have built my business to a higher standard than I envisioned and clients now reach out to me by simply reading my about page and seeing all I have to offer. If only I had all the materials I needed to help me through the process of writing an about page when I started my business 2years ago, I wouldn’t have lost any clients and would have started making money on a large scale as soon as I launched my business online.
(TARA’S WHO)
This made me want to help people that have difficulty in writing an effective about page….
(TARA’S WHAT & HOW)
….by teaching people how to write effective about pages through blog post, webinars and E-courses, helping people write their about page in the done for you category, selling my over 5 quality stellar e-books + workbooks on how to write an effective about page and offering my over the shoulder about page coaching services.
Over time, I have helped over a dozen people put together effective about pages and this is what some of them have to say.”
This way she is sending visitors to the specific services they may need.
(ANOTHER WAY TARA MAY PUT HER “WHAT & HOW”)
“…By teaching people how to write effective about pages through quality posts, webinars, e-courses, helping people write their about page and selling my over 5 quality e-books + workbooks on how to write an effective about page and offering my over the shoulder coaching services all available in detail here.”
This way she has shared one link that contains all the services she provides.
Assuming that all the italicised sentences in bold are links, you can see the way the story was straight to the point and summarized with relevant links in place. Any visitor interested in any of her services knows where to find it and would get a hang of things really quickly. Any of the two methods is fine.
Bear in mind that you might be tempted to pen down your entire life story, especially that one time your pet orangutan saved mankind from extinction.
I get it.
Albeit, resist the urge.
Give your readers a moment to decide to stick around before you chip in your stories from time to time.
Simply state what you do and what your brand is about before you get into personal details. Write the way you talk, add a little humour here and there and always keep it straight to the point
Tell them who your blog is for and what they’d benefit from reading your blog
Every normal person would think their about page should be about them. But an about page is about your readers. It is THEM before YOU. An ideal reader wants to know wants in it for them before knowing why you do what you do or about how awesome you are. Tell them why you are the best person to walk them through their wellness journey
State who your blog isn’t for/what wouldn’t be covered on your blog
Do not expect people to just know because some of them will not know. It would definitely save you time in the long run and NO; you cannot cater for everyone so your blog isn’t for everyone everywhere. It is not oxygen. It may just be a simple statement or two.
Example1
“This blog isn’t for you if you are not willing to work or take some little intentional steps. Additionally, you will not find posts about politics, how to be a porn star or how to get away with murder on this blog”.
Example 2
This blog is NOT for you if you want to learn how to be a scammer. It is primarily for women’s financial wellness and you will not find posts related to men’s financial wellness or any other dimension of wellness.
Make a video (optional)
No doubt a video is a great way to put yourself out there and people can easily read your personality through videos which makes you more human and not just someone interested in taking away their money.
However, a video doesn’t give you the chance to outline your relevant keywords as much as possible and it is rather data consuming apart from the fact that texts load faster than videos especially when the network isn’t that great.
People most likely won’t have the time to watch you talk about your blog and yourself for 5:45 minutes. They are probably visitors and let’s be honest, your video doesn’t exactly reveal the cure to cancer. I’m sure your achievements are rated high up there just above winning $897,000,000 in the lottery. But, I recommend adding your video to your text and not just letting the video stand alone. Having two options is a good idea because you have catered for people who love to read and others who want to watch and relate better with the video format. It’s a win-win.
Darren at Problogger does this brilliantly
Include a link to your media kit (optional)
Some bloggers prefer to be asked for their media kit via email. If you choose to thread that path, you may mention that you have a media kit available on request. Or you may include the link to download your media kit if you do not want to be burdened with the task of sending it multiple times. I’ve seen it both ways and either ways is fine
Call to action
Including a call to action on your about page in very important. You should tell your visitor the next step to take after visiting your page. A call to action might be anything from telling the visitor to connect with you on social media, leave you a comment or subscribe to your blog. Your readers shouldn’t have to look for your subscription box. Usually you may need to offer an incentive as bait in exchange for the subscriber’s email.
Ask for other people’s opinions (Test for clarity)
When you are done writing your about page, I suggest you show it to someone who knows nothing about your blog to read, ask them questions to check if they get the right picture of what your blog is about or even get an expert eye to check it out. I could do this for you for free.
Update it regularly
Your about page needs to be updated regularly. As you grow, you achieve more and rebrand yourself better. Your about page should indicate your most recent blog related update as often as possible.
Bonus Tip: Cut out the #ICannotComeAndKillMyself attitude. Blogging is a serious thing and you have to make effort. Nevertheless, do not be afraid too proud to ask for help. You may either hire a copy writer to write it for a fee or subscribe to my blog and reply my welcome email with your question and I will give you tailored coaching on how to write your about page for FREE.
Conclusion
Surely, there’s no one foolproof recipe for writing an about page but the points mentioned above are very vital components if you are aiming for an effective one.
Are they any tips you use that I have missed? Has this helped you with writing an effective about page for your wellness blog? If it has, kindly share the link to your about page and I’ll be happy to check it out.
If you found this post useful then I am sure you would be happy to know that you can download my about page worksheets for FREE on my insider only resource library! All you have to do is subscribe to gain access. See you on the inside!
