Via ProBlogger, via Copyblogger, here's a discussion About About Pages. Both Brian at Copyblogger and Darrin at ProBlogger make a really good point about making your blog an effective marketing tool.
Brian writes:
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.”
He also asks:
Are you getting in the way of what your blog is really about?
Darrin writes:
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.
As examples, here's Darrin's About page, and Brian's About page. I notice that Darrin also has a separate About Darrin page, and Brian has an Author page, so readers can learn what the blog is about, and what the writer is "about" (or who the writer is). Interesting distinction.
I have done exactly what they've written about -- the "before" shot, anyway. My About page for my (Typepad) blogs is All About Me -- apt topic, considering my books, but perhaps not effective blog marketing. Both Brian and Darrin have made their point for me; nowhere on my About page does it describe what my blogs are about, and why visitors should return for new content. However, I notice that Typepad's About template isn't really conducive to describing the blog's content -- the section headers available are Contact, One-line Bio, Biography, and Interests. I suppose I could write a description to fit within the Biography section, which is probably what I'll end up doing. It would be nice if Typepad offered an About This Blog section. But I'm a creative sort; I'm sure I'll figure something out!
Do your readers (and customers) know what your blog is about?
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