When was the last time you read your own about page?
A frequent offense we witness with bloggers is an outdated, useless, lame or ugly “about” page. When people visit websites, a shortcut for their getting to know you is to click on your “about” button, so this is your opportunity to capture them. Your about page needs to be catchy and capture the essence of who you or your company is, it should contain some sort of contact information and it should be like a handshake at a party with a quick introduction as to who you are and what you do.
Below are screenshots of several websites’ about pages with tips on how you can take a hint from the below about pages.
Barfing & Yawning Simultaneously
Below is an about page that could be interchangeable with any Realtor on the planet- please for the love of kittens, don’t ever write an about page like this. Yeah, you care, yeah, you’re professional, but seriously, who ARE you? What do you specialize in? What are you like and why would I want to work with you? Where is your call to action? If your about page reads like this one below, don’t worry, we’ll feed you, baby bird- keep reading for some examples of good about pages.
Text as tasty as key lime Godiva truffles
Godiva key lime is my favorite truffle ever, so this is saying a lot. If you’re writing an about page for your business, make sure it reflects the spirit of your company culture- this may be more reverent than your personal blog and that’s okay. But if you’re blogging alone, we should be able to get a taste of your unique personality like we do in the next three examples:
Super sexy design
So we’re not graphic designers and it’s not realistic to expect the entire real estate industry to look like the examples below, but we can think about how these examples are structured and adopt the pieces that fit within our current or future blog themes. The good news is that if your spidey sense doesn’t include graphic designery, there is an entire industry of creatives waiting to help you. In the meantime, find some inspiration from outside our field by drooling over the four sites below:
So consider your blog’s about page- is it dry or is it juicy like Ken’s? Is it ugly text or is it sexy fonts like Daniel’s? Tonight’s homework is to check out your about page and ask if it really represents you and what you have to offer?
Originally published July 9, 2009.
Paula Henry
July 6, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I’m Busted – time to get to work 🙂
Tony Green, Winston Salem Real Estate Agent
July 7, 2009 at 2:17 am
Looks like I have some work to do! (and by the way…”for the love of kittens”…I like that !)
Joe Loomer
July 7, 2009 at 7:48 am
OMG – when I started reading this I was thinking “For the love of everything HOLY – please don’t let Lani post Mine!”
I’m with Paula, guess I just filled in that blank 1pm-2pm slot this afternoon!
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
Elaine Hanson
July 7, 2009 at 11:24 am
About to embark on a massive overhaul of everything web. It’s long overdo and these ideas are very welcome. I think I may just start with a search for Godiva key lime truffles — to fuel the endeavor.
Lani Rosales
July 7, 2009 at 11:41 am
Paula- I had to check my own *before* I posted this article! lol
Joe- when you’re done, link to it in the comments here, I don’t chomp, I promise 🙂
Elaine- OMG pick me up some. Now I have to wipe drool from my face, thanks a lot. 😉
Ann Cummings
July 7, 2009 at 11:48 am
I’m thinking someone’s been checking on a lot of us – busted just like Paula and Joe, and probably plenty of others out there.
I’ll be keeping ‘juicy’ and ‘sexy’ in mind when revamping mine.
Ken Brand
July 7, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Ummmm….funny how we are. I’m gonna write a blog post about it for next week. Title = “Self Doubt. The Opposite Of Laughing At Your Own Joke.” I have self doubt issues.
Seriously, I’m completely flattered, but I have to say, when I read the title and began to read the article, I thought, “Damn, I better amp up my “about page”, it sucks!”
All the points shared are excellent and it’s healthy to review, evaluate and reinvent, but damn, self doubt is one heavy current; is it catchy, is it boring, is it accurate, am I high, am I stupid, am I dull….that stuff runs through my head like the bulls in Pamplona.
Anyway, great reminders…especially for stuff that lives on the web when we’re sleeping, or playing or ?????
And last, a random thought, “If I can’t please everyone, then I better please myself.” Easy to say, harder to do.
Clink-Cheers
Erion Shehaj
July 7, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Funny thing is, I looked at Ken’s page when I was drafting mine and thought it was just about the coolest “about us” page that one can ask for. By the time you’re done reading it, you truly feel like you know the man. Humbled to even be included.
Lani, loved the design ideas!!
Shane
July 10, 2009 at 10:34 am
Thank you for bringing awareness to just how bad About Us pages can be. I am in the same boat, I totally checked mine before posting…. Looks like I have some serious work to do 🙂
Andrew McKay
May 29, 2010 at 11:59 am
From confused of Wasaga Beach. The article is posted after nearly all the comments; its been updated I presume 🙂 See I’m tech savvy.
Anyway or anyways as they say up here in Canada, when I started my blog a year ago I made a conscious decision not too have an “about me” page. My aim was for the content to speak for itself and for me; readers to think “this guy knows his stuff” lets contact him. Obviously I have a clear contact page with this in mind.
Without wanting to offend anyone (famous last words) I’m pretty anti all the Realtor self promotion with photos/portraits ( 30 years and 40 pounds ago?), own name web sites etc and again have made a conscious decision to differentiate my self by not promoting ME but my knowledge if you see what I mean. My portrait is more of a logo, black silhouette head with white question mark. I do have a photo on Twitter, Facebook, web site comments as this is more personal.
Whether it is successful I don’t know but I’m quite happy with my first year or so as a Realtor.
Just wanted to add a different point of view.
Melissa Zavala
May 29, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Lani: I really enjoyed looking through all of the samples that you provided. Thanks for the tips. I have some work to do as well–good thing Monday is a holiday, perhaps I can get to it then.
Jonathan Benya
May 29, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Funny you should mention this, I just rewrote my about page last week. Easily the hardest part of my site to, coding was easy by comparison. It’s your best hook, how do you describe your self as the best at what you do without being arrogant or pushy? Very nice examples here!
Eric Hempler
May 29, 2010 at 4:41 pm
I’m not sure what the thoughts are on mine, but at least it says who I am.
Tina McManus
June 1, 2010 at 10:33 am
Right on! Thanks for getting me thinking about this again. My bio is a little *yawn*. Will have to get it spiced up.
Missy Caulk
June 2, 2010 at 6:10 am
I need a makeover, mine is boring. Know any good writers? (((hint, hint)))
Irina Netchaev
June 2, 2010 at 10:07 am
Ok, busted like the rest… can’t even remember the last time I looked at mine… boring! Time to get to work. Maybe we should have a contest on the BEST ABOUT page.
Seriously Lani… this is a great article and AWESOME eye-opening advice!
Lani Rosales
June 2, 2010 at 11:28 am
Interesting idea…..
LesleyLambert
June 2, 2010 at 11:33 am
hoo boy, another item for the ever growing and all oppressive “to do list”. I am SURE mine stink as most were created a lonnnnnng time ago.
Thanks for the reminder Lani, pass the coffee please!
michelleNKY
June 6, 2010 at 11:12 am
Thanks for posting this…truly helpful and inspirational. This is by far the hardest part of my website, that’s why I’ve done everything BUT this. PrOcRaStInAtIoN no more!!