One thing I love is how personal my favorite quilt blogs are. They’re not just posts on the Internet, they’re posts by real people. I jumped on the bandwagon and added a little about me bio right at the top of my sidebar, now no matter what page a visitor lands on they’ll see that I’m Terri Ann, I’m a real life person who loves sharing about my favorite projects, techniques and so much more.
It took a couple revisions to get that little elevator speech right (by my standards) and after completing that I knew I needed to spruce up my about page. So I started doing research and collecting information on what other people have or what I think they are missing, on their about pages, I thought I would share a list. If you’re gonna spruce up your about page you don’t need all of these things but they’re great jumping points to customize the about page to fit your style.
1. Who are you?
It bums me out when I can’t put a name to a site or address a blogger by name when leaving a comment on their blog. If you started your blog to keep in touch with friends and family remember that as your readership grows you can’t assume that your visitors already know who you are when they stop by to visit.
2. What makes you, you?
I like to know a little about the bloggers whose sites I read. Are you a parent? Do you have a full-time job and craft for fun? Do you like dogs or cats? Give me a taste of who you are as a person so I can feel like we would click offline the way I connect with your identity as a blogger. I don’t need the entire life story but what are the things you’d tell me about yourself at a cocktail party?
3. Let’s put a face to this blog!
I know photos are a tricky spot but I finally took the plunge when Tsoniki from the Me Being Crafty podcast needed a photo of me to go along with my interview post. Before then I had a little illustration that looked like me but I handed my boyfriend my camera, grabbed some quilts and let him snap away. Now you can see that I’m a real person and if we ever chance to meet offline you’ll know who you are looking for!
4. Where can I learn more about you in the blog?
If my about page had every piece of information about me in it the page would be a novel! Some of the about pages that I looked at took this idea to the next level by linking to posts that went more in-depth to something on their about page. This way if I’m interested in that person’s background I can dive in and learn more but it’s not in the way of the rest of the general info on the about page.
5. Why are you blogging?
This is a question I ask myself all the time and it’s a question whose answer changes depending on my mood but it’s fun to put a little information about how a blog got started and where you think it’s going to let your readers know.
6. Details, details!
I saw about pages that covered many other topics like the following:
- What sewing machine(s) you use
- What magazines you’ve been published in
- What blogs have you guest posted on
- Where can I see all your finished quilts
Let your about page shine about you and your blog, let it paint the story. It is REALLY awkward to write at first but write something, then come back and edit it in a month, then again in two months and soon you’ll find that it’s easier to write that you’d thought.
Well I’m off to go make some updates to my about page, how about you? Any other subjects I’m missing that you like to see in about pages? Share your thoughts in the comments!
So glad you posted this! I have been thinking about updating my about page, especially since the blog hop started! This is going to be the very next thing I do! Thank you Terri Ann!!
great advice! I just updated mine a few weeks ago!
I like the idea of coming back and working on it again next month. It really is hard to know what to say about yourself.
Exactly Kelly, that’s why I suggest starting something then coming back and giving it a go. I know that when I started blogging I found it was hard to communicate my ideas and after writing more posts it became easier. Writing about yourself should be the same way. I didn’t even mention how helpful it is to have a solid blurb about yourself to use when you’re guest posting too! More the reason to start somewhere the refine refine refine 🙂
I have definitely struggled with my About Me page in the past. It really is time for a revamp. Maybe this morning! Thanks for the push and the tips. 🙂
Thanks for posting this Terri Ann! As you might remember from our group discussions, my blog is still a work in process in the hands of my designer. I’ll definitely see if she can add a little bio box to the side of my page. I have a dedicated About Me post, which is incredibly old, and will be updated when I get my domain back.
I’ve always wondered about posting about what machines I use. It seemed a little like bragging to me, but I can see that it would be helpful for people who use the same brand of machine, or others who might be looking for a new one. So much of the technical stuff crosses brands anyway.
I have such a lot of new, more personal posts, just waiting for my blog to return home. As it is, I think I’m going to have to manually change all the permalinks on the posts I’ve made in the past few weeks anyway. If you know an easy way of doing this, please let me know.
I always struggle with the “how much do people really need to know about me” bit. Or I should say, how much do they want to know? Of course, I think I’m the most interesting man in the world, but I don’t expect others to agree. There are also some very personal things that I want to write because I think they might be helpful to other people – and gosh, I wish I could remember who it was on the blog hop last week who was really open about how quilting helped her through depression. I loved that! I’m still always worried about the stigma attached to mental health issues, which is why I don’t. I think I just need to learn to be a little bit braver.
Thanks for reading my ramble. I’d love to hear your thoughts on some of these issues if you have the time.
Thanks!
– Jane
Sorry, I don’t know how to edit my reply. I just discovered that my giant thumbs made a typo on my domain.
It’s funny, I recently updated my “about me” page to include a different photo and to accurately reflect the age of my soon-to-be kindergartener, so I’ don’t have to worry about that task. What I spent literally half of the day is updating my sidebar, creating new banner headers and social media icons. I am not exactly blog-savvy so what took me literally 3 hours to accomplish, my code writing husband probably could have done in 30 minutes. Of course, he keeps offering to teach me to code, but I keep dragging my feet. At least now all of my icons and titles are consistent. I’m curious – since you mention that your a wordpress lovin’ gal – can you tell me why? After all the work I’ve put into my blogger webpage, I’m wondering if I need to make a switch. During the tips from the new blogger’s blog hop, Cheryl mentioned purchasing your domain name while you can so it got me wondering if I should and if WordPress is the better platform for blogging.
Great post, Terri Ann! I’m going to head over to my About Page tomorrow and re-read it. It’s been so long, I don’t remember what’s there. I’m sure I can spruce it up with the ideas you shared here.
You are so right, Terri Ann! I’ve neglected this section just because I don’t like to talk about myself and I really am not photogenic in any way! I will take your points and make several adjustments…and work on a photo. Thanks!
I usually hate photos of myself Kathy, so I really do understand that. I am used to being behind the camera and I look foolish in selfies. Somehow though the boyfriend knocked it out of the park and when I loaded up the photos he took of me with my quilts I was happy; it was finally a photo of myself that looked like how I felt. Maybe it’s cause I was holding a pile of quilts so I was in my happy place 🙂
Thank you for the great ideas, I will have to work on it before the next post. L
great advice. i have read that you should update your about page twice a year. I’m managing once a year so far!
I love this tip Ruth, kind of like how you’re supposed to change the batteries in your smoke detectors when you change your clocks maybe we should also be checking in on our about pages too!
You have a great “About” page Terri Ann! I like your tips too! I found it very hard to put my photo up and write an About Me page and it is still a work in progress. (Mine is called “Hello there”)
I like a lot of the information you included, but also the sense of humor in some of the things you wrote. (i never knew it, but I’m a topper too, LOL)
Glad you enjoyed that I let my quirky (kinda fresh) personality show in my page. Like I mentioned it was a huge barrier to cross switching from my graphic cartoon look-alike to a photo but months later I’m so glad I made the switch. That being said I’ve been making websites for over a decade and am just now using a real life photo to show who I am so it’s all about how comfortable you are with the decision, don’t ever follow my advice if it doesn’t *feel* right to you!
What helpful advice. Your writing tips will help those nervous about where to start.
I think I need to pass a self-critical eye over my about page. It has been so long I have no idea what I wrote!
Hi! Thank you for a great post and for reminding us about these important things! Your blog is beautiful (and NEW for me) so I’ll go to read more! Greetings from a Finnish woman from GREECE! x Teje
Argh, I so need to update my about me page. Also like the suggestion about putting what machine you sew on. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks Terri Ann for the prompts to develop a dynamic about page. I have read your post before but getting ready to retweek mine and appreciate knowing what people might be interested in.