7 Favorite Excuses for Why My About Me Page is a Disaster

Don’t Look at My About Page

No kidding….do you know how long I’ve been postponing a ‘real’ about me page?

For 4 years, 8 months and a few days….that’s how long!

Wanna know why?

Cause talking about myself in a personal, vulnerable way is just NOT RIGHT…..Momma always said, don’t talk about yourself. Keep your head down, your voice soft, and stay out of sight.

So here I am, many years older and hopefully wiser, and I’m still hearing Momma’s voice…..

How about you? How do you feel about writing an About Me page? Sucks doesn’t it? Make you feel queasy and  weird?

Thought so!

I came across a post some time ago by Sonia Simone at Copyblogger that addressed this dilemma.  The major points are hers, the style and commentary is mine.

Excuse # 1

. I don’t really need an About Me page…it’s lame, it’s cliche, nobody reads it anyway.  So….how is your reader going to identify with you, respect you, decide to get closer to you?  Every site needs an About Page. Don’t be clever. Call it About Me/About Rachel/ not some cute or esoteric title.

Excuse # 2

I don’t think I need to put my name out there….my project/big idea/stuff is what I’m selling, so why not ‘Guru Extraordinaire’ instead of my name?

Let’s say a reader wants to link to you, or tweet something cool on your blog. They would really like to know who you are. That means they need your name.

Your name. As in, ‘ Reader, I’d like you to meet my friend _____________ What I say when I am introducing you!

Unless you are Madonna, you need a last name, too.
(Incidentally, if your name is Dave Smith or Cathy Johnson, try including your middle name to make yourself more memorable and to give you a decent chance to rank for your own name in search engines. It works for David Meerman Scott and Carole Sevilla Brown, and it can work for you. If your middle name is common too, find a family name to put in there.)

Please note that this does not have to be your real name. Some people would rather keep some distance from readers, for security reasons or just to have a little privacy. There’s nothing wrong with that. Johnny Truant, James Chartrand, and Terry Starbucker all work and write under professional pseudonyms. You can, too.

Excuse # 3

I don’t have an About Me page because I don’t have any recent photos of myself and besides I hate to have my picture taken, always have.

Get over it! You and I are no different from kajillions of other people.  Some are young, or old, or thin, or not, or bald, or red-headed, or cute or not….doesn’t matter….none of those characteristics are ‘qualifications’ for your gig.  (Well, unless maybe you’re a model, but even then….it takes all kinds)  If I want to hire you, refer you, recommend you, or even pass you some readers, I’ll feel more comfortable if I have some sense of who you are. Your photo and writing voice will let your reader know who you are.

Excuse # 4

OMG….I’m a terrible writer! This one hurts, I know. Let’s get it over with so we can move on to more pleasant topics of conversation.
For some reason, when people sit down to write an About Page, everything they know about creating interesting content suddenly flies out the window. Their usually great writing style starts to suck.

Try this instead:
• Use your own writing voice.
• Be ruthless about pruning out any corporate-speak or hypey jargon.
• Don’t be afraid to be a little funny, if you can pull it off.
• Don’t be afraid to be a bit of a dork, either, if that’s part of who you are.

Excuse # 5

I’ve heard that video is the best way to attract an audience and I don’t like video/don’t know how to video/don’t have any video equipment…etc., etc.

According to Sonia,

Video is a great way to create quick rapport on your About page  for site visitors who like video. But visitors who are coming to your site from work may not want your voice, however melodious, blasting from the speakers in their cube. They also may not have 6:23 minutes to spend figuring out who you are.

Lots of web users love video, and some hate it.  If you use video on your About Page, keep it short, make it interesting, and include some text for the readers in your audience.

Excuse #6

My story is so long and complex that I could go on and on for pages and pages…don’t think that would interest most people, so I just haven’t written anything!

If you’re going to tell me the story of how you came to be here, please for the love of Pete make it interesting. What do your readers find interesting? Themselves, and things that benefit them. Those are two good places to start.

Your goal is to get your reader to identify with you, recognize you, say to themselves “Wow, she/he really gets me. I’ve felt just like that.”

Excuse # 7

I want my About page to be all about me…to show off my unique talents and what a wonderful person I am.  Therefore, I’m still working on it….got to be perfect…

This is perfectly natural, even if you aren’t so vain. What most site owners miss is that your About Page is actually about the reader. Talk to that person about why they should bother reading your site. Talk about the problems you solve. Talk about how you can help. Talk about what they’re interested in.

Yes, it’s a spot for you to talk about yourself, but only in the context of how you serve your readers. Add a link to your Facebook profile or other social media site to share your personal dramas, vacations, pets, etc. For your About Page, keep it about the reader, and how you help that reader.

What about your About page?  Like it? Hate it? Recognize any of these excuses?  Please share in the comments below…including the URL to your About page….I truly would like to read it….mine is a work in progress too….no problem…no excuses!