Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

Rainmaker.FM

The Digital Commerce and Content Marketing Podcast Network

  • Home
  • Shows
  • Hosts
  • About
  • Home
  • Shows
  • Hosts
  • About
  • Member Area
  • Log In
Menu
  • Log In
  • Free Training
7-Figure Small with Brian Clark
Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer
Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing
Get More Clients With Smarter Email Marketing
Hack the Entrepreneur
Members Only
Rainmaker.FM Elsewhere
Site Success: Tips for Building Better WordPress Websites
StudioPress FM
Technology Translated
The Digital Entrepreneur
The Missing Link
The Showrunner
The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
Youpreneur with Chris Ducker
Zero to Book
Rough Draft
hosted by Demian Farnworth

068 How to Craft an About Page That People Actually Read and Share

  • Social:
  • Link:
  • Embed:
https://rainmaker.fm/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/rough-068.mp3
Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes
Previous Episode:067 The Psychology Behind Winning Email Subject Lines More Episodes Next Episode:069 The Fascinating Truth about Boring Topics

All Episodes:

October 21, 2015

102 The Beautiful Message Joseph Campbell Was Really Trying to Tell Us

October 8, 2015

101 The Greatest Storytelling Guide This Side of Saturn

September 1, 2015

100 The Episode That Explains the Future of Rough Draft

August 31, 2015

099 A Better Way to Find Big Ideas (That Make You Stand Out)

August 27, 2015

098 How to Grab Great Ideas (Without Using Your Hands)

August 26, 2015

097 The Problem with the ‘Hell-For-Leather’ Writing Movement

August 25, 2015

096 Why These Famous Time-Management Techniques Are Ruining Your Productivity

August 24, 2015

095 Freaking Out Over the Thought of Writing a First Draft? Try Scaffolding

August 20, 2015

094 How to Avoid Obscurity by Misusing Language

August 19, 2015

093 A Creative Email Trick for Becoming a Plain Spoken Writer

August 18, 2015

092 Let This Stupid Machine Read Your Copy Out Loud

August 17, 2015

091 This Free App Will Help You Write Bold and Clear Copy

August 13, 2015

090 Four Writing Lessons I Learned from This Depressing Music Project

August 12, 2015

089 The Clear-Copy Rule of Writing for the Web

August 11, 2015

088 Three Ways Writers Must Adjust in a World Dominated by Social Media

August 10, 2015

087 How This Social Media Thing Kicked Web Writing Right in the Feels

August 6, 2015

086 An Elegant Story on Outsmarting Career Obsolescence

August 5, 2015

085 Raise the Stakes! 13 Writing Ideas That Really Work

August 4, 2015

084 The Two Things That Make a Dull Product Irresistible

August 3, 2015

083 Proof That Stories Can Increase the Value of Even ‘Worthless’ Items

July 30, 2015

082 Could Podcasting Make You a Better Writer?

July 29, 2015

081 When Do You Abandon the Editing Process?

July 28, 2015

080 Four Ways to Get Attention by Rocking the Boat

July 27, 2015

079 A Brief Introduction to the Art of Catching Hell

July 23, 2015

078 Six Storytelling Lessons from a Famous Urban Legend

July 22, 2015

077 Vexed by Your Bankrupt Vocabulary? Listen to This

July 21, 2015

076 Why Writers Need to Develop a Sense of Humor

July 20, 2015

075 Listener Challenge: Could You Read 100 Books in a Year?

July 16, 2015

074 How to Get Massive Attention with a ‘High-Concept Pitch’

July 15, 2015

073 A Lesson in Swagger from a Wooden-Legged Civil War Soldier

July 14, 2015

072 Six Ways to Becoming a Completely Original Writer

July 13, 2015

071 The Oldest Writing Trick in The Book

July 9, 2015

070 Eight Things Every Writer Should Know about Landing Pages

July 8, 2015

069 The Fascinating Truth about Boring Topics

July 7, 2015

068 How to Craft an About Page That People Actually Read and Share

July 6, 2015

067 The Psychology Behind Winning Email Subject Lines

July 2, 2015

066 All Great Writing Boils Down to These Four Emotional Appeals

July 1, 2015

065 A Mildly Spooky Illustration of “Reason Why” Copy

June 30, 2015

064 A Mild Warning for All Headline Writers

June 29, 2015

063 How Every Creative Must Think about Marketing and Advertising

June 25, 2015

062 Do Millennials (Really) Hate Long Copy?

June 24, 2015

061 These 4 Sales Principles Can Improve Anyone’s Writing

June 23, 2015

060 How to Use the 5 Stages of Audience Awareness to Dominate Online

June 22, 2015

059 Why The Most Hated Headline Structures Work So Well

June 18, 2015

058 This is the Most Fun You’ll Ever Have “Explaining the Mechanism” …

June 17, 2015

057 The Doomsday Cult School of Specificity

June 16, 2015

056 How to Sweep Away Skepticism with a Dramatic Demonstration

June 15, 2015

055 Meet the Tragic Poster Boy for the Emotional Brain

June 11, 2015

054 A Straightforward Research Method for Finding a Potent Hook

June 10, 2015

053 What You Don’t Know about Your Product Can Kill Your Copy

June 9, 2015

052 Three New Ways to Write a Headline (and When to Use Each)

June 8, 2015

051 Want Copy That Actually Works? Start with Mass Desire

June 4, 2015

050 The Curious Secret to Building Trust and Credibility

June 3, 2015

049 My Second Most Favorite Copywriting Formula in the World!

June 2, 2015

048 How to Get Lazy People to Care about Your Ideas

June 1, 2015

047 My Favorite Copywriting Formula … Ever!

May 29, 2015

046 How to (Rapidly) Build an Audience with Content Syndication

May 28, 2015

045 Solve Your Online Proofreading Problems With This Simple Trick

May 27, 2015

044 The Profanity Princess on Finding Your Voice

May 26, 2015

043 The Oddest Story About Overcoming Obscurity You’ll Ever Hear

May 21, 2015

042 10 Odd Books That Will Improve Your Writing

May 20, 2015

041 How to Read a Book in 2 Hours

May 19, 2015

040 The Shocking Way to Master Any Book

May 18, 2015

039 Nine Copywriting Books for Web Writers

May 14, 2015

038 The 8 Rules of Ruthless Editing from David Mamet

May 13, 2015

037 Revealed: The Perfect Blog Post Length

May 12, 2015

036 The Aggressive Work Ethic of Highly Creative People

May 11, 2015

035 The 10 Rules of Rough Drafts

May 7, 2015

034 5 Ways to Create the Perfect Ending that Your Content Deserves

May 6, 2015

033 6 Simple Rules For Writing Effective Dialogue

May 5, 2015

032 Use Internal Cliffhangers So People Never Stop Reading

May 4, 2015

031 226 Transitional Words and Phrases Every Writer Should Know

April 30, 2015

030 The Great Paragraph Hoax

April 29, 2015

029 5 Ways to Write a Seductive Sentence

April 28, 2015

028 How to Be Smart in a World of Dumb Verbs

April 27, 2015

027 How the Perfect Article Is Framed by White Space

April 23, 2015

026 The Best Articles Always Have This (and a Great Headline)

April 22, 2015

025 The Anatomy of a Hyperlink That Woos Readers

April 21, 2015

024 The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Bullet Points That Work

April 20, 2015

023 How to Create Exquisite Subheadlines

April 16, 2015

022 Four Safe Ways to Find Your Writing Voice (and One Dangerous One)

April 15, 2015

021 The Two Kinds of Knowledge Every Writer Needs

April 14, 2015

020 The Crazy Thing Writers Do to Become Exceptional

April 13, 2015

019 How to Answer the Most Important Question About Becoming an Exceptional Writer

April 9, 2015

018 Four Things That Can Make Writers Famous

April 8, 2015

017 A Small Gift for Your Dark Days as an Obscure Writer

April 7, 2015

016 Steal This Episode

April 6, 2015

015 David Sedaris’ Guide to Writing Brilliant First Sentences

April 2, 2015

014 Six Proven Ways to Open an Article With a Bang

April 1, 2015

013 How I’ll Make You Read Every Single Line of This Article

March 31, 2015

012 The Ugly Truth About How People Read Online

March 30, 2015

011 The 3 Pillars of Great Web Writing

March 26, 2015

010 How to Use RSS to Write Better Headlines

March 25, 2015

009 How to Write Headlines that Get Results

March 24, 2015

008 Where Headlines Have Gone Horribly Wrong

March 23, 2015

007 A 12-Minute Crash Course on Link Building (Ugh)

March 19, 2015

006 An Idiot-Proof Guide to Writing Blog Posts That Google Loves

March 18, 2015

005 Keywords: Your Love Affair With the Language Your Audience Uses

March 17, 2015

004 How Search Engines Work, Part Two

March 16, 2015

003 How Search Engines Work, Part One

March 3, 2015

002 The Unbreakable Law of the Web

March 2, 2015

001 Two Challenges All Digital Content Must Conquer

July 7, 2015

068 How to Craft an About Page That People Actually Read and Share

There really is no right or wrong way to create about page. The only question is this: is it interesting?

Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

Remember, people will read a lot if it is interesting. However, there are a few best practices you can follow.

Let’s look at those …

In this 5-minute episode you’ll discover:

  • The wrong way to tell an About page story (sure to bore readers to tears)
  • What you MUST have if your About page is going to be short
  • The dos and don’ts of using pictures on your About page
  • How to make an instant intimate connection with a reader

Listen to Rough Draft below ...

068 How to Craft an About Page That People Actually Read and ShareDemian Farnworth
  • Social:
  • Link:
  • Embed:
https://rainmaker.fm/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/rough-068.mp3
Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes

The Show Notes

  • 12 of the Best About Us Pages on the Internet
  • How to write a good bio
  • About Erin
  • Digital Business, Authenticity, and the Freedom of Being Yourself
  • About Demian
  • The Lede

The Transcript

How to Craft an About Page That People Actually Read and Share

Voiceover: This is Rainmaker.FM, the digital marketing podcast network. It’s built on the Rainmaker Platform, which empowers you to build your own digital marketing and sales platform. Start your free 14-day trial at Rainmaker.FM/Platform.

Demian Farnworth: Howdy dear web writer. This is Rough Draft, your daily dose of essential web writing advice. I am Demian Farnworth, your host, your muse, your digital recluse, and the Chief Content Writer for Copyblogger Media.

And thank you for sharing the next few minutes of your life with me. And thank you for sharing this week with me … because this week is all about your questions.

That’s right. This week I’m devoting each episode to a reader question. Yesterday we talked about email subject lines and open rates for Art Wiseman.

Today we are going to talk about writing an about page people will actually read. And even share. And this topic comes from my friend Bonnie David.

Let’s get this out of the way up front: there really is no right or wrong way to create an about page. There seems to be a debate that long about pages outperform shorter ones, but just like everything else on the web, it’s not so much about the length … the question is this: is it interesting? Does it hold people’s interest?

Best Practices For Writing an About Page

Remember, people will read a lot if it is interesting. However, there are a few best practices you can follow. Let’s look at those.

1. Tell a story – Not your entire story. But the story that’s relevant to your ideal reader. This could be your professional path. Or your struggle with depression or weight or cigarette smoking. Or your reason for buying a house from a hoarder and rehabbing it. Whatever it is — tell a story.

2. Drop credentials if you have them. – Did you work for Nike. Google. Stephen King. Adobe. New York Times. Copyblogger. Mashable. Go to a prestigious school? Win a significant award — even if regional?

Whatever it is, mention it. Of course you have to be honest.

But even if you got a pat on the back from one of the Google founders or got a scant mention in NY Times — stick it in your bio. Those brand mentions will separate you from the pack. And I think you would be surprised to learn how minimal the contact between some of those big name mentions you see on great About pages and the person behind that page.

Often it is not very much. It’s certainly not like they are best friends.

This is why this is important. Think about how you feel when you are looking at the blurbs on the cover jacket of a book you want to buy (some of us still do that, you know). A few high-powered names changes the value of that book drastically. Unfamiliar names, on the other hand, and no value is added.

Don’t forget: This works on a regional level, too. Add names and brands that people in your community will recognize and respect and you immediately enhance your bio. This includes testimonials.

Scott Berkun argues that impressive people have a short bio. If you won the Nobel Prize or invented air, then you don’t need to say much more than that.

But if you don’t have these credentials because you are just starting out — don’t worry, we all start at the bottom — but you should begin immediately on working towards getting them.

You will get them eventually if you keep up the work.

3. Use pictures – Personal pictures. Pictures of you and your family. Your dog. Your hobbies. Which leads me to the next and final best practice …

4. Be yourself – Be open. Be vulnerable. Be authentic. One of my bosses, Brian Gardner, talks about an about page he loves … it’s Erin Loechner who runs a site called “Design for Humankind.” It’s a great example of being vulnerable. I’ll link to it in the show notes.

I’ll also link to my about page on my personal site, The Copybot, and leave another link to a post written by Ramsay Taplin, where he lists the 12 best about pages out there. A good mix of big and personal brand about pages.

Hopefully that will be enough to get you going. And if you have any questions about this topic — or any of the topics we’ve discussed in the past, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or here on the blog comment’s section.

And by the way, if you haven’t yet, do me a favor and leave me a rating and a review on iTunes. It’s a great way to show support for this show.

And if you haven’t already, check out my other podcast — The Lede — which I do with Jerod Morris. It’s podcast about content marketing. Recently we’ve been challenging some conventional marketing wisdom in a Hero v. Villain series.

Give it a listen when you get a chance. Until next time, take care.

Never Miss New Shows and Episodes on Rainmaker.FM

Get the best of the Rainmaker.FM network in a single weekly email, along with two weeks
of free training that will change the way you think about online marketing ...

Free Registration

You might also like...

Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing

Rapid-Fire Takeaways from Authority Rainmaker

Listen to episode
Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing

The Art of Seductive Writing: A Conversation with Robert Greene

Listen to episode
The Mainframe

Deadly Conversion Busters: How to Make it Easier to Buy

Listen to episode
The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

Rerun: How Chief Content Writer Demian Farnworth Writes

Listen to episode
7-Figure Small with Brian Clark

The Four-Step Process that Transforms Your Business (Without Knocking Yourself Out)

Listen to episode
The Digital Entrepreneur

The Psychology Required to Successfully Grow Your Business

Listen to episode

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

Copyright © 2023 Rainmaker Digital, LLC. Powered by the Rainmaker Platform.

Privacy Policy  ·  Refund Policy  ·  Cookie Policy  ·  Terms of Service  ·  Contact