The Importance of your "About Me" page

I have been blogging for a while..but haven't really took it seriously until here recently. I have been trying to familiarize myself with "bloggy" terms and etiquette. Yes..blogging is its own little world..in fact..they call it the "BLOGOSHPERE"

I love looking at other blogs..I love reading what people have to say and what is going on in their lives at the moment. I have noticed that when I stumble upon a new blog..the first thing I do is go to their "About Me" page.

So for those of you who haven't been blogging long..I thought I would tell you of

The Importance of your About Me page

Lani Roasales is a blogger for realtors at AgentGenius.com and I love her quote:

A frequent offense we witness with bloggers is an outdated, useless, lame or ugly "about" page. When people visit websites, a shortcut for them getting to know you is to click on your "about" button, so this is your opportunity to capture them...It is like a handshake at a party

Lani has also made a list of Do's and Don'ts for your About page..so this is her list in "Nikki's version"

The Basics of your About Me page should include:

1. a picture of yourself..it puts a face with the name
2. an overview of what your blog is about...I like to read crafty, mom, organizing blogs..with a little bit of science and news blog..so when I visit a blog if it is listed as any of those..it is probably going on my read list..not that other blogs are bad..just my preference..this is also a place to tell how you are different from every other blog out there..list your niche..your "why" you blog.
3. contact info..if you write an awesome post..someone might want you to guest blog..there are so many different comment plug ins now and captcha's *where you have to type in the word from the box* that comments can get lost or never seen..so prominantly display your email. If you are worried about spam use the blogger way such as: nbrewer24ATliveDOTcom If they aren't a robot most people will know that AT means @ and DOT means .
4. interesting info about yourself...there is alot to you..so what you list about you could be a mile long..just make sure it is funny or interesting..
5. tell us your goals.. short or long term..about your blog or life *if it relates to your blog*...or just goals for your About page (to introduce yourself or encourage contact)
6. tell whether you are or are not interested in PR or marketing...there is an opportunity to make money with your blog..many ways which is a whole other post..but if you are interested list what you are or are not interested in...reviews, giveaways, etc so if a marketer visits your blog they can quickly tell if you are a fit for their product or if you are not interested at all.

What your About Me page should NOT include:

1. Your list of 100 things...to long.. to much to read...you might be able to get away with 25 if and only if they are very interesting
2. your life history from birth til now..sorry..but I don't care..I want to know what your life is like now and if you have a life that I can relate with..unless your history directly relates to your blog such as you were pecked in the ear at the age of 6 and now you write a blog for the deaf..other than that.. get to the here and now
3. irrelevant info...in other words..KISS...Keep It Short and Simple

Additional info you could add:

1. Purpose of establing yourself in your niche... are you a artsy craftsy blog, a food blog, a fitness blog, a mommy blog.. you could put in links to other sites you have written for just to establish your area of interest
2. purpose of wanting to speak at conferences ...there are many many blog conferences ...here is a place where you can give your resume and tell why you are interested in speaking
3. purpose of wanting a sponsor to go to an event.. if you want to go to an event that is related to your blog such as a conference you can ask for sponsors to defray your costs..you of course want to reach out to individual businesses with a customized request but it wouldn't hurt to list it here as well..just be exact in what you are looking for and what their sponsorship would do
4. purpose of wanting to work with marketers..do you want to host give away, review products..google disclosure policies and get you one..list it here..and put what products you would be interested in reviewing or giving away.. let them know your traffic and readers..such as you have a readership of mothers of chidlren under two...you don't have to give specific numbers...generalizations should be good as long as you give enough info.

There you go!
If you are a visual person like myself..then I suggest you go to google or bing ...or even your reader if you are already following blogs you like and look at their about me pages to get inspiration.

Hope this helped someone...Now I have to go take a look at my about me page and make sure it is up to speed! So don't use mine for inspiration!!