Adding or Enhancing Your Website’s About Me Section Part 1
I spend a great deal of my spare time searching on the web for independent artist owned websites. After three years of searching and finding all kinds of great gems on the Internet, I decided to post some of my tips on helping you get your web page to stick with new visitors.
Before I get started, you must first wrap your mind around the idea that the majority of visitors who land on your home page on the web today are inundated with an overwhelming number of: emails, texts, advertisements, status updates, applications, requests, alerts, and demands all vying for ‘me’ time. Information overload is normal for most web surfers. And this is happening every second they are browsing the web.
Just one side note before I go on: For those of you who love the cool flash intros, think twice about the loading times, because you literally have seconds before A.D.D. kicks in and your new visitors hits the back button and becomes a bounce statistic.
About Me Section
I won’t speak for everyone that surfs the web, but from my own experience you literally have 30 seconds to make a connection with a new visitor before the patience meter signal is up and you lose out. My biggest complaint and frustration comes when I am visiting a new web page and can’t find an ‘about me’ section either on the home page or on a linked page. It’s a natural instinct for human beings to want to make some kind of connection before further interaction can take place. For instance, we normally introduce ourselves to a person before we mutually decide to take the interaction to the next level. So don’t expect me to listen to your music, watch your videos or read your articles until you give me a proper introduction.
A proper intro doesn’t require a long essay either. I for one prefer the short one’s that sum up who you are, why you are are on the web and where you are from. You’d be surprised to learn that I connect more to people who live in my surrounding area (Chicago/Milwaukee). I am not saying writing down your location is a requirement, but it certainly doesn’t hurt your chances of making a connection either. Anyway, many readers won’t get beyond the first paragraph, so you must make sure it gives them a good idea of who you are and why they should stick around, revisit or share your website.
If you do decide to write a 1000 word essay, write the short intro first… because chances of another Internet distraction in the space of a minute is all it takes for someone to lose interest.
One thing I don’t recommend is hiring a PR or a professional to write a bio for you. It can be a very well written and detailed piece, but the first thought that comes to my mind when I read this type of bio is “who’s site is this anyway?” It comes off as a total disconnect from the person I am trying to connect to. Personally, I would strongly recommend against it. Save that kind of stuff for Wikipedia or LinkedIn, but not your ‘personal’ website.
If you can help it, please include a photo of yourself. In the real world, most of our communication occurs via body language and through spoken word. As we transition most of our communication and lives to the online world, it makes it that much harder to build trust and meaningful relationships. A photo can go along way in making a lasting impression. Visitors are more likely to connect the words to the individual opposed to just reading words and not making a connection at all. I think we all know which online social profiles get clicked on the most.
Lastly , if most of your traffic is referred from somewhere else, then you can ignore the about me section, but do so at the risk of losing traffic…