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Is Your Blog’s About Page About the Right Stuff?

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When was the last time you read your blog’s About page?  It’s easy to forget that page when you’re busy writing fresh blog posts, but your About page is one of the most important destinations on your blog.  When visitors land on a post in your blog, they’re likely to read the content, possibly click through to read some more posts if they like what they found, and then what do you think they do?  They check out your About page to see who is behind all of this great content!

Therefore, you need to make sure your About page is always current and tells your story in the best way possible.  The About page is not the place where you should be modest.  Instead, use this page to truly promote yourself, your experience, your skills, and your expertise.  Sell yourself so anyone who reads your About page understands why you are the person to be writing about your blog topic and the vast value and knowledge you bring to the online conversation.

With those tips in mind, following are few elements your About page must have if you want people to believe you’re an authoritative source for information:

  • Your background and experience: Try to stay focused on experience related to your blog’s topic.  Lead with your strengths and your biggest accomplishments that prove why you’re capable of writing about your blog’s topic.  You can always include personal details at the end of your About page if you want.
  • Links to your online content other than your blog: Demonstrate the reach of your online presence and let people get to know you better by providing links to other websites and blogs that you own or write for.
  • Links to your social networking and twitter profiles: Invite people to get to know you better and communicate with you further by providing links to your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking profiles.  Make it clear that you welcome new followers and connections.
  • A contact form and/or your contact information: Make it easy for people to get in touch with you by providing a way for them to communicate with you in a manner other than leaving a comment on one of your blog posts.
  • Your picture: Don’t be shy.  Including a picture of yourself on your blog’s About page makes you seem more ‘real’ and allows people to feel like they know you as a person not just as a bunch of words on their computer screens.

What do you have in your blog’s About page?  Are there any other elements that you think are essential to creating a great About page?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

The Secret to Creating Shareworthy Content

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shareworthy-contentI often refer to the term I use to describe amazing content that people want to share online as shareworthy, and today, I’d like to dive a bit deeper into the concept of creating shareworthy content, so your blog and online reputation can benefit from the compounding effect of blogging, attract more visitors, and grow organically over the long term. In other words, shareworthy content leads to sustainable growth, and I’m going to tell you how to do it.

What is shareworthy content?

It’s simple. Shareworthy content is amazing content that people like enough to want to tell their friends about it and share it with their social media connections. They can share that content by blogging about it on their own blogs, tweeting it on Twitter, linking to it on Facebook or LinkedIn, and so on. Therefore, shareworthy content is not necessarily viral content that explodes across the Internet. Instead, it’s a tangible form of the world-of-mouth marketing of the social web that businesses covet.

How do you create shareworthy content? [Read more…] about The Secret to Creating Shareworthy Content

10 Things You Learned in Kindergarten that Make You a Better Blogger

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I bet you didn’t know that a lot of the things you need to know to be a good blogger were taught to you before you could even write your name.  It’s true!  A lot of the things you learned in Kindergarten apply to blogging and other aspects of your social web activities.

Don’t believe me?  Keep reading to learn about 10 of those things you learned in Kindergarten that make you a better blogger.

1. You need to be polite.

This one is a no-brainer.  If you want to build your audience, then you need to do what your Kindergarten teacher told you and be nice and respectful to others, even if you don’t agree with them.

2. You need to share.

At 5-years old, we learned to share toys, but as bloggers, we need to share each other’s content, ideas, conversations, and so on if we want our blogs to grow.

3. You need to take your turn.

In Kindergarten, we learned not to cut in line, and as bloggers, we can apply that lesson to allowing others to have their say.  While you might not agree with a comment left on your blog, let others have their turn to share their opinions, and then enter into an adult-conversation to discuss the issue further.

4. You need to say thank you.

This goes without saying, but showing your appreciation is extremely important to helping you build relationships across the social web.

5. Don’t run with scissors.

Be careful what you publish on your blog and follow the written and unwritten rules of the blogosphere to ensure you don’t put yourself in a bad situation.

6. It’s not nice to take other people’s stuff.

Don’t scrape content, don’t use images without permission, and don’t try to pass off any kind of work that you did not create as your own.

7. It’s really hard to get gum out of your hair.

Your words live online.  Once you publish them, you might not be able to remove them.  Always think about how the content you publish will affect you and others now and in the future.

8. Don’t hang upside-down on the monkey bars while wearing a skirt.

Avoid getting too personal on your blog.  It might seem like a good idea to publish those funny pictures of you doing a keg stand at a frat party on your blog, but if a hiring manager sees them a year from now, you might think differently about putting those pictures out there for the world to see.

9. I’m rubber, you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.

People will say mean things about you online.  It’s inevitable.  You need to have a thick skin to be a blogger.

10. Raise your hand.

Write about what you know and don’t be shy about it.  Be confident and don’t be afraid to share your knowledge, opinions, and yourself on your blog.

Image: stock.xchng