When I built my personal website two years ago, I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out the best way to tell the world how amazing I am.
After growing tired of staring at a blinking cursor, I wanted to just leave the “About Me” section blank. But I couldn’t. This page is extremely important. Not only is it where a reader can get to know a little bit about who you are, but it’s also where you can convince them to explore other areas of your personal website—like the writing samples you want to share or the homemade jewelry you want to sell.
Writing one of these bios—and making sure you stand out—can be tough, but by leveraging Squarespace's customizable About page templates and these four tips, creating your own “About Me” page has never been easier.
1. Write Like You Speak
Your personality’s important, so you want to let it shine. What’s the point of investing time and money into your website if you’re not going to show the world who you really are?
An easy way to do just that is to write the same way you speak—the way you communicate with others is a huge part of your identity. So, for your first draft, pretend you’re writing an email to a trusted friend. How would you speak to her? Don’t worry about the “hahas” and “lols”—you can remove those when you edit. When you’re done, read it out loud. Does it sound like you?
And yes, your bio can be in third person if you think it would be more professional. When you go back and revise, you can just adjust the point of view. It’ll still be your unique voice.
2. Provide Context
What’s the point of creating your website? Why’d you build it? And, most importantly, why should someone else care about it?
If your purpose is to provide services like resume writing, copy editing, or graphic design you need to convince people that your services are worth part of their paycheck. This is where your experience comes in—list the length of time you’ve been doing this, the education, training, and certifications you have, and what your specialties are, if any.
To make your bio even stronger, add why you’re so passionate about the type of work you do. People want to know that you care about your work, and they want to know why.
3. Include Some Fun Facts
No one wants to read just another version of your resume. People want to learn about who you are. Because, newsflash: You are, in fact, more than your work experience. And, no, I don’t mean a play-by-play of your life from birth to present day.
So add a few interesting details about what makes you, well, you. For example, start with a short paragraph of fun tidbits about yourself before diving into what you do for an income.
Personally, I love grilled cheese and cats, so I tend to slide one (or both) of those facts into most of my introductions, like this:
Hi, I’m Abby! I’m a health educator and freelance writer who’s passionate about helping people achieve optimal wellness, weaving pretty sentences together to make great content, and watching my cat jump into empty boxes.
4. Remember the Basics
Add a photo—this page is about you, remember? Make sure the reader knows exactly how to get in touch with you if they decide to. Provide relevant links to other sections of the site (e.g. samples of your work, your price list) and any social media pages you want them to see. Anything that helps tell the story of who you are and why you’re worth their attention should be on this page.
Yes—writing an “About Me” page is intimidating. But if you believe you’re a unique person with something special to offer (which you are), then it’s totally worth putting the time and effort in to make it a good one. And, hopefully, these tips will help make it a little less painful.