It’s Time to Rethink Your About Page

In part one of our series, we talked about how landing pages can help your podcast grow by featuring specific programs and offerings. In this next part of the series, we’re talking about a page that most websites have, but few podcasters spend the time working on successful about pages.

What is an about page?

The about page is the page on your site that’s all about you, your company, your podcast, your mission. It’s a place that when carefully crafted can give a genuine insight into your purpose for creating the podcast – it’s big why and gives a great glimpse into who you are as a person and brand. However, most podcasters, including myself, use the basic formula of bio, headshot, and a call to action on their about page.

Boring!

Rethinking who the about page is for

Instead, I think we need to rethink what an about page really can do for your podcast specifically. It is a place where you can put a lot of information to bring in the right listener and to disqualify listeners because if you’re doing your podcast right then, there will be part of the population who shouldn’t listen to your show. When you understand your audience, your show is better. You’re able to focus on those issues and topics that make your audience more than just listeners. They become ravenous fans.

Like everything involving your podcast, including a page on your website that’s all about you, you need to start with your listener in mind. (PS, if you need help discovering your audience avatar then use this great free tutorial from our co-founder Mark Asquith.)

How to design your about page to be about your listener

The best about pages are not just going to give information about the website and show, but it’s going to help the audience discover your why. To truly design an about page that is for your listener you need to do the following.

1. Think about what your ideal audience needs to know about you as a host of this topic. What authority do you have? Is it from personal experience? Is it because you have a degree in the subject? Is the subject your primary occupation? Or are you just so passionate about the subject that you’ve made it your life’s mission to talk about it?
2. They need to know why this topic is important not only to yourself but also the larger community. Are you part of a larger movement or cause? Are you on a mission to change an aspect of life for your audience? Let your site visitors know theses things.
3. The page needs to highlight significant aspects of your personality. Do you use a lot of four-letter words? Put them on the about page. Are you known for great design? Then your about page needs to reflect this. Don’t be afraid to show things like kid photos if you’re going to mention your children on the show. Whatever you know will bring more connection to you and the audience then puts that in this section.

These are the things the about page should answer for a potential listener. The about page is not for you to brag about what you can do for the listener if they listen to the podcast. Rather the about page is for you to invite the potential audience in more closely, to see if your values, talents, and knowledge goes well with what they are seeking.

Remember, a majority of podcast listeners are tuning in for a combination of escape, learning, and entertainment. They want to fill what could be quiet hours of work, driving, or exercising. Your job as the podcast host is to provide this. The sheer amount of topics in podcasting today is just incredible. How does a listener know which shows should she choose to download? One, of course, is podcast rankings, looking at reviews, and specific episode topics. But, listeners do discover podcasts through the websites (if a podcast has a website, and I firmly believe EVERY podcast needs some website outside of social media or their RSS feeds). If a listener is on your website, they are checking out the about page at least once. So make it count.

Here’s what belongs on an excellent about page

The Headline

The first thing you want is a compelling headline. Something that ties all the information together on the page, so the reader has an idea of where you’re going. I love what Podcast Websites Co-Founder Mark Asquith wrote for his About Page on his Excellence Expected website:

Helping You to Create a Better Business and a Better Life in Business.

If you’re familiar with Mark’s backstory, then you know that he suffered from business burnout and that now he focuses a good amount of his time working with entrepreneurs to make the business work for them, so they don’t suffer as he did. This headline sums this up beautifully – it is clear who he is going after, and what he hopes for his audience to achieve.

Another great example of this is Moz.com who has one of the best About Pages on the internet. Moz is an outstanding SEO company, and their headline is:

Making the web a better place and loving every second of it

Using this headline, it’s clear that this is a business that wants businesses to be discovered more quickly on the internet. And they are going to do it in their way.

Give a road map into your topic

I also am a big fan of the way Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus use theirs about section on TheMinimalists.com. They not only go into what is minimalism according to them, but they also break down their personal stories of how they became and maintained their minimalist lifestyle, and they give starting points for the audience to go. These starting points include things like a 21-day challenge and other articles for beginners.  This is awesome because they are giving a clear road map to becoming a minimalist through their about section.

Another great example of this is SmartPassiveIncome.com by Pat Flynn. While Pat doesn’t have it listed as an about page, his Start Here section gives another road map into how to get started with passive income earning, he tells his personal story, and gives a glimpse into his big why spending time with his young family. This section allows Pat to show his value and purpose to his audience at the very beginning.

Give proof of success

Lewis Howes runs one of the most popular podcasts on the planet, The School of Greatness and his about page is pretty great. What is wonderful is that Lewis doesn’t hide the proof of his success and in fact uses it to tell his story. The first section of his about page is a video of his appearance on the Ellen Degeneres Show. He also highlights some of the bigger names he’s interviewed using great visuals and lists all the major media outlets he’s appeared. Why is this important? It shows social and media proof that Lewis is the real deal and has the street cred to back up what he’s teaching in his podcast.

Another example of proof of success comes from a man named Mike Murphy. His about page shows amazing examples of testimonials from podcast listeners, former guests, and clients. And it is very visually appealing.

Have a clear and easy way to contact you

This is one section of an about page that even great podcasters skip – but this is one of the best places to put a contact form or at least give instructions on the best way to reach you. If a person has spent the time reading all the information you need to provide them with some way of connecting with you further. 

You can do something simple like the ladies from Hello Alfred. They have a fantastic website, and their about page shows what their company’s purpose is, to provide assistance in home choirs and tasks. They have testimonials, a clear layout and unlike a lot of websites a clear call to action to get in touch.

At the very least have some opt-in or call to action somewhere on the page. If a person is spending time on your about page, then it means they are interested in you or the show.

If you have a great about page we want to know about it – you can share it with our free Facebook community. Also, if you need help getting your podcast website to the next level, we have the tools, tricks, and knowledge to make it happen. Schedule a one-on-one with our team so we can show you all of the awesome things Podcast Websites can do for your podcast.