105 | What to Say in Your About Page?
Quick Recap: What we’ve learned so far
101 | THE SET-UP | Create a Substack account.
102 | PUBLISH YOUR FIRST POST | Writing fiction vs nonfiction, navigating the user interface, and the settings worth remembering.
103 | WELCOME EMAIL TIPS | Not sure what to say in that first email your subscribers receive from you? Here are some great ideas to get you started.
Another page you’ll want to give yourself time to create is your About page. If you have a website already then you might already have this page with your bio right there. And if it ain’t broke, no need to fix it. You can just copy/paste that sucker right over. But, if you’re like me, always looking for a good time to update and upgrade yourself, then why not here? Instead, don’t even look at the bio you have on your website. Start from scratch. Because what works as a bio there may not work on Substack.
Keep in mind, your Substack is more than just a blog, it’s a newsletter, and depending on what specifically you will be sharing in each email, that is what you’ll want to put in your About page. Make it more than just about you, make it about your newsletter.
Here is a good baseline of questions you can answer and use when writing out your bio:
A brief paragraph about yourself.
Why did you decide to start this Substack or a newsletter in the first place?
What can your subscribers hope to get from you and how often?
It might seem like a short bio, but when you start to answer the above, you’ll find you’ve got much to say.
WHERE DO I GO?
Looking for the exact location to change your “About page”? Like all things in Substack, you’ll find what you’re looking for on your Dashboard -> Settings area.
WHAT ABOUT IMAGES?
If you have an image of yourself, I would include at least one here and right at the top. But that isn’t all you can show if you rather not show your face. Here are some other great options for the shy individual in all of us:
PETS | Pets are cute. Humans like photos of pets.
ILLUSTRATION | Of yourself. For about the last 5+ years I’ve been on social media, my “avatar” has been an illustration someone did of me that I loved. Now I’ve started using my Memoji (an Apple thing). Nothing wrong with an illustration of yourself.
NOTHING IMPERSONAL | We don’t need to see a picture of your house. Or your kitchen.
OFFICE SPACE | One person’s messy desk is another’s paradise! It can be a way to break the ice and let your reader know that you’re not perfect. Show off your messy workspace in all its glory! Bonus points if you're sitting at your desk!
Just don’t go crazy with the images. Two or three at the most, dispersed throughout your about page. Don’t keep them all together. Remember, this is an about page not a sales page. I would caution against putting images of your books asking for them to purchase it. It’s too early in the relationship to start asking. Especially, as you’re already asking them to subscribe to your newsletter. Baby steps!
Build your relationship first. Ask for nothing on this page. This is not the place for that. There will be plenty of opportunities to start asking your subscriber to open their wallet to you. First, let’s reel them in with your charm.
SHOW YOUR VOICE
How do you speak to your friends and family? Much more casual and laid back? Or are you reserved and sophisticated? Try as best you can to hear yourself speaking the words you are writing. Say them out loud. If it doesn’t sound like you, then make it sound like you. The about page is a great intro for any prospective subscriber to get insight into your voice even if what you’re speaking on (yourself) isn’t necessarily going to be the main topic of your newsletter.
Let your personality shine through on this page as best you can. It might be the only opportunity you have, especially if your newsletter is geared towards being more factual and less casual.
NICHE-SPECIFIC TIPS
If there is something about your newsletter that makes it unique and stands out from anything else you’ve ever seen (or researched. You did research right?) then make sure you say so! Don’t be shy. It’s the first date so make a good first impression by putting all your strong points forward and in this case, that’s your newsletter topic.
If you’re going to be sharing historical anecdotes from the perspective of unknown women in the 18th century, then tell us that (man, that’s a good one, someone write that, and if someone already has, point me in their direction). Maybe give a little snippet of the type of information you’ll be sharing. If you’re writing fiction then tease us with your genre expertise. Dazzle us with some prolific prose. Writing poetry? Share some lines or the entirety of your favorite poem. Either that you wrote or by someone you admire.
LAST WORD(S)
When a visitor arrives to your about page make sure they have everything they need right there to make the only decision they can possibly make; subscribe to your newsletter!
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