By Melanie Kealey from music website and marketing platform Bandzoogle. Twitter: @Bandzoogle
If reality television, blogging, and social networking has taught us anything, it’s that fans want to know more about the real you. An About page can be a huge source of traffic for your website.
Think about the people who are visiting your website. Maybe your band opened for another band and their fans want to see what you're about. Maybe a journalist or blogger needs material in order to review your show, or your new album.
They're interested in finding out more - it's up to you to give them a great first impression! A good About page gives context to your music, and that enables the listener to better appreciate it.
So what should you include on your About page?
Back to Basics: The 5 W's. Who, what, when, where, why and how. Keep these in mind as you write out a bio for yourself. Tell a story that you’d be interested in reading. Imagine you’re describing yourself to a stranger. You might give them some kind of reference to relate to such as a familiar genre, band, or style of music that they can identify with. But you wouldn't go into every itty bitty detail of your history. Same thing here. Keep it short, sweet, and relevant.
Make sure to mention your name. Consider writing your About page in the third person, just like you'd introduce yourself at a live show. It might seem a bit impersonal not to use "I" when talking about yourself, but using your name will give your bio text a professional edge. It will also help your website rank for keyword searches in Google done on your name (or your band name). It also allows journalists, bloggers, show promoters, etc. to indulge in a bit of copying and pasting when they want to talk about you.
Your accomplishments. This is the time to brag about yourself! Write out all of the interesting things you have done. Use a great quote from the press, list places you have played, or bands you've played with. This could be in paragraph form or even as a list. Once you have written everything out, trim it down to the most relevant and most attention-grabbing information.
The story. What sets you apart from everyone else? What makes you different and special? In other words, what is your story? Give your fans a reason to go to your next show, buy your CD, or join your mailing list.
Make it Personal. Include a photo of yourself or your band on your About Page. Putting a face to your words will give your page a personal touch as well as making it more visually appealing.
Keep it current. Revisit your About page every few months and update it accordingly with your latest and greatest musical activities.
And...Action! Now that they know all about you, make it easy for your visitors to contact you and buy your music, by including some kind of action. You can include a contact form, a link to your store or album feature, or even just your email address.
Last but not least. Read your About page out loud to make sure it flows nicely. Double-check your spelling and grammar, and then have someone else check it as well.
Check out some of these great About Pages as examples:
http://www.leralynn.com/about
http://www.seconddan.com/aboutus
http://www.sierranoble.com/aboutsierra
http://www.jennifergrassman.com/about
http://milestodayton.net/bio
They're interested in finding out more - it's up to you to give them a great first impression! A good About page gives context to your music, and that enables the listener to better appreciate it.
So what should you include on your About page?
Back to Basics: The 5 W's. Who, what, when, where, why and how. Keep these in mind as you write out a bio for yourself. Tell a story that you’d be interested in reading. Imagine you’re describing yourself to a stranger. You might give them some kind of reference to relate to such as a familiar genre, band, or style of music that they can identify with. But you wouldn't go into every itty bitty detail of your history. Same thing here. Keep it short, sweet, and relevant.
Make sure to mention your name. Consider writing your About page in the third person, just like you'd introduce yourself at a live show. It might seem a bit impersonal not to use "I" when talking about yourself, but using your name will give your bio text a professional edge. It will also help your website rank for keyword searches in Google done on your name (or your band name). It also allows journalists, bloggers, show promoters, etc. to indulge in a bit of copying and pasting when they want to talk about you.
Your accomplishments. This is the time to brag about yourself! Write out all of the interesting things you have done. Use a great quote from the press, list places you have played, or bands you've played with. This could be in paragraph form or even as a list. Once you have written everything out, trim it down to the most relevant and most attention-grabbing information.
The story. What sets you apart from everyone else? What makes you different and special? In other words, what is your story? Give your fans a reason to go to your next show, buy your CD, or join your mailing list.
Make it Personal. Include a photo of yourself or your band on your About Page. Putting a face to your words will give your page a personal touch as well as making it more visually appealing.
Keep it current. Revisit your About page every few months and update it accordingly with your latest and greatest musical activities.
And...Action! Now that they know all about you, make it easy for your visitors to contact you and buy your music, by including some kind of action. You can include a contact form, a link to your store or album feature, or even just your email address.
Last but not least. Read your About page out loud to make sure it flows nicely. Double-check your spelling and grammar, and then have someone else check it as well.
Check out some of these great About Pages as examples:
http://www.leralynn.com/about
http://www.seconddan.com/aboutus
http://www.sierranoble.com/aboutsierra
http://www.jennifergrassman.com/about
http://milestodayton.net/bio
Previous Website Quick Fix posts:
- Musician Website Quick Fix #10: Embed Video
- Musician Website Quick Fix #9: Add a Digital Press Kit
- Musician Website Quick Fix #8: Use a Contact Form
- Musician Website Quick Fix #7: Add Social Links
- Musician Website Quick Fix #6: Host Your Own Blog
- Musician Website Quick Fix #5: Add A Mailing List Sign-Up
- Musician Website Quick Fix #4: Make it easy to listen to your music
- Musician Website Quick Fix #3: Focus on one Call-to-Action
- Musician Website Quick Fix #2: Lose the Intro Page
- Musician Website Quick Fix #1: Turn off auto-start music
