How to Make a Great About Page
Best practice and common pitfalls with Substack About pages
Who the hell are you and why does your publication exist?
That’s what people want to know when they discover your Substack newsletter.
Reminder: Substack growth comes from converting strangers into readers; readers into subscribers; and subscribers into raving fans who will share your work and help you grow on autopilot.
There are three ways to show readers who you are and what you are all about: your ‘hero post’; in-post introductions and calls to action (CTAs); and the About page. This post is all about the About page.
About pages are super important. Why is it so vital to have a good one?
Your About page exists to:
(1) Convert casual readers into subscribers;
and
(2) Convert subscribers into fans*.
You can only do those two things by answering this question: who are you and why does your publication exist?
*there is also a third reason, which we’ll get to later in this post.
What should you include in an About Page?
The aim of an About page is to show readers the best of you and your publication and to help them understand why your publication will appeal to them. I’m about to list a bunch of ‘must haves’ for your About page.
These aren’t hard-and-fast rules, of course – you can say whatever you like. But these are the elements that you will find on almost every successful publication’s About page. Break the rules by all means, but do so at your own risk!
Rules for About pages
To be effective, an About page must contain each of the elements listed below:
A picture of you (or that represents you);
An explanation of what subscribers can expect - how often you post, what you post about -;
The benefits of being a subscriber;
Who you are;
Your mission - why here, why now, what are you trying to achieve -;
A description of free and paid tiers, or pledges, if applicable;
Two calls to action (CTAs) that tell people to subscribe: one above the fold (near the top of the screen) and one near the bottom of the page.
Optionally, About pages can also include:
Links to your best posts;
Ideal reader information, explaining who the publication is for;
Information about your other work, such as books or professional services;
Social media handles and contact details;
Social proof, such as testimonials from fans.
Images
Pictures are really important on an About page, and a picture of the creator is the most important image. When someone subscribes to a Substack publication they are putting their trust in the creator. Trust is easier to build when readers have a mental image of you. So make trust easy and add a photograph of yourself to your About page.
Ideally, the photograph should include your face, with an open, smiling expression and good lighting.
What subscribers will get
A subscriber gives you their email address. What are you giving them in return? It may be obvious to you but not so obvious to them.
Explain what readers can expect from you and your newsletter. Include the basics, like your topic areas, the frequency of posting, the day of the week you post and the format of your posts – are they short snippets from other parts of the internet or deep dives into important issues? Are they long essays or personal memoirs or….
You can also show readers what your publication is NOT about and who it is NOT for. You can do this explicitly (“If you want Fox-News-style commentary, you’ve come to the wrong place”) or more subtly (“This is for people who LOVE nerding out on the nitty-gritty details of mosses and lichens”).
When you do this you let people disqualify themselves from being subscribers up front. Your publication is not right for everyone, and that’s the way it should be. This is the third reason I mentioned at the start of this post.
Explaining who your publication is not for lets your ideal readers feel validated and excited that they are in the right place.
The benefits
Describe the benefits of being a subscriber. Not just what the reader will get ("Get three tasty vegan recipes every Friday") but how their life will be better with your emails in their inbox ("Never be stuck not knowing what to cook again")
A more subtle way to show the benefits of your newsletter is by showcasing your best work and reminding readers that subscribers receive your fabulous posts straight to their inbox every week.
About you
Describe who you are. This doesn’t need to be your whole life story or a professional resume. Stick to the parts of you that are relevant to your publication. If your publication is about armadillos, explain how you fell in love with them, or where you became an expert. If your publication exists primarily to entertain, be entertaining when you describe yourself. If your publication relies on your professional expertise, emphasize your skills and experience.
Your description can be as long or short as you wish, but I recommend two to four sentences. Remember, the About page is really for your readers, not for you.
Your mission
In addition to explaining who you are, your About page must show readers why you have made the effort to create your publication. When visitors can’t easily discover why a publication exists, they won’t be motivated to subscribe.
Examples:
“I’m on a mission to explain the science of sourdough in a way that is never boring and usually delicious!”
“This publication was born because I was frustrated with the lack of local news in Pottsville.”
“Armadillos United is a safe space to enjoy the delights of armadillos for animal lovers everywhere.”
Free versus paid and pledges
If you have payments activated, or if you are using Pledges, you must explain this. Readers are automatically shown prompts to Pledge or Upgrade to Paid by Substack, so it’s important that you introduce the concept on your About page.
Tell them what paid subscribers get, even if it’s nothing extra, and briefly explain how Pledges work and why you are giving readers the opportunity to pledge, if applicable.
Links, social proof
An About page can also include links to your publication’s best content. If you have social proof, like testimonials from readers or friends, include those too.
A warning about external links: Be strategic if you plan to link to works you have published on other websites, or links to social media profiles. While it might seem smart to give readers a chance to explore your other work, I recommend that you do not include links to external sites on your About page.
Remember, the aim of the About page is to get people to subscribe or to turn current subscribers into raving fans. If they click a link and end up browsing your Insta pics, they might never come back.
As an alternative, you can share your social media handles so people can look you up if they are interested. To publicize books or professional services, make a separate page on Substack to showcase them, and link to that page instead of an external site. The longer you keep someone on Substack, the better your chances of collecting their email address.
How long should your About page be?
Your About page can be long or short, it really doesn’t matter, as long as you include all the elements I’ve listed above. Some people will read every sentence of a 2,000 word page, some will be happier with fewer words and some prefer to skim.
Use a style and length that is similar to the rest of your publication, so that you appeal to the same sort of reader.
No matter how long your page is, I recommend you include subheadings to highlight the most important information so new readers can quickly figure out if your publication is right for them.
Homework
Check out the About pages of five top publications in categories different to yours. Ask yourself what you like about each page; are they effective; what could be better? Make a note of any ideas you might want to borrow for your page.
So, what do you think? Have I inspired you to check and tweak your Substack About page? Have I missed anything you have on yours? Let me know in the comments.
That’s it for now, see you in the weekly Accountability Thread.
Karen
P.S. If you missed my shameless self-promotional email last week, I was sharing my new program for Substack creators. It’s cheaper, faster and much more focused than the other programs out there; you’ll see results in hours, not months. Check it out today.
I really need to spruce my about pages. I've bookmarked this to help me once I get to it. Thanks Karen!
Thanks for the tips. I do wonder, though, just how many people actually read About pages. I admit I rarely do. If a post or a note catches my attention and I enjoy reading it I usually subscribe there and then.