Arial of AttackDepression.com learned a great lesson about anonymity. Even though her site has been around for 2 years, she just added an About The Author page in June.
Due to the fact her site includes a lot of personal information about her own depression, she didn’t want her family and friends to find out about her condition from the web.
So she registered a private domain and chose to remain anonymous.
After reading numerous blogs and websites that discuss the importance and advantages of getting more personal, she realized it may be doing her site a disservice to remain anonymous.
So she created an “About The Author” page that includes a few details about herself. Even though Arial does not disclose her real name, she tells her story about her battles with depression.
You won’t find a photo of Arial on her site, but she uses her Yahoo Avatar and playfully promises her audience, “It looks pretty close to the real me.”
Arial admits a real-life photo would be better, but due to her situation, I can certainly understand why she chose not to go there. Nevertheless, she believes telling her story and being honest about her situation is much better than having no information about herself at all.
I asked if she’s noticed a difference since she added her “About The Author” page. Here is her reply…
The first thing I noticed was how I am able to connect with my readers better than before. Now that I’ve told my story, many people have emailed me because they can relate to my story, and they’ve given me ideas for other topics.
Feedback from my About The Author page has provided greater insight to what my audience wants to learn about so my content will be more relevant and useful going forward.
And the best thing is, my affiliate commissions have gone up by about 30% even though my traffic has remained steady.
While I have no proof it’s all because of my About The Author page, it’s hard to believe that doesn’t have some impact.
I also just updated my design using your free 3 column template, so I’m sure that helped as well. My old layout was pretty drab. 🙂
Nevertheless, I still believe people are more likely to buy things you recommend when they know about your relationship with the topic. That’s hard to accomplish when your website is anonymous and you don’t explain how you’re connected with your subject matter.
My site may not be completely un-anonymous (Is that a word?), but it’s better than before. 🙂
Arial’s right. Telling your audience about yourself and how you relate to your topic can do a world of good for your credibility.
People want to know what qualifies you to be the “expert” on the subject, so adding a few sentences about yourself can breathe some life into your site or blog. I encourage you to think of ways you can connect with your readers better. If you’re not comfortable adding a picture, it’s not a necessity but definitely helps.
Also explain how you got involved with your topic and why you created your site or blog. Small changes like this can make a big difference in the long-run.
I wanted to start a blog or website and when I went to register my domain name it asked me for my name and address and this makes me nervous. What do they do with this information? I have a very unusual last name and you can find out ALOT of info about me just using google and my last name. I had a guy I met out on the town once who tracked me down just by knowing my first name and where I worked!
Jessie
Your name and address will show up in the WHOIS directory of domains. So anyone can get your info. You may want to consider registering a business name (DBA) and getting a PO Box. That way you can use that name instead of your first and last. Also a lot of people change their domain registry data so it shows their last initial or even a fake name. It’s up to you what you put in the registry but it’s better to get a business name if this is worrying you.
I recently made the leap into blogging and decided to provide my information. I simply enjoy blogs that share the information of who I’m taking the advice of and I think like a lot of people, I enjoy a good story.
It seems like the most successful bloggers often have their identity revealed.
Thanks for the post, it confirmed a lot of the thoughts I was having.
.-= Ryan´s last blog … Investing in What Matters Most… Your Belly =-.
I am always inerested in the person who is writing an article.
I am a believer in having the About Me section, whether a blog or a website. It makes it more personal, more believable, more one on one, if the writer can connect with the reader.
Although good content can do this, the old addage about an image is worth a thousand words still applies. I do agree however, that one does not have to post their own image, although it would be preferred. I personally don’t like the Avatars.
I have seen several images where a photo is somewhat blurred. Just enough to give you a sense of what the person looks like, but not enough to be recognizable up front. Photo Editing can be ones friend. I personally wouldn’t use an image not of myself, but who would know if you did?
My one caution though, would to be careful to post anything about your personal information or location.
1. Use a screen name, never your real name
2. Use a State, but never a city
3. Don’t post photos of friends, relatives or family, unless it is password protected.
4. Guard any other personal information with your life. Address’s, localities, Doctors, phone numbers, SS #’s etc.
*The reason I state this last bit of info is that a gal on a military chat I belonged to, used her real last name and her city. A stalker tracked her down weeks later and caused her a lot of distress over several months, ending her moving lock, stock and barrel. If it can happen on chat, it can happen on a blog or a website.
As far as a description of yourself, just use generalities.
“I am 23 years old, (Oh how I wish), I wouldn’t use single, but if your married and have kids…put married with three boys, 2 girls, live in Idaho, attended college (Never list it) and graduated with a BS Degree. Experiance is….blah, blah, blah, but again, be careful what you expose.
Great post as usual…;)
CB, this is fine. I never mind anyone linking to my site. It’s when they use my content word for word. Thank you very much for the link.
Hi Lisa,
Great article! I was just writing one myself on why ppl should include a profile for their blog when I stumbled upon your posting. I hope you don’t mind that I cited your post in my blog.
Here it is:
http://cbblogsuccess.blogspot.com/2008/12/do-i-really-need-profile.html
If you’d rather I not mention you then I’ll take out the reference.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely,
CB Webmaster
Thanks for another excellent post. I suffer from depression and anxiety as well. All too well, I can understand the stigma associated with mental illness. Thus, I can understand why Arial doesn’t include a picture of herself in her blog. That is really interesting how her affiliate income increased by 30% when she included the “About the Author” page. I know that when I visit sites and blogs, knowing a little bit about the author certainly increases their credibility. My blog is probably too new to have earned much credibility yet, but I do have an “About Me” page. I soon plan on taking the brave leap of adding a picture of myself. Hopefully it won’t scare to many viewers away! LOL!
Lisa:
You bring up a very good point on this and that is, “if we are genuine, we are most likely also honest in what we have to offer a reader which also makes our site less intimidating to not only practice the advice but also more comfortable to do business with and buy the services or products offered.
I have made a note to make a priority of adding some more personal info (and photo) on one of my new sites I am launching.
You have also given me an idea that I am going to experiment with. If it works out, i will report back as to what it was and how it worked.
Thanks again!
Timely post. I am also anonymous on my site about anxiety, panic and depression because of the social stigma. Yes, I am embarrassed about my “condition”. I do have a little something on my about page, but I don’t have a picture and obviously I don’t use my real name. Also, I went to Arial’s site which was interesting but I didn’t see any comment section anywhere?
I agree knowing who a person is can connect you with them, but for personally, it doesn’t matter. You can call yourself Buddah, I’m fine with that.
I’m strictly there for content, not to “make friends”..who’s to say the picture we put up is even really us when we see a picture or if we’re using our real name.
I liken blogging to being on stage, I’m a performer, I have a stage name…that person is not necessarily me all the time. I do not blog anonymously on my main blog, Valerie Morrison, is my real name and that’s my face on my blog.
However, I recently set up a blog though where I don’t give my real name. It’s there for entertainment purposes only…it’s liberating in that I can speak freely. I can’t do that on my other blog.
I do reveal as much as I can about myself on my main blog though, but depending on what type of blog you have, it doesn’t always matter if you blog under your real or fake name.
Good post, food for thought.
What a wonderful post and timely considering my creation of an about me page for my site. Your points will be kept in mind when creating my profile. I choose anonymity myself for many reasons, but feel that describing ones “point of view” truthfully brings the possibility of a stronger connection with the reader.
I wish depression did not carry such a heavy social stigma. I understand and respect her need for privacy. However if we could just think of mental disease like we think of the cold or flu we wouldn’t hesitate so much to get the help we need and millions would suffer less.