An about me page is the page on your website that tells a stranger what you write, for whom, why they should trust you and what to do next. For a freelancer it is a sales page written in the first person. For an author it is where readers, editors and event organizers go when they want to know who wrote the thing they just read.
The ones that work open with the visitor's problem or with the work, not with a childhood love of books. They show proof, add one human detail and end with a single next step. Below are thirteen original examples for freelance writers, editors, journalists and authors, each with a note on why it works, then a fill-in outline. The people are invented: borrow the structure, use your own facts.
What goes on an about me page
The full examples below are built from the same six parts, though not every page needs all of them. Short versions keep three: the headline, one piece of proof and the next step.
| Part | Its job | Looks like |
|---|---|---|
| PartHeadline | Its jobSay what you write and for whom | Looks like“I write case studies for B2B software companies.” |
| PartOpening | Its jobMeet the visitor's problem or interest | Looks like“Your best customer stories are stuck in sales calls.” |
| PartProof | Its jobMake the claim believable | Looks likeClients, bylines, books, one result, a named testimonial |
| PartBackground | Its jobExplain why you, in a few sentences | Looks likeThe earlier job that gives you an edge |
| PartHuman detail | Its jobTurn a vendor into a person | Looks likeWhere you live, one habit, one odd fact |
| PartNext step | Its jobTell the visitor what to do now | Looks like“Book a 20-minute call” or “Start with book one” |
Order matters because almost nobody reads the whole page. Jakob Nielsen's 2008 analysis of browsing data estimated that people read about 20 percent of the words on an average web page during a visit. Your headline and first two sentences do most of the work, and the proof has to be visible without hunting for it.
The photo matters too. In Nielsen Norman Group's eyetracking work, people looked closely at photos of real staff and skipped generic stock images. Its 2019 study of company About pages counted stock photos, walls of text and missing trust signals among the things that left visitors unsatisfied. Use a recent, well-lit photo of your face, not a logo or a picture of a typewriter.
First person or third person?
On your own site, write in the first person. For a writer the about page is also a writing sample: an editor judges your tone of voice here before opening a single clip. Third person (“Maya is an award-winning…”) reads like a press release. Keep a third-person version too, lower on the page or on a press page, for organizers and editors who need to paste it. Our professional bio examples cover that format.
About me examples for freelance writers
A client reads your about page with one question in mind: can this person write what I need, on time, without me rewriting it? Answer with a niche, proof and a word or two about how you work.
I write case studies and long-form guides for B2B software companies.
Your best customer stories are sitting in sales calls and support tickets. I turn them into case studies your sales team actually sends, and guides that answer the questions buyers search for before they ever book a demo.
Since 2019 I've written for payroll, expense and HR software companies, from seed-stage startups to a public company with a content team of twelve. Recent work includes a 14-part guide to state payroll taxes and a case study series that now goes out with every enterprise proposal.
Before freelancing I spent six years in accounts payable. I can interview your finance customers without a glossary, and I can read a balance sheet faster than most marketers.
I take four clients at a time, on monthly retainers or per project. Every piece comes with an interview brief, two rounds of edits and a source list. I live in Columbus, Ohio, and keep a private collection of the worst software error messages I've ever seen.
Read three samples or book a 20-minute call.
Why it works. The headline names a format and an industry, which is what clients search for. The earlier career is presented as an advantage, not an apology. “Four clients at a time” tells a buyer they will get attention, and the error-message collection is the one detail a reader remembers.
Emails that sell the second bottle.
I write welcome sequences, launch emails and win-back flows for independent food and skincare brands. Most of my clients come to me with a good product, a decent list and an email program that stopped at “Thanks for subscribing.”
In the last two years I've rebuilt the email programs of eleven shops. My favorite result: a hot sauce brand whose welcome sequence now brings in more repeat orders than its paid ads. I learned to sell running a farmers market stall, where you have about four seconds before someone walks on.
Send me your store link and your current welcome email. Within two working days I'll reply with three things I would change. No charge.
Why it works. The headline is the client's goal, not the writer's job title. The next step costs the visitor almost nothing and shows the work before any money changes hands.
I help founders and doctors write the book they keep talking about.
You have the expertise and the stories. You don't have 300 spare hours. I interview you, draft the manuscript in your voice and work through it with you chapter by chapter until it sounds like you on a good day.
I've ghostwritten nine nonfiction books since 2016. Most of my clients' names stay confidential, so ask me for references: three past clients have agreed to take a call. A typical book takes nine to twelve months from the first interview to the final manuscript.
Fill in the book questionnaire. It takes ten minutes and tells us both whether your idea is ready to be a book.
Why it works. A ghostwriter can't show a client list, so references and a timeline do the job of proof, and the questionnaire filters out people who aren't ready. If you are new to this work, our guide on how to become a ghostwriter covers where the first clients come from.
Developmental and line editing for literary and upmarket fiction.
I read your manuscript the way an agent will, then tell you what's working, what isn't and what to do about it, in a letter you can act on.
I spent eight years acquiring and editing novels at an independent press before going freelance in 2020. Since then I've edited more than sixty manuscripts, and fourteen of those writers have since signed with literary agents.
I offer three services: a manuscript assessment (an editorial letter of about ten pages), a full developmental edit with comments in the margins, and a line edit for drafts whose structure is already sound.
Send me your first ten pages and a synopsis for a free sample edit.
Why it works. Writers shopping for an editor often don't know the difference between a developmental edit and a line edit, so the page explains each in a clause. The proof is measured in the outcome the visitor wants, which is an agent, not in the number of years spent editing.
Reporter covering water, farming and the rural Midwest.
I'm a freelance journalist based in Des Moines. I report on drought, groundwater and the business of farming for regional newspapers, public radio and agriculture trade magazines.
Recent stories: a three-part series on rural water districts running out of money, a profile of the last grain elevator in a county of 4,000 people, and an explainer on how crop insurance pays out in a flood year. I grew up on a hog farm, so farmers tend to call me back.
Editors: I file clean copy on deadline with a fact-check sheet, and I can turn around breaking news in Iowa within a day. Pitches and assignments to the email below.
Why it works. An editor wants three things from a freelancer's page: the beat, recent clips and evidence of reliability. This one gives all three and skips the sales talk. The page backs up the pitch email, so it pays to know how to pitch an article as well as what to put here.
Health writing from a nurse who has worked the night shift.
I'm a registered nurse turned health writer. For eleven years I worked in emergency and cardiac care. Now I write patient guides, health articles and continuing-education content for clinics and health publishers.
I'm new to freelancing, so instead of a client list, here are three samples written for this site: a plain-language guide to heart failure medicines, an article on what to expect after a stress test, and a hospital discharge sheet rewritten at a sixth-grade reading level.
Need accurate health content? Email me the topic and I'll write a short paid test piece within a week.
Why it works. It is honest about being new and doesn't apologize for it. The samples are chosen to prove the exact skills a clinic pays for, including readability for patients, and the paid test piece lowers the risk of hiring someone without a track record.
About me examples for authors
An author's about page has several readers at once: fans who just finished a book, agents checking you out after a query, librarians and event organizers. Lead with the books, keep your story short and give each kind of visitor a path. Our author website examples show how the pieces fit together.
I write mysteries set on islands where nobody can leave.
Hi, I'm Dana Whitlock. My Ferry Lane series follows a retired ferry captain who solves murders on a small island off the coast of Maine, where the last boat leaves at six and everyone knows your car. The fifth book, The Low Tide Ledger, comes out in March.
Before writing full-time I was a court stenographer for nineteen years, which is where I learned how people talk when they're lying. I live in Portland with my husband and a cat who has never once helped with an investigation. I answer every reader email, eventually.
New here? Start with book one, Fog Bell. Already a fan? My newsletter goes out once a month with deleted scenes and the occasional recipe from the island's only diner.
Why it works. Genre and hook fit in one line. The stenographer job explains why the dialogue is good without saying “my dialogue is good,” and two clearly labeled links serve two different visitors.
Fiction about families who run small businesses, and what they don't say at dinner.
I'm Rafael Duarte, a novelist and short story writer in San Antonio. My stories have appeared in four literary magazines, and you can read two of them online below.
I'm finishing my first novel, about three sisters who inherit their father's failing tire shop and have one summer to decide whether to save it. By day I teach high school English, which means I read 150 essays a week and still enjoy semicolons.
Read a story, or sign up to hear when the novel has news.
Why it works. It says what kind of fiction he writes before it says anything about him, which tells an agent where the novel would sit on a shelf. The stories are one click away, so the page doesn't have to argue that he can write.
I help hospital teams talk to each other before something goes wrong.
I'm Dr. Amara Osei, a former ICU physician and the author of Say It Twice, a book about how small habits in the way clinicians speak prevent big mistakes.
Since the book came out I've given talks at more than forty hospitals and medical conferences. They are practical: one hour, three habits, and a role-play the audience actually takes part in.
Organizing an event? My speaker sheet, headshots and talk descriptions are on the Press page, or you can email my booking contact directly.
Why it works. It leads with the audience's problem rather than the book's title, and it sends organizers to a press page instead of cramming every bio and photo onto this one. See our press kit examples for what that page holds.
Short about me examples
A homepage section, a newsletter's about page, a guest-post footer or a social profile needs two or three sentences. The parts are the same, just fewer of them: what you write, one piece of proof and a next step.
I write Second Shift, a weekly newsletter for people who work nights: sleep, money and the strange economy of 3 a.m. It arrives every Sunday and is read by nurses, bakers and security guards in thirty countries. Subscribe free, or read the archive first.
I translate Brazilian Portuguese fiction and essays into English: two novels and an essay collection so far, plus sample translations for publishers deciding what to buy. Publishers and agents, send me the book and within a week I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right translator for it.
I write poems about hospitals, weather and my grandmother's recipes, which turn out to be the same subject. My first collection, Salt Year, comes out from a small press in May. I teach an online workshop for new poets; the next one starts in January.
I write the words inside software: buttons, error messages and onboarding screens. For six years I've done it for banking apps, where “Something went wrong” is never good enough. Portfolio below; I'm open to contract work from February.
Before and after: a generic about page, fixed
Most first drafts are a list of qualities. Here is one, and the same writer's page after every adjective was traded for a fact.
Hello and welcome! My name is Jordan and I am a passionate, creative writer with a love for words. I have loved writing ever since I was a little girl filling notebooks with stories. I offer a variety of writing services including blog posts, articles, copywriting, editing and more. I am detail-oriented, reliable and always meet deadlines. Feel free to reach out!
I write blog posts and guides for veterinary clinics.
Pet owners search for answers at 2 a.m., when the dog has eaten something it shouldn't have. I write the clear, vet-reviewed articles that turn up in those searches and bring those owners to your clinic.
In three years I've written more than 200 articles for twelve clinics, each checked by a licensed vet before it goes live. I've also fostered thirty-one dogs, which helps more than you'd think.
Book a 15-minute call if your clinic's blog hasn't been updated this year.
Every adjective in the first version is a claim taken on faith. The second follows the old rule of show, don't tell: “reliable” becomes twelve clinics, “detail-oriented” becomes a vet review on every article, and “a variety of services” becomes one service done for one kind of client. Narrowing feels risky, but a clinic manager hires the specialist over the generalist almost every time.
How to write your own about me page
- Choose the visitor and the next step
Decide who lands on this page most often (a client, an editor, a reader, an agent) and what you want them to do. Everything else on the page should serve that one action.
- Write a headline a stranger understands
Name the format or genre and the audience: “I write grant proposals for arts nonprofits,” not “Words that matter.” If a friend can't repeat your headline after one reading, it is too clever.
- Open with them, then introduce yourself
The first paragraph is about the visitor's problem or interest. The second says who you are and what you did before, chosen for what it adds to the work.
- Put the proof where it can be seen
Clients, publications, books, one result and one testimonial with a full name. Proof builds credibility, what rhetoric calls ethos (see ethos, pathos and logos), and links to the real work beat any claim. If you are new, use samples, as the nurse does above.
- Add one human detail and a real photo
One or two details, ideally connected to the work, not a list of hobbies. Pair them with a recent photo of you that looks like the person a client will meet on a video call.
- End with one next step, then cut
One button or link, plus an email address written out as text. Say what happens after they click. Then read the page aloud and cut every sentence that would fit on anyone else's about page.
A fill-in outline
Copy this into a document, replace each bracket and delete the lines you don't need. Freelancers keep the “How I work” line; authors swap it for their books.
About page outline
[Headline: what you write and for whom, under 12 words]
[Opening: two or three sentences about the visitor's problem,
or about what your work is about]
[Who you are: name, where you are, the background
that makes you good at this]
[Proof: three to five clients, publications or books,
one specific result, one testimonial with a full name]
[How I work: services, formats, capacity, turnaround] (freelancers)
[Books: newest first, each with a one-line hook] (authors)
[One human detail]
[Next step: one button or link, plus your email address]Drafting it in Strokes
You will end up with several versions of yourself: the full page, a three-sentence version for a newsletter footer, a third-person bio and an elevator pitch. Keep them in one Strokes project. Select the long draft, press ⌘K and ask for a 50-word version, or ask the AI Assistant which claims a skeptical client would doubt. Read what comes back aloud and keep only what sounds like you. Version history saves the longer drafts, so you can cut hard without losing anything.
Check it before you publish
Frequently asked questions
How long should an about me page be?
Long enough to answer the visitor's questions and no longer. The full examples on this page run 110 to 200 words; a page that also lists services or books can reach 400 or 500. Since most people skim, the headline and first two sentences matter more than the total length.
Should an about me page be in first or third person?
First person on your own website: it sounds like you and doubles as a writing sample. Keep a third-person bio as well, lower on the page or on a press page, for event organizers, publishers and editors who need to paste it into a program or a byline.
What should I put on my about page if I have no clients yet?
Replace the client list with samples written for the kind of client you want, plus the background that qualifies you, such as a previous career in the field. Say plainly that you are new, and offer a small paid test piece so hiring you is low-risk.
Should freelancers list their rates on the about page?
Full rate cards belong on a services page or in a proposal. A starting price, such as case studies from a stated amount, can sit on the about page if you want to filter out mismatched inquiries. If you don't publish numbers, say how you charge: per project, per word or by monthly retainer.
Does an about me page help with search?
It helps people and search engines see who is behind the writing. Google's guidance on helpful content asks whether it is clear who wrote a page and whether bylines lead to information about the author's background. Google also lists an About Me page on a blog as a valid use of its ProfilePage structured data.
