Why Bloggers Need a Personal Landing Page

by Per on June 15, 2011 · 46 comments · Blog Marketing

As a blogger you’ve got an ultimate goal: stand out of the crowd of fellow bloggers and -writers and get your words read by a large ammount of enthusiastic, engaged readers.

Personal Landing Page

Even if your content is top-notch and you’re following each and every state of the art blogging tip Google is able to offer to the world, attracting new readers is a hard task. When it comes to promoting your blog you might have one ace in the hole that you didn’t even think about: you!

Setting yourself apart through effective personal branding might be far more important than you think. Here are some hints on how a personal landing page can help you achieve your very own blogging goals.

A personal landing page is a simple website that includes everything “you” – links, networks, a short bio, contact details and maybe some extras you want to add, like a map, photos or even a short video about yourself. Content and appearance should be reduced to the max: you want to give some brief information about yourself, not start another blog!

There’s no need to code and host everything on your own as there’s services like dooid.com that allow to create such a profile in minutes, without any required webdesigning skills.

So why should you get your hands on such a personal website? Let’s see some of the most important advantages for bloggers of having a personal landing page.

Take Care of Your Online Reputation

There’s a lot of information about all of us scattered across the internet. There might be things you want people to know about you and others you don’t. It’s like a fragmentation of your online identity, and you don’t have any chance to influence the random impression people get.

Participate actively in the development of your personal brand by creating a personal landing page – although there’ll never be a 100% control – you can at least have an effect on the image people get from you.

Using a personal domain like “yourname.me” or “yourname.com” and redirecting it to your landing page surely helps to make it easier to find on search engines, apart from making it look more professional and easier to remember, so go and grab your name before someone else does!

Be Unique

There’s an endless number of blogs outthere and every second thousands of new ones are created. A personal landing page is the ideal tool to differenciate yourself, as it allows your audience to take a look behind the scenes. People can see who’s the person behind the blog, your hobbies, loves & hates, your skills, and so on, which will engage them with your blog on a more personal and emotional level.

There’s many ways to integrate a landing page into your blog: Hyperlink your name to the landing page, each time it’s mentioned. Include a link to your landing page in the contact section. Create a signature that’s linking to your landing page after every post you publish. Link to your landing page from your blog’s sidebar (DooID even offer a widget for that). Include your landing page into your blog’s newsletter.

Enhanced Accessibility Will Delight Your Blog’s Community

Your landing page should contain all your on- and offline contact details from networks to messaging or maybe even fax (this surely depends on your target group). Like that you give your readers the freedom to decide which way to contact you is the most comfortable for them. This will not only be seen as an enhanced service towards the reader, but will also help to get more feedback on your writing.

Want Some SEO Value?

There’s surely nothing wrong with some extra SEO, provided by the bundled, hyperlinked data of your personal landing page. It will funnel traffic to your blog and help to increase your number of visitors.

Build a Bridge Between Blogs and Services

Everyone is using various social media services to connect and share, and there’s also people that run different blogs for various topics. A personal landing page helps to build a bridge between different blogs and services and drives traffic from one to another. People just see everything you do online in the blink of an eye, it’s like a personal invitation to check out your entire online microcosm.

Try It for Free

If you’re interested in setting up your own personal landing page with the help of a free webapp, I’m happy to invite you to our all new DooID 3 ~~private beta~~. Just follow this link and use this invite code for your free account: Hg7F6G83fMMj.

What do you think, is a personal landing page a tool you want to integrate into your social media strategy? If you create yours, please post a link in the comments and share it with the community.

Editor’s note: It takes about five minutes to setup a simple page just like mine – http://www.dooid.com/kristi – using the features available with a free account. Why not try it today?

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This post brought to you by Per Schmitz

Per is the founder of DooID, a webapp to create unique personal landing pages and a passionate surfer, proud father, and loves everything tech.

Per has written 2 awesome article(s) for Kikolani.

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{ 45 comments }

Dr. Rus Jeffrey June 15, 2011 at 6:12 am

This is a great post with some great thoughts and helpful tips. I’ve had my own domain – http://www.DrRus.com – for quite sometime and it is actually a personal landing page. In recent weeks I’ve been trying to figure out how to implement that page into the General Sarge site I’m pushing these days. I have the DrRus site but didn’t know where to push people. I love your insights and the thought of linking my signature at the end of each General Sarge post to my landing page.

Thanks for the insight! I know have new things on my To Do List.
Dr. Rus Jeffrey recently posted..Day 130: Flag Day and Army’s Birthday

Ray from dolphin tutorials June 15, 2011 at 6:25 am

Never dabbled into a landing page. Reputation is certainly important and something one should work on. I am not keen on using my real name and/or picture at the moment. I don’t know why. It just freaks me out all the online privacy stuff. A landing page is something I’ve looked at before, but not sure if I want to go that route or how to implement yet.
Ray@dolphin tutorials recently posted..The new Google +1 button

Per Schmitz June 15, 2011 at 6:49 am: Ray,
Privacy is a very important issue. DooID offers the option to password protect data and keep information private. In your case you could also set up a landing page without a personal picture (there’s nice templates that don’t need personal pictures) and just not use your entire name (use “Hi, this is Ray!” or “Ray, Dolphin Tutorials”).
Anyone who wants some more info on that topic, just comment here or contact me directly (http://perschmitz.com).

Gabriella - The Stepford Wife June 15, 2011 at 7:07 am

This was so great! I think a landing page is very important…. it is way easier to direct people to other places where they can find you online. I did read once that landing pages or as some call them ‘splash pages’ are not that appealing as it requires a person to click more. But, if you ask me, if the landing page is designed well and maybe even a bit interactive then it’s worth a go at.

Personally, I love the thought of it.

Gabi

Alex June 15, 2011 at 7:48 am

You make some really valid points about why having a landing page can work so well for your brand overall. I also like that you provided something tangible for the reader who wanted to create their own.
I personally think it can work but it is also something that can be avoided simply by providing a well laid out blog that provides visitors the ability to connect and engage.

Oh, and your landing page looks brilliant Mr Schmitz
Alex recently posted..You Can Lead a Horse to Water, But Stop Making Me #&@* Subscribe!

Onibalusi Bamidele June 15, 2011 at 8:29 am

Thanks a lot for summing up the benefits of having a personal landing page Per!

I never really thought about the importance of having a personal landing page as all my efforts has been focused on building my blog but I can resonate with your point about being able to control your brand and what people see about you online.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted..3 Realizations that Will Change Your Online Business Forever

Thomas Frank June 15, 2011 at 8:33 am

I’ve had an About.me page for a long time, but I think my custom-built personal website is much, much better. It takes longer to make, but in my mind it’s worth it.
Thomas Frank recently posted..The Greatest Mustaches of All Time

Rison Simon from Tech For Bloggers June 15, 2011 at 9:37 am

Thanks for sharing the importance of a personal landing page. I have never heard of this website before. Although I have heard of about.me. I think about.me has more features and customization and it was acquired by aol.
Rison Simon @ Tech For Bloggers recently posted..Problogger’s Guide To Blogging For Your Business : New Ebook Of Problogger

Alexis Twitter: troublesometots June 15, 2011 at 9:52 am

I’ve seen other people using these sorts of pages and have been a bit perplexed (what is this? should I have one? am I behind on the Internet YET AGAIN?!?!).

I think it’s a really interesting concept. But I wonder about offering people all these “get to know me” options. In an ideal world I would have a really great presence on twitter, FB, et al. But I barely have time to keep my blog looking decent. So really the only place I encourage people to connect with me is my blog.

Is this just me? Am I the Internet equivalent of the guy still watching betamax?
Alexis recently posted..Go the F**k to Sleep Book Review

Per Schmitz June 15, 2011 at 10:08 am: It really depends on your personal preferences. Especially people who use the web for professional purposes should reflect on a social media strategy and the benefits it could/should have for their business.

Gabrielle June 15, 2011 at 10:15 am

I believe in having a landing page to direct people to when they come on the site. I’ve had the best luck in getting signups to my list and having higher ranking in Google when I use a landing page that includes email signup and copy.
Gabrielle recently posted..6 Daily Marketing Ideas Your Target Audience Loves

Morgan from eBookVoice June 15, 2011 at 10:31 am

This is another great resource for a landing page! When I first saw the post on FB, I thought about a different kind of landing page, but this is almost better than what I was thinking.

About.me and flavors.me do the same thing. They’re free and have about the same styles available. They have premium options as well, but the free works just as great for getting the info out there.

Great info and definitely agree that anyone, especially bloggers, should have a landing page.

Morgan from eBookVoice June 15, 2011 at 10:36 am

Also, I don’t mean to take away from the awesomness of DooID by talking about other websites, I think DooID looks fantastic!

DooID has offers that the others don’t, like the added benefit of SEO. And I like the big blocks that represent the links. Very cool!

Per Schmitz June 15, 2011 at 10:50 am: Thanks, Morgan.

Glad you like it. DooID’s approach is different from other, similar services: it turns your landing page into a contact hub, as it doesn’t only show your links and networks, but focuses on displaying the whole range of a person’s on- and offline contact data (including v-card download). A mobile version is also included.

Kesha from website design st. louis June 15, 2011 at 11:27 am

I recently looked into creating an about.me page but didn’t like the inflexibility of the service. I didn’t know about the service you recommended.

So instead I created my own! That way I can do what I want to it without limitation

http://lakeshabrown.com

I figured a landing page would help direct people to my web properties a bit better so thanks, Per, for validating that thought!

~Kesha
Kesha@website design st. louis recently posted..Hootsuite versus Tweetdeck: The Final Verdict

Cristina from personal development for entrepreneurs Twitter: CCAnsbjerg June 15, 2011 at 11:43 am

Hi,
I think this post is brilliant. I’ve just checked your site, Per and it looks amazing. I’m going to give it a try.

Thanks for the post!

Cristina
Cristina@personal development for entrepreneurs recently posted..Working from home will kill your business

Andreas from Online Advertising Twitter: linknami June 15, 2011 at 11:51 am

I always suggest the use of landing pages to my clients. To be successful, ecommerce landing pages need to have enough information to allow the visitor to make an informed purchasing decision.

Landing pages usually range from classic lead capture, product pre-launch/beta pages to ecommerce “buy now” or click-through pages.

Tom Twitter: handytc June 15, 2011 at 12:55 pm

Thanks for putting this information together. When I first started out I was working on a landing page but ever got around to finishing it. This is one of the things on my to do list.
Tom recently posted..MLB All-Star Game Picks

Stacy Twitter: growwithstacy June 15, 2011 at 12:57 pm

Those are great points! I am currently using about.me for my landing page. It is a very similar service.
Stacy recently posted..You Can Be An Entrepreneur

Stephanie Sammons June 15, 2011 at 1:01 pm

I agree that it’s important to have a consolidate view of your online presence. We’ve built a similar tool for the financial advisor community with our “member” pages. Here’s an example: http://www.wiredadvisor.com/member/jeff-rose
Stephanie Sammons recently posted..New Media and Financial Services Collide at BlogWorld Expo

Keith Davis from public Speaking and Presentation Skills June 15, 2011 at 1:37 pm

Hi Per
What a great service.
Just been over and taken a look – once I have a few decent photos I’ll jump in there
Or should I jump in now and edit later?

One question… the page is hosted by doid for free, is that right?
Keith Davis@public Speaking and Presentation Skills recently posted..The Coolest Voice on the Internet

Per Schmitz June 15, 2011 at 2:00 pm

Yes, dooid hosts all created profiles for free. There’s a premium version as well, for those who want to add some extra features …

Keith Davis from public Speaking and Presentation Skills June 15, 2011 at 2:13 pm: Thanks Per
Presumably you can edit your profile at any time.
Keith Davis@public Speaking and Presentation Skills recently posted..The Coolest Voice on the Internet

John Knights from Business Loans June 15, 2011 at 1:50 pm

You’re certainly right Per,
A landing page is very important not for just bloggers but also for business pages. It should describe what we want to know about the site.
And having an Online Identity is very important as well. That if you want to avoid having a bad online reputation. Branding yourself in the internet is necessary, giving lot’s of info about yourself, creating accounts in social networking sites are just like prerequisites in building a good online identity. So people will know you better, and those who try to destroy your image won’t have a chance to have attention on they are trying to imply to you.

Jeff June 15, 2011 at 2:13 pm

I was looking at the about.me website the other day and thinking about whether it would be useful or not. I think you’re right, you need to be able to stand out from the crowd and a personal landing page could help you do that. The person behind the site is becoming more and more important, so creating a personal landing page might make it easier for people to connect with you.
Jeff recently posted..Search Engine Ranking Factors and Social Signals

Keith Davis from public Speaking and Presentation Skills June 15, 2011 at 2:50 pm

Just signed up.
http://www.dooid.com/keithdavis
Will upload a few pics and background image later.
Thanks for the information.
Keith Davis@public Speaking and Presentation Skills recently posted..The Coolest Voice on the Internet

Alex Sysoef June 15, 2011 at 3:26 pm

Great point Per,

Creating one location for your overall online presence is a good way to get started building relashionship with other bloggers from single location.
Alex Sysoef recently posted..Adding Images And Video To Your Business Web Site

Omer from Design Studio June 15, 2011 at 9:08 pm

Thanks Per. I have to agree – I am new at blogging and your post really inspired me. I believe my company’s page does represent it well yet my blog can really use a personal touch. as you said, your personality is what can make your blog unique and attractive rather than just another random page on the web.

Andrew from Blogging Guide Twitter: andrewrondeau June 21, 2011 at 10:02 pm: And the connection with your target clients will be more intimate… Very good suggestion on the personal page Per.
Andrew @ Blogging Guide recently posted..Escaping The 9-5: Do You Miss This?

Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing Twitter: DennisEdell June 15, 2011 at 10:00 pm

This is awesome. This I what I’ve been talking about doing for over a year now; creating a HUB of everything ME. I don’t think I want a subdomain though.
Dennis Edell@ Direct Sales Marketing recently posted..A Gravatar Now Needed to Comment!

Mike from MyWhiteDoves June 15, 2011 at 11:58 pm

I too just created a profile. Did not take a lot of time at all, was very user-friendly and makes for a great looking landing page… http://dooid.com/mikelong

I love how you can have all of this info in one quick, easily accessible place.
Kudos, Per, on a great

Sire from Buy Online Lotto Tickets Twitter: AussieSire June 16, 2011 at 3:32 am

This may be a great idea for some but personally I think all you need is a well thought out about page. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have one, just that it may be not for everybody. I’ve landed on those personal landing pages when I was expecting to land on the blog itself, and to tell you the truth I wasn’t impressed because I now had to look for the blog link.

I much prefer to read a post and if it’s struck a chord in my I will check out the about page. If they don’t have an about page, now there would be a great tragedy.
Sire@Buy Online Lotto Tickets recently posted..What Is The Best Comment System For WordPress Blogs

Ivin Twitter: ivinviljoen June 17, 2011 at 1:43 pm

My friend Faydra Deon has this. A website/landing page with just her different online platforms. I think Kristy also has that. Actually, hers is VERY impressive. I will get this too, I need to, as soon as my previous host releases my domain.
Ivin recently posted..Facebook Friday: Using Photos In Building Brands & Marketing

Charles from Real Estate in Las Vegas June 17, 2011 at 10:00 pm

Just from a branding viewpoint alone I have to agree with your post. Having that information is going to allow you to connect easier with your readers and get them invested in your site.
Charles@Real Estate in Las Vegas recently posted..Top 10 cities with Affordable Housing

Shiva from Blogging Ideas Twitter: netchunks June 19, 2011 at 9:54 am

Hi Per,
Thanks for pointing out the advantages of having a landing page. Well, I had signed up for about.me a few months back, but it really is not that flexible and customizable. I did check out your site and will certainly sign up and make a landing page there and try it out.

Regards,
Shiva
Shiva @ Blogging Ideas recently posted..ProBlogger’s Guide to Blogging for Your Business Released + Discount Coupon Code

Darlene June 22, 2011 at 8:56 am

This is a wonderful idea. I made one up a couple of years back on flavors.me and linked it to my name: darlenehull.com. I’m kinda multifaceted, so it was a great way to share not only my links, but my personality as well.
Darlene recently posted..Phenomenal Follow Up

WordPress Hosting August 21, 2011 at 3:08 pm: It’s great. And your site looks lovely too.
WordPress Hosting recently posted..Tweet and Win RocketTheme Premium WordPress Themes

Damon from Debt Resolution Twitter: DamonDay June 28, 2011 at 10:13 am

Hello Per,
The link on the bottom of the post to go check out the DooID just takes me to a 404 error. I like the look of the page you have at the top. Is that something that you customized yourself or would I be able to put something like that together using DooID? Please double check the link.
Damon@Debt Resolution recently posted..Credit Card Debt Lawsuit – Consequences of Settlement Done Wrong

Per Schmitz June 29, 2011 at 12:09 pm: Damon,

Please visit http://dooid.com to check out our service. You’re right, the link changed, as DooID 3 is now public (there’s no password required anymore, the link needs to be changed).
DooID gives you various options to design your page, just play around a bit …

WordPress Hosting August 16, 2011 at 11:16 pm

Ya, the landing page is very important. Helps to re-direct and a great way to expand the networking
WordPress Hosting recently posted..Tweet and Win RocketTheme Premium WordPress Themes

Chad from Make Money Online Twitter: chad_nicely September 14, 2011 at 1:54 pm

Very interesting post, We’ve already got us a personalized “Twitter Page”, as well as a “Facebook Fan Page”, so what’s another page going to hurt…. Here is another option for you that I have been trying to find the time to set up “www.about.me”
Thanks
Chad@ Make Money Online recently posted..Submit Your Guest Post On A Site That Gets 300,000 Monthly Views!

Ian Belanger from Network Marketing Success Twitter: MrIanBelanger October 6, 2011 at 8:55 am

Hi Per,

Your personal brand is sooo important these days, especially if you are looking to promote yourself. I spend as much time promoting my name as I do my blog. One reason, the URL of my blog is my name, so the more I promote my name, the more I promote my blog.

Your tool “DooID” seems very interesting, as a graphic and web designer myself, I can create my own custom pages, but for most, I am sure DooID is very handy. I am going to check it out now.

Thanks for sharing Per and have a great day!
Ian Belanger@Network Marketing Success recently posted..Motivational Desktop Background | Win One Here

Satrap from Make Money Online Twitter: blogstashdotcom October 8, 2011 at 4:32 pm

Interesting post Per. I never thought about having a landing page as I always thought an about page would do the job. But, I can certainly see your point. It does kind of add to the professional image of your blogging persona.

I am going to sign up for your site. Very interesting tool. Thanks.
Satrap@ Make Money Online recently posted..53 Ways To Make Money Online

Eddie Gear from Comment Luv Enabled October 27, 2011 at 2:02 pm

That is some great tips Per. I have a landing page, but never send traffic to it.
Eddie Gear @ Comment Luv Enabled recently posted..Free Genesis Child Theme Pepper 1.0 Download

Duy from Razer Naga Epic December 10, 2011 at 11:49 pm

Thanks Per for this great post!

You’re right. It’s important to have a personal touch with new readers to attract them to future updates of the blog. A personal landing page will do fine. I haven’t launched my blog yet. But when I do, I will follow this guideline. Very useful!
Duy@Razer Naga Epic recently posted..By: black_raven

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