Help Me To Help You
I want to help you, but first you must help yourself
I enjoy the internet, mingling with folks who share a similar passion and who aren’t afraid to step out and try something new. Google may have messed up with PageRank, and Microsoft still has a sorry excuse of a web browser, but it is the every day people from India, Australia, Argentina, and elsewhere who truly shape the internet.
No Lone Rangers Online
With tens of millions of people online at any given moment, it is easy to feel like a speck of sand on the seashore of life. Standing out can be difficult, but social media has made it much easier for people to have a voice, to tell the world what they do and what they’re selling.
The solitary individual can make a living online, but it is those people who know that they need the help of others who make for the most successful people themselves.
A Simple Little Request
So, if you want help from others online then why aren’t you helping yourself first?
A case in point — if you use StumbleUpon, then you may not be utilizing your About page properly. Specifically, telling people about yourself is one thing, but providing a clickable URL (thanks for clarifying that point, Sandraew) to your blogs can certainly go a long way toward helping people find and stumble your pages. Why is this important? Well, if you’re like me — someone who uses StumbleUpon a lot and who likes to reward his friends — then you enjoy sending a stumble tsunami their way every now and then.
I can’t do this very easily when a person’s profile page (About) makes it difficult to find their pages. I could search around, but when I’m stumbling through scores of other sites I probably won’t spend the extra time looking for hidden pages.
Time For An Update?
If your About page doesn’t link to your blog, website or other pages of significance, then please make the change as soon as possible. By making it easy for stumblers to find your work, you’ll reap the benefits of having a profile page that is user-friendly.
I don’t know how else to say it, but I think you already have gotten the gist of my message.
Thanks for this reminder, Matt. I checked my StumbleUpon page and discovered a mistake in the URL to my blog. How embarrassing for an editor! Anyway, thanks for giving me the nudge to discover the mistake.
So true, This is actually how I found your site in the first place.
I think that we get so caught up in producing a site or post that we forget the little details.
Those details can definitely have a major impact on traffic and readership.
I just updated my about page
Lillie: Don’t you just hate when that happens? I’ve done that myself!
Steve: Speaking of details, please change your linkable URL as you left one “s” off in weightloss. I found your site and am stumbling it just the same.
Thanks Matt, I hadn’t even realised that I could put a URL in there - I enjoy using StumbleUpon but have barely glanced at my own profile.
To be honest I need to get back on track with all things blog-related. I haven’t posted anything in weeks and need to find some enthusiasm once again.
John: Putting your linkable URL on your profile page is a good way to help people find your pages and it also passes along PageRank if your profile/about page has PR value.
BTW,I stumbled your site — maybe that’ll give you incentive to blog some more!
Yes, thank you Matt! I have told a couple of my friends it’s a good idea but posting about it here will reach more people. Use HTML also, otherwise people have to copy and paste the link.
Sandra, thanks for your tip. Yes, HTML makes the link clickable, just the E-Z step we stumblers like!
Great post (as usual). Of course I’m going to stumble it.
Here’s a question for you: how do you get more than one clickable link to a blog on your About page? I haven’t been able to do that.
Anyway, I checked your About page and was surprised to find how prolific you’ve been with StumbleUpon. I keep expecting you to pop onto the Top Stumblers page any day (if you haven’t already)
Laura, it looks like you aren’t restricted by the number of hyperlinks you can have. Basically, create the HTML code to link to the pages/sites you want and you’re good to go. Of course, I haven’t read the SU Terms of Use, so make sure that you aren’t violating StumbleUpon’s policy first.
Yes, I’m a busy beaver. SU is central to my social media thrust and for good reason: it works!
Extremely true. Im sure a lot of people have there about page not about there site which leads to a lot less traffic. I have also stumbled a few of your articles. I am always logged in to stumble, so it doesn’t take to much time.
Regards Andy
Thanks for the reminder Matt - I just checked by SU about page and I had not updated my blog site address! I need all the promotion I can get after starting all over again with a blog on my own domain!