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Abstract

y look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie though’. Don’t worry — none of us do. We aren’t looking for attractiveness, just something that clearly shows your face, ideally smiling. Or have a pic of you giving the finger, that works in certain crowds. I however am a goofball so I went with a pic of me in a fake mustache, and it kind of works for me (I’ve gotten tons of positive feedback about it).</p><h2 id="74bd">2. Banner Image</h2><p id="43e7">The banner image is a big chunk of real estate on your page — so use it! Try to make it cohesive with your profile picture and the topics you write about. For example, if you’re a health and wellness writer then make your banner something that embodies that.</p><p id="3083">Canva has a great free tool to create banner images that I recommend. It is drag-and-drop and point-and-click so creating them is quite easy!</p><figure id="2ac9"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*JZbYvx3SFzcDZQ8C"><figcaption><b>If you’re a lazy/uninspired sod, like me, just add a quote and your picture to a background for your banner image. </b>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jdubs?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Johnson Wang</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p id="b3dc">For an example of a great banner image check out <a href="undefined">Zulie Rane</a>’s banner image. My friend <a href="undefined">Patrick Stewart</a> has a gorgeous banner too. As does my buddy <a href="undefined">Luciano Latouche</a> (all of his branding is top-notch — but he really goes above and beyond so don’t think you have to put in as much effort as he clearly does).</p><p id="7f93">In addition to the banner image, you have the option to add a small “logo” image. This is commonly used to add someone’s signature, which is what I used it for.</p><h2 id="5257">3. Pinned Articles</h2><p id="a91e">I believe that pinning articles allows you to put your best foot forward. When people visit your profile they are more likely to follow you if they

Options

like the first few stories they see. So pin your most beloved stories — the ones that readers seemed to resonate with the most (meaning it got the most claps, or views, or reads).</p><h2 id="a41c">4. Bio</h2><p id="b8d2">Our Medium profile-page bio is a tiny piece of real estate at just 160 characters — so literally ‘choose your words wisely, or they may be your last’ (with that viewer anyways).</p><p id="65fb">Write 160 characters about you that is likely to pique some interest. Tell them what you write about and/or something interesting. Like that you’re a competitive hot dog eater, or that you have a cat named Steve.</p><figure id="35a2"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*tuk2Za3Ob6O7tpLO"><figcaption><b>This is Steve. </b>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@plhnk?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Paul Hanaoka</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p id="f5ad">You can add a call to action at the end (if you have something you want people to act on) like visiting your website, referral page, or social media profile.</p><p id="0cea">After writing your 160 characters, move over to your “About’ tab and write a kickass bio there (in however many characters you need). If it’s a decent length, consider turning it into a “story”, because then it counts for reads. You can also pin that to your profile as people genuinely want to know more about you and will probably click on it.</p><h2 id="dfef">5. Color Scheme</h2><p id="5a68">Don’t worry about picking out a color scheme, because Medium is getting rid of these anyways. If you’re reading this in the future they may have already done so. If you <i>are</i> reading this from the future — how’s the world going? Have we blown ourselves up yet?</p><p id="c10a">That’s it.</p><p id="d00d">Zhuzh-ing up your profile doesn’t take long at all, since there are only a few things that you can change. But these small changes truly make a big difference. Now go. Do it. Pretty please?</p></article></body>

Your Profile Page Sucks and You’re Scaring Away Followers

Or more nicely put, ‘How to Create a Profile People Will Follow’

**Is your profile giving your viewers the middle finger? OK, it may not be that obvious — but is it attracting or repelling people?** Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

But we’re writers — nobody cares what we look like or what the page looks like…all that matters is our words right? Err, no.

The same reason we put a pretty featured image into our story, is the same reason you should ‘zhuzh’ up your profile page. It attracts eyeballs.

I can’t say that this 100% works for everybody, but I put some effort into the look of my main profile (Robin Wilding 💎), and the number of followers I got per month raised significantly (significantly enough that I doubt it was a coincidence).

Here is how I made it look:

Was the jump in followers because of the pretty colors? Was it my goofy face? Or most likely — was it my sweet, sweet mustache? I don’t know, but after I put a little effort in, people noticed.

You don’t have much real estate on your profile, so the little things you do really count. Here is what I personally recommend to do when polishing up your profile:

1. Profile Pic

I highly recommend a close-up headshot for your profile pic. People want to see who you are. We connect to people through the eyes, so make yours visible.

If you’re thinking ‘but I don’t exactly look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie though’. Don’t worry — none of us do. We aren’t looking for attractiveness, just something that clearly shows your face, ideally smiling. Or have a pic of you giving the finger, that works in certain crowds. I however am a goofball so I went with a pic of me in a fake mustache, and it kind of works for me (I’ve gotten tons of positive feedback about it).

2. Banner Image

The banner image is a big chunk of real estate on your page — so use it! Try to make it cohesive with your profile picture and the topics you write about. For example, if you’re a health and wellness writer then make your banner something that embodies that.

Canva has a great free tool to create banner images that I recommend. It is drag-and-drop and point-and-click so creating them is quite easy!

**If you’re a lazy/uninspired sod, like me, just add a quote and your picture to a background for your banner image.** Photo by Johnson Wang on Unsplash

For an example of a great banner image check out Zulie Rane’s banner image. My friend Patrick Stewart has a gorgeous banner too. As does my buddy Luciano Latouche (all of his branding is top-notch — but he really goes above and beyond so don’t think you have to put in as much effort as he clearly does).

In addition to the banner image, you have the option to add a small “logo” image. This is commonly used to add someone’s signature, which is what I used it for.

3. Pinned Articles

I believe that pinning articles allows you to put your best foot forward. When people visit your profile they are more likely to follow you if they like the first few stories they see. So pin your most beloved stories — the ones that readers seemed to resonate with the most (meaning it got the most claps, or views, or reads).

4. Bio

Our Medium profile-page bio is a tiny piece of real estate at just 160 characters — so literally ‘choose your words wisely, or they may be your last’ (with that viewer anyways).

Write 160 characters about you that is likely to pique some interest. Tell them what you write about and/or something interesting. Like that you’re a competitive hot dog eater, or that you have a cat named Steve.

**This is Steve.** Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

You can add a call to action at the end (if you have something you want people to act on) like visiting your website, referral page, or social media profile.

After writing your 160 characters, move over to your “About’ tab and write a kickass bio there (in however many characters you need). If it’s a decent length, consider turning it into a “story”, because then it counts for reads. You can also pin that to your profile as people genuinely want to know more about you and will probably click on it.

5. Color Scheme

Don’t worry about picking out a color scheme, because Medium is getting rid of these anyways. If you’re reading this in the future they may have already done so. If you are reading this from the future — how’s the world going? Have we blown ourselves up yet?

That’s it.

Zhuzh-ing up your profile doesn’t take long at all, since there are only a few things that you can change. But these small changes truly make a big difference. Now go. Do it. Pretty please?