Are you not yet on Quora? Or, have you joined and looking for ways to stand out? Then learn how to create an account, to fill out your profile and add credentials. Find out how to write a killer profile bio, to describe your topic experience and to optimize your profile for success, etc.
That said, and without further ado, let us get into the nitty-gritty of things.
Quora defined
Quora (/ˈkwɔːrə/) is a question-and-answer website where questions are asked, answered, edited, and organized by its community of users in the form of opinions. Its publisher, Quora Inc., is based in Mountain View, California. The company was founded in June 2009, and the website was made available to the public for the first time on June 21, 2010.[5] Users can collaborate by editing questions and suggesting edits to answers that have been submitted by other users. – Wikipedia
Quora explained
Quora enables users to ask and answer questions assigned to specific categories. Users can portray themselves as experts by answering questions in any number of categories.
Users can also rate negatively or positively the questions and answers posted on the platform.
This way well-rated, helpful, Q-and-A threads become highlighted and appear more frequently in users’ feeds.
The site has a comment function which people can use to participate in or discuss the topic of the post. They can also use the change feature to edit and improve questions and answers.
As a concept, Quora is something of a hybrid between a social network like Facebook and a knowledge forum like Mind the Book or Yahoo! Answers.
Quora’s homepage feed recalls Facebook’s timeline because it allows visitors to use the site seamlessly with unlimited scrolling. In effect, the feed is a mix of active threads, unanswered questions from your selected categories, and suggestions for users to complete their profile.
A user wishing to contribute can do so without leaving the feed. This enables Quora to offer a fast, dynamic user experience.
Quora thrives on a continuous feed of users—experts or educated people with different areas of expertise—to answer and comment on a range of questions.
New Quora users however, are likely to be flooded in a jumble of trivial, often confused questions. But they would soon feel at home as the platform is easy to use, enabling them to achieve a lot with a large, capable community.
The successful feedback mechanism of the platform makes the direct exchange of knowledge fun for all.
As a thriving bank of knowledge, Quora attracts large investors and prominent people such as Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, and 44th US President, Barack Obama.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So, countless numbers of people also use Quora for entertainment by clicking for hours through its interesting feeds.
Why you should use Quora
Are you a website owner looking for backlinks or promotion for your blog? Or do you want to drive free targeted referral traffic to your property?
Maybe you are a brand wishing to share knowledge about your industry, looking to drive landing page traffic, or on the lookout for a way to market your products.
You could also be an entity wanting to make money, build your authority, generate leads, or build your email list.
Finally, you may be an individual desirous to exercise your writing and promote it.
Whatever your case, here are five great reasons to be on Quora:
It:
- gives you exposure to the site’s millions of monthly worldwide visitors
- enables you to demonstrate your expertise on almost any topic
- gives you insights from experts in any industry
- allows you to give direct answers to anyone asking about your business, products, or services
- makes it possible for you to share content from other websites (including your own) in topic-focused boards on your profile
Now that you know why you should use Quora, let’s look at how to create your account.
How to join Quora
Step 1: Go to the Quora homepage to sign up
You can sign up with your Google or Facebook account, or with your email address.
Step 2. Select at least 10 interests
After signing in, a modal window appears asking “What are your interests?”
You will find numerous images describing various topics and you have to choose at least 10 to follow.
As you scroll down, the site loads more images.
Choose topics relevant to your blog and that have the most followers. Doing that will enable you drive traffic to your blog and also have a lot of views of your answers.
After selecting 10, the hazy button under the images turn blue and you can read “Continue”.
Quora after selecting 10 topics, click on continue blue button
You may select more topics or just click to continue.
Step 3. Join Spaces
This last step to joining Quora was introduced this year (2020).
Spaces are communities created around shared interests. You can join some interesting ones to get started.
Before opening it to the public, Quora asked selected people, including me, to test it. But I didn’t really try to find out what it was and ignored the offer.
Even after it was introduced, some spaces in which I was sharing my answers asked me to be an admin, but I turned down this offer too for lack of time.
N.B.: Spaces replaced blogs that were very popular on Quora.
After completing the above three steps, your registration is done.
So, you will be directed to the Quora home.
This is where you will find your scrollable feed sorted according to “top posts”.
You can also find your personal messages and settings through the top bar.
Quora suggests threads that match the interests you have chosen. You can use these threads to rate responses positively or negatively. You can also use them to “follow” users.
Don’t feel like posting your own answer to a question?
The comment function will still enable you to participate in that discussion.
Fill out your profile
Your profile establishes your trustworthiness and credibility.
Therefore provide information as truthfully and accurately as you can.
People will go to your profile to learn more about you when you answer a question that demonstrates your industry expertise.
That gets you exposure.
Now, let’s see how to fill it out.
Step 1: Add your profile photo and edit your name
Click on your Avatar image at the top right hand corner and upload your photo.
Choose a high-quality profile photo which shows you at your best. Meaning that you must look presentable and approachable.
If possible, use a professional headshot.
For easy branding, choose the same photo you have on your blog and social media accounts.
You can also edit your name here, if necessary.
Step 2: Add your profile credential
Click on edit credential and add your profile credential.
A credential is a one-line bio that appears below your name on an answer you write.
This will act as your personal headline. It is your first opportunity to stand out of the crowd. Something like telling the reader, “You can see I’m better than the rest.”
Be clear about what you excel at.
Let’s say you are going to write predominantly about content marketing. Your Bio could read something like “X Years’ Experience in Content Marketing” or “I Write about Content Marketing at my Blog www.mydomain.com”.
You must certainly avoid using vague Bios that one often sees on Quora, such as “Been there, Done that”.
As you already know, your credentials should closely match the specific question you are answering. Otherwise not many will believe your capacity to answer the question credibly.
See the importance of the headline from the screenshot of the following message Quora sent me:
To make your profile complete, include an image, description, links to your site and social platforms.
That way, if you use Quora to showcase your writing or attract visitors or generate leads or make money, for marketing or promoting your business, for building backlinks, your authority or email list or brand awareness, your account (and answers) will look credible and improve recognition.
Let’s say a Quora answerer is a cardiothoracic surgeon and also a Hanoverian horse enthusiasts. Would you believe more what they say on cardiothoracic surgery or what they tell you is the best horse food?
You must therefore be relatable.
For example, if you’ll be writing about the military or battlefield strategy, include your military experience in your credential. If you’ll be answering questions about design and you’ve been working as a designer for fifteen years, include that in your credential.
The more specific, the better.
Fortunately Quora allows you to be.
So…
…Create multiple Credentials
For every answer you write, you must choose an appropriate credential which fits the topic.
For Quora will show your bio next to each question that you answer. Your bio must therefore be optimized for each.
The credential is an opportunity to assert your expertise as well as show why your opinion counts or why your answer should be taken seriously.
Fortunately you can create different credentials to go with your chosen niche topics.
For example, if you plan on answering questions about SEO as well as website design, you may want to create one bio for SEO and another for website design.
So, anytime you write an answer, you choose the credential that fits that topic.
But don’t worry if you had forgotten to do that.
Quora gives you the opportunity to create a new credential after you have answered a question.
Remember, your credentials are your title. Your objective is to be interesting, intriguing and credible. In as few words as possible.
Example of multiple credentials for my profile:
As we said, credentials can change at any time, either before writing an answer or after doing so. They can even be swapped for something more specific at the time of writing a new answer.
Therefore, create a default credential for the topics you’ll often answer and then choose to use it or even create a specific one as you write an answer.
Step 3: Write a description about yourself – Add a relevant profile bio
Aside from your profile credential, your description is crucial to create a good first impressions.
It is the first thing users clicking on your profile photo from your answer will see.
Unfortunately a lot of people skip this step, oblivious of the fact that it is indeed crucial to portray their credibility.
The Bio is a headline of your profile, so it is important to select one that best describes the topics you will be covering.
You can include bold, italic, bullets, pictures, links, etc.
This is where you market yourself. So take it very seriously.
For if someone is hunched over your bio, it means you have them on the hook. All that is left is to reel them in.
You do that by giving them a link to a place where they can learn more about you.
Meaning, smooth transition is key.
If your bio makes people believe you to be what you say you are, capitalize on it.
How you do it is to send them to a page that builds on the awesome image of YOU and what you stand for.
Directing people to your brand’s home page can’t help you achieve that.
Remember…
…It is not yet the moment to try to promote or sell anything.
That could backfire at this stage.
You need to build trust first.
When you write your description, make sure to use every day words that you’d normally use. Include some social proof if you have it. Then link to your blog at the end.
Don’t forget to proofread your description.
Typos or clumsy grammar can taint or destroy your credibility.
Set up a good bio to showcase your expertise
When people read your answer, they’ll want to know why you are qualified to speak on the subject.
But what if you write on different topics?
You can write a unique bio for every topic you handle. This is an opportunity to put your expertise across on a wide range of related topics.
Also, create an all-encompassing bio on your profile page to showcase your main expertise. Leonard Kim does this very well.
