About pages - what to put on them and are they even necessary?
About pages are often the web page that my clients have the most difficulty coming up with content for. What even do you put on them and are they even necessary? Well, yes they are. Let’s walk through why they are so important.
What is the purpose of an About page?
Before someone hires you they need to establish that you are a legitimate person and business and that you are qualified to help them. This is especially true when you are purchasing a service that is a significant amount of money. For low cost products it is not as important as there is not the same need to establish trust with a much smaller cost. People buy from people not businesses.
About pages are one of the MOST visited pages on a website! Your visitors look at your About page to see if you are the sort of person that does the things they need and if they think you would be a good fit to work with.
A tip on writing natural content for your about page
What I tell my clients who struggle with their About page copy is to write what they would say when meeting with a potential client for coffee. How would you describe what you do and how you can help them. What would you share about yourself personally to this potential client to build up rapport?
Keep ONE IDEAL client in mind when you write your copy. Imagine your perfect client - someone you would be so excited to work with - and then think about what you would tell them. What would you convey in your conversation?
What your website visitors are looking for when they visit your about page
Your website visitors generally visit your About page to investigate these things:
Who you are
Who you serve and how you can help them
How you are qualified
Who you are:
Your about page is your opportunity to go into greater depth and show your face and your personality. You want to be relatable, inject your personality and find connection points with your ideal customer that will break down the barriers they might feel before hiring you.
Your about page is your chance to share some fun facts and personal information about yourself, but don’t go overboard here! Talk about how you got into your business and what excites you.
Include:
great quality photos of yourself looking at the camera.
your name
On this site for Daria Salamon, a novelist and writer, a fun photo of her family shows off her personality and the importance of her family. Also, her daughter wrote her bio and Daria included the story behind why she did (because her daughter thought she could write a more exciting bio :) ).
On this site for a Wedding Event Planner we used pretty icons in her brand colors to convey what Theresa’s values are.
This is a great way to share what’s important to you without boring your readers. Make it visually appealing and keep it brief.
Who you serve and how you can help them
Your about page is really about who you can help and how you can help them. Most of this page will address your ideal clients needs. Share how you can help your ideal audience - who you serve best and what topics or products you can offer them. Identify who your ideal client is so they know they are in the right place.
You want to show that you understand what your visitors are going through and how you can guide then through it.
Include:
copy that addresses their struggles - use their language
copy that includes connection points with your ideal audience share your story
Here Mandy Ellis, a freelance writer is very clear on how she can help her potential clients…
Who she is: freelance writer
Who she helps: high end businesses and national publications in the worlds of food, real estate, travel and health.
Notice how she is very specific about her niche. You want to be specific so you attract the right clients and repel those that aren’t a good fit. Don’t be afraid to be specific. Do you only want to work with women? Only those in a medical field? What ever it is make it clear that that is who you work with.
How are you qualified?
What qualifies you to help your visitors? How are you different? How have you helped others and how can you relate with their struggles and help them overcome it?
This is your opportunity to include some “as seen in” logos, previous client testimonials or positive results that you have achieved for past clients.
On this site for another writer we have included an interesting graphic that demonstrates her experience. This is an effective yet visually appealing way of displaying her credentials.
Include:
Testimonials
As seen in logos
Past results
Lead your visitor to take the action you want them to take
Decide what the main action is that you want visitors to take on your About page and then lay out your page so that is the obvious action they will take. You want to have a strong call to action on your About page that will serve your ultimate purpose.
So for instance, if you are a photographer, perhaps you want to encourage your visitors to check out your portfolio.
End your page with a strong call to action to encourage your visitors to work with you or explore your work.
Such as:
a contact form
a contact button
a link to your portfolio gallery
a link to your services page
In summary, your About page is a very valuable page that is a popular one for visitors to read and gives you the ability to not only communicate your personality but allows you to communicate who you can help and how you can help them.
I challenge you to look at your About page and see what you can do to improve it today :).
