Beginners: Essential Questions for writing your “About” page

The “About” page on your website is very important. So you want to avoid common about page mistakes on your business website.

If visitors like your homepage then they’re going to check out your “About” page shortly after. Why? Because people want to know WHO they’re doing business with. Whether you’re writing the copy yourself or hiring a copywriter, don’t scrimp on this page.

So…the “About” page. all about you and your business right?

Kind of, but more importantly, it’s about what your visitors need to know in order to make them want to hire you or buy your product.

The key functions of your About page are:

• Build trust
• Show why you’re an authority in your field
• Show a flavour of your personality
• Continue your sales message

Now let’s ask the the important copywriting questions:

Why do I want to build trust?

Trust is important, trust makes people want to buy from YOU. Whether it’s because they trust you’ll do a good job, trust you’ll give a fair price, or trust you to deliver on time, it can make the difference between someone choosing you over the competition.

Here are some quick tips to build trust on your about page:

Show a photo

Technically, this isn’t about writing, but it is too important to miss off. People trust other people, and seeing a photo of you can assure them that you are a real person which is definitely essential if you offer any kind of personal consultation / coaching service. If your business isn’t so much about you, then a photo of your offices, or of your employees, will work towards building that trust factor.

Explain a bit about how you work
Remind your visitors about what services you offer, how you approach new projects and if other people or companies help you deliver the service to your customers.

Trust will also be built by…

How can I show I’m an authority at what I do?

People trust experience. They want to know you can do the job you say you can. So use this opportunity to include:

• Relevant qualifications
• Awards
• Press coverage
• Significant projects / clients

How can I show people a flavour of my personality?
A lot of people running online businesses find this one of the hardest parts of their web copy.

It’s important to realise that you can give off a flavour of your personality through your web content, without divulging every single piece of personal information in your life.  The passion that you have for your work is  probably the most important side of your personality that customers need to see.

How much you show will depend on what you’re comfortable with, the type of service you offer, and your target market.

For example, customers over at Ittybiz like the fact that Naomi is foul mouthed, talks about her off days and when she gets it wrong. She’s also incredibly passionate about her work which is why it entwines so much with her personal life. As a result her site is filled with personal anecdotes, which importantly come back to her marketing messages. She IS Ittybiz.  Her personality is part of her service and she tends to attract customers who base their businesses on their passion and personality.

However, let’s say you’re buying car insurance or travel insurance online. The person and the product is more separate, so it’s not as important for customers to relate to the people who process the insurance, people are buying on price, coverage, past experience and convenience and less on whether they like who sells it.

A great exercise is to look at your competitors, and their different About pages, look at ones which are highly personal, and those which aren’t until you find a level of personality coverage that suits you.

How do I continue my sales message?

Don’t think that your sales copy has to be kept to the sales page. Whenever possible you should be reinforcing your sales message. Forget the “Buy now!” over the top sales messages we’re used to seeing, sales can also be encouraged simply by:

• Reminding customers of the benefits of your service
• Reminding them how easy it is to find out more / order
• Encouraging them to check out your sales page
• Reminding customers about the emotional benefits they will experience with your product.
• Telling them specifically to get in touch and hire you

Hopefully this has given you a few pointers on writing your About page or has given you areas to discuss with your copywriter about writing an About page that works hard for you.

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