A good About Page provides clarity

It’s one page, and people will only scroll for so long, especially on a mobile (which, let’s face it, is where 75% of your audience are browsing the web anyway).

Give them the good stuff straight away. Visitors to your page should be able to work out what you do in the first few seconds, and why you do it pretty soon after.

A little aside: it’s nice to be creative, hey we even encourage it. But please call your page “About”, “About us”, “Who we are” or something similar. Calling it “The Scoop”, or “The reason we love long walks and wood fires” just makes it harder for visitors to your site to find it. So they won’t bother, and they’ll shop elsewhere.

A good About page communicates benefits

As with all good persuasive writing, you need to explain how your product or service can actually help the people who are reading. What’s in it for them? Now, this isn’t a product page, so don’t spend ages going into loads of detail about the benefits of your particular hero product.

But why should they buy the thing you’re selling? How will it change their life?

And you should already know this because it’s YOUR product or service, developed to meet a need that YOU discovered.  You just need to tell people about it!

A good About page inspires trust

So, that’s why the thing you’re selling is great.

But why should they buy it from YOU? Here is where you need to use what we marketing professionals (well, that’s what it says on our door anyway) call social proof. That’s all those fabulous reviews you’ve had from happy customers or the testimonials you’ve gathered from clients you’ve wowed.

Make it clear that you’ve consistently delivered on your promises in the past, so they can be sure that you’ll do it again. This is the firm handshake that makes them think “Sure, this guy’s OK” (Or girl, obviously).

A good About page establishes authority

Those people reading your About page have landed here because they want to know more about you. They also want to know how you know what you’re doing. Do you have 15 years of experience in coaching runners and now you’re selling a running shoe that you’ve developed? Have you completed a course that qualifies you to provide your service? Are you a member of a professional body who can vouch for your skills?

No one wants to buy anything from someone who has woken up that morning and decided to set up a business. Well, some people might, but they’re never going to be consistent and loyal customers. Set out your stall.

What you need to think about

Those are the things a good About page should include, but convincing people to give you money isn’t as easy as that. Sure, include those elements and you’ll have a page that is 300% better than the generic sentence you had before. But if you want to really make the most of this page, you need to think about these next three things. And we’re really giving away our copywriting secrets here, so use your powers for good and not evil!

Talk to one person

Visualise your target market when you’re writing, and talk directly to them. When you’re putting together your page, imagine that you are speaking to your ideal customer. If you’ve read any of your customer reviews then using the same language can boost the connection people feel with you as they read. People are comforted by familiar language.

Tell them a story

Human beings love stories. LOVE them. They’re what make us tick. Did you know that hearing a story activates the exact same part of your brain as actually doing whatever is being described? So, if you’re reading a story about someone hiking through the foothills of Mount Tibidabo (no Friends fans out there? Really?) then your brain is doing the same thing as it would if you were actually hiking through the foothills of Mount Tibidabo.

So, engage your reader with a story about what buying your product will do for them, and they will begin to imagine those things happening to them – their brain is your greatest sales tool, and you don’t even have to pay it a salary!

Show them what to do next

Once people have read your About page your task is not yet over. If you want them to nod and go “Yeah, they seem like good people,” then sure, put your feet up and have a cup of tea.

But if you want them to buy something from you then tell them!

Give them a Call To Action (and only one, or they’ll just get confused and run away!).

Have a button that links to your hero products, or signs them up to your email newsletter, or sends them to your social media page. People like being led, we’re simple creatures really.

A final tip

OK, we’re done. But before we go I’m going to be real with you here: I know it’s called the About us page, but really it’s About them. While customers want to know who you are, really they want to know this so they can work out what you can do for them.

So, the stories you weave should show your readers what you do, and why it matters to them. For example, Starbucks’ About page begins by describing buying the perfect cup of coffee and THEN goes on to explain how they managed to build a business that provides the perfect cup of coffee.

The result? Readers immediately know what this company can do for them. Even if they’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years and have never heard of Starbucks.

That’s it, go forth and write about you!

Bonus tip…

Let your passion show

Answer the questions you know your customers will ask: How do you find this out? Your reviews are gold. They will tell you what your customers are thinking about when they buy your product. Search the reviews of similar products for the same information.

The more you can answer their questions before they have to ask them the less likely they are to click off of your site.