How To Create An Amazing About Page To Turn Fence-Sitters Into Buyers

Do you work in an industry with lots of competitors offering similar services at similar prices?

If so, one of the best ways to persuade a prospect to choose you rather than one of your competitors is to have an amazing About page.

You can have an eye-popping website and be the king/queen of social media. But at the end of the day, we all choose to do business (translation: spend money!) with other human beings we know, like and trust.

When a prospective client lands on your site, their first question is usually, "Can this person help me?" If the answer is yes, their next question is usually, "Who is this person?".

I know this to be true because my traffic stats for over a decade confirm this. The most visited page is the Homepage, followed closely behind by my About page.

An About page is so important that it's mandatory on every site we develop for a client.

But Here's The Problem

I've discovered many business owners and service professionals really struggle when it comes to talking about themselves or their businesses.

Not because they're shy or introverted. It's basically a case of severe writer's block. What should you say? What do prospects want to know?

It's a very common phenomenon.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just follow a step-by-step checklist, answer the questions and it would result in a fantastic About page for your website? An About page that would show you're friendly, approachable, competent, reliable and trustworthy. An About page that would help convert fence-sitters into buyers.

That's exactly what I'm going to share with you right now.

How To Create A Compelling About Page For Your Website

You don't have to incorporate every item on the following checklist. But the more you do, the more impressive and impactful your About Page will be.

The first thing to understand is ...

1. Your About page really isn't about you.

It's actually about your ideal client. The goal of your About page is to let people know you "get" them, and you understand their challenges and frustrations.

The way you do that is by talking about:

• The problem(s) they have but don't want.
• The result(s) they want but don't have.

You want to talk about what's important to them.

Have you ever met someone at a social gathering and at the end of your conversation they felt like you're their best friend? Chances are all you did is talk about what's important and interesting to them, and you left your ego on the shelf.

It's just good ol' Human Nature 101. Nothing more complicated than that.

So make a list. Think of as many problems/results as possible. Really give this some thought. Not only is this great material for your About page, but for the rest of your website as well.

Speak in plain English with a friendly, conversational tone. Avoid the sterile, say-nothing corporate-babble.

And whatever you do, don't be this guy.

2. Call your page "About".

Normally you want to be entertaining and interesting, if possible. But this is not one of those times.

Label your page "About" or "About Us" -- both the title of your page as well as the navigation link. This is what people are conditioned to look for.

Don't try to be clever or cute in naming your About page. It'll just confuse or frustrate your prospect. Keep it simple and make it obvious.

3. How did you get here? What's your story?

People are naturally curious, and one question that always seems to come up is, "How did you get into this line of work?"

So tell them!

Clearly you didn't just wake up one day and decide to become a dentist, custom home builder or start an IT consulting firm. What motivated you to go down this path?

Sharing your story makes you human. You don't have to write a novel. A paragraph or two or three will usually do.

Speak from the heart and just be yourself. Don't worry about trying to impress anyone. If your story is interesting, that's a bonus.

What's most important is to be honest, genuine and authentic.

4. Why you're different.

This one might require you to dig a little bit, but you have to find some points of differentiation from your competitors and clearly articulate those to your prospects. Otherwise you're just going to blend in with all your competitors.

It's not good enough to say "we're the best" or "we're # 1" (even if you really are the best). That tells your prospect nothing.

You have to give prospects a tangible reason (or reasons) to consider choosing you by offering them something more, something better, something different.

This is especially important in markets where everyone is offering products/services with similar features, similar benefits and similar prices.

Here are some examples:

• Do you offer better prices than competitors? Maybe your prices are the same or higher but you offer better value.
• Are you open on Monday when everyone else is closed on Monday? Do you offer evening hours? Are you open on weekends?
• Do you have tons of positive online reviews where your competitors have few reviews or poor reviews?
• Do you specialize in any one particular area where your competitors don't?
• Do you service any geographic area where your competitors don't? Is your office or shop in a convenient location?
• Do you offer a better warranty/guarantee than your competitors?
• Do you use a unique tool, technique or process that your competitors do not?
• Do you have a higher success rate than your competitors?
• Can you get the job done quicker than your competitors?
• Is your solution more permanent and longer-lasting than your competitors?
• Do you speak a language other than English?
• Do you offer financing where competitors require full payment upfront?

Even if you're in a "boring" business or profession, there are always ways to show how you're different than your competitors. You just have to give it some thought.

Think of your best clients. Why did they pick you over your competitors?

Don't take anything for granted. What you perceive as standard operating procedure might be a major selling point to a prospective client.

5. Social proof.

We are all social creatures and care about the opinions of others, whether we admit it or not.

One of the most reliable ways of avoiding a bad purchasing decision is to see what others have to say before we take the plunge.

Also important is the company you keep. Your affiliations and connections can boost your status and reputation tremendously.

So enlist the help of clients, colleagues, businesses, organizations, even celebrities to create social proof. The more, the merrier. You can never have too much.

Here's a list to jog your memory:

• Testimonials from satisfied clients.
• Links to positive online reviews on Google, Yelp, etc.
• Endorsements from respected peers, industry leaders or organizations.
• Notable people or businesses you've done work for or worked with.
• Certifications, licenses or awards. If permissible, place their logo or certificate on your website.
• If you're on Facebook, install a Facebook Like Box to display the number of Facebook fans you have.
• Audio or video interviews you've done with notable people in your industry or local market.
• Links to respected websites or print publications where you've contributed content.
• Pictures of yourself (selfies!) with celebrities or prominent people in your industry.
• Charitable work you've done in your community or with non-profit associations.

6. Your personal bio.

Up to this point everything's been about your business. Now we want to shift the focus to you as an individual.

As mentioned above, people are naturally curious so share a little about yourself:

• Where were you were born? Where you have lived?
• Where did you graduate high school? College? Trade school?
• Where have you worked?
• Do you have any pets, hobbies, interests, unusual skills or talents?
• Are you married? Any kids? Grandkids?
• Favorite movie, favorite place you've traveled, favorite sports team, etc.

A short personal bio can serve as an ice-breaker and rapport builder when you meet a prospect for the first time. It shows you're human and you put your pants on in the morning same as everyone else.

If you're a private person and you're not comfortable sharing anything personal, then don't. It's totally optional.

But the more you share, the more comfortable and connected prospects will feel with you.

7. Your headshot.

The # 1 mistake on About pages is not including a picture of yourself.

People want to see what you look like!

You don't need to be a Hollywood movie star. Just be yourself. That's all anyone cares about. You could look like Shrek and it wouldn't matter (although Shrek is adorable).

Do not complicate matters by hiring a professional photographer. The camera on any smartphone is MORE than sufficient. Point. Focus. Click. You're done.

If you're overly self-critical of how you look (like many of us are), take 1-2 minutes and snap 20-30 rapid-fire pictures of yourself on your smartphone. You're bound to get at least one good one out of the bunch.

Worst case scenario, dig out that one favorite picture of yourself (we all have one) from a vacation or wedding and crop out your headshot from that photo.

Whatever you do, don't use a picture from 25 years ago when you had more hair or were 20 pounds thinner. That'll just result in awkwardness when people eventually meet you in real-life. As mentioned above, just be yourself.

You might find this hard to believe, but I do not like my picture taken. Never have. But I post my headshot online anyway because I know how important it is.

8. A clear call-to-action.

Ok. You've really put forth some effort to create an amazing About page to warm up your prospect.

Now don't waste your effort and end up with nothing to show for it. Strike while the iron is hot and ask them to take some sort of action before that feeling fades and you never see them again.

You could ask them to:

• Request a consultation or call for an appointment.
• Join your email subscriber list.
• Connect with you on social media.
• Keep reading some of your best material so they warm up to you even further.
• Fill out a survey.
• Watch a video or listen to a podcast.
• Download a free report or white paper.

Whatever you do, you must be assertive and ask them to take action. Don't make the mistake of assuming people know what they should do next. You need to gently nudge them forward.

A Quick Win For Your Website

If you do not currently have an About page on your website, I urge you to use the checklist above and create one ASAP. It doesn't have to be perfect. Something is better than nothing and you can improve it over time.

If you do already have an About page, use this checklist to see how you can make it even better.

Don't worry about how long it should be. Write what needs to be written. If you can do it in 500 words, great. If it takes 2,000 words, that's fine, too. As long as there's no fluff or filler, and the information is relevant and interesting, that's all that matters.

Creating a compelling About page takes a little effort, for sure. But when you do what others are unwilling (or too lazy!) to do, you further strengthen your brand and create one more degree of separation from the pack.

Always remember, even in our noisy, digital world people still do business with people. Your About page is an important piece of the puzzle that lets prospective clients get to know, like and trust you ... moving them one step closer to retaining your services.