How to Create the Perfect About Page

The About page is one of the most important pages on your business website or blog. But quite frequently, it doesn’t get as much love and attention it should, and can be underutilised by many businesses.

Why don’t business owners pour quality content into their About page? Especially when if your About page hits the right mark, it will help you build a strong brand and position yourself as the go-to expert in your industry.

Let me guide you through the ways to develop a quality introduction to your business on your website!

To put this into come context for you, it took me *hours* to write my About Page. Lots and lots of research, looking at what other people in my industry, and outside my industry did, what the people who I crush on have in their About pages, and how I could come across as “me” in a page.

I wanted a visitor to know me, know my expertise, know my business core values and a little about me personally. I wanted them to read my About page and feel like they found a friend, maybe even a soul mate!

Take a moment now and pop over to check out my About Page:

https://socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/about/

You can see I even added an eighties style questionnaire, just for fun.

I put hours into the creative writing of my About page to get it to a point where it conveyed a strong introduction to my business and experience, as well as some engaging details about myself.

But, what I find to be the case when looking on many business websites and their About page, is that most people seem to have simply slapped a few paragraphs together, made it all about themselves, and left it at that.

And the funny thing about an About page? It isn’t really about YOU at all!!

It’s actually about your client or customer - with only a little about yourself to show your target audience who you are, so that they can:

(a)       Know they are connecting with a human

(b)       Find similarities in either what they are looking for or who they are

It’s giving your customer the H2H thing I’ve been trumpeting for ages – human to human connection.

Let’s go over the elements that make up a great About page!

You position your authority in your industry. 

Once people read your About page, they should know EXACTLY what you do and who you did it for.

Who is your who and what do you want to be famous for?

These are the two questions you need to consistently ask yourself when you are planning out your About page.

Writing this page isn’t the easiest thing to master, but it’s possible once you understand the essential elements that must be included.

Ignore the Myths!

Myth #1: Write only about yourself – Your About page doesn’t have to focus completely on you. Sure, it can include your personal story, but it’s wise to focus on how you solve a problem for your readers.

Myth #2: Use minimal design – I agree with this, to an extent, for some professions. For example, if you’re a freelance writer, most of your target audience will be more interested in your words than whatever WordPress theme you’ve opted for.

On the other hand, if you’re a web developer or graphics professional, you really have to make your About page attractive.

The point is, don’t let these About page myths stop you from designing a page that’s right for your target market.

Focus on people’s pain points and the solution that you can offer them.

Unlike the homepage, the About page should be directed at using your own personal story and unique selling point (USP) to create a strong impact that drives leads. Make sure your readers can relate to your page and learn from it.

What else make a delicious About Page?

Headline: Every web page needs a headline, and your About page is no exception. Make it clear, simple and benefit driven!

Supporting image: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” No matter how attractive and well-written your page is, if it’s nothing but text, you will lose a lot of potential customers. Don’t let that happen to you.

Add an image to your About page that shows who you are and what you offer. It could be your own photo, a custom logo, a short video — you choose.

An important thing to remember with using images though, is make sure they don’t slow your page down. Load speeds count and if you want people to read your About page, it has to load quickly.

Storytelling: Every successful About page is centred around the author’s story. After all, a lot has happened in their lives before they got to the current point in their online business.

However, avoid excessive self-praise and don’t be boring.

Call-to-action: Where do you send people after they have read your About page? Don’t leave it to chance; guide them with a call-to-action.

I utilise a lot of different calls-to-action such as:

• connect with me on Instagram
• join Like Minded Business Owners
• get one of my freebies
• send me a message.

Calls to action are SO important. Make sure you have at least one.

Colour choice and fonts: Colours have a significant effect on people’s behaviour and buying decisions.

When using colours, make sure that your About page is consistent with the rest of your branding so readers will identify with your site.

Your font choice should also be on brand for your business. Make sure it is clear and easy to read, and continues your branding theme through.

(And never. Ever. be tempted to use Comic Sans font – it is such 1990’s design, people might think they have time travelled!)

Navigation: If you want your About page to be successful, people need to be able to find it and read it. Make sure that it’s an easy menu item to find in the navigation main menu.

Now it doesn’t have to be called an About Page – you can get as creative as you like. You can call it “Get to know Jenn” or “Who is Jenn” etc.

BUT if you’re going to get creative, make sure it’s obvious! Sometimes we get a little too creative and the message is lost to the reader.

Understanding the effect of words: You want your About page to build a connection with your target audience and influence their decision-making process. A great way to do that is by using a conversational tone and evoking emotion with the words that you choose.

Put the most important bit first!: Above the fold is still in play when it comes to your About page – you still only have seconds to engage someone. Make it count above the fold.

As I said, my about me page took lots of research and lots of time and energy to design. It’s not perfect, FAR from it, but I do think it’s a perfect representation of me. It’s the person you’ll get online, the person you’ll get offline and the person you’ll get on the phone if you call - It’s authentically me!

Here’s a breakdown on how I structured my About Me page:

1. Intro to me – my past to know and a little of why I do what I do.
2. Brands I’ve worked with (shows expertise)
3. What I know for sure (sharing some of my experiences/thoughts/ideas around business)
4. My business core values – because I believe that people will do business with people whose values match their own
5. Why me – why I’m a little different
6. What others say about me (testimonials)
7. 80’s style quiz – letting my reader get to know me personally a little (including that embarrassing story!)
8. What to do now … my Calls to Action (join this, listen here etc)
9. Freebies – because who doesn’t like a freebie or two!
10. Form to get in touch, and
11. My Instagram live feed – for good measure and a call to action to follow me on Instagram without saying “follow me!”

NOW let’s take some action on YOUR about page!

What does your About you page look like on your website? Perhaps it needs some work, perhaps the messaging isn’t clear or perhaps it leaves the reader not sure who you are or what you do or how you can help them?

Or maybe, it ALL about you and there’s no value in it for the reader?

Or maybe, it’s not about you at all – the reader can read it all and still have no idea who YOU are – not your brand but YOU, the human behind the brand.

If you have read through all this and you don’t have an About Page on your website or maybe you don’t have a website, then all these points are just as relevant for your Facebook Business page, your Instagram profile or your LinkedIn profile.

But, you can also make an About You page without a website!

Just go to www.about.me and you can get your very own About Me free page set up. You can put it at the bottom of your emails or a link in your social accounts – anywhere you can someone to know more, but there’s limited characters so make it count!

This blog is a transcript of an episode of my podcast Small Business Made Simple – to check that podcast out and listen in go to www.socialmediandmarketing.com.au/podcast