How to Write an Awesome About Page That Wows Your Ideal Customer
Nov 25, 2019Ah, the About page. That one page on your website which everyone hates to write, but can be the most powerful – if you do it right.
Writing about yourself is possibly the hardest thing you’ll ever attempt to write!
We’re always overly critical… how much is too much? What if I sound like I’m bragging? Or why does anyone care about this anyway?
But the About page is also the page on your site that can seal the deal for your prospects, so it’s worth your while spending a bit of time to plan your message and content.
Why do I need an About page on my website?
Your About page is an ideal place to cement your personal brand, build trust and establish yourself as an authority in your field. It’s also where you tell a bit of your own story to help your ideal customer form an emotional connection.
Because humans love connecting with other humans and feeling like there’s something in common.
Your ability to connect with the person discovering more about you on your website is what sets you apart from your competition.
There’s only one you in this world! Let your personality shine, give us a sneak peek at the real you.
Now, let’s dive into how we can write an About page that doesn’t feel icky to write, yet draws in your ideal customers with a ‘hell yes, I need to work with this woman!’.
What content goes into an About page?
It’s not as much about ‘Me’ as you think it is
I know, why do we call it an About page if it’s not all about me?!
Well, of course it’s about you… BUT it also needs to be about them – your ideal customer – or they won’t read very far at all.
I talk about knowing and creating your ideal customer avatar (aka customer persona) a lot. And there’s a very good reason why.
It sits at the very core of everything that you do from a marketing perspective, and even I would argue, your entire business should be designed around your ideal customer.
From your product, to communication to branding and service delivery – if you’re not doing all of this with a specific person in mind, then you may as well be standing on the corner yelling at passersby…. and we all know how ineffectual that is (how often have you ever thought how much that hawker really understands you?).
And your About page is where you need to draw them in with words that show you clearly understand what they’re thinking and feeling, talk to them about THEM! This keeps them very interested and reading more.
Start with your ideal customer in mind.. now let’s get on to what you’re going to say to them.
Action: Get crystal clear on your ideal customer avatar. Download my free Ultimate Customer Avatar worksheet here if you want to get really targeted.
Describe the outcome you provide or the problem that you solve
Let’s start off with painting the picture about what they really want. What outcome do you help your customer achieve?
It doesn’t matter if you sell hampers or provide a 12 week immersive coaching course – every business exists to solve a problem for their ideal customer, make their life easier in some way.
Your About page should briefly outline the transformation that you’ll take your customer on. This is WHY they need you.
Think of it as a timeline where they come to you feeling one way, and leave feeling another (hopefully happy that you’ve solved their problem!).
Action: Draw a line on a blank piece of paper and write down how your ideal customer feels now at one end (problem statement) and on the other end describe how they will feel after dealing with you. How do you get them from A to B?
How do you do it differently?
With this transformational journey in mind, there are probably quite a few competitors out there that do the same thing as you.. in general terms.
So, why would someone choose you over a competitor?
You have at least one unique differentiator – and that’s you! But perhaps the process you use for transformation isn’t like your competitors’ or perhaps you purchase your products from ethical sources.
Whatever it is, you need to include this differentiator into your About page.
Action: Write down WHY you want to help your ideal client and HOW you solve their problem/outcome differently to everyone else.
Link this to your own story
Now you have articulated your ‘why’ and your differentiator, you will need to tie this into your own story.
Why did you start this business?
What’s your driver / mission / passion?
What makes you qualified to serve your ideal customer?
Share some of your background that’s relevant to your why and differentiator, describe lessons you learnt and your experience.
If you’re struggling with this part (as it’s back to the ‘me’ bit now), then you might like to enlist a mate to help you out. It’s often easier to write about yourself if it’s someone else giving you the suggestions!
Action: Write down what you’ve done that led you here, why you started your business and your vision.
Show proof of your success
Perhaps you’ve had personal experience, business experience or received awards. Mention them! Include your qualifications too.
Then, look at your customer feedback and testimonials and write about how you’ve taken them successfully through the transformational journey.
Add a testimonial or two as well! Nothing sells you better than the real words of a real customer.
Action: Write down what makes you qualified to serve your ideal customer. Think experience, awards, amazing results you’ve already achieved for your ideal client. You can include social proof here such as testimonials.
Add a bit of personality
This is the fun part! Inject a bit of your personality into your About page.
Do you like to trapeze, did you deliver pizzas in a past life or do you play an instrument? What do you like to do in your spare time or what’s next on your bucket list?
You don’t need to bare all, but sharing something about you, as the founder of the business, helps make you into a real person.
Action: Write down 3 quirky or non-business related things people may not know about you.
Add a call to action
Most people forget to have any call to action on their About page – what a mistake! It’s one of your biggest sales pages of your entire website.
What you do want your ideal customer to do now they’ve read it?
They’re interested in what you do as they’ve read all the way to the bottom of the page! Give them the next step, let’s make it super easy for them.
Think about all the ways that your ideal customer could get started with you.
It might be subscribing for a freebie, joining your Facebook Group, following you on social media, booking a call, or purchasing an introductory product or service.
Action: Write down all the ways that your ideal customer can work with you. How do MOST customers start with you? Choose one call to action.
Let’s put it all together!
You now have six different elements of an ‘About’ page that you can string together to capture the interest of your ideal customer. You can make it as long or as short as you like, just make sure that you cover off each of the elements.
Here’s my final tips on bringing it all together:
- Make sure that you use language that your ideal customer would use and relate to. No jargon unless they use it too!
- Stay true to your brand voice. (If you haven’t defined yours yet, download my free brand strategy template). No point LOLing and OMGing if that’s not what they’re into!
- Write the way you talk, not like an academic.
- Write in the first person. You, Me, I, We, Us…
- Proofread or get someone else to check over it for you
- Make it personal – add in photos of yourself. Bonus points for a video!
- Don’t just set and forget! Mark in your calendar to update it at least every year.
Remember to have fun with this piece of writing and don’t aim for perfection, you’ll always find something to edit on it so just let the ideas flow and you can refine it later.
If you need some inspo feel free to check out my own About page!