The About Page: Your Online Introduction

Do you hate talking about yourself? You’re not alone. And yet, one of the most important pages on a website is the About page, where you introduce yourself and your business to the whole wide world. If the thought of this makes you cringe, read on for some practical advice about creating an effective About page.

The About page is one of the most visited page on any site, because people want to know who they’re dealing with. Depending on the type of business, they may way to know any of the following: Your real name (which is not “The Carpet King”), what you look like, who works with you, your professional qualifications, your business philosophy and a bit of your history (or your business’ history). They probably aren’t interested in reading your resume.

The Story of Telling suggests these 10 rules:

1. Know who you’re talking to.
Understanding the prospective customer is the most overlooked aspect of brand and business communication. Every message you craft should begin by understanding the audience it’s intended for. If you don’t know who you’re talking to how can you tell them what they want and need to hear? Start with why, but don’t forget who.

2. Don’t just lead with the facts.
People need to know more about the real you. Facts alone don’t persuade. Make your website a window and not a wall.

3. Share your values.
Tell people who you are and what you believe.

4. Show yourself.
Build trust by adding a well-shot photo to your bio and about page. Your potential clients like to look into your eyes.

5. Tell the story of your professional journey.
Explain how you got to where you are today. Your backstory doesn’t have to be a chronological list. Make it interesting. Enable people to understand how you know what you know.

6. Tell people how you can help them.
Be specific, add links to products and services.

7. Demonstrate how you’ve provided solutions for others.
Link to your portfolio and list projects you’ve worked on.

8. Give a sense of what it’s like to work with you and show people why they can trust you.
Add client testimonials and stories about how you work.

9. Add a contact link.
Your about page should not only provide information and build trust, but it must also encourage potential clients to get in touch.

10. Don’t make it all about you.
Think about why you’re writing and about page in the first place and how you want the reader to feel when she’s done reading it.

And if you’d like some prime examples:

MailChimp
Chris Brogan
Copyblogger
Carrie Dills
Xero

One last thing. Call your page either About or About Us, even if you think it’s a cliche. If you call the page “Reflections” or “Everything you want to know” or “Our friends and family”, you’ll just confuse the people who want to know more about you.

Until next week.