It’s All About Your About Page

Whenever I do a copywriting project, I always look forward to writing the About Page. It’s the one opportunity for my client to let rip.

Every other page has to be totally focused on their customers, but the About Page is more about them (although still selling the benefits of working with them, which is a very fine balancing act).

As a copywriter my mantra (well, one of many to be fair) is ‘write for your reader’, but the About Page is the place to go wild – within reason.

Many companies don’t see it as being a vital page. OK, it probably won’t be one of the main landing pages, but it is essential to show potential customers who you are and what you’re like.

That’s why it shouldn’t be left to the last minute and hastily cobbled together, or be rigidly corporate stating “We have been in business for 30 years…”

Instead, it should be well thought out following these 5 pointers.

1. Show

An About Page that’s full of big words and adjectives that attempts to tell the reader how great you are isn’t fooling anyone. All it shows is that you have a thesaurus and you know how to use it.

It’s far more effective to show them how great you are by mentioning the awards you’ve received, any press coverage you’ve had and, if you have any major clients, a bit of shameless name-dropping.

2. Personality

Companies are quite wary of this one. They think that they have to show a corporate image to be successful. Well they don’t.

People buy from people (excuse the cliché) so show that you are human. Make your tone personable and friendly. Ditch the corporate speak for something more day to day that your reader will relate to.

3. Show off your people

If there’s one thing companies hate more than showing their personality, it’s showing their pictures (the people in the company that is, not the actual company itself, that wouldn’t work). But showing off your staff is a great way to make a personal connection with the reader.

They can see who they will be dealing with and, rather than just adding a professional bio about them, add details about their hobbies, dreams, likes and their Twitter handle.

This is a great way to open up your company to build trust.

4. SEO

Boo hiss, we’re all fed up with those initials, but they are important.

Even though it’s not a direct sales page, your About Page should still be optimised for keywords.

5. Don’t hide

Once you’ve actually gone to the trouble (or cost) of creating your About Page don’t hide it.

Make sure it’s clearly visible from your navigation bar so potential clients can find it and take a look at what you’re like. It could just swing things in your favour.

There you go, your About Page IS important so make the most of it and use it to show the human side of your business. Have some fun putting it together and get the real essence of your company out there for all to see.

Faceless corporate businesses are impersonal and unfriendly, especially when they are Internet based. You can’t go and meet every potential client, so your website must convey your personality and the About Page is the perfect vehicle for that.