It usually comes as a shock to many location independent website and blog owners when they check their stats and realise that the 2nd most visited page on their site is very often the “About” page.
As an online entrepreneur, the good thing about this statistic is that it gives you a golden opportunity to make your “About” page more than just a boring potted history of you and your location independent business…it gives you a chance to make a real connection with someone who may be an ideal client or customer.
Here are a few simple ways you can use your “About” page to greater effect:
- To share more of the real, authentic you – the one which people can really and truly connect with and, ultimately, want to hire.
- To showcase testimonials and what other people say about you a.k.a. establishing credibility using external validation.
- To encourage people to sign up to your newsletter or mailing list.
- To highlight core content, your best articles or specific services you offer.
- To make it even clearer which kind of people you’re trying to connect with and work with as clients.
As a former pro writer of “About” pages for online entrepreneurs & bloggers – and as someone who has generated almost all of our business for the past 6+ years from websites/online media without meeting clients and customers in person, I know that an effective “About” page can do all of the above and more.
There are a few core reasons which can prevent online entrepreneurs from ever achieving these kind of results because they don’t consider and apply the following 4 foundational questions when crafting their “about” page…
#1. Why does your business exist?
The questionnaire I got clients to complete before I sat down to get into their heads and craft their “About” page often highlighted a serious problem with their online business…a lack of clarity when it comes to their overall mission and purpose.
If you can’t articulate the reason why your business exists (other than to earn you a living), then how do you expect others to be able to connect with this and also spread the word about it for you and refer more clients?
You need to be able to state why your business exists in a couple of succinct sentences, think of this as your “story” or your mission – the more “share-able” it is, the more people will likely share it and connect with it.
#2. Who are you writing for?
The real secret of your “About” page is that it’s not all about you, it should be all about “them” – the clients, customers and audience your website and business is for.
You’re writing it for them, to help them get to know you better, to help them make the decision to take a chance and hire you. It helps therefore to know who “they” are – who are you trying to connect with?
Whoever it is, you need to consider what they’d like to know about you and what they need to know about you before they’ll even consider working with you – and then make sure you’ve included this on the page.
#3. What value are you really bringing to the table?
You’ve probably heard this before but you need to be able to define what makes you and your business and website unique. Why should someone hire or buy from you over someone else online? What value do you bring to the table? What can’t I get anywhere else?
Get clear on what true value you bring to your customers – and why a someone should do business with you and not someone else.
Need a specific example? Example: I provide strategy consulting, tech coaching and “About” pages to clients, among other things – but the true value I bring? I make their lives easier, I tell them what to do and how to do it with a step-by-step approach, I save them time and I help them look as good as possible online without the need to tear their hair out or go on multiple courses and invest a small fortune to get themselves up to speed.
It’s not about the services I provide, it’s about what these services result in for my clients and why only I can provide the experience I provide.
#4. What’s the goal for your “About” page?
The golden opportunity that most “About” pages miss is the opportunity to point your readers somewhere else once they’ve finished reading (plus you can also do this at salient points throughout the page).
The important thing is to decide what the ultimate goal of your “About” page is.
Is it to get prospective clients to check out more of your site and the services you offer? Is it to get them to sign up to your newsletter? Is it to go straight for the bulls eye and get them to enquire about hiring you or buying your products?
Whatever your goal, ending with a specific and strong “Call to Action” should be one of the last things you include on the page.
Here’s what you need to do now…
1. Take a good look at your current About page.
2. Does it incorporate the elements above? These include:
- The reason your business or website exists
- Language that’s tailored to and will connect with your ideal audience
- Communicating how & why you make life easier, better and simpler for your audience
- A specific and direct “Call to Action” at the end of your page
…if it’s missing some or all of these components, add them now.
Your “About” page is very likely to be the 2nd most important page on your website – yet many people give it nothing more than a few minutes of their time by copying and pasting their standard bio.
Use this golden opportunity to connect with people more strongly – and give your “About” page the attention it deserves.