Feeling stuck on how to write your copy for your “About” page? Or wondering if your “About” page copy is actually effective? 

I've rounded up four things you should and four things you shouldn't include in the copy on your “About” page so that you can confidently know that you're connecting with your audience in the right way.

01:14 — Your “About” page isn’t about you — it’s about them

01:44 — Have an attention-grabbing headline that speaks to your ideal client

02:23 — Include a “grounding statement” that immediately connects 

03:30 — Introduce yourself with your positioning statement

04:48 — Include details about what types of clients, photography, and locations you specialize in your copy for an “About” page

05:13 — Speak to your dream client’s problems and pain points 

07:02 — Sprinkle “good new statements” into your “About” page copy

07:31 — Include fun facts that allow your prospects to get to know you in a specific way 

08:28 — Ensure the details you’re sharing about you are relevant to why someone would choose to work with you

09:31 — Remove any industry jargon and simplify it 

10:20 — Don’t include your entire life story — only the details that matter

11:25 — Make sure you’re “showing” more than you’re “telling” 

🖊️ 3 STEPS YOU NEED TO CRAFT AN EFFECTIVE ‘ABOUT ME’ WEBSITE PAGE

https://view.flodesk.com/pages/609483118268590e87ab104f

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The goal here is to clearly convey that you see and hear them, and

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that you have a solution to their problem.

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When you do this, your reader will be more likely to continue reading your

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website and feel more confident to work with you whenever they're ready

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to make that purchasing decision.

Intro: 00:00:18

You are listening to The Copywriter On Call podcast.

Intro: 00:00:21

I'm your host, Sarah Gillis, copywriter, word, magic maker, and owner of

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what Sarah said on this podcast.

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You'll feel empowered to show up online in a way that has you saying, that's so me.

Intro: 00:00:34

Let's get started.

Sara Gillis: 00:00:36

Welcome back to another episode of The Copywriter On-Call podcast.

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I'm your host, Sarah Gillis, and I'm clocking some on-call hours solo

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today to run down my list of do's and don'ts for your websites about page.

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Now those who have been following along with me for a while might know that

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the about page is one of my favorite things to talk about and one of my

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favorite things to write for my clients.

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As a copywriter, the about page is one of the first stops I make when

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I audit a client's current website.

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What I typically see when I visit this page is a whole bunch of random facts

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that are all about you and have very little to do with the clients you serve.

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Here's the truth.

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The way that you really connect with your audience is by making your about

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page about them while strategically sprinkling in information about

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yourself that lets them know that you really can relate to them.

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To help you do this well, I've rounded up four things you should and four

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things you shouldn't include on your about page so that you can confidently

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know that you're connecting with your audience in the right way.

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Let's get started.

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First, you need to have an attention grabbing headline for your ideal client.

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Now again, as a copywriter, I primarily work with photographers

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and with other female creatives.

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And I often find that my clients struggle to speak to their specific ideal client.

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Now, in a world where there are a lot of other people doing what

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you do, it can be difficult to pinpoint what makes you stand out.

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But regardless of how hard it might be to figure that out, you

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do have a differentiator or two.

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Your about page is where you get to speak to that differentiator directly.

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And call in the type of person that you specifically want to work with.

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So to kick this off, you first want to include a headline that

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is attention grabbing and speaks to that ideal client directly.

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Often a headline like this can be your why in business, your mission, or your

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approach to doing whatever it is you do.

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This is what I call a grounding statement because it lays the groundwork

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for the about page and it also immediately connects with your reader.

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If they align with that mission or that belief that you've shared, they'll

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be more likely to continue reading.

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Your headline can help someone determine if they're in the right place and if

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working with you would be a good fit.

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For example, on my own about page, on my website, I say, Your brand messaging

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should be packed with personality.

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Now, before I say anything else, I lead with this belief, and if someone

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reads that and doesn't agree, they immediately know that I'm probably

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not the copywriter for them.

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But if someone reads that and does agree and has been looking for someone

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to help them add personality to their messaging, then they instantly

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know they're in the right place.

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All right.

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Who you are and who you specifically help needs to be present on your about page.

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Now, like I said, your about page isn't all about you, but that doesn't mean

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you don't need to introduce yourself.

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After all your attention grabbing headline gives them a taste of who you are.

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Then you should quickly tell people who you really are and include one of those

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awesome brand photos of yourself so that your reader can put a face to the name.

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Then you want to share your positioning statement, which we talked about in

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the last episode, but again, it shares who you serve and where you serve them.

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This, again, is a device that helps your reader to know if

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they're in the right place.

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For me, on my about page, I say, I'm Sarah, and I help female creative

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business owners stand out through words.

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If someone reads that and is not a female creative business owner,

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they can again assume that I'm not the right copywriter for them.

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The reason that this is important is because it invites your reader

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to naturally assess whether or not they're a good fit to work with you.

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By calling out details like this, you make it super simple and clear for people

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to know if they belong in your world.

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And again, the key is to making this as specific as possible.

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If you only work with certain industries or types of people,

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make sure that that's noted.

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If you only photograph small, intimate weddings, That should be here if you

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photograph big, large luxury weddings.

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You should note that.

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If you want to save time, not only for you and for your audience in the

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long run, you need to be specific.

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Next step number three, make sure that your about page speaks to each

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client's problems and pain points.

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So after your headline and your intro, this is where you move into more

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of a storytelling type of content.

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Yes, you can include a little bit about you here, but ultimately the power

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in this section is speaking to your ideal clients problems and pain points.

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Now, I'll be honest with you, this part of an about page looks different

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for everyone, and it can be as short or as long as you prefer.

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For me.

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I wanted the copy in this section to be pretty minimal, but I really did

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want to point out why it's important to stand out as a business owner,

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which is based around this idea.

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There's plenty of other people who do what you do.

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So why should a buyer choose you?

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That question that I ask on my about page helps my clients to feel

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empowered to stand out, which may mean doing business differently or at

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least describing themselves, writing website copy that reflects who they

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are and why they should be hired.

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It looks a little different than other people in their field.

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In this section, you should try to demonstrate that you

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understand your ideal client.

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And that you have a solution to the problem that they're experiencing.

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This often comes in the form of telling a relatable story that gives a little

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more insight of your background and makes everything feel a bit more personal.

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In this section, I like to reflect on what it means to shop in the

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marketplace and how I choose a grocery store, a photographer,

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someplace to bring my dry cleaning.

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It's about relatability and connection and standing out in business.

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Here's another pro tip.

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I encourage you to sprinkle a few good news statements or

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can statements into your copy.

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These kind of sound like this.

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You can hop off the hustle bus and capture photos that help you show

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up the way you want to in business.

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It emphasizes the good news that they should take to heart.

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That solves their problem or addresses their pain point, and it helps you

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to demonstrate your personality too.

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Lastly, you should have fun facts on your about page.

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Now, while I would never suggest that you fill your website with irrelevant

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information and more on that in a minute, I do think it's valuable to include a

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few fun facts so that your audience can get to know you in very specific ways.

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The key is that you don't make these fun facts the forefront of your about page.

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Instead, think of them more like the candles on a cake.

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They're just for fun.

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So whether you feature a fun quiz, a roundup of your favorite things, or a list

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of lessons you learned in your thirties, it can be enjoyable for your ideal client

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to learn about you and your personality.

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Especially if they take the time to read all the way to the

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bottom of your about page, which is where I suggest you put this.

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All right, now that you know what you should include on your websites about

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page, let's dive into what you should not.

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First, irrelevant details.

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I promised we'd get back to this.

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Now, while including fun facts about you on your about page is a great idea,

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you want to be careful not to overload this part of your website with those

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details that just aren't relevant.

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Many times people will treat their about page, like a resume that includes their

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entire professional story because they think this is what makes them credible.

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While I understand that you want to be seen as trustworthy, professional,

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experienced, I've going to be blunt here and let you know that your ideal client

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really doesn't care about your college GPA or your high school job, or even that

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you worked in a certain industry for 10 years before opening your own business.

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It just might not be relevant, and honestly, it won't be the thing that

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convinces someone to work with you.

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Instead, I suggest you use this page to do the things that I mentioned

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earlier, because I promise those pieces will have far greater impact than

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anything you've done in your past.

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The next thing to avoid on your about page is jargons.

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Okay.

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Avoid using jargon on your website in general, but also on your about page.

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This part of your website is really where you can connect with

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your audience in a deeper way.

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And one of the things that can really throw someone off is if you're using

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language that they don't understand.

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Again, the desire here might be, well, if I use some jargon, I'll

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look professional and credible.

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But instead, what this really does is just confuse people And confused people,

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well, they don't take any action at all.

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Instead, take the time to simplify your message and communicate clearly.

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That way you're giving someone the ability to fully understand what you're

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saying, which makes them even more confident in choosing to work with you.

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Another don't.

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Don't include your entire life story.

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Again, as I mentioned above, storytelling can be a great way

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to speak to your ideal client's, specific problems and pain points.

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But what you don't want to do is confuse this storytelling technique

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with telling your entire story.

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There are likely some parts of your story that your audience should

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know, so that they can relate to and understand why you do what you do.

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But here's the key.

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You need to tell them that in a concise way while ultimately

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keeping the focus on them.

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And you need to showcase how you can specifically guide them to

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a solution for their problem.

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If you want to include various parts of your story without eating up your entire

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about page, maybe consider creating a unique visual so that it doesn't take away

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from the main point of your about page, but offers a little bit more context.

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I did this on my website about page by including a timeline graphic.

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That's really fun.

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Lastly, you want to show, not tell.

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What I see often is that people use their about page to be their own personal

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hype girl, and while I am all for that, in this case, it's better to show what

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you've done instead of just talk about it.

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You can effectively do this through the use of testimonials, social

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proof, case studies, so that you're allowing your clients to speak

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and shout praises on your behalf.

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When you do this well, people start to trust you more because they can

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clearly see that you walk the walk instead of just talking the talk.

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It might even be helpful here to show quick glimpses of your portfolio or

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your work and then direct them to a portfolio or gallery page to learn more.

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Overall, your about page is an important component of your website.

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So you want to make sure it's written in a way that truly connects

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with your audience and ultimately assures them that you understand

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their desires and their challenges.

Sara Gillis: 00:12:26

The goal here is to clearly convey that you see and hear them, and that

Sara Gillis: 00:12:31

you have a solution to their problem.

Sara Gillis: 00:12:34

When you do this, your reader will be more likely to continue reading your

Sara Gillis: 00:12:38

website and feel more confident to work with you whenever they're ready

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to make that purchasing decision.

Sara Gillis: 00:12:44

If you want to take the guesswork out of writing your about page, I encourage

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you to head to the show notes where you can access my free about page guide.

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As always, thanks so much for listening, and until next time, this is your

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copywriter on call signing off.

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Thanks for listening to The Copywriter On Call podcast.

Sara Gillis: 00:13:02

If this episode has you feeling all sorts of inspired to show up as yourself online,

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click that subscribe button so you don't miss my stories or practical advice to

Sara Gillis: 00:13:11

help you express your quirky, vulnerable, and authentic self online chat soon.