Did you know the ‘About’ page is typically the 2nd most visited page on a website? That means you need to spend time and energy getting it right. Your ‘About’ page allows you to connect with your readers and make it clear why they should stick around on your site (or leave). Here’s my system for About page copywriting that connects with your ideal readers.
Copywriting is the art and science of words that connect, convert, and sell.
→ Connect with readers
→ Convert lookers into subscribers/buyers
→ Sell your offers
The goal of almost every line in copywriting (and on your website) is to get the reader to stick with you and keep reading.
That’s it. Keep that in mind when writing every. Single. Line. What’s your goal? To keep the person reading.
When someone clicks on your About page, they’re wondering…who is this person/company? Do I want to spend more time on this website?
In a rush? Here’s a summary of the About page copywriting tips below:
- Be clear on who you serve.
- What do you do to serve them?
- Why you?
- How do you do what you do?
- Why does what you do matter (for your potential clients/customers)?
- Call to Action (what do you want readers of your About page to do next)?
- Include images.
- Bonus: your story is more nuanced than the common before-and-after trope.
About page tip#1
Whom do you serve?
With every page you write be clear about who you’re talking to. Who your audience is. Think of your ideal reader This is someone who’ll connect with your message, resonate with your mission, and be interested in hearing (reading) more. People need to quickly know whether you’re writing to them or not so they can decide whether to stick around or leave.
Imagine this as one person. Not 1,000 or 10,000 fans and followers, just one. This is who you’re writing to.
Who are they? Specifically. If you’re not clear on this, you won’t be able to write and connect with them.
The clearer you are, the faster they’ll know they’re home when they read your About page.
Your About page needs to state who this ideal reader is and what they’re looking for.
If you’re struggling with this, fill in the blank:
I help ____________________ (remember, be specific. You don’t help ‘people’. You help a specific group of people with a specific problem/need/desire).
You cannot serve everyone. If you set out to serve everyone, you’ll end up serving no one. When you’re clear on the specific group of people you serve (for example, overwhelmed, working moms on a budget who need simple self-care ideas and products):
*You can speak directly to them (your website copy and marketing materials are not generic, they’re laser-specific and targeted to your ideal customer)
*You can find them (when you serve a specific person, you know where to find them, for example, forums, events, social media groups)
About page tip #2
What does your business do to help the people identified in question one?
Do you sell products/services to uplift, inspire, transform, make everyday life easier, nourish, protect, etc.?
Your page needs to clearly state what you do. You either help people move toward something (i.e. healthier lifestyle) or away from something (i.e. quit their job in a year).
Think pleasure vs pain. You’re either helping people move away from pain or toward pleasure. You need to demonstrate this on your About page.
About page copywriting tip#3
Why you?
This is where you highlight the reasons someone picks you/your company to patronize. What makes you credible? Trustworthy?
Credibility. Show validation for what you do. For example, degrees earned, research team, years in business, body of work, life experience, etc.)
Passion. You’re probably passionate about your business. But how can you show this on your About page? Don’t just say. ’I’m passionate about xyz’. Give a specific illustration of your passion. Maybe a story that shows it.
Your mission. You may have an entirely separate page on your website for your mission, but the gist of it should be included in your About page.
About page copywriting tip#4
How do you do what you do?
For example, are you a product creator? How are your products made?
Maybe your brand is eco-friendly, for example. If so, explain how your ingredients/components are sourced, how material is discarded, our recycling policy, etc.
If you offer services, such as consulting or coaching, what’s your methodology? How do you do what you do? And what makes how you do it effectively?
About page tip #5
Why does it matter?
Why does what you do matter? Why is it relevant – especially to your ideal client? Spell it out clearly.
There’s no room for doubt here. You need to communicate the benefits of what you do. How it helps the reader and why this should matter in their lives (or businesses).
If you can’t communicate the importance of what you do, readers will not understand why it even matters for them to consume your content or pay attention to you.
About page tip#6
Call to Action (CTA)
This is typically at the end of your About page but can also be sprinkled throughout the page in a few strategic locations. A call to action tells readers what to do next. You’re directing them to other areas of your website that may be of interest.
CTA examples:
Sign up for your newsletter
Read blog posts
Enter giveaway
Contact you
Visit the store/shop
About page tip #7
At least one image
At least one image. This can be you or your team or your store/physical location. We are visual creatures. Images work to create connection with your audience.
Choose an image that matches your brand. If your messaging is light-hearted and funny, choose an image that matches vs if your messaging is corporate and formal.
Tying it all together
Avoid the ‘before and after’ trope
Throughout your About page, avoid falling back on the before and after trope. There’s a concept floating around the marketing world that drastic stories of transformation hold your reader’s attention. The more drastic, the better.
Is that true? And is that the best way to write about ourselves? Definitely not. Especially not as a midlifer. One reason is that most of us over 40 don’t have one before and after story. You have before, after, before again, after again, and so on. Your life is more nuanced than one linear sequence of events. Another reason is that the before and after concept is reductionist. It reduces us to simple beings living uncomplicated lives. It’s not a real depiction of life.
Trynette Lariba, Curvy Fit Chicks
Meet Trynette Lariba, nurse, and founder of Curvy Fit Chicks, which is dedicated to serving aspiring and active curvy athletes. Lariba chooses NOT to use before and after pictures in her branding. This goes against the grain of the entire fitness industry.
I already had an idea why she chose not to. But I wanted to hear her story, so I asked her about it. Her response:
“Before and after pictures reduce people’s fitness stories to only physical appearance. They limit the mind to thinking the end goal of exercise is skinniness, as if that’s the most important reason to get fit and active.”
For some, working out is purely about looking a certain way. But those people aren’t Trynette’s target audience. That audience can be served by the 12393948487 other fitness brands that fit their needs. And Trynette has nothing against other brands that feature before and after pictures, that’s just not what her brand is about.
She’s actively building a community of people who want to move their bodies. Women who are curvy and don’t want to be skinny. They’re proud of their bodies just as they are, but they do want to be active. Her audience isn’t driven to ‘build a six-pack in 60 days or ‘get lean arms in a month’. Instead, her community focuses on working their bodies, shaking stuff up, and pushing themselves to where they thought they could never go. None of those can be idealized in a before and after picture.
See, the fascination with before and after imaging and the overall story arc has become ingrained in our psyche.
We live our lives searching to write ourselves into the perfect radical transformation story:
I was fat. Then I got thin.
I was poor. Then I became rich.
I was a terrible eater. Then I became a conscious eater.
I was lazy. Then I became productive.
As a society, we’ve become drunk on these stories. And that’s not to say they aren’t inspiring. Sometimes. But I’d like to shine a light on the worthiness of all of us, outside of these stories. Because each of us is so much more. In your personal and business life, I encourage you to think beyond these stories.
The limitations of this in About page copywriting
These stories have a place. And if you have a story of transformation, certainly share it. But what we see most often is people trying to create these stories to use as their bio, who they are. It becomes the sum total of their ‘About’. But these stories aren’t who you are. They’re only a tiny fraction.
You are so much more than a before and after story, in your personal life and in your business. Why limit yourself?
When you speak and write about your experiences, remember to give credence beyond a before and after story. Actually, you may not even have one of those stories. Don’t try to make one up to fit the mold. Focus on the other aspects of your life and business that feed into your work and give validation for what you do.
Remember…
- There’s an amazing body of work you’ve built over the years. And if you’re new to business, your life is your body of work
- There are a multitude of experiences (good and bad) that you’ve learned from
- And don’t forget all the people, philosophies, education, and schools of thought that have contributed to your work, taught you lessons
As a business owner, you’re not just selling things. You have the unique opportunity to be a change-maker, an inspirer, a problem solver. And you do this because you have years of validating experience even beyond a transformation story. In my Raw Writing course, I give guidance on mining your life for the stories that connect with your readers.
When we only focus on a transformation story, we belittle our readers. We assume that the only thing they’ll respond to and relate with is a before and after narrative. But, just like you, your specific readers have full, complex lives, dreams, wants, and needs beyond dramatic salable transformation stories. They can relate to a lot more than just that narrative. So don’t limit yourself when writing about your experiences and your body of work.
Your life and your business are not a formulaic script. It’s much more than that.
I encourage you to keep this in mind when writing about yourself (on your About page, Bio, in blog posts, guest articles, etc.).
Have the courage to bring the fullness of who you are to the mic, not just a story of past ‘brokenness’ that has been ‘fixed’. Because the truth is even if you did go through a transformation, the person that made it through was there all along, way before the actual transformation happened. That person, that ‘before’ individual wasn’t unworthy, broken, or insignificant. They were experiencing life. And so they deserve just as much credit as the ‘after’ character. Getting comfortable writing about yourself takes time.
Keeping a Writing Journal helps me build this practice. It also gives me a safe space to write about my life and myself without being judged. Start there if writing about yourself in public feels too scary.
About page copywriting may feel hard at first, but if you follow the tips in this system, you can plug, play, and experiment to find the best way to connect with your readers and share your story.
