Optimising the About Page on your Website
Jenn Donovan - Speaker-Author-Mentor
⫸Author SMALL TOWN BIG IMPACT ⫸ Creator: Buy From a Bush Business ⫸ ISB Top 50 ⫸ Marketing Strategist ⫸ Keynote Speaker ⫸ Host of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast (Top 1.5% Globally) ⫸ Advisory Board Greatest Good
The business About Page is one of the most important pages on your website or blog!
But what I find with my clients is quite frequently it doesn’t get as much love and attention as it should.
The About Page “digital real estate” is something that be sorely underutilised by many businesses.
Why don’t business owners pour quality content into our About Page? Especially when if the About Page hits the right mark, it will help you build a strong brand and position yourself as the go-to expert in your industry?
I think the answer to that question is because it can be daunting to create a customer-centric About Page.
Let me guide you through the ways to develop a quality introduction to your business on your website!
To put this into come context for you, it took me *hours* to write my About Page. Lots and lots of research, looking at what other people in my industry, and outside my industry did, what the people who I crush on have in their About pages, and how I could come across as “me” in a page.
I wanted a visitor to know me, know my expertise, know my business core values and a little about me personally. I wanted them to read my About page and feel like they found a friend, maybe even a soul mate!
Take a moment now and pop over to check out my About Page:
You can see I even added an eighties style questionnaire, that shares my most embarrassing moment, just for fun.
I put hours into the creative writing of my About Page to get it to a point where it conveyed a strong introduction to my business and experience, as well as some engaging details about myself.
But, what I find to be the case when looking on many business websites and their About Page, is that most people seem to have simply slapped a few paragraphs together, made it all about themselves, and left it at that.
And the funny thing about an About Page? It isn’t really about YOU at all!!
It’s actually about your client or customer - with only a little about yourself to show your target audience who you are, so that they can:
(a) Know they are connecting with a human
(b) Find similarities in either what they are looking for or who they are
It’s giving your customer the H2H thing I’ve been trumpeting for ages – human to human connection.
Let’s go over the elements that make up a great About Page!
Once people read your About page, they should know EXACTLY what you do and who you did it for.
Who is your who and what do you want to be famous for?
These are the two questions you need to consistently ask yourself when you are planning out your About Page.
Writing this page isn’t the easiest thing to master, but it’s possible once you understand the essential elements that must be included.
Myth #1: Write only about yourself – Your About Page doesn’t have to focus completely on you. Sure, it can include your personal story, but it’s wise to focus on how you solve a problem for your readers.
Myth #2: Use minimal design – I agree with this, to an extent, for some professions. For example, if you’re a freelance writer, most of your target audience will be more interested in your words than whatever WordPress theme you’ve opted for.
On the other hand, if you’re a web developer or graphics professional, you really have to make your About Page attractive.
The point is, don’t let these About Page myths stop you from designing a page that’s right for your target market.
Unlike the homepage, the About Page should be directed at using your own personal story and unique selling point (USP) to create a strong impact that drives leads. Make sure your readers can relate to your page and learn from it.
Headline: Every web page needs a headline, and your About Page is no exception. Make it clear, simple and benefit driven!
Supporting image: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” No matter how attractive and well-written your page is, if it’s nothing but text, you will lose a lot of potential customers. Don’t let that happen to you.
Add an image to your About Page that shows who you are and what you offer. It could be your own photo, a custom logo, a short video — you choose.
An important thing to remember with using images though, is make sure they don’t slow your page down. Load speeds count and if you want people to read your About Page, it has to load quickly.
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Storytelling: Every successful About Page is centred around the author’s story. After all, a lot has happened in their lives before they got to the current point in their online business.
However, avoid excessive self-praise and don’t be boring.
Call-to-action: Where do you send people after they have read your About Page? Don’t leave it to chance; guide them with a call-to-action.
I utilise a lot of different calls-to-action such as:
Calls to action are SO important. Make sure you have at least one.
Colour choice and fonts: Colours have a significant effect on people’s behaviour and buying decisions.
When using colours, make sure that your About Page is consistent with the rest of your branding so readers will identify with your site.
Your font choice should also be on brand for your business. Make sure it is clear and easy to read, and continues your branding theme through.
(And never. EVER. be tempted to use Comic Sans font – it is such 1990’s design, people might think they have time travelled!)
Navigation: If you want your About Page to be successful, people need to be able to find it and read it. Make sure that it’s an easy menu item to find in the navigation main menu.
Now it doesn’t have to be called an About Page – you can get as creative as you like. You can call it “Get to know Jenn” or “Who is Jenn” etc.
BUT if you’re going to get creative, make sure it’s obvious! Sometimes we get a little too creative and the message is lost to the reader.
Understanding the effect of words: You want your About Page to build a connection with your target audience and influence their decision-making process. A great way to do that is by using a conversational tone and evoking emotion with the words that you choose.
Put the most important bit first!: Above the fold is still in play when it comes to your About Page – you still only have seconds to engage someone. Make it count above the fold.
As I said, my about me page took lots of research and lots of time and energy to design. It’s not perfect, FAR from it, but I do think it’s a perfect representation of me. It’s the person you’ll get online, the person you’ll get offline and the person you’ll get on the phone if you call - It’s authentically me!
Here’s a breakdown on how I structured my About Me page:
NOW let’s take some action on YOUR about page!
What does your About you page look like on your website?
If you have read through all this and you don’t have an About Page on your website or maybe you don’t have a website, then all these points are just as relevant for your Facebook Business page, your Instagram profile or your LinkedIn profile.
But, did you know you can also make an About You page without a website!
Just go to www.about.me and you can get your very own About Me free page set up. You can put it at the bottom of your emails or a link in your social accounts – anywhere you can someone to know more, but there’s limited characters so make it count!
How else can I help you?
If you want a more detailed review of your business Website and what to put in your About Page, I would love to help you!
Book in for a Discovery call with me!
If you’d like to book a call – get in touch – send me a message on any of the social platforms or book a call at http://bit.ly/Discoverwithjenn
And – I also have a wonderful online community called Like Minded Business Owners which is a fantastic Facebook group of small business owners who have a wealth of knowledge to share – please join if you aren’t already a member and become a part of a wonderful community!
Or you can DM me on Instagram or shoot me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au
I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR!
Jenn Donovan is a marketing strategist and social media extraordinaire, coach and mentor to savvy business owners. Owner and Founder of Social Media & Marketing Australia.
With a passion for making business simple, because it’s isn’t easy but it should be simple or at least simpler, she’s built a reputation for helping other small business owners simplify their marketing and businesses so they can reach their goals, be more profitable and live the dream (finding the freedom they set out to achieve when they started ... the illusive small business owner freedom dream ...!)
Jenn believes in giving before asking and that’s why she’s the host of the popular Small Business Made Simple Podcast.