About pages.
Whether you love them or hate them, you know your website needs one.
Not only is it the second-most clicked page on your website (after the home page), it’s also where potential prospects decide if they can relate to—and trust—you.
This means your about page gives you the perfect opportunity to authentically connect with your target audience, build the trust factor, and highlight your ability to help your clients.
Having read that, you might feel even more pressure to make your about page perfect!
That’s why I want to make it easy on you.
Because the truth is, writing a good about page doesn’t have to feel impossibly hard, overwhelmingly stressful, or like an obsessive navel-gazing exercise.
When you know what to include, what not to include, and what crucial mistakes to avoid, writing it can feel painless, fun, and exciting.
After all, you’re using it to lure in perfect prospects, and what could be more exciting than that?!
Keep reading to discover the ins and outs of a great, prospect-attracting about page and make sure you’re not making crucial prospect-repelling mistakes.
Your About Page
Obviously your about page is about you, but as you’ll learn in a minute, it’s not all about you! But before we get to that, let’s cover the five key areas of an effective about page, to make sure you include all five in your copy.
Your about page should include:
- Ideal client introduction
- An introduction to your business
- Your story
- Where you are today
- A call to action
As you write each section, remember to include subheadings and avoid jargon. The former helps readers stay connected to the overarching flow of the copy and the latter makes sure they really understand what you’re talking about.
Also as you write, be sure to avoid these three about page mistakes that will switch from luring prospects to repelling them.
Click to TweetHere are the 5 key things you should include in your about page, according to Jenny ShihMistake #1: It’s all about you
This is by far the most common mistake I see people make, which makes sense! Because if your about page shouldn’t be about you, what should it be about?
The counter-intuitive answer is this:
Your about page should be about you as it relates to your perfect prospects.
As much as you talk about yourself, you need to talk about who you help, why you’re passionate about this work, the problems you solve, and what you do to help people make the transformations they seek. It’s about you as it relates to them.
Keep this idea in mind as you write every section of your About page.
Mistake #2: Your story keeps going and going and…
Storytelling has become a huge trend in the online business world.
That’s because storytelling works! It draws people in and shows your human side, which is important in virtual interactions.
But long, never-ending stories that take us from birth through today are too much for your business’s about page.
Cover the relevant aspects of your story only.
Share the pieces related to becoming the expert you are, not random, unrelated incidents in your life.
For example, I talk about my time in corporate and struggle with Lyme disease, because they’re both relevant to the work I do now. I don’t talk about how I was terrified of dogs for years but overcame my fear eventually and now love to train mine to do tricks like fetch my slippers—because it has nothing to do with the work I do now.
To know if your story is too long or not long enough, read it with fresh eyes, like you don’t know yourself.
Is there a section that makes you think, “But tell me more!”? Then write more.
Is there a section that you gloss over? Shorten it.
That said, we are generally horrible judges of our own about pages. Ask a friend, colleague, or mentor to review your writing and make sure you’re hitting the key stories and ditching the irrelevant ones.
My Personal Recommendation for YouAuthority-Building About PagesMistake #3: You’re missing a call to action
Remember how I mentioned that your about page is usually the second-most clicked page on your website?
Your job is to take advantage of those clicks by telling readers what to do next.
That means you need a call to action, inviting people to take the next step.
You can invite them to:
- Visit your Work with Me page
- Sign up for your opt-in
- Schedule a consultation call
If it helps, imagine your client climbing a ladder. When they get to the top of the ladder they’re ready to hire you. Your about page is like being on the bottom rung. What can you offer them to get them on the second rung? Make that your call to action.
What upgrade does your about page need?
Now that you see the five critical sections of an effective about page and the three most common mistakes, what upgrade does your about page need, and what action will you take (today!) to create more compelling, prospect-attracting copy?
Tell me in the comments below.
My Personal Recommendation for YouAuthority-Building About Pages
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