Writing your website about us page can be a daunting experience. Your web developer is waiting for your content, or you’re creating the site yourself, and now you’re staring at a blank about page wondering where to start.
Your website about us page is somewhat more nuanced than your home page, which focuses on the benefits of your product or service. Writing it can seem like a chore or an after thought but, like every page on your website, it has a very specific role to play in your sales and marketing process, your about page needs to convey to your potential customer that you are the right person, or business, to engage with, and compel them to act.
So, when you’re staring at that blank page, how do you approach this?
There are three critical things your website about us page must accomplish. Know, like, and trust.
1. Know
When someone visits your website about us page, in all likelihood, they are researching you. They want to know more about you, and your business. They want to feel comfortable enough to take the risk in dealing with you, confident that you have the skills and experience to support them, that you are going to meet that commitment, and do it better than your competitors.
It’s important to make the distinction here between knowing you, and knowing about you. When visiting your website about us page the reader is looking to know you, to understand your story, your values, who you are, and to know your why.
Tell your story, tell the reader how you came to this point, and why. Describe your values and use your unique voice and personality.
2. Like
While getting to know you is one part of the equation liking you is integral to the relationship, and it’s quite subjective. Not everyone is going to like you, but the odds are stacked in your favor if you can create a connection with your potential client or customer.
Think about people you like, think about businesses you like, what is it about these people or businesses that make you like them? How do you feel connected?
Consider your audience, use humour, create inspiring, uplifting content and use empathy to show you understand your readers, and their mindset when they’re researching you.
Be genuine, honest and yourself. Explain how you, your service, or products, serve your reader without resorting to hard sell.
3. Trust
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
When visiting your website about us page, assuming the reader has no previous relationship with you, and understanding that trust has to be earned, they are considering the risk of beginning a relationship that will be based on trust.
Trust is about the intersection of the past and future. It’s taking the evidence of the past (sometimes your own past and references) and extrapolating that into the future – what can I expect going forward? – and then being able to apply this information within a context of risk.
To trust a human being is to be able to anticipate generally how (that person will) behave in most of the future situations in which you might encounter them, and to feel comfort in taking an (often emotional) risk based on that (anticipated behaviour).
The elements used to convey trust on your website about us page are typically social proof in the form of genuine testimonials and reviews, stories, and case studies.
Above all be transparent and accessible. Make contacting you easy and be sure to respond promptly and in person.
Keep in mind that no one likes reading huge slabs of text. Try to convey this information as succinctly and concisely as you can, linking out to more detailed content as and when necessary. If it’s all too difficult consider the services of an experienced copywriter.
Remember to include a call to action on the page.
Is your website performing in the way you expect? Contact me to arrange a triage call and uncover how we might get better results and drive your return on investment.
