TOC #112: Plot Twist: Some Tough Love Instead
(Feb 14, 2023) Part Two: About Page
Happy Valentine's Day ❤️
I know today is supposed to be about celebrating your crushes, sending cards + flowers, stuffing your face with heart-shaped chocolate, hoping that person you like does something nice for you beyond just texting you the hearts-with-eyes emoji, and engaging in all things puppy dog love, but…
I'm doing things a little differently. I'm giving you some tough love instead.
(You'll thank me later, though. I think.)
As you may remember from last week, we're spending the next couple Tuesday mornings together chatting about how to write your website copy, and today's topic is your About page…
But before I can tell you how to write it, there's something I need to talk you out of.
Whatever you do, don’t make it sound like LinkedIn.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: websites are like first dates, and you wouldn’t go out with your crush for the first time and immediately begin reading off your resume, so why would you do that on your About page?
LinkedIn-ish info has a place: on LinkedIn. Leave it there.
You can—and should, if it’s relevant!— still tell people about your professional background and experience, but you don’t have to button it up all proper and perfect and stuffy like you do over there.
Despite popular opinion, your About page doesn't actually have to make you sound like a boring robot with no actual human personality.
Shocker, I know!
The parts of your About page that will stick with people—and ultimately help them get to know you, start to like you, and decide to trust you—are not the “professional” details.
They're the seemingly irrelevant details that make you relatable to your audience.
Wanna know the #1 thing that makes my leads convert?
The part of my About page where I say “I'm a chocolate addict with no intent on seeking recovery.”
People quote that back to me on discovery calls all the time, telling me it's the reason they chose to reach out. Some people even mention it in their inquiry form, and reference it when they share with me how they want their website copy to be that conversational, too.
The 2nd-most commonly referenced detail from my web copy is the part where I say I'm a “hoe for italics.”
(The people love the fact that I said ‘hoe’ on my website.)
Neither of these random facts have anything to do with me being a good, experienced, trustworthy website copywriter worth investing in.
But they ARE relatable.
They're relevant to my personality, not my profession.
& that's a perfectly good reason to include them on my About page—because that specific page of your site is allll about CONNECTION.
Part Two: About Page
WANT YOUR READERS TO SWIPE RIGHT ON YOUR SITE? USE THIS ABOUT PAGE FORMULA:
Although your About page is where your readers will go to learn more about you and your business, approaching the copy on this page from a “reader first” standpoint will be much more beneficial.
Because website readers are inherently selfish—they’re visiting your site because they want something—they will be looking at everything with a “me first” attitude. What’s in it for me? How can I relate to them? Are they the right person for me to invest in or from?
Now, cuz I know the About page is what most people have trouble with, I want to start off this tip by sharing 3 things that'll make your writing about yourself suck less:
Don’t be afraid to actually be yourself.
Recognize that telling people how great you are is you being helpful, not salesy.
Embrace your “you”-ness.
While your About page will—and should!—be different from anything else out there on the Internet, that doesn’t mean you can’t use a checklist of must-have sections to your advantage.
Whenever I’m writing a client’s About page, I always reference the following list of what I call Definitely Includers (aka the things we definitely need to include).
Attention-grabbing headline.
I literally forbid you from writing About Me, Meet The Team, Our Story, Get To Know Us, or any other cop-out headline. You can do better, I swear.
(Pro tip: write this last, when you’ve determined the overall vibe for the page, and use the headline to sum up the overall message once it’s done.)
Value proposition.
Kick things off by telling them what you do and why you’re unique. (This could also serve as your headline!)
Address the elephant.
What’s the thing they’re hoping to gain; the problem of theirs that you’re qualified to solve? The reason that they’re spending the time searching for someone who does what you do? Mention that. Help them feel like you understand what they’re going through.
Differentiate.
Now, tell them what makes you different from your competitors. Is it your specific approach? Is it your client process? Is it your unique first-hand experience dealing with what they’re dealing with? Is it your experience in the field? Identify your differentiator, and make it simple.
The you-and-me intro.
Share introductory details about yourself—but make it the ones that your readers actually care about learning up front (aka tell them things like what
The more-about-me stuff.
Continue on to tell them more about your background / expertise / why you love what you do… anything still-important-but-kinda-secondary to what you already shared.
Testimonials.
Back up your ‘I’m cool you should hire me’ speech with some good old-fashioned social proof. 89% of customers check online reviews before making a purchase—the stats are basically begging you to include testimonials.
The fun stuff.
Personal detail time, baby. Hit them with some quirky facts, or an engaging timeline story of your biz, or a funny, relevant story…
Call to action.
Your About page’s job is to direct your reader to the next step. They’ve checked “get to know the human behind the screen” off their list, now they have two options: X out of your site, or move onto where you want them to go.
I recommend sending them to Services or Contact—and since we'll be talking about how to write those 2 pages (with conversion in mind!) over the next 2 weeks, you'll be golden!
Need some ideas about how to kick off your About page?
Stuck on how to start your About page? Here are a few examples of different ways I've kicked off About pages for my clients recently👇
“Wedding photographers can be like a one-night stand.” - written for a wedding photographer who hates doing things the traditional way.
“Stop second guessing, and start getting second dates.” - written for a dating & image consultant for men in midlife.
"You need an accountant who’s going to understand every little thing about your business—not one who’s going to refer to it as your little blog." - written for a CPA who actually understands what the frick we're doing over here online.
“Spicing up social media, one food and wellness brand at a time.” - written for a social media manager specializing in serving product-based businesses in the food & wellness space.
“I don't want your wedding to be your best day ever.” - written for a wedding planner who believes your life should be full of ‘best days ever’ instead.
“Once-in-a-lifetime experiences, custom produced for you and your guests.” - written for an NYC-based custom event production company.
I'm also pretty partial to the About page intro on my own site… 😏 check it out below and see how I bring my readers straight into a 1:1 conversation with me by creating some common ground, showing them I know how they're feeling, and then introducing myself in a casual and interesting way.
& to note—the above examples are just headlines!
Sometimes the best part of an About page is the introductory statement that comes right after the headline, so don't feel the need to put SO much pressure on your actual headlines.
That's why you've got room to continue the story with the rest of your copy; so you can further explain what you need to say & help your reader understand your message.
& to note—the above examples are just headlines!
Sometimes the best part of an About page is the introductory statement that comes right after the headline, so don't feel the need to put SO much pressure on your actual headlines.
That's why you've got room to continue the story with the rest of your copy; so you can further explain what you need to say & help your reader understand your message.
Hope you found this helpful!
I'll be back next week to share my best tips for writing your Services page, but… I did promise you one more story about how my About page has made several people fall in lust with me, so... 👀 Check your inbox on Friday for the tea.
Love u mean it,
—Sara
Hi, I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. Thanks for reading this edition of the Tuesday Table of Contents! If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
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