Writing an About Us page is more about the end-user than your organization. Here are 8 do’s and don’ts of writing an amazing About page.
Does your “About Us” page leave a stellar first impression? Does it effectively tell users what your business is about, who it helps, and how it stands out from the competition?
Today’s customer wants to know exactly who they’re doing business with; in fact, 86% say the societal role of companies is changing since the pandemic, and 62% have stopped buying from companies whose values do not align with their own.
While many business owners treat their “About Us” page as an afterthought, it is actually one of the most important pages on your website. It tells the full story of your brand and who it serves.
If you think your “About Us” page is really about you though, think again.
In this guide, we are covering who and what your About page is really about, plus the most important dos and don’ts of creating a winning About Us page.
Who Is Your About Page Really About?
As with all things marketing, your About page isn’t about you.
It is about your target audience and how your brand works to help them to accomplish a goal, overcome struggles, and achieve amazing results.
The most common mistake I see marketers making on the brand’s About page is listing a boring stream of accolades.
They go on and on about how they are so great and how many years of experience they have.
Your audience is not interested in this stuff. Not really.
What they want to read is:
- How your brand aligns with their values.
- How you aim to serve their needs.
- The results you’ve generated for past customers/clients.
A winning About page highlights the confidence you have in serving your target audience and how you can help them accomplish their goals.
The Dos and Don’ts of Creating an Exceptional About Page
The goal of writing an About page is not to ramble on about your brand’s experience or “selling points.” Instead, it’s about creating engaging content that speaks to the needs of your prospective customers.
Writing about yourself (or your brand) can be anxiety-inducing. But with the right process, you can create a compelling About page with confidence.
These dos and don’ts will help your brand’s character shine through and leave a lasting impression on your target audience.
1. Do Research Your Target Audience
I’m all about backing your content strategy with market research.
Market research will inform your brand’s keyword strategy, Unique Selling Proposition (USP), brand voice, and so much more.
Without audience research, you are simply making guesses about what your audience wants and needs.
This can lead you to write an About page that completely misses the mark in terms of what your prospective customers are looking for.
To write a strong About page, you must know:
- What your audience is struggling with now.
- What solutions they have tried already.
- What they didn’t like about those solutions.
- What they are looking for in a solution and brand like yours.
- What their #1 goal is.
You can ask your audience these questions directly or plug them into a Google Form and send it out as an anonymous survey.
I highly recommend surveying at least 10 people in your target audience so you can tally the most common responses and use this information to inform your About page content,
2. Don’t Ramble on About Your Backstory
The history of your brand is interesting to an extent, but this is not of the highest importance to your target audience.
They want to know less about where you came from and more about how you are moving forward – specifically, how you are going to help them in the future.
I love a good story as much as the next person, but not when it buries what I am trying to learn about a brand.
The results your brand generates, your company values, how you work with clients, etc. should be at the forefront of your About page.
Reserve your backstory for a small section of your About page – if anything – and focus on what your audience really wants to know.
3. Do Use “You” and Not “We”
Users go to your About page to learn more about how your brand can help them.
If you spend most of your About page saying “We do this…” and “We do that…”, you can easily lose a user who is digging for information on how you will serve their needs.
As a general rule, you should aim to speak directly to your target users as if you are having a conversation with them one on one.
For example, a sentence like:
“We help small businesses owners increase efficiency and productivity with our CRM software”
could easily become:
“Want to increase productivity and efficiency in your business? Our automated CRM software helps you accomplish more.”
Even a small, subtle reframing of your content can make a world of difference in terms of speaking to the needs of your audience.
4. Don’t Focus on Features
Save the features of your product or offer for your product and service pages. Your About page is about hitting on the benefits of what you offer and how you can improve your customers’ lives.
There is tons of research on the perks backing this recommendation to focus on benefits versus features in your content marketing.
Your About page presents a great opportunity to cover the perks of working with you, the results you generate for clients, and how you outshine competitors.
5. Do Share Your Company Values
Company culture is invaluable to any organization’s success – not only internally but also in how they serve their customers.
And with more companies taking part in diversity and inclusion initiatives, customers are becoming even more tuned into how brands show their commitment to ethical business practices.
Your About page should cover what your company represents, what it believes, how it serves its customers, and more.
An About page is a great place to include your:
- Company mission statement.
- Diversity & inclusion statement.
- Customer support policy.
- Environmental statement.
- Partnering organizations.
- Volunteer experience.
Customers want to see what your brand stands for and how it’s working to make the world a better place.
Use this page to highlight your company values and what makes you an ethical, inclusive, and supportive organization.
6. Don’t Include Too Much Content
It can be tempting to write a massive About page that covers the full history of your brand, who it serves, accolades, etc.
But let’s be honest, most of us know that most users simply scan web page content to find the information that’s most relevant to them.
Try to avoid including too much superfluous content on your About page.
Instead, speak to the key takeaways you found during your market research, hit on the main benefits of your offer, and share your company values.
Most other information will be reserved for your more expansive product and service pages.
7. Do Hire a Copywriter, If Possible
Writing about yourself or your brand can be difficult. In fact, even as a content writer myself, I employed the help of another writer to help me write my About page. I am simply too close to my own brand.
A professional copywriter will be able to make sense of the market research and craft a brand narrative that speaks to your target audience.
Often, as business owners, we become too invested in our work to speak objectively or even see the key elements clients are actually looking for.
If you can afford to hire a professional writer, I highly recommend it. They will have a broader view of your brand and can bring all of the information together in a winning About page that wows your target audience.
8. Don’t Forget About User Experience
How your About page looks also matters. User Experience (UX) is a key consideration in how you create your About page so it is easy to navigate by users.
Include a clear headline at the top of your page, add organized content sections, images, and calls-to-action throughout. Make sure your page is optimized for mobile and loads quickly so users can find what they are looking for, fast.
Another best practice is to do an audit of your site and find internal linking opportunities. See where it makes sense to internally link to your About page from other pages on your site.
Follow the Best About Page Examples
hopefully, these top dos and don’ts of writing a winning About page will help you craft a compelling brand story that draws in your target customers.
However, I know that putting these tips into action is much easier when you have some examples to inspire you.
Check out this article with 25 About page examples that can help you create a better and more effective About page.
Just be sure to consider your own market research, cover the benefits of your offer, and speak to the unique needs of your audience.
___
by Jessica Foster
source: SEJ
