Your About Us page. Every website has one, but they’re often the trickiest to write. Should I talk about my degree in history, my passion for cake baking and my pet dog, Jonas?

To help you decide, let’s consider what you want from your About page.

What’s the point of an About page?

The big mistake many businesses make is to think their About page is a chance to tell their full backstory in all its unedited glory.

This is the equivalent of that Tinder date you went on where they felt it was okay to share their entire life story in blisteringly dull chronological order.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t tell your story on your About page. But before you do, get clear on one really important thing: your aim.

No matter what your business is, your goal with your About page will be more or less the same. You want to convince your customers to buy. Whether that’s your online course, your services, your products or your subscription.

Your about page needs to help you build that all-important relationship with your customers.

So, figure out what your customer is looking for when they visit your About page. What do they want to feel and know by the time they reach the bottom of the page?

What does your customer want from your About page?

The customer visiting your About page wants to find out more about your business so that they can see if they:

• share your values

• can trust you

• will enjoy their experience with you.

Before you share a piece of information on your About page, ask yourself, does this help your customer achieve those goals? If it doesn’t, chuck it.

Remember that storyline in Friends when Rachel uses Joey’s made-up ‘backpacking across western Europe’ story to seduce Ross? Your intentions might be slightly different, but the idea is the same. You want to get your customer in the mood to pick up whatever you’re offering.

So, talk about your eco-friendly habits to show your customers you share their sustainable mindset. Write about life on the oil rig to demonstrate that you’re the definitive authority on underwater cables.

Tell them about the time you led a group trek into the Peruvian rainforest so they get a feel for your leadership skills and adventurous nature. And yes, tell them about your pet dog, if it will help create that bond.

In short, make it relevant. Share the right information about yourself and your business to persuade your reader that you’re the best person for the job they’re on your website to do.

Here’s an example

A client came to me recently with an About page they’d written for their business: an online community for local artisans to connect with nearby shoppers looking for authentic, sustainable products.

It supports conscious consumerism and the idea of knowing who made the pieces that decorate your home. An important part of the concept is the monthly magazine which introduces the artisans and tells the stories behind their work.

The About page was…great! It had a clear message, it explained what benefits the reader could expect from visiting the site. So, what was the advice I gave?

The founder hadn’t mentioned herself. In a business which is all about making shopping more intimate, personal and authentic, a business which cares about telling stories, we needed to tell hers to build that connection.

The ‘down the pub’ test

Now you’ve curated the most relevant information about you and your business. But wait! Before you hit publish, do one more quick test. The ‘down the pub’ test.

Imagine your prospect is sitting across the table from you in your local boozer.

You start telling them about your pet fish, Maude. Their eyes glaze over. They’re shifting from one bum cheek to the other, glancing at the bar desperate to make their exit and grab another pint. If that’s how the scenario plays out, the information has no place on your About page.

Because not only does your content have to be relevant, it has to be interesting.

Anything (else) goes

Now you have a solid idea of what not to bang on about, here are some things you should definitely mention:

• concrete examples of your experience and successes

• some social proof to reassure your reader that other people loved what you do

• ways in which you’re different from your competitors

• some personality so that your reader feels they’ve gotten to know you a little

If you’d like some help writing the perfect About page for your business, drop me an email and let’s arrange a time to chat.