Why is copywriting on an About Page often … well, less than awesome? Sometimes we don’t even see an About Page when we go to a website or social media listing.
For one thing, most of us hate to write about ourselves. Copywriting for our own value is more painful than writing about a product for someone else – even if you are a copywriter.
For another, we’ve all been taught that humility is a virtue. So we’re hesitant to share how much value we actually deliver.
And frankly, some people just like their privacy. They’re concerned about over-disclosing.
The truth is –
— When you sound confident, people like you more. That’s what the research says, even though it goes against what most of us were brought up to believe.
— Prospects will turn to your About Page right after they visit your Home Page. They want to hire a three-dimensional person and they want to feel they know you.
— Your clients want you to brag. They want to feel they’re hiring someone really special. And they want to brag about their great consultant, coach or … other.
So here are 3 tips for your About Page.
(1) Don’t force yourself to go too deep and personal.
Some people share very personal stories on their websites. But if that’s not who you are, don’t force it. Many successful business owners write something about their years of experience and successes, without a single reference to family and dogs.
Your About page isn’t about you. It’s about your clients. You’re answering the question, “Why should I hire you?”
(2) Set your own privacy meter for photos and self-disclosure stories.
You’ve got a headshot or cartoon avatar, but you want more images featuring you. Yet you don’t want photos of your home and family.
Get a friend to take a handful of photos of you in different places: in your office, sitting at a conference table with clients (you can get friends to pretend to be clients), or standing near an iconic image of your city. You take the focus off you and rightfully place your focus on where it should be: what you do for your clients.
Some business consultants like to talk about their families, vacations, hobbies, and dogs. But others are so private they might as well have been brought here from an alien planet.
(3) Relate your story, background, and credentials to your service delivery.
So you hiked in the Amazon jungle, took a year off, survived a bitter divorce, adopted three shelter cats, or got a slew of advanced degrees. Your client is asking, “What does that do for me?”
Sometimes you can relate things that seem really far away. One client thought her anthropology degree was so unrelated to her work that she wanted to leave it out altogether. After we talked, she realized she had learned to recognize cultural values and danger signals – very relevant to her field of helping women protect themselves from violence.
And if you’re too busy or too close to your own business, it’s worth paying for resources. This page is too important to leave blank or to be the stepchild of your website.
I get lots of questions about writing an About Page that promotes your business while protecting your privacy, so I created this free 10 Point About Page Cheat Sheet. Click here for instant access.
Take advantage of Early Bird pricing on my new Write Your About Page With Stories. Click here.
Lisa Stewart says
I know I need to be more personal on my About Page but I’m stymied.
CathyG says
Hi Lisa, It’s a tough one! There’s a fine line between TMI and … well, not coming across as a human! I’ve covered this in other posts and will continue to address the question. Anyone else?