Recently I was talking to my SEO specialist about how many people visited my client’s website About Us page. I was blown away by the response.
He said that 80% of visitors to the website, clicked on the About US page. Now I always knew a website About Us page was an important page on the website but even I didn’t realise how important.
We delved a little further to see where they came from and what they did on the website. Most of these visitors had landed on another page of the website mostly through our blogs (don’t get me started about how important blogs are and news pages are to your website). While visiting and reading my clients website, most of them clicked on the website About Us page and about one third went to click on the Contact Us page!
This tells us three things, firstly that the visitor liked what they read on my blogs (yay!). Secondly they wanted to know more about the company behind the articles and put a face to this company. Thirdly, they liked what they read and wanted to know more.
As humans we are naturally inquisitive and seek connections. In the business world, we want to know more about the people behind the businesses we may buy from.
Personally, I love About Us pages and will almost always read them. I thought it was because I am a copywriter and like to see what others are up to. The more I think about it, I also love reading different business’ story, their history and their personality.
As a copywriter, I find writing About Us pages the most challenging page of all web copy to write. At the same time, I also find them the most fun to write. An About Us section allows the writer to loosen up with the wording, and enter story telling. You can let the characters of its employees, and company shine. You are not restricted to simply talking more about their products/services. The About Us page becomes all about the company and there are very limited rules - and constraints!
What is an about us section or page?
Think about your About Us page as your customers first step into your business premises. It is their first impression about what makes you tick, what’s important to you, what you stand for, what is your business personality.
When you walk into a physical shop or office, café’ or restaurant, you see lots of elements that give you clues as to the style and type of business you are entering. You see the range of their inventory on their shelves, you see their approach to design – minimalist, crazy, vintage, modern, you can see if they are more formal or casual.
You see their other customers, you see their staff – putting all these clues together, you get to know the type of business you are walking into and their branding. As you start interacting with the staff and the store, you get more information about the business – whether they are friendly, curt, professional or simply not interested.
When you are planning and writing your About us section, what first impression or message do you want to convey to your visitors and potential customers?
I encourage you to spend time crafting a professionally written About Us page that reflects your company values, your brand and the stories that make your business unique – and more importantly, why your company separates you from your competitors.
A poorly written About Us section will leave your reader wanting more and will leave them disappointed. It gives your visitor the message, that you haven’t defined what your company is about. Does your About Us page reflect laziness? Is your About Us page brief or boring? Is it so generic that it could be about any company in your industry.
For these reasons, I highly recommend you spend time writing a great About Us page – and if you can’t there are copywriters just like me that can help you through the process.
What information do I include when I write an About Us page?
The About Us section can be the most neglected and overlooked page on a website, but with a little guidance, you can craft an awesome About Us that you can be proud of.
1. People love stories –
Stories have always been a part of our lives. When we are young, we love listening to and reading children stories and being transported to a different world far removed from our own. Stories provoke our imagination and creativity, a way to look at things differently from perspectives we never even considered.
Story telling is an interesting way to explain to people about boring subject matters, to make them sit up and listen.
Write an About Us page to assist the reader or visitor to like your business and help them imagine buying from you. Remember we tend to buy from businesses we like!
2. Create a connection
While the internet can often be a cold place, you have to work hard to create a website that is warm and filled with personality, especially a B2B business. A cleverly written About Us section can add and build a special connection with your reader.
It can evoke feelings how personable your business is, your business has the same values or trying to achieve the same thing. Your company is the one they want to do business with.
We already know how important forging a connection with our readers and visitors is, however the COVID-19 lockdowns have emphasised how essential human connection is. Businesses more than ever, need to show compassion, warmth and personality.
What makes your business unique? How can you convey a special connection with your customers?
3. Trust
Building trust is another important aspect you must consider when writing an About Us page.
For most of your readers and visitors, they have not had any interaction with your company in the past. By providing them with a well written About Us page that includes all the information they need to know about you, is the start to building trust.
Trust is built by giving something of yourself or of the company – tell the reader about your staff, about your dreams for the future, what you are trying to achieve, the culture of the business, how you work together.
Perhaps a little history of how you got to this point. Nothing builds trust than writing about the mistakes you have made on the way, that your business is fallible but stronger than ever. Another idea is to give a timeline of where you have come from (just don’t make it boring).
Build upon this trust, by continuing to keep your About Us page updated. Nothing suggests doubtfulness than an old, outdated, mistake-ridden About US section on your website.
This is the time to be more transparent about your business, its staff and operations as part of building trust. If you can convey this in your website About Us page, your visitors will know more about you and may click to other pages to find out more and buy from you.
How do I write an about us page for my small business?
Don’t stress. Out of all the web pages I write, I always find this the hardest page to write for my clients.
You need to get right down to the essence of your company. What makes your company tick? Why is your business different from your competitors? How did you get to be where you are now? What makes the people in your organisation so special? As an owner, why are you working so hard in your business?
- Start writing with no one looking.
Quickly write a brief outline about your company. As I said many times, pretend no one is going to read it and see what ideas come out.
This should give you the essence of what your company is all about.
- Interview your employees.
Next, use this information to create a list of questions to interview your staff members and add other questions such as what they like about working for the company, what gets them excited during their working day, and put in a few personal questions so you can add the human touch to your About Us copy.
- Look for common threads.
Once you have all the interview material, look for a common theme running through their answers. Were they funny, were they trying to change the world, passionate about their product/services, industry or customers using their products/services, was there anything quirky about them?
- Talk to your target audience
Lastly, consider the products and services, and the type of audience you are selling to. What kind of information do they want to know about your company that would make them buy from you? Do they want to know you had the same problem as them? Can they see themselves doing business with people they like?
When I write an About Us section, I use a mix between what their target audience would want to know about their company, and their personality as well as what the company is trying to achieve.
- Don’t try to sell them anything.
Most people who are reading your About Us section just want to know more about your company, what makes you special and different from your competitors.
As I said, it’s not easy, so take your time. Your About Us page may take several drafts and a few hours to really nail it.
Inspiration to write an About Us page.
If you are still struggling, here is some inspiration from About Us sections I have written for my clients -
An emotional, tug at your heart strings About Me section for a not-for-profit organisation
Cascie was passionate about her new venture and wanted to convey that not only did she know how hard some people have it, but also that there were kind hearted people who were willing to help but also needed a boost.
Notice the photo of the van with the company logo - designed to improve trust for this company. Trust is a big tick for customers when looking for a dog walking company for their precious member of the family.
‘Nothing over the top, just tell our story’, was the brief that Kev gave me when writing his About Us page. Humble animal lovers were the main themes I picked up on and made sure I conveyed in their About Us page.
Telling the tale in their About Us section for coffee suppliers
Let’s face it, coffee drinkers are passionate about their caffeine fix. We wanted their customers to know they were coffee lovers too!
Telling a little history as to how their business was started gives their customers a great understanding of the owners’ business objective and revealed their expertise and love for their specially chosen coffee products.
Reflecting the team’s diverse personalities in this architect’s About Us section
With this About Us page, I wanted to reflect the different personalities, key skills and areas of speciality that each team member brought that strengthened this architectural company. Each employee’s blurb finished off with a little humour to lighten the copy.
Emphasising the skills of this talented team for this digital solution companys’ About Us section
A highly specialised technologies space for large corporations, requires communication of their diverse expertise and years of service in the industry. Their About Us page is a great convergence of how their skills and experience can innovate and transform their customers operations.
As you can read, these About Us pages are quite different from each other, but yet they all tell the story of their company, their owners, and what makes them special and unique – and so very different from their competitors.
TIP – Don’t forget to include some awesome photos of you and the team, or your workplace. We want to see all these things.
I hope these examples have given you the inspiration to have a try at writing your About Us page. If you need any help or want to run a draft by me, please feel free to contact me. I’m only too happy to give you some feedback.
More fun resources -
It’s easy to put marketing off for another day but not business wise. Let’s get into my 5 tips to make time for marketing. You’ll be sorry you didn’t start sooner.
Copywriting and hiring freelance copywriters is now an essential business expense, one that most businesses do or should factor into their marketing budget. How much does a copywriter charge?