If the Home Page of your website answers the “why” of your business, then the About Us page tells customers the “who” of your business.
The Home Page is where your customers will find the company’s BVP or Brand Value Proposition – a short statement that tells them within 6 seconds why they should choose your business over the competition.
For this reason, businesses tend to focus more on the Home Page than the other pages of their website. After all, it is the landing page of your website. Once you click on a URL, you will end up on the Home Page.
The About Us page is often designed as an after-thought.
Check out a few websites at random and visit the About Us pages. Most entrepreneurs and top-level executives view the About Us page as a resume on a website.
All you read are their academic achievements, positions they’ve held in previous companies, the number of businesses they own, and awards won in the industry.
Sure that looks good on paper – but how will a resume of your accomplishments convince your website visitor that your business has the solutions to his problems?
At Mountaintop, we have a unique approach to designing the About Us page of our clients.
Instead of creating a design that shows “who” the business is, our approach is to highlight the “why”:
Why you are the best person to handle the customer’s problems, concerns, and needs.
Thus, instead of designing an About Us page about you, we create one for the most important people in your business.
Your customers.
Why Is The About Us Page Important?
According to a 2015 study, 52% of website visitors click on the About Us page.
Why is this so? Shouldn’t prospective clients click on the Services page to find out your pricing?
Put it this way, if you were at a networking event, would you sign up for the services of a business owner after exchanging “Hellos”?
Chances are, you would use the event as an opportunity to learn more about the business owner:
- Why did he get into this type of business?
- What experiences in life motivated him to start the company?
- What is his approach to managing clients?
- Do we share common values?
- What is his vision for the company?
In short, what is his story?
A purposeful About Us page can create an immediate strong connection with the site visitor if he sees that the story of the company is actually the story of the customer achieving their goals – The company needs to invite them into their story. You share a similar story.
He reads your About Us page and he thinks to himself, “This guy – gets it!”
It gives assurances and confidence that yours is the right business for the job!
How To Write An About Us Page That Gets Customers
Finding the right client or customer isn’t just about your skills, educational attainment, and years of experience.
Customers want to know if you are someone they can relate to. This means sharing experiences – stories – that resonate with the site visitor.
But it comes down to your story – why your experiences, knowledge, and history make you the best, right-fit choice for the customer.
You have to establish that connection – and the About Us page is an effective way to get it done!
Here are 5 tips on how to write an About Us page that gets customers excited about your business.
1. Tell Your Story
Everybody loves a good story. Especially those that trigger emotional cues with the reader.
If you’re a business consultant for small and medium scale enterprises, share your stories of struggle.
Let them know your humble beginnings – how you overcame failure and the lessons you learned that motivated you to become a business consultant.
Small and medium-scale business owners will relate because they are probably in that situation right now. Your story will give them hope and the assurance that it’s possible to overcome failure and find success.
How?
If inspired, they might click on your call-to-action and connect with you right away!
2. Write With the Customer In Mind
Core values… mission vision… our purpose…
These are all great. It’s nice to let the customers know you place high regard on your core values and that the business has direction and pre-defined objectives.
But they will not convince the customer to patronize your business.
The customer wants to know how you can help them by understanding why you are the most qualified person to handle the job.
When writing the About Us page, keep the customer in mind:
- What are his persistent problems and pain points?
- Which of my products or services are best suited to resolve these problems?
- What issues are my customers interested in?
- What types of solutions are my customers looking for?
- Where do my customers come from?
- How is the customer dealing with the problem right now?
- Which of my experiences can my customers strongly relate to?
Let’s go back to our example of a Business Consultant who is creating an About Us page on his business.
A good example that would resonate with the readers would read like this:
“As a lifelong entrepreneur, I understand the challenges you face.
My first business venture failed – I lost $10,000. I thought I had learned my lesson, but my second business venture lost $100,000.
Failure is part of life as an entrepreneur. But instead of being fearful of failure, embrace it – and learn from it.
My third business venture? We’re in our 10th year and going strong!
Let me show you how to overcome failure and succeed!”
This type of About Us content combines #1 – Tell Your Story – with #2, Write For Your Customer.
Don’t you think the About Us copy will get the customer excited about doing business with you?
3. Compel the Reader to Act
Now that you’ve gotten the reader interested, what do you want him to do?
- “Go to our services page – right now?”
- “Give us a call or an email and we’ll get on it right away!”
- “Click the ‘Get Started’ button – and let’s get started!”
Your website presents a great opportunity to get clients for your business. If your About Us page is spot on, the customer may not want to waste a single second and sign up with you immediately.
Make the process easier by adding a CTA button on the About Us page. If you noticed, we ended the CTA with a strong sense of urgency. Don’t be shy about your intentions. Let the customer know what you want him to do – right now!
4. Converse – Don’t Lecture
What would you think if the person you are talking to at the networking event kept framing his sentences as:
- “You should have done this…”
- “You should have done that…”
- “If I was in your position, I would have…”
- “You shouldn’t have done that…”
- “I wouldn’t have done that. Instead, I would have…”
You should also avoid using technical jargon or terms that may not be understood by the reader.
For example, if you provide online forex trading services, don’t try to impress the reader by writing in this manner:
“In 2005, I was able to capture the failed fifth of the move from 38 to 43 and retraced the 61.8% Fibonacci ratio which covered the move from 43 to 41. This allowed me to enter a buying position at 39.22 which terminated at the conclusion of the truncated fifth wave.”
“What? You lost me at ‘2005’!”
Write in your own voice. Don’t try to impress by getting technical. Instead, write in simplified terms.
How would you converse with your customer if you met him for the first time?
Even if the reader hasn’t met you, being authentic allows them to hear your voice through your content.
5. Add Great Images
So you’ve written a great About Us copy that shows customers who you are. It doesn’t end there. To know you is to see you. Customers want to see who you are.
Having a nice picture of you on the About Us page adds a face to your business. If you believe that you are your business and your business is you, then it only makes sense to add a nice picture of you on the About Us page.
Conclusion
The About Us page can add plenty of muscle to your website. Don’t ignore it. A well-conceptualized, well thought out, and purposeful About Us page can effectively entice the visitor to strongly consider your business.
If our article made you re-think your current About Us page, give us a call or an email. Let’s work on it right away!
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