Do me a favor. Pull up your Google Analytics. That’s it. I’ll wait.
Now that you have them up, what is your most visited page?
My guess is that your homepage is the most visited page on your website. Is that right?
Good.
Now, what is the second most visited page?
What’s that? Your About page?
That’s what I thought.
Think about if you will. When you get introduced to someone, you want to know more about them.
It’s like when I see a pretty lady at the coffee shop, my first thought is, “I want to know who that is.”
When you choose to do business with a company, you want to find out more about who they are.
It’s important, I tell you. With that in mind. . .
We can do so much more with our About page, and today, I am going to give you three critical elements of a compelling About page.
Start with your value prop
Start with what? Start with your value proposition. You know, your unique value proposition.
That is the single most identifying sentence you can use.
What is a Unique Value Proposition (UVP or value prop)?
Here’s a good definition from Peep Laja at ConversionXL,
A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. It’s the primary reason a prospect should buy from you.
Think of it this way. Your UVP is your unique benefit statement. I tell entrepreneurs that one of the best ways to determine your value prop is to answer these four questions:
- Who am I?
- What do I do?
- Who do I do it for?
- And, how do I do it differently?
Your UVP on your about page acts like a compass setting the direction of the page. Your value prop will point them in the right direction and show them the benefit of your solution to their problem.
Your UVP helps the client see that you are really talking to them.
You can see a fantastic example of starting with UVP on the Digital Marketer website.
You notice they start with a very consistent and unique value proposition.
Because of this, you want your copy, even your About page copy, to be customer-centric. That means you want your copy to focus on the needs of your customer.
One thing you can do is change the language to include more “you” and less “I” and “we.”
Copywriter Belinda Weaver explains,
“Switching most of the instances of “We” for a “You” will immediately change the focus from the business company to the customer.
In fact, a good rule of thumb is to try and use the word “you” twice as much as the words “me” and “I” or “we” and “us”.”
Tell your story
Another thing you can do with your About page to help is to tell your story.
Stories connect. They are memorable and make an impact.
There is no need to write a Hollywood script or a best selling book, but a simple company story can make a huge difference.
Your story will vary a bit if you are a solopreneur versus a company.
I believe there are four things you can cover in your story to make it magnetic: your history, your company values, the team’s skills, and your team’s passion.
These can be excellent guideposts for your story. However, it is vital that you include a story arc.
The best way to include a story arc is to consider the beginning, define adversity, and tell how you overcame the adversity.
You can look at your story as a three-act play. Reedsy does a great job of summarizing the narrative (or story) arc in this article,
“In Act One, you set the scene and introduce your audience to the characters, the setting, and the seeds of conflict.
In Act Two, your characters grow and change in response to conflicts and circumstances. They set about trying to resolve the Big Problem. Usually, the conflict will escalate to a climax.
In Act Three, characters resolve the Big Problem and the story ends.”
Dr. Paul J. Zak observed the reactions in the brain people have when watching a compelling story. One of the things his lab discovered was the release of oxytocin. Stories literally change the brain.
That’s exactly what Ramit Sethi did with the I Will Teach You to be Rich About page. If you read the page, he tells how he starts, where he ran into adversity and how he set out to solve the problem. Now he teaches others the things he learned on his journey.
See, story?
Take advantage of your story.
Don’t neglect to use a call to action
Did you know you can have a call to action on your About page? That’s right.
Why wouldn’t you anyway?
Remember earlier when I told you that the About page is the second most visited page on your website? Take advantage of that by offering a call to action . . . Or two.
In fact, make sure all of your pages have a call to action.
It doesn’t have to be a high-pressure sales technique, but a simple call to action.
If you have delivered a great About page, your reader is warmed up and ready to take action. Show them how!
One critical call to action is your email list. Ask them to sign up for your email list to get regular updates.
Another call to action might be your best offer. Do you have a cornerstone offer that drives your business? Make that offer to them.
Henneke Duistermaat does a great job of this on her About page at Enchanting Marketing. You can see at the bottom of her page where she shares other articles on her site.
Finally, ask them to join you on social media. Maybe you want to send them to a Facebook Group or your Facebook page. Perhaps you want them to follow you on Twitter or watch your Youtube videos. This is a great time to ask.
No harm, right?
Wrapping it up
There you have it. Make a more compelling About page. Leve the doldrums behind.
No one wants to read a boring about page that talks all about you.
If you crank out the value proposition, tell your story, and include call to actions and you will vastly improve your about page.
