17 Oct Let’s Talk About Us …

The secret to writing a knockout About Us page? It’s not about you.

Written by Katherine Tate

5 min read

“Hey, hi … we make toasters. We’ve been making toasters since 1957. Our toasters come in black, red and stainless steel. Buy one now.”

Will you fall over yourself to buy one of those toasters? Probably not.

What I just wrote is dull as dishwater, and tells you absolutely zilch about how my toasters are different to the rest. In fact, it fails in every way to make your buying decision any easier.

And yet, we see this all the time on otherwise well-written websites. Even big brands are guilty of weak About Us pages that are all about the company – and say nothing about how they understand and help solve customers’ problems.

5 Simple Steps to Writing an About Us Page That Works for Your Business

Bland, data and historical facts-heavy About Us information will win you no new clients or customers. And that’s a potentially huge loss to the bottom line of your business.

Why? Because your About Us page is likely one of the most visited pages of your website. For some businesses, it’s the most visited page. It’s prime real estate. So why not take some time to trim the hedges, paint the fence and spruce up your About Us page a little? Just a few small changes could make a big difference to your website performance – and turn more prospects into loyal customers who connect with and trust your brand.

So let’s run you through an audit of your About Us page – what can you do to make your website more effective by hooking your readers into your story?

Step #1. Make Your About Us About Them

And by ‘them’, I mean of course your audience and target market. People click on your About Us page for quite a few reasons. They want to know:

• Can you solve their problems?
• Why and how do you do that?
• What do you stand for?
• Why should I choose you over others?

 
Even if you only add a few lines to the top of the page that speaks to each of these points, you’ll be on track to connect with your target audience.

Step #2. Ask ‘So What?’

When auditing your About Us page copy, ask yourself ‘so what?’ after each point. Let’s go back to the first line in our example, and see how we can improve with in this step:

“I’ve been making toasters since 1957.” So what?
“So rest assured your toaster is built to last, combining proven craftsmanship with the latest technology.”

This supporting line speaks to the buyer’s need for a product that’s reputable and reliable. It combines my story (making toasters since 1957) with why they should care: because they’ll get a robust toaster that’s the best thing since sliced bread.

The idea is to get your audience nodding and saying ‘yes’ as they scan the page. They should immediately get a sense of who you are as a company, and why buying from you is a wise decision.

Step #3. Tell Your Unique Story

What’s great about your About Us page is that competitors can’t copy it. It tells your unique story, and highlights your specific values and beliefs … rather than rattling off marketing spin that could describe any other player in the industry.

This is your chance to share what makes you special, so your audience can connect with you human-to-human.

A timeline tends to be the best guide, starting at the beginning of your story and mentioning interesting milestones from then to now. But however you tell your story, keep it personal. Don’t get bogged down in providing a perfect picture of every little detail (e.g. “… and in February 1968 we applied for a trademark for our crumb-collector tray, followed by one for the quick-cool button re-design in 1971” … yawn!). Instead remember to tell an engaging story that captures you readers’ imagination and grabs them by their heart and emotions. Keep it as a highlights reel and you’ll keep your audience hooked.

This will help your brand stand out in a sea of sameness – and add a personal touch that fosters trust and loyalty.

Step #4. The Proof Is In The Pudding

Of course, not everyone will take your word for it. These days, with so much information at our fingertips, third-party reviews and testimonials from happy customers speak volumes – and speed up the buying decision making process. They give you credibility by backing up your claims and convincing prospects to click and buy. They will add credibility to your About Us page, and fill in any information gaps.

So be sure to sprinkle a few testimonials or short case studies on the page. If possible, add the customer or client’s full name and business, with a headshot for extra brownie points.

Step #5. Finishing Touches

One final tip: while your About Us page is about your audience, it should still sound like you. Write how you speak, and use a tone of voice that makes sense for your business and brand.

So … if we’d sell toasters, our About Us page might sound something like this (plus a few crumbs of happy-customer love):

Hello there fellow crunch-lover, … yes you!

Welcome to CavaCom Crunch & Co. where we’ve been building and perfecting toasters since 1957. Fed up with boring floppy white bread in his new home of Sydney, grandpa Cavalletti, our “Nonno Giovanni”, started tinkering with toasters after arriving from Italy in 1955. His upgraded toasters quickly became a hit with his fellow European immigrants, and in 1957 Nonno Giovanni teamed up with a local manufacturer … the rest, as they say, is history.

And our toasters have only been getting better ever since. Each proud generation of Cavallettis has added features and new models to keep up with changing food, design and technology trends. Plus us Italians, we like to have big family gatherings: so rest assured that every one of our toasters is built to last.

Combining top craftsmanship with the latest technology isn’t enough, though. We know that you like your kitchen to look as stylish as your wardrobe so our toasters come in classic black, passionate flame-red and sophisticated stainless steel.

I know … that’s a tough choice to make. So head over to our product page and have a look at those beauties for yourself.

We’ll see you for breakfast (and brunch, and lunch, and dinner, and … well, any time is good for crunchy goodies, no?).

Buon appetito!

Still stuck on how to transform your About Us page – or other website content? Leave it to us. Drop us a line at hello@cavacom.biz and we’ll get you on the right track; pronto!