About pages are SO important: They’re often the most visited page after the homepage.
But so many copywriters get the purpose of these pages so, so backwards.
As CCA students know, we often laugh that the “about” page is not about you. (Or, if you’re writing the page for your client, not about them.)
Effective about pages convey to the user what the company can do for them.
Why should they go with this business over a competitor?
Why should they trust this business to solve their challenge or fulfill their need?
On today’s episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Kate and I are giving examples of the types of things you might include on an about page and key elements you need consider any time you’re writing an about page.
So, if you want to make sure you’re nailing all the key elements of these pages (and what you NEED to consider any time you’re writing an about page), then listen now so you’re prepared to knock your next about page out of the park.
TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher
Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[01:55] The about page is typically the most visited page after a homepage. Why? Because if people are new to a company or organization or service. This is a great place to get to know more, and it can really bump up the trust factor.
[03:01] When it’s a company, it’s about how that company helps their clients, how that company serves their clients, how that company goes about doing business, what is the position that they occupy in the world.
[03:31] Why us versus someone else? And same thing with any of your clients. They certainly have competitors. So what is going to set them apart from another option? Because people have a lot of options.
[04:20] Get really clear and talk to your client about this because they should know this and if they don’t, then this is an important service to ask them this question.
[05:43] Every single project you’re going to start with a creative brief, because you need to know what the goal of this page is for this particular client. I think we get too stuck and focused on wanting it to be perfect and follow a set of order and it has to be set this way and get inspiration from all sorts of areas.
[07:56] You need a reason for each. It’s almost like thinking of each section of the page of like a mini brief, why is this here? What is this purpose? What is the goal of this piece of content on this page?
[09:42] Is the ethos of the company important so that if there’s something that they want to be sharing with their audience. If it is something that is important to the way they do business and that the audience is going to care about, then that might be something that you need to have on the page.
[10:10] Tucking values and mission can be very inward focus. How can I take this we, us, they, and put it on the customer? Why do they care about what we care about?
[11:53] The most important information needs to go at the top, and it needs to go down in order of most to least. We know that as people come to websites, they start at the top, and then they skim their way down until they find something that is important to them or that catches their attention.
[13:52] When you’re working with a client, it can be tricky because the client might really want something in there. See if there’s a way you can, again, weave it in a way that makes it relevant to the person reading the page.
[15:23] The subhead itself needs to serve a purpose besides just breaking up copy. The subhead needs to give people an idea of what is coming in the copy. below it. Why? Should they read anything else? It is allowing people to skim through the page.
[16:05] Other elements that you might consider to put on an about page. If there are awards that the company has received for some reason.
[16:31] Think about each piece of content that you’re putting on the about page and really any website or any webpage that you’re writing. What is the purpose of each section and where do we want people to go? Is there something that we want them to do?
[17:32] What are their needs and are there different needs and how do we then get them further into a page? Because the goal is to have them not leave the website.
[18:07] If your client has one main offer, how do we get them to that offer? How do we get them in compelling ways to this? If they have multiple, does it make sense to feature any of that on this about page?
[19:30] It probably should go without saying, is to make sure that this page also reflects the company’s brand and the company’s brand voice and their tone. So just making sure to back up the style of the company in the way that you’re writing this page and all of the pages.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
“The about page, about me, about us, is not actually right. Absolutely. It’s about you. As a copywriter, it’s about what you can do for your clients.” – Nicki
“This can be a great place for you to really showcase the personality of a brand. What is their whole vibe? What do they stand for?” – Kate
“Nothing should be on an about page just because you saw it somewhere else. It has to have a purpose.” -Nicki
“If someone goes from the about page and then goes to a purchase page, they’re going to the about page just to verify that it’s a real company.” -Nicki
“It all comes back to benefit to consumer. What are they going to get out of the things that you do and the way that you exist?” – Nicki
“Have all the different elements that are possible so that when you are faced with this project, you say, okay, here’s all the elements that I could possibly include, does it make sense for this project? And go from there.” – Kate
Mentioned in the Episode
- Creative Brief: The First Step to Any Successful Copywriting Project
- Websites Copywriters Need to Bookmark
- How to Win Trust to Get Copywriting Clients
Related Links
- Laser Copy Coaching: Value-Based Pitches, English-Language Nuances, and About Pages
- 4 Steps to Write a Wildly Effective About Us Page
- Why Landing Pages Are the Perfect First Copywriting Projects
- How to Write a Sales Page That’ll Make Your Client Ecstatic
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
