Let’s talk ‘About us’
How to write an effective ‘About us’ page for your small business website
Small businesses like you and me have the chance to compete with the big boys on the Internet.
The playing field has been leveled and with professional copywriting and design at your fingertips, your website can show visitors that bigger is not necessarily better.
In fact a personal touch, bespoke service and one-on-one connection are valuable offerings that our bigger brothers are often unable to provide.
The ‘About us’ page is where you can tell your visitor what you’re all about and why that makes you the perfect provider of their needs and desires.
6-steps to ‘About us’ success
- Write a 35-word elevator pitch to tell visitors what you offer, to whom and why the value you offer makes you special.
- Define your unique point of difference. This may be an experience, skill, product, service, or value offering.
- Write in a friendly conversational style. Visitors want to hear your voice not a load of business speak.
- Describe your company including who you are, your location, number of years in business and company philosophy.
- Build credibility by using clients (or your own) success stories as examples. Customers will only buy from someone they trust.
- Don’t leave your customer hanging – make your contact details clear and tell them what to do next with a strong call to action.
Remember – focus on your visitor not on yourself
Even on your ‘About us’ page your copy should always be focused on your customer. What’s important is not what you do, but what you can do for them.
It might sound contradictory but it is possible to do both at the same time.
- Your elevator pitch should use the word ‘you’ in the very first sentence to hook your visitor and pique their interest
eg.‘Do you ever wonder how it is that …?’
- Your point of difference should align yourself with your customer:
eg. ‘I understand your problem because I felt the same…’
- Introduce your product or service and make sure your philosophy centers on solving your customers problem.
eg. ‘Our aim is to make life easier for you by …’
Review – How do you feel ‘About us’?
Look at the ‘About us’ pages of some of your competitors. Print them off and compare them to your own. Take an objective view and consider, if you were a customer, which company you’d go for. If it’s not yours then think about the winning elements on other sites and try again.
Happy writing ’til the next time,
Lisa at The Word Nest