How to Write a Better About Page with the StoryBrand Framework
The About page is typically one of the most visited pages on a website.
People love a good story, and they love to see the people behind the business. But most small businesses either miss or totally botch this perfect opportunity – where they’ve got more eyes and focused attention from their potential customers – to share the right information on this page.
We talk about this all the time, but we’ll say it again – it’s crucial that your website helps you build trust with your audience. One of the best ways to do that is by sharing your story on your About page and helping your customers get to know you. They want to “date you first”, meaning they want to get to know and trust you so they can feel confident in their decision to buy from you (and say “I do”).
If you’re familiar with the StoryBrand Framework, you know that your customer is the hero of the story (not you). You are the guide. This is usually a huge paradigm shift for most small business owners who feel they need to talk about themselves all over their website – how great they are compared to competitors, how grandpa started this business 60 years ago, etc. But one of the biggest secrets to a great About page is actually making your customer the hero and positioning yourself and your business as the guide. So, the question is – how do you write an About page that shifts the focus from you to the customer who’s reading it?
If you know your About page needs a makeover, but you’re not sure where to start, we’re breaking it down for you today.
6 Elements of a Successful About Page Using the StoryBrand Framework
First, let’s get you in the right mindset for writing the copy (the words) for your About page.
You need to think about the things your customers actually want to know. *HINT: It always comes back to them, not you.
This might sound harsh, but it’s true… They don’t care about your prior job history or where you went to college (unless this is particularly applicable to the nature of your work and how you’re helping them). They’re also not looking for a detailed breakdown of what happened every single year you’ve been in business.
Here’s what they actually want to know:
Is your business legit? Are you a quality person they can trust?
Do you understand what they need?
How do you help solve their problems?
Do you have experience, credibility and proof of success?
How do they take the next step and buy?
Did you notice the consistent element in all of those questions? They all point back to the customer — if and how your business meets their needs — because ultimately that’s the only reason they are shopping around on your website to begin with!
So with that in mind, here’s what you need on your About page:
1) An attention-grabbing headline focused on the customer.
Have you ever seen an About page with a primary headline that goes something like…
“Hi, I’m Mara!”
…and that’s it? Yeah, that’s not what we’re going for here.
Your headline should be customer-centric and show them that you have what they’re looking for. Speak directly to them. What benefits are you bringing to their lives? What do they really want? How do they want to feel about themselves?
For example, a dynamic headline we wrote for a real estate agent client is:
It’s About YOU
Here to Help You Reach Your Home and Real Estate Goals
If you’re a permanent makeup tattoo artist, a customer-focused headline might be:
You Deserve to Wake Up Feeling Confident
See how the focus is on the customer, even though you’re talking about what you do and what you believe? That’s what you want.
2) A photo of yourself and/or your team.
People want to know that there’s a real human behind your brand. Showing your face on your About page goes a long way when it comes to building trust with your customers.
When you’re choosing a headshot, you want it to reflect the tone of your brand. Do you want to position yourself as polished and professional? Use a more formal headshot. Is your brand vibe more casual and welcoming? Maybe a photo of you smiling on your couch with your dog cuddled up next to you is the way to go. Don’t be afraid to show off your personality here!
If you have a team, include a group photo if you have one – along with individual headshots, names, position titles, and possibly a (very) brief bio of each team member.
3) An engaging story that positions your customer as the hero.
Donald Miller, founder of StoryBrand, explains one of the key principles of the StoryBrand Framework is this: “The customer is the hero, not your brand.”
Your customer is the hero of the story, and you are the guide that gives them a plan to solve their problem to help them achieve their desired successful outcomes and avoid a potential failure.
The art of writing great copy about yourself and your business is to test all your writing against these three questions:
Does this matter to my customer?
Why does this matter to my customer?
How does this help them make a more confident buying decision and choose my brand?
As you start to identify what content goes into your About page longer form copy (a few paragraphs is usually plenty), you can ask yourself some of these questions to get you going:
How can you empathize with your customer’s experiences as it relates to your products or services? What inspired you to start your business?
What are some of the challenges you faced along the way as it relates to your products or services?
What makes you/your business different from other similar brands?
What gives you authority and credibility as it relates to your products or services?
Tip: Finding where you can empathize with your customer is essential. Talk about this! For example, if you are a nutritionist that creates healthy meal plans for your clients, you can talk about your personal struggles with eating healthy and how you overcame this with your XYZ program.
Invite your customers into your story by sharing your passion for what you do. Find common ground to show you understand them. Relate everything back to the real hero of your story: your customer. Talk about the transformation they can experience if they work with you.
“I believe that you deserve to feel this way, too.”
4) Elements that boost your credibility and authority.
As your customers’ trusted guide, you’ve expressed empathy by telling your story and relating to them. Now it’s time to back up that empathy with authority.
Credibility builders. Social proof. Whatever you want to call them, you need these on your About page!
Examples of authority elements to add to your About page are:
Customer testimonials
Logos of businesses you’ve worked with
Logos of publications you’ve been featured in
Logos of brands you’ve collaborated with
Notable certifications you have
Compelling statistics (how many years you’ve been in business, how many people you’ve helped, etc.)
5) A Lead-generator.
Put a compelling lead generator that applies to the most amount of possible clients or customers on your About page. You should already have this on your homepage or another core services or product page, so just replicate the same section and put it on the About page too!
Remember, About pages tend to get lots of traffic, so maximize this opportunity to give your potential customers another opportunity to come across your free valuable lead magnet. You want to look for as many places and ways to share your lead magnet as possible so you can help more people with the content and also increase your email subscriber list.
Need some ideas for this section? Check out our blog where we share 6 lead generator ideas to help you grow your email list.
6) A strong call-to-action.
When your customer reaches the bottom of each page on your website, it’s on you to tell them where to go and what to do next. Your website should make it as easy as possible for your customers to take the next step to work with you. A great rule of thumb is to end your About page with a strong call-to-action (CTA)!
Following the StoryBrand framework, this should be consistent with your website’s primary CTA button. So, if that’s “Buy Now” or “Schedule a Call”, you’ll want that to be what you use at the bottom of your About page (and also use it several times throughout the page as well, wherever applicable).
You can add a sentence or two above the button to really seal the deal and encourage people to take the next step.
It’s important to invest in your About page.
Your homepage is the most important page on your website (head here for the main elements your homepage should have), because it gives an overview of your brand, what you do, and how you can help people.
Your About page is where you can really get into the nitty-gritty of the why behind your business, connect with your audience on a personal level, and build trust and authority – so don’t sleep on it. Get after it and refresh or create the About page for your website!
P.S. Want to craft an engaging About page that shows your customers they’re understood, but not sure where to start? Schedule a Call with us and let’s talk about how we can help write dynamic, customer-focused copy for your website.
More soon,
Mara
WEB DESIGNER + SEO SPECIALIST
P.S.
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