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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