Why Your “About” Page Isn’t All About You

As a copywriter, it’s something I see all the time…

I’ll start working with a new client, audit their current website copy, and when I get to this one page, I’m almost always met with a whole lot of information that isn’t helpful for their audience. 

The page in question? The “About” page. 

Now, I know it might sound counterintuitive, but I’ll go ahead and hit you with this plot twist:

Your “About” page is NOT all about you!

As a service provider myself, I understand that you want your audience to feel like they know you and can relate to you, but that doesn’t always happen by filling your “About” page on your website with a bunch of random information that describes your entire life. 

The way that you really connect with your audience is by making your “About” page about THEM, while strategically sprinkling information about yourself that lets them know that you really can relate to them.

To help you do this well, I’ve rounded up 4 things you SHOULD and 4 things should NOT include on your “About” page, so that you can confidently know that you’re connecting with your audience in the right way!

4 Things You Should Include On Your Website “About” Page

1) Attention-Grabbing Headline For Your Ideal Client

As a copywriter, I primarily work with photographers and other female creatives, and I often find that my clients struggle to speak to their specific ideal client. 

In a world where there are a lot of other people doing what you do, it can be difficult to pinpoint what makes you stand out, but regardless of how hard it might be to figure that out, you DO have a differentiator. 

Your “About” page is where you get to speak to that directly and call in the type of person that you specifically want to work with. 

To kick this off, you first want to include an attention-grabbing headline that speaks to that person directly!

Often, a headline like this can be your why, your mission, or your approach to business. This is what I call a Grounding Statement, because it lays the groundwork for the “About” page and also immediately connects with your reader. If they align with that mission or belief, they will be more likely to continue reading.

Your headline can help someone determine if they’re in the right place and if working with you would be a good fit. For example, here’s mine:

2) Who You Are and Who You Specifically Help

Now, like I said, your “About” page isn’t all about you, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to introduce yourself!

After your attention-grabbing headline, you should quickly tell people who you are and include one of those awesome brand photos of yourself, so that your reader can put a face to the name. After that, you want to share your Positioning Statement, which shares who you serve and where you serve them. Again, this helps someone know if they are in the right place!

The reason this is important is because it invites readers to naturally assess whether or not they’re a good fit to work with you. By calling out who you serve, you make it super simple and clear for them to know if they belong in your world. 

The key is that you make this as specific as possible. If you only work with certain industries, make sure that’s noted! This will save you and your audience time in the long run.

3) Speak To Their Problems and Pain Points

After your headline and introduction, this is where you’ll move into more storytelling content that yes, can include a bit about you, but ultimately, this section should speak to your ideal client’s problems and pain points.

This part of an “About” page will look different for everyone, and it can honestly be as short or as long as you prefer. For me, I wanted the copy to speak directly to photographers who have strong images, but don’t have the copy they need to help their clients choose to work with them:

In this section, you ultimately want your reader to know that you understand them and that you have a solution to the problem they’re experiencing.

This often comes in the form of telling a relatable story that gives a little more insight of your background and makes everything feel a bit more personal!

PRO TIP: Sprinkle a few Good News or “Can” Statements into your copy, such as, “you CAN hop off the hustle bus and capture photos that help you show up the way you want in business.”

You can learn more about this in my free “About Me” Page Guide!

4) Fun Facts

Lastly, while I would never suggest that you fill your website with irrelevant information (more on that in a minute), it can be valuable to include a few fun facts so that your audience can get to know you in very specific ways. 

The key is that you don’t make these fun facts the forefront of your “About” page. Instead, think of them more like the candles on a cake – they’re just for fun! 🎂

I love helping clients display their fun facts in unique ways, and my friends at Arc Creative Co. are one of my favorite examples of this:

They decided to display their fun facts as a quiz; this interactive way for their readers to get to know them is brilliant, if I do say so myself.

4 Things You Should NOT Include On Your Website “About” Page

Now that you know what you SHOULD include on your website “About” page, let’s dive into what you should NOT.

1) Irrelevant Details

While including fun facts about you on your “About” page is a great idea, take care not to overload this part of your website with irrelevant details. 

Many times people will treat their “About” page like a resume that includes their entire professional story because they think this is what makes them credible. 

While I understand that you want to be seen as credible, I have to be blunt and let you know that your ideal client really doesn’t care about your college GPA or your high school job.

It’s just not relevant, and it won’t be the thing that convinces someone to work with you!

Instead, use this page to do the things I mentioned above, because I promise those pieces will have far greater impact.

2) Jargon

Next, you want to avoid using jargon on your website in general, but especially on your “About” page. 

The section of your website is really the spot where you can connect with your audience in a deeper way, and one of the things that can really throw someone off is if you’re using language that they don’t understand. 

Again, people often use jargon because they think it makes them look professional and credible, but what this really does is confuse people, and confused people take no action at all. 

When you simplify your message and communicate clearly, you’re giving someone the ability to fully understand what you’re saying, which makes them even more confident to work with you!

3) Your Entire Story

As mentioned above, storytelling can be a great way to speak to your ideal client’s specific problems and pain points. What you don’t want to do is confuse the storytelling technique with telling your entire story.

There are likely some parts of your story that your audience should know so that they relate and understand why you do what you do, but the key is that you tell that in a concise way while ultimately keeping the focus on them and guiding them to a solution for their problem.

If you want to include various parts of your story without eating up your entire “About” page, you can consider creating a unique visual, like a timeline. Check out my “About” page to see mine in action!

4) Show, Don’t Tell

Lastly, you want to SHOW instead of tell. 

Often, people will use their “About” page to be their own personal hype girl, and while I’m all for that, in this case it’s better to show what you’ve done instead of just talk about it. 

You can effectively do this through the use of testimonials and case studies so that your clients speak and shout praises on your behalf!

When you do this well, people start to trust you more because they can clearly see that you walk the walk, instead of just talking the talk.

PRO TIP: This doesn’t have to appear on your “About” page – I implemented this aspect on my Case Studies page!

Overall, your “About” page is an important component of your website, so you want to make sure it’s written in a way that truly connects with your audience while ultimately assuring them that you understand their desires and challenges.

The goal is to clearly convey that you see and hear them and have a solution to their problem. When you do this, your reader will be more likely to continue reading and feel more confident to work with you in the future!

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If you’re looking for more support with your “About” page or other website copy, I’m here to help. 

Two ways we can work together:

• Storysale – a three-month group coaching program for photographers and creatives to market their magic ✨

In Storysale, you’ll receive:

✔️ Three months of weekly, 60-minute group coaching calls with me and guest experts

✔️ Weekly 1:1 Voxer access to ask any questions you have about marketing your services, creating offers that your clients will love, brand messaging, and more

✔️ 1:1 Intensives – every month of our program, students will schedule 1:1 intensives with me to put your website copy, SEO page titles and meta descriptions, and email copy to work for YOUR business and your ideal client

• Copywriter on Call – for the photographer who wants custom website copy…fast!

What You Get:

✔️ 1:1 kickoff call, where we talk strategy and define your project to-do list

✔️ Up to 6 pages of done-for-you website copywriting, with two speedy rounds of revisions to ensure we get it right

✔️ Custom website copy, delivered in Google Docs or implemented on your website

After our strategy session wraps up, I ride off into the proverbial sunset (or, as copywriters often do, into my Airpods-muffled world) to do what I do best: write. ✍🏼

During this time, you get to hang out in your zone of genius or serve your people. In other words, you do you, friend. I’ve got this!

At the end of your project, I’ll send over all of your deliverables or place your copy on your website, and thank you kindly for trusting me with your brand and your business!