Your About page is not about you. Here’s how to write a winner.
I hate to break it to you, but it kinda…isn’t.
Your About page is a powerful sales tool. It will probably rank between the 3rd and 7th of your most visited pages, which indicates people are curious and picky about who they do business with.
But get this: people do business with what you believe and what you deliver. Not just…(ahem) you.
In a world of wafer-thin attention spans, get yourself out of the way and focus on your hard-earned visitor. You've sweated SEO blood to get them to your site, and in mere seconds, you can repel or bond with them.
If it's not about YOU, what is it about?
It's about resonance, connection and alignment.
Your visitors are driven to your website by your ads, social media and their curiosity… or they've Googled, hoping you will fulfil their needs.
Think about where you’re positioned in your sector: are all about value for money, environmental ethics, saving time, bespoke luxury, or high industry standards?
That is your purpose.
It's why you get out of bed in the morning. It is what defines your business and separates you from your competitors.
Pitch your purpose.
When you describe your company, services or team, bathe the whole lot in your purpose. Allow yourself to be sincere about your motivations and drivers. Show your passion.
That’s how you’ll vibe on the right level with your visitors.
Give a little cuddle.
Think of your About page as the emotionally intelligent precursor to your services or products page: A soothing hug before the sale. You're the answer to their prayers. You can solve their problem. You get them.
You need to kick yourself out of the way and resonate. Your visitor should feel in their gut that they want to do business with you.
There are no precise rules for how you structure this, but tick most of these boxes, and you're good to go:
Resonate: Demonstrate your purpose and reason for existing with an attention-grabbing headline and punchy mission statement.
Reassure: Remaining with your purpose, demonstrate credibility via social proof / testimonials, accreditations, and business partnerships.
Shake hands: What are you like to do business with? Friendly, efficient, timely, helpful, ethical?
Your product(s) are your heroes: Showcase your finest assets with links and buttons to your sales or booking page.
Show your human side: Introduce yourself or your team, chart the company journey and reaffirm your beliefs and purpose.
What can you do to improve your About page?
Scoot over to your website's About page and scan it with a beady, critical eye. Don't panic. Simply pretend you're a curious visitor with a problem that needs solving.
Dig down into your emotions (even the ones you’ve buried).
How does the page feel?
Are you enticed in?
What’s your gut feeling on whether [the company] can solve your issues / meet your desires?
It may be that you need to rewrite your copy, or juggle with what you have. For help, scoot down to see the analysis on five different About page strategies.
If your About page looks ‘off’ and you don’t know where to start, I’m offering a…
Free About page audit + recommendations + 30 minute call to the first 10 people who email me (usually £160)
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See the About page strategy for 5 different businesses.
Bodyrock Bootcamp: straight–up, honest, friendly, reassuring.
Philadelphia's Bodyrock Bootcamp is a local gym. They unapologetically promote old-school fitness. Their About page oozes tough love, inclusiveness and encouragement. It goes like this:
What we do (they set the scene).
How we do it (reassurance and credibility).
Why we do it (we give a damn about you).
Meet the trainers (you're in safe hands / we're decent, qualified, happy people).
It’s simple, unfussy and nails their mission.
You can practically hear the Rocky theme tune as you triumphantly run up the steps to Phili’s Museum of Art.
2. Adecco’s page is most definitely, indefatigably about you.
The global staffing and recruitment group, Adecco have taken getting themselves out of the way literally. They steam straight in with a fat headline:
"Yes, this is the "about us" page. But this is really all about you."
And then a neat little paragraph:
"If you're looking for a job, we can help you get in the door at some incredible companies. Need to hire good people? We know thousands. Let us introduce you. No matter where you are, we can help you get where you want to go in your career."
Their tone of voice is accommodating and upbeat.
Scroll down to reveal prominent calls-to-action for both commercial clients and job hunters. It's spot-on!
Let's break it down:
Our principles (you before us).
How we help (we're friendly / provide opportunities / are credible)
Reinforce the proof with crystal clear calls-to-action for job seekers or employers.
When you reach the bottom, the footer is intentionally massive, with everything from popular branch locations to job sectors available at a glance.
It’s masterfully simple. Nice work, Adecco.
3. Rapha: Beautifully crafted brand storytelling.
Rapha's About page connects to the soul of cyclists, opening poetically with:
"Riding a bike is one of life's simple pleasures. It's the freedom to go wherever you want, whenever you want. It's an endless adventure that starts on your doorstep and never ends."
Rapha doesn't miss a beat, embodying the spirit of cycling with characteristic brand storytelling at every touchpoint on their long About novella.
We're reeled in, panting for a CTA to buy their stuff and be in their gang. Oh, fools. This is Rapha. They confidently ignore convention and deny us a product link. We must work for it if our hearts desire the Rapha marque on our kit.
Instead, the calls-to-actions are for global cycling events. Rapha is a brand positioned immutably on the cycling experience and adventure. Their About page rolls seductively through Purpose, Culture, 'Ride with us’ Community, Impact, Leadership, and finally, the company journey from 2004.
It’s exquisite.
If you fancy starting a cult, you could do worse than follow the Rapha playbook.
4. Tarte Cosmetics: ethical products dripping with happiness
Tarte create high-performance natural cosmetics and skincare products. They zone in on their principles. You're on a site drenched in cheerful ice cream colours where natural ingredients, happy smiles and kindness are the focus.
While they don't directly address 'you', they unwaveringly target your ethics and desires.
The About page builds their story, layer by layer:
What we believe (mission statement, principles, beliefs).
Reinforce our principles (explain the skincare formulas and ingredients).
Further reinforcement (a list of chemicals they refuse to use. It's the exception to zone in on negatives, but it works like a dream on Tarte's About page).
Meet our founder and feel her dedication to ‘the cause’ (a happy photo of Maureen Kelly and the story charting her company's rise to success).
Meet the products (simple images of tempting products and ingredients).
The company evolution (this is beautiful: they timeline their growth through their product ranges, showing which year each range was launched).
Finally, sticky CTAs sit at the bottom of the page.
Tarte has flouted a few About page design and content conventions, but it flies due to their consistent ethical commitment and sunny enthusiasm.
5. Insider Inc : Oh, my cold, cold heart.
The Insider.inc publishing giant keeps it clinical, swooping in with an indecipherable statement:
"Insider Inc. equips our curious and action-oriented audience of more than 250 million with the information and inspiration they need to keep the world, and their lives, moving forward".
This is a carefully crafted elevator pitch–about the organisation, but it left me wondering wtf it means.
They've tried to make it about you, but it lacks sincerity and smacks of arrogance.
Below the fold is a tidy grid with headshots of the leadership teams, each linked to their meticulously polished LinkedIn profiles.
It is sociopathically cold to the touch: business-like, uniform, but unsatisfying. And 100% just about them.
You’re in the right place if you need to help to align your About page with your business purpose, quest and mission.
Book your
About page audit + improvement tips + 30-minute call with me
FREE to the first 10 people who hit the button ⬇
(saving you £160).