Writing an About Us Page

Most websites have an About Us page, but it’s often an afterthought, or a bit of standard blurb that people only include because they think they need to.

Actually your About Us page is a great opportunity to start building up a bit of a relationship with your customers; something that can be difficult to do in the online world. Potential customers are far more likely to get in touch with you if they feel that they already know a bit about you.

One of the most common questions I get asked about About Us pages is ‘should they include personal information?’ There is no single answer to that question as it depends largely on the type of business you are, the image you are trying to promote, and the customers you are targeting.

Personally I have some information about me in my About Us page, because the product I am selling is my personal skills and writing style. The image I want to convey is a friendly and creative individual who’ll help you with your copywriting needs over a relaxed cup of coffee.

While I do think that a bit of personal information can help you to build a relationship with your customers, you should try to keep it positive and upbeat; don’t start discussing your marriage breakdown or illness in your family.

There are a few areas that an About Us page should ideally cover (although I’m happy to admit mine doesn’t quite fit these criteria!):

• It should provide a very brief history of the business
• It should show the qualifications and experience of the business
• It should show how the business can meet its customers’ needs
• It should suggest a way for the customer to contact the business

One of my favourite ways to write an About Us page is to elaborate on the story of how the business began. A great example of this can be seen at Life and Laughter Video Editing. This tends to work best if there was an unusual inspiration or chain of events behind the start up of the business, and should be kept brief and relevant.

Don’t assume you have to have an About Us page just because everybody else has one. If it will just duplicate content found elsewhere on your site you may not need it at all. For the pastel painter Peter Goode, we just used his About Us page as the home page, because again the product he’s selling is his skills and experience.

Above all make sure that your About Us page reflects the character and image of your business that you’re trying to portray. Whether that’s relaxed and friendly or formal and businesslike, all your marketing materials including your web copy and your About Us page need to be written in the same voice.

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