How to Write An About Page for Your Small Business Website

Updated: 02/08/18

Your About page is probably one of the most important and most viewed pages on your small business website. And yet many bloggers and business owners don’t have one. That’s understandable because it can be one of the most difficult pages to write. You see the page as “about you”; you’re putting yourself out there. And a lot of us find that writing about ourselves is not easy. We want to get it right. So we procrastinate and leave the page blank, which is really the very worst thing we can do.

This tutorial will help you get started on your About page, and it will help you finish.

It’s About Them!

Instead of viewing your About page as About You!, think of it as a conversational introduction to the readers, customers, and clients you’re meeting. It’s simply a “Hi! How are you?” While it is one-sided when you first put it online, it won’t be for long.

Another view is to think of it like going to a party. There will be people there you don’t know. But you don’t go in and stand with your face to the wall (a blank About page). You grab something to eat or drink; you smile; you try to say Hi to someone.

Step 1. Think About Your Reader

First, think about who you want to read your About page. Maybe it’s first time visitors. Who are they? They want to know what you do or write about and whether they should come back. Someday these visitors will be customers or clients. They want to see if you are someone they can trust. These are the people you want to talk to.

And guess what? Your visitors want to see who you are. You need to show, and not just tell, them who you are. Add a recent photo of yourself or your staff. Some will tell you to have a formal photo shoot; others will tell you a candid image is better, but whichever you decide, don’t procrastinate doing it.

Step 2. The Interview

One of the easiest ways to get your About page written is to have someone interview you, and record your answers (smart phone, computer) to these questions. Then you can transcribe your interview. Allow your answers to be naturally conversational. Perhaps your interviewer can ask some followup questions too. If you need to, you can interview yourself, and then listen to your answers. If you were someone else, what followup questions would you ask? Don’t get distracted by how your voice sounds; just concentrate on what you’re saying. And not all questions will be pertinent to your business. And you don’t need to use all your answers.

Here are some questions to answer:

1. Tell a little about yourself and your business.

• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• What are your services or products?
• Where are you located?
• How did you get here?

2. Tell what’s in it for your clients or customers.

• What do you do for your clients or customers?
• How do you help them?
• What problem does your product or service solve?
• How does working with you or buying from you benefit your client?
• Why are you different?

3. Tell some more.

• How can they buy from you or work with you?
• What do others say about you?
• Can they trust you?

Step 3. Use a Formula to Organize

If you’re having difficulties with organization, you can use a formula to help you organize your interview. If you think a formula will make you sound formal and stuffy, remember that you have all your answers in a conversational format, and your answers are different from everyone elses, so it will still have your personality.

Here’s a simple About page formula from ProBlogger. There is also a great example of how to use it.

1. who you are…
2. your expertise and how it addresses…
3. their problem or goal, and how they can…
4. contact you

Henneke from Enchanting Marketing shares how to make your about page sparkle. She tells you to answer three questions, and then describes how to write a 3-step intro with personality.

1. Who are you writing for?
2. What action would you like him to take?
3. Why would your reader take action? What can you promise him?

This is another About formula from Shawn Graham. He also has a nice list of questions.

1. Establish A Conversational Tone
2. Tell Your Small Business Story
3. Show Some Personality

You can find an About page that you really like. Then you can organize your words into their format.

Step 4. Put It Online!

You’ve thought of your reader; you have your photo; you’ve interviewed to answer the 5 W’s; you’ve used one of the formulas to organize your words. Now upload it to your blog or website before you change your mind! And then leave it alone for at least a week.

Step 5. Add Something Extra

OK. It’s been a week. Now you can go back and read your page, and decide if it needs anything extra, as long as it doesn’t detract from helping your readers to understand what you do.

If you use these suggestions for your About page, please let me know! If you have some other great tips, I would love for you to leave a comment.