Your website is important. I'm sure you know that by now; you have heard it everywhere at this point. But did you know that your "About" page is one of the most important pages on your site? It's one of the first pages your website visitors go to after the homepage. If your About page is structured correctly, it can bring your potential customers/clients from the top of the marketing funnel (awareness of your brand) into conversion (AKA actually becoming a customer or client), and maybe even to the very bottom of the funnel (loyalty and advocacy of your brand) if you really connect with them. Here are a few tips on how to make sure you're giving your all when it comes to this vital webpage.

Write with your Client/Customer in mind

They probably don't know anything about you-- that's why they've clicked on your About page. It's the purpose of your About page to fill in a potential client on all of the reasons s/he should choose you over your competitor. You want to give them all of the information in a digestible, conversational manner. Get into the mindset of explaining to a complete stranger what it is you do. Think about your who, what, when, where and why (more on this later). Make sure you avoid industry jargon, too. This should be applied to all of your marketing efforts. If someone detached from your industry can't understand what you're writing, don't publish it. This is a problem I've seen in every industry. People incorrectly think using jargon makes them seem more knowledgable to their potential clients. Usually it confuses your clients instead. The aim is to write in clear and concise language.

Catch attention with a headline

The headline is how you'll pull web visitors into your copy. Make sure it is attention-grabbing, or you'll soon notice people are leaving your site before they know anything about you or your company. Here are a few ideas on how to think of the perfect headline:

Use three adjectives to describe your brand (example: Shocking, Exciting, Fun- or whatever words describe your brand)
Use the problem/solution format (example: Legal woes [insert problem]? [insert law firm name] has helped 25,789 people [insert solution]
Be literal. State exactly who you are and what you do (example: We're 6 healthcare providers, healing you naturally)
Start with your mission (example: MISSION: [insert yoga instructor name] is passionate about helping you be healthy physically, spiritually and mentally.)

Whatever your headline is, make it interesting. A good tip is to take a step back, and ask yourself if you would continue reading.

Tell a story

People like a story, and your About page is your chance to shine. You'll want to let potential clients/customers know how you became who/what you are. Make it interesting and not so long that it's overwhelming to your visitors. Remember, the more people relate to you and your brand's story, the more of them you'll pull through the marketing funnel. Being human with your brand story will set you apart from competitors.

Try to start with a brief introduction explaining who you are and what you do (as a brand or a person) and how and when you started/how you got the idea to start. Next, go into the first moment you knew you were really doing it/making it. Every brand has that defining moment. Try to think about the first milestone you met. Did you surpass your goal of 10 or 110 clients? Did you sell your first piece of handmade furniture? Did you pitch a media outlet that you really wanted to cover you and get a call back? These are mile markers on the road to success, and these moments reveal wonderful emotion that your readers will love. Finally, explain where you are now. Do you have 2,000 clients now? Have you partnered with a retailer to sell your furniture daily? Are you booking interviews every month?

***Important note for this section: This is your story, but don't forget to also make it about your clients/customers. People want to know about you, but they want to know about you in the capacity of how/why you can help them and how/why you have helped your past clients. Hint: you'll get this part from your mission statement.

Here are more questions to get your creative side going: (Here's more on the who, what, when, where and why.)

Why did you start your business?
How did you come up with the idea?
Why do you continue to do what you do?
How do you feel when you hit a goal in your business?
What have been the biggest milestones of your business life?
What are your future goals?
What were your past goals?
Who is your ideal client AKA target audience

Pro tip: Use a lot of images here to make your brand progression visual.

Tell them why they should choose you

This is the place for your education and/or experience and past client/customer testimonials. There's a reason you're more qualified than your competitor, and you should tell everyone why. If you're a lawyer, tell them where you got your Juris Doctorate. If you've been in business for 27 years, tell them. (pro tip: add your team's combined years of experience; in some cases this could translate into over 100 years of experience- interesting, right?) Within this section, include any industry or customer-voted awards you've won.

Testimonials should be included in your About page, too. Reviews are an important part of the buyer decision today. In fact, most consumers trust reading online reviews more than they trust word-of-mouth. You'll want to gather the best ones here and include the person's name and title- especially titles relevant to your service or product (example: -if you're a restaurant owner- "this restaurant is the best, because X, Y and Z." -Stevie Nicks, International Food Critic for Food Magazine). Feel free to include reviews from Google, Facebook, Yelp or another credible directory for your industry on this page. The best part of including reviews on your own website is that you can control what your visitors see. You don't have to worry about that "random guy who got mad for no reason" on your curated reviews.

Give them a conclusion and a call-to-action

Finally, you've hopefully drawn them in at this point. In the last paragraph make sure you tell them where you're located and your business hours. If they get to the bottom of your About page, you'll also want to give them an exit before they make their own. Attach a contact form, email opt-in, phone number, email address or whichever contact/lead generation methods you use. At minimum, you should have your address, phone number, social media profile links and online contact form for your call-to-action piece.

Pro tip: Don't just put your contact info/lead generation form, and call it a day. Ask for the sale (see bottom of this blogpost for an example).

Take a step back

After you've written all of your About copy, you'll want to take a step back. Read it again, check for spelling/grammar mistakes, make sure your contact information is up-to-date, check your contact form to make sure it's working properly, make sure you're not too long-winded and take another look at how attention-grabbing your headline is.

After you've done all of that, read it once more and make sure it is brand-consistent. This is an overlooked piece of the puzzle. Many business owners don't realize how important brand consistency is. If your About page doesn't match the colors, imagery and tone of the rest of your website, your social platforms, your marketing material, etc, you've still got work to do. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on how to actually be on-brand on all of your platforms; it can be difficult to figure out at first, but once you've got it, you'll always have it.

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Thanks for reading! I really hope I've given you insight on how to structure a converting About page for your website. Please, let me know in the comments below or on my social media pages! Instagram: @tiffyyyandco, Facebook: Tiffany Odom-Rodriquez, Twitter: @tiffyyyandco. Feel free to share!

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How to structure a highly converting "About" page