When I write About Us pages I like to break the page into 3 to 4 main sections: About Us, Features, Services, and sometimes The Difference.
In the first section, which I simply call “About Us,” I break everything about the business or website down into some basic questions, or 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why.
- Who: Use the name of your business or website right away, and often. Just because someone is on your site doesn’t mean that they know the name of it. Many people follow links from search engines or emails and wind up not on your home page, but on some random page of your website. Make them remember who you are by repeating it enough so they remember, but not so often to turn them off.
- What: You want to tell people what you can do for them right away, in your About Us page’s first section. This is where you can really push into the clouds, and let people dream big. You want to tug on people’s emotions, and get them to feel they need whatever it is you’re offering.
- Where: This is pretty easy. If you’re a physical business just getting onto the internet, simply put down your physical location, like 1400 First Street, Podunk, USA. If you’re offering digital goods or services on your site, tell them about where you live, and what it’s like. “For 3 years we’ve been operating out of the beautiful Round Building on First Street, Podunk, USA.” They’re really the same thing, and if you want newbies to become regular users who trust your site, tell them where you’re at.
- When: How long have you been operating, and why did you start are some good things to touch upon in this section. If you started your website just a month ago, why not go into detail on when you began thinking about helping other people? If you’ve been operating a physical business but are just getting onto the internet, tell people about your years of experience. Dates and times will give you and your website a more personalized feel for people visiting for the first time or even regularly. And when things are more personal, they’ll trust you more, and buy from you.
- Why: Tell people why you have a website. One of the main reasons is that you probably want to make money, but you shouldn’t grab your bull horn and start shouting this to the heavens. Tell people about how you had a job that made you realize how much you could help others. Let visitors know about your frustrations over an existing product, and how your product alleviates those frustrations. Explain that you couldn’t find the perfect ringtone to save your life unless you spent 3 hours going back-and-forth between various sites, and you want to make everything take less time by putting it all in one spot. While your main goal may be to make money, you also want to help people, and that’s the angle you need to push.