Everyone with a business has a story, and everyone with an online presence needs an About Me page that sells. So why are so many websites and businesses cutting corners when it comes to storytime?

Pick a Reason, Any Reason

These are just a few explanations I’ve heard from people whose About Pages are incomplete or boring or cursory:

• Schedule Overwhelm — There’s just no time to rewrite a better bio.
• Debilitating Doubt — What if it sucks? What if my story’s not interesting?
• Excess Humility — I was taught it’s rude to talk about myself.
• Procrastination — I keep putting it off because I’m not sure HOW to write a killer About Page.
• Why bother? — I didn’t think there was any marketing value, I just thought it was a necessary evil.

Sound familiar?

When I quit my day job and started my copywriting business I populated my About Page with a neat little chronological bio about myself and how I became so cool and writerly…

And it fell flat. Utterly lifeless.

I stared at it until my vision started drifting. There was nothing to catch my eye or lead me onward. My own damn bio was boring me to death.

Then I realized the problem was that it said nothing about me as a brand, about what I offer. Nothing about how I solve writing problems for clients. Even though it’s describing me…my About Page copy is supposed to be… about you.

The good news is, it’s never too late. Getting found on Google is all about keeping your content fresh and interesting. It’s about user engagement. Engagement means active.

Four Reasons You Need An Active About Page

• SEO — get found on Google, duh.
• It’s the first thing most visitors click.
• A riveting story builds trust. Trust sells.
• It helps you focus your vision.

Mastering SEO — Content Is King!

Gamify your About Page. I don’t mean stuff it with clunky keywords and blackhat tactics. That would be gross. I mean turn it into an experience for your visitors, an adventure…not just a big block of uninterrupted lifestory text.

What makes you unique? What sets you apart from your competition? What turned you into the genius who’s about to make their life 100% better? Get them reading, clicking, looking for more…while you demonstrate your relevance and authority.

When I was running a top cocktail bar I always told my servers and bartenders, “We’re not selling food and drink — we’re selling an experience.”

Well so is your website. Start with the About Page and use cliffhangers to lead visitors onward through relevant stories that draw human connections; build trust while peppering your website with organic keywords people use when they start to Google a problem that can be solved by your website. More on this and my favorite free keyword resource in a minute…

A Good About Page Is An Extension of Your Homepage

Think about it! What’s the first thing you click when you go to a new website? If you’re anything like me, you go right for the story. The story makes me feel like I know these people, this team, your company. Make it easy to get to.

The About Us sequence is your first real opportunity to connect with a would-be customer. It’s about building trust, showing that you exist…you’re human, you’re real. We want to trust you but first we have to see you. So…find your voice. Tell your story. Make it loud. (Yes, that’s my website motto)

Look: we’re already interested — we’ve clicked something. Don’t waste the opportunity to capture the curious and convert them to loyal customers and lifelong friends. Punch up your pitch.

Emotional Experiences Sell

When I’m discovering a new website, “About” is always the first thing I click. And sometimes…it’s the last.

Why?

Usually because it’s boring! It doesn’t capture my attention or pique my interest. It doesn’t teach me anything or even entertain. Maybe it’s a big unbroken wall of eye-drying text telling some drawn-out chronological plod from childhood to school to career versus family to getting laid-off to taking the entrepreneurial plunge and making mistakes and growing as a business…

Or maybe it’s too general. Unorganized. Maybe it’s incomplete. It doesn’t spark my imagination, gives me no reason to believe your product or service will be any different…and so I bounce right out…uncaptivated, uninterested, unsold.

Don’t let that happen!

You — as a living, breathing, self-pondering creator — are uniquely fascinating and stuffed with stories and emotions we can all relate to. Turn them to your advantage.

Your About Page Is Your Mission Statement

I’ve always struggled to write about myself. This of course is ironic because I had no problem Becoming A Writer all those years ago. But everything I’ve ever written or submitted has asked for a “brief bio” and I’ve always been utterly stumped.

Am I alone in this?

Just kidding, rhetorical question — I know I’m not.

But that didn’t make me any less stuck.

So activating my empathy switch, I stepped outside myself and into the imaginary Rothy’s of a would-be client named Zoë and wrote down a few simple questions that seemed important to answer in a piece marketing me and my expert copywriting services:

• What is Quillpower?
• How does Quillpower help people like me?
• Why choose QWA over other talented copywriters?
• Why “Quillpower”?
• Who is Quillpower?
• Where are you going with this?
• What’s your favorite game?

Then I put on some headphones and cracked a window to let the engine exhaust out and got to writing and reflecting and rewriting and researching. And learned a lot in the process.

Answering those questions not only wrote my About Page for me — but also helped me clarify my vision and tighten my focus on the entrepreneurial road rolling out before me.

How To Write a Killer About Page In 5 Easy Steps

1. Make A List Of Relevant Keywords

I looked up the keywords and longtail keywords people were using to find content marketing gurus and conversion copywriters and made a list — not to stuff or fluff my copy, but as a relevant vocabulary to draw upon when needed.

I use this powerful (and free) keyword resource to check frequency of use and where my keywords fit in the Grand Internet Scheme.

2. Contextualize The Problem You Are Solving

Visitors to your site don’t care about you directly (Hi dad!) they care about how you can solve a problem they have. They care about the context surrounding the value you offer. So tie your value into your character, into your brand voice.

For example a medical practice’s About Us page might be more formal and go deeper into team members’ education than a local dog-walking service. A copywriter’s About Me sequence might be more descriptive and florid — after all we’re selling words of power — whereas a rock climbing gym’s brand voice might be more laid back and packed with terminology like “belay” and “redpoint”.

3. Write How You Talk

This isn’t the time to get all formal and stiff (except maybe for a mortuary business). Your website bio isn’t some technological Terms Of Service designed to turn the eye away. You’re trying to attract, demonstrate humanity. Your brand; your voice.

Imagine you’re among friends sharing stories from the last time you met up, for the ones who weren’t there. Give some context, some mystery and leadup, some drama and emotion. Hint at insider benefits, offer value, promise more.

Not sure how to focus your brand voice? Take this quiz to help you narrow it down.

4. Make It Exciting

What makes a story riveting? Any good storyteller knows how to keep readers engaged using:

• Conflict
• Cliffhangers
• Juicy vocab
• Specific details
• Relatable anecdotes

That’s not to say write a novel — but use lots of links and suggestive language. Describe a problem and explain how you’re uniquely qualified to solve it. Don’t just list it. Story it.

And for godsake, get us clicking! We are all Pavlov’s dog. Warm us up to clicking YES while you lead us to your irresistible offer.

5. Revisit Often

I rewrite my About Page every week or so. Why? Because who I am keeps changing as I learn new things. My story evolves as I get deeper and deeper into who I am and what Quillpower is. (Plus Google rewards fresh material as well as engagement.)

Myriad self reflection is one of the great things about entrepreneurship. If you don’t view the house from every angle, there’s a good chance you’ll miss a rotten footing.

What’s the purpose of your website? To get people reading. What’s the point of getting people reading? To build trust. What’s the point of building trust? To sell something. Every page of your website should be selling… And I don’t mean that in a pushy car-salesmany way, but you should be telling your story effectively and your story should be leading people to the goods.

Because story — even more than sex — sells