I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…
The most important page on your blog is your about page.
And if you don’t give that page the love it deserves, you’re losing fans—and customers—hand-over-fist.
Dramatic, I know, but…
Here’s Why About Pages Are So Important
If you fire up your Google Analytics account, you’ll discover that your About page is one of your most highly-trafficked pages.
It makes sense, too. It’s often found in your navigation, and people can’t resist clicking on it… obviously :-).
Now ask yourself this:
When’s the last time you updated your about page?
If you’re like most bloggers, you’ll likely say ages ago.
I know I haven’t updated mine… and after looking at my stats… it appears my about page is the 5th most visited page on my site.
And then, in some cases, there are blogs that don’t even have about pages.
(Yes, I know DIYthemes falls into that category, but stand by. We’ll fix that soon :-D).
But here’s the deal:
You can spend hours creating new content, and hope that content generates some traffic…
…Or you can simply optimize your about page.
After all, your about page is already getting traffic, so you might as well plug that leak ASAP.
How to Create an Amazing About Page
Before we jump right into the blog about page strategies, you’ll need to ask yourself:
“What’s the main goal of my about page?”
If you’re running a blog for business purposes, it’s likely to humanize your blog (that’s vitally important, and I’ll write about that another day) and lead generation.
At least that’s how I’d treat it.
Now keeping that in mind…
Here are the five sections of amazing about pages:
Section 1: A Persuasive, Benefit-Driven Headline
There are too many about pages that use the headline “About.”
And while that might be descriptive, remember, nobody cares about you. They want to know what you and your site can do for them.
For example, at Social Triggers, I use this headline:
“Why Social Triggers Will Help You Get Traffic And Increase Sales”
Yes, it’s about Social Triggers, but it’s also about the person reading it, too.
Section 2: A Short, Reassuring Benefit-Driven Introduction
Again, remember, people click on your About page to learn how your site can help them. And that’s why you must reassure your readers that they’re in the right place.
To do that, tell them exactly what your site will give them, and what it will do for them.
Note, this section shouldn’t be any longer than a few paragraphs.
Section 3: Social Proof, Testimonials, And Other Reassurance
Now I know this might sound cheesy…
…But since you’re kicking off your about page with some promises and reader-focused copy, adding a few testimonials, and other pieces of reassurance will help your readers realize they’re in the right place.
What should you share?
Personally, at this point, I like to share quotes. You can have them from notable people or from your loyal readers. It doesn’t matter. Proof is proof.
(Warning: Don’t make this up if you don’t have it.)
Section 4: Finally, Here’s Where You Can Jump Into Your Personal Story
Even though now is the time to share your personal story, remember, people are there to learn about you and what you can do for them.
Yes, you can share information about your personal life—like marriage, kids, and etc. That’s one way you can bond with people who visit your site.
But, remember, don’t ramble about yourself for too long. People are there to see if your website is the right website for them.
Section 5: The Closer
When you run a website, and this is even more true for a website for business, you must ask people to take some form of action when they’re done reading your content.
Remember, you’re creating valuable content for people, and if they’re reading it, they’ll WANT to reciprocate.
What can you ask people to do?
On the about page, you can launch into a description of some of your products or services. You can also ask them to subscribe to your blog.
Personally, I ask people to subscribe to my list because I know that’s one of my main business metrics.
If you’re running a blog to attract leads, you should try doing the same. Build that list, and the business will come 😀
One More Thing…
I showed you the 5 sections of an amazing blog about page, but there’s one more thing you should know…
I highly suggest you include lead generation forms (email signup forms) throughout your about page.
If you’re adding the email sign up form as the closer, you should also consider adding one after section 2 also.
I’ve even went so far as to having one after section 2, after section 3, and as the closer, which means there are 3 email sign-up forms on my about page.
However, I wouldn’t include more than 3 forms. Three, in my opinion, is the max for an about page.
