Despite popular opinion, your About page doesn’t actually have to make you sound like a boring robot with no actual human personality. 

Shocker, I know! 

The parts of your About page that will stick with people—and ultimately help them get to know you, start to like you, and decide to trust you—are not the “professional” details.

They’re the seemingly irrelevant details that make you relatable to your audience.

Wanna know the #1 thing that makes my leads convert?

The part of my About page where I say “I’m a chocolate addict with no intent on seeking recovery.”

People quote that back to me on discovery calls all the time, telling me it’s the reason they chose to reach out. Some people even mention it in their inquiry form, and reference it when they share with me how they want their website copy to be that conversational, too. 

The 2nd-most commonly referenced detail from my web copy is the part where I say I’m a “hoe for italics.” 

(The people love the fact that I said ‘hoe’ on my website.)

Neither of these random facts have anything to do with me being a good, experienced, trustworthy website copywriter worth investing in.

But they ARE relatable.

They’re relevant to my personality, not my profession. 

& that’s a perfectly good reason to include them on my About page—because that specific page of your site is allll about CONNECTION. 

[Note: before we move on—I want you to know that you definitely still can add personality to your About page, even if you don’t want to make it all about YOU. Check out my “Not About You” About Page Formula to learn more about how you can still have a compelling, conversational About page without sharing too much personal info!]

Here’s the plan: I’m going to share a few tips including personality on your About page as a more professional business, and then I’m gonna show you tons of examples of the ways I’ve helped my service-based business owner clients share some more ‘fun’ details about themselves.

You ready to get into it?

How you can still add personality even if you want to “keep things professional”

Because I know a lot of About page copywriting tips on the Internet are geared toward online business owners, founder-first businesses, and personal brands, I wanted to make a point to speak directly to the business owners who DO want to keep things more professional, and are having a hard time figuring out how to integrate some more conversational, not-boring-to-read copy.

My client Amy, for example, runs a ballet studio, and takes her role as a Royal Academy of Dance Certified Ballet Instructor very seriously—and rightfully so; that’s ridiculously impressive, and she’s running a very professional, highly-regarded establishment.

It wouldn’t be appropriate for her to call herself a “hoe for italics” or reference her chocolate addiction on her site, like I do. That doesn’t fit her brand voice, and it wouldn’t sit right with the parents she’s marketing to, who want to send their children to a professional ballet studio in hopes of them pursuing a lifelong dance career.

But just because Amy wants to keep things professional doesn’t mean that we can’t include any elements of her personality (or the personality of her brand), because even though her target audience cares a LOT about her qualifications + credentials, who she is as a HUMAN *is* still relevant—after all, she’s going to be spending time with their children, so these parents will definitely want to get to know her!

When I was writing her About page, I decided to include a cute story from her childhood to humanize her and make her more relatable—and maybe even get a chuckle out of her readers.

Adding the detail in parenthesis made it sound more casual – and it invites the reader to feel like they’re having a one-on-one conversation with Amy. It’s like they can feel her leaning in close, cupping one hand over her mouth, and whispering it to them.

“He’d never admit it,” she said, in a hushed voice, looking side to side, making sure he wasn’t within earshot. “But I know he secretly loved it.”

Can’t you just picture that conversation happening in real life?!

I also chose to tell the story of how she thought of her brand name, The Ballet Room, because I knew her target audience would really appreciate the sentiment.

Neither of these details are too personal to share, but they still give you a glimpse of Amy’s personality – and they don’t negate her level of professionalism at all.

I also opted to add personality through the origin story of another client, Mary Page Nance of Monocle Productions. Her business is another unique one, where the audience she serves prefers interacting with (and investing from) a more “professional”-presenting brand, but still loves and appreciates engaging copy and personality.

When writing your own About page, try to consider…

• How can I relate to my ideal client or customer?
• What is something they would benefit from knowing about me or my brand?
• Do I have an origin story—or any brand-related story—they might like knowing, that would help humanize me OR make me stand out from my competitors?

The reality is this: most “professional” brands don’t include any element of personality at all. You’re lucky if their About page includes anything more than their LinkedIn profile does—so you’re already ahead of the game, even if you include just one or two pieces of information that feel like you’re peeling back the curtain a bit.

BTL examples of making client About pages more personable

Now, for the fun part—the fun facts!

As I mentioned earlier, adding the fun, relatable details to your About page (or anywhere on your site!) is a great way to give your readers a window into your personality, and show them who you truly are behind the screen.

This is particularly important for business owners in the creative space, who will be working one-on-one with clients on projects that require them to actually interact with people.

Your potential clients want to know what you’re genuinely like as a person before investing in you—especially if your services cost thousands of dollars.

So, let’s take a look at a few easy ways to add some personality to your site:

& If you want even more examples, my entire About page is literally about the importance of personality on About pages; check it out right here!

Looking for more About page tips?

You’re in luck—I’ve got tons.

• How to make writing about yourself suck less
• 6 things you need to know before writing your About page (this post has an easy About page formula for you to follow at the end!)
• The “not about you” About page formula
• The art of the “mini about”
• What dating apps can teach you about writing better copy
• How to write headlines that make people want to keep reading

Thanks so much for reading! Have we met yet?!

If not… HI! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:

Subscribe to my newsletter! I actually swiped the story in this blog directly from there – but usually my juicy newsletter content stays in the inbox. Subscribe to get one marketing tip, once a week!

Check out my services. I write website copy, sales pages, email sequences, blog posts, and brand messaging guides for entrepreneurs of all kinds! Maybe you’re my next favorite client. 😏

Read my blog. It’s home to everything from copywriting tips, to marketing education, to freelance advice, to portfolio-worthy projects… if you like this post, you’ll love the rest of the blog. Here’s a quick roundup of my most popular posts.

Sign up for my web copy course. Actually, it’s not *only* about website copywriting—I also teach modules on copywriting basics, developing your target audience, search engine optimization, blogging, and email marketing.

Enlist me as your mentor. I have an entire in-depth blog post about my one-on-one consulting process for new and aspiring copywriters, if you’re interested in having a big-sis-style mentor to help you grow your freelance copywriting business & get results.

To get in touch with me directly, send me a DM or email me at sara@betweenthelinescopy.com. Have a great day!