Ah, the About page. Everyone’s dreaded element of website copy.

“Huh, I’m not the only one that hates talking about myself?”

Nope. You definitely aren’t. I don’t know a single person who hasn’t been guilty of sitting at their computer screen in front of a blank document with the cursor blinking back at them, waiting for inspiration to strike, then falling flat because they have no idea where to start.

Here’s a conversation I had with a friend yesterday, who has yet to include an About page on her site:

Friend: Why is it so hard to just freakin’ write it?!

Me: Because we all feel awkward writing about ourselves, and we don’t know if we’re accurately depicting ourselves, or whether we’re sharing too much or too little. Making it more about the prospective client makes it a little easier.

Friend: It’s like you know what you’re talking about or something!

Since I basically write About pages for a living as a freelance website copywriter, I figured I’d extend my knowledge to you lovely humans who may be struggling with yours. But I’m taking a bit of a different approach than most other copywriters I’ve seen. write blog posts like this.

I’m not going to give you a perfect About page recipe (because, spoiler alert: every single person is different, which means there’s no ‘perfect’ About page). I’ll do you one better: I’m going to tell you the 6 cold, hard truths you need to know before writing your About page that no one else will tell you. And I’m not holding back.

1) There is no About page “formula”

That’s just some bullshit people on Pinterest say to get you to click on their posts. There are definitely a few solid groundworks for writing an About page that converts, but there is no singular, universal formula.

It’s *your* story, and you need to tell it as authentically and honestly as possible, while doing your best to connect with your ideal clients, and communicating how you’re going to serve them.

2) Don’t lead with your credentials

You wouldn’t start off a first date by immediately rattling off your professional credentials, so why would you begin your About page that way? Your website is your virtual first impression — make sure it’s a good one.

3) Write it in first-person if you’re the sole face of your brand

If you are the focus of your brand, your About page should be written in first-person. Your goal should be to help your readers relate to you, and referring to yourself in third-person is stuffy, awkward, and off-putting.

The only time writing in third-person is acceptable is if you have a team with multiple bios listed on the About page.

(Also, make sure you’re using “I” instead of “we.” It’s only acceptable to use “we” if you actually have a team, or if you’re not disclosing your identity as the sole owner of the business, and in that case, you’d need to use “we” everywhere, such as emails, social media captions, etc.)

4) It isn’t actually about you

Your About page isn’t (completely) about you.

Yes, people are clicking on that page to learn more about you, but the real reason they want to get a feel for your personality is to see if they can relate to you before they invest in hiring you. Refrain from sharing irrelevant sh!t that won’t foster a connection with your future clients.

Related: How To Create Content For Your Ideal Client

5) Be an approachable expert

If your About page doesn’t establish you as an approachable, trustworthy expert in your field, you need to go add that missing piece. Like, right now.

6) Write with one person in mind: your ideal client!

Speak directly to them, and make them feel understood. This may sound like a difficult task, but it should actually make your writing process a little easier.

If you focus on writing to someone, and convincing them why they should hire you / like you / want to connect with you, it feels less overwhelming then trying to be everything to everybody. After all, you only want to work with your target audience, right? So why not do your best to address them? Plus, if they like you, trust you, and feel connected to you, they are much more likely to buy from you.

If you’re still struggling to write your About page, start with writing your “I help X do X, and I’m qualified to do X because of X” statement, and then expand on it.

Throw in elements of personal connection, a bit of personality (it’s okay to use a conversational tone, in fact, people prefer it), and make sure that you’re only sharing what is necessary for informational purposes or the relatability factor.

Your About page should give insight into who you are, what you do, who you help, and why it matters, and should depict you as a human that your ideal clients can feel connected to.

And, of course, if you’ve made it to the bottom of this blog post and you still would rather poke your eyes out than write your own website copy, send me a message — I’d be happy to write it for ya. After all, that’s what friends (who happen to be website copywriters) are for, right?!

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If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, 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:

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