Infusing personality into your website copy isn’t always easy, especially when you don’t know what to say.

As a website copywriter, one of the main reasons my clients reach out to work with me is because they don’t feel like their website sounds like them, but they’re not sure how to fix it. They don’t know which facts are relevant, or they feel weird about talking about themselves, or—the concern we’re chatting about in this post—they don’t know where on their website it’s appropriate to share more info about who they are.

And that, my friend, is where what I call the “MINI ABOUT” comes in!

A “Mini About” is exactly what it sounds like: a small section on a given webpage where you introduce yourself to your reader, and make things feel more like a conversation, and less like your website is just a bunch of boring info thrown at them.

Keep reading to learn which pages to add a Mini About section to, and my preferred strategies for doing so—I’m going over each of them one by one!

The Homepage Mini About

There are two ways I like to teach the art of the homepage Mini About. Let’s call them “Straightforward Simple” and “Target Audience Trick.”

The Straightforward Simple is exactly that: as straightforward and as simple as possible.

Below is an example from the Duo Collective website—or, as I like to call it, The Everything Website, because it has every page a service-based business owner could ever want or need.

Their homepage Mini About is the perfect example of Straightforward Simple. It tells the reader who the Duo is, the services they specialize in (aka how they can help you), and they even give a little context about who they are as a team—and why the fact that they’re a team is an added bonus.

It gives you the must-know info about who Duo Collective is, while also taking into consideration that you, the reader, may not quite care yet – keeping it just the right amount of surface-level.

When you opt for this type of homepage Mini About, you have the luxury of eliminating any potential second-guessing about which information is relevant to share up front, AND you make it much easier to optimize the section for SEO—because, by talking about the services you provide, you’re naturally feeding Google’s little spiders those keywords they’re seeking.

(This section alone houses six keyphrases that Duo is targeting! But that’s a lesson for another day.)

The second strategy for writing a homepage Mini About is actually kind of a trick.

…because, technically, it isn’t actually an “about” at all – but more of a lead-in to the About page itself.

When you use the Target Audience Trick strategy, you’re fine with the fact that it’s not really about you at this point in the reader’s journey, because you know you haven’t quite earned their complete interest yet—they’re still in the “what’s in it for me? is this corner of the Internet right for me?” phase, determining whether or not they should keep scrolling throughout the site.

This specific Mini About has a unique responsibility to cater first to the reader, by explaining what you as the business owner can do for them, THEN to pique their interest enough for them to click the call-to-action button that leads to your actual About page.

In the below example from my client and friend Lindsey Kleidman, Founder of one of New England’s best boutique wedding planning agencies, Wildflower Events + Design, we focused primarily on Lindsey’s relationship with the reader—aka the potential client—as opposed to focusing on Lindsey as a person.

We kick things off by explaining exactly who she is and what her titles are, but then we head straight into the “…and here’s what I can do for you, and why I’m the person you should choose to do it” vibe.

But, because these facts are disguised as a Mini About, the reader doesn’t even notice that’s what we’re doing here—especially because, if you spoke to Lindsey, you’d notice that these few sentences sound just like her. She’d actually say these things out loud. Especially the part about being wild.

The trick to writing the perfect homepage Mini About is to introduce yourself and openly, honestly explain to your reader how you plan to serve them. And then, from there, make it all about the reader, so they know you have their best interest in mind.

This will inevitably invite them to come to trust and like you, which will inspire a click on the CTA to read your full About page—or, even better, will inspire them to reach out to work with you.

Before we move onto the next Mini About your site needs, here’s one more example of the Target Audience Trick from my client Lauren’s site:

The Contact Page Mini About

As the second-most viewed page on your site, and as the page that often seals the deal—aka where your clients inquire about working with you—your Contact page definitely doesn’t deserve to be neglected, even though it so often is.

(I hate to break it to ya, but you probably shouldn’t just write “Contact Me” as your headline, throw in a submission form, and call it a day, if you actually care about conversion. But that’s a whole other how-to for another day.)

Adding a Mini About to your Contact page will help your reader get to know you better, which is an essential part of determining whether they should reach out about working with you, especially if they found your site via your blog and have never read your About or Services pages.

Below is a Contact page Mini About from my client Whit’s site (who, by the way, I used as an example in my Not About You About Page Formula blog post—you should check it out!)

I opted for a relatable story as her Mini About theme, and based on what she’s told me about the amount of inquiries she’s received since I wrote her site, it’s working.

The Blog Page Mini About

Before you protest, YES, your blog page—you do have one, don’t you…?—deserves a Mini About, and it’s actually one of the most important ones on your site.

Think about it: if the first interaction someone is having with your website is your blog page, chances are they were led there from a different corner of the Internet, like Pinterest or Google.

They were looking for something, but that something wasn’t you specifically. It was likely an answer to a question they had, or inspiration for something they’re working on, or details about a topic they want to learn about, or more context about something that piqued their curiosity.

But because blog posts don’t pay the bills, you’ll need to make an introduction somewhere between the final sentence of the post they clicked on and their mouse traveling over to the big bad “X” in the corner, if you’re hoping they’ll turn into more than just a blog reader.

The purpose of a blog page Mini About is to introduce yourself to your reader, and help them see you as a multi-dimensional human who can help them in more ways than just the free content you post online.

These Mini Abouts should always end with a call-to-action to learn more about you, or your services, or to contact you—or all three.

Let’s turn to Lindsey’s website again.

Similar to her homepage Mini About, the blog version includes an introduction to who she is and what her titles are. But beyond that, because this Mini About has a different purpose than the one on her homepage, that’s where the similarities end.

In the first sentence, we acknowledge the reader directly, assuming—hoping!—that they’ve found her blog in their exciting (and seemingly never-ending) wedding inspo search.

The ideal Wildflower blog reader is somewhere between the blissful brand-new fiancee and the stressed-out soon-to-be bride, considering hiring some assistance in planning the big day – which means our Mini About needs to stress the fact that yes, hi, Lindsey here, I’m actually an amazing wedding planner, not just a faceless blog writer, and I can help!

It’s not weird that we’ve chosen to thank the reader for being there, or that we’ve chosen a more general ‘to learn more about me…’ vibe for this Mini About, because the people who are actually reading this little section are the people who need it most – the ones who landed on her site just to read a blog post they found interesting; not the ones who already know Lindsey or went out intentionally searching for information about wedding planning services.

The Course Sales Page Mini About

A Mini About on a course sales page—or any sales page for an offering where you as the creator, educator, or mentor will be a central focus—is a MUST.

It’s rare that someone is going to buy a course, join a mentorship program, or sign up for a community hosted by a person they don’t know, because so much of what attracts your audience to buy education-based content from you is YOU.

The Mini About gives you a chance to explain to readers who they’re learning from, showcase your expertise on the subject mater, and give more context about why you’re qualified.

Here’s an example from my client Alex Garza’s sales page for her wildly successful course, Good To Be Creator, all about how to leverage your social media platforms to become an influencer:

And here’s another example from my client Cahlia, on the sales page I wrote for her new small group coaching and 1:1 mentorship program for brand and website designers.

The Shop / Product Page Mini About

If you sell digital products, it’s highly likely that customers will land on the Shop page of your site first—before getting any details about who you are and what else you have to offer.

Adding a Mini About to this page will help you:

• Give the customer more context about who you are, potentially convincing them to buy from you (if your Mini About highlights your expertise, or makes you sound relatable/likable)
• Build a relationship with people who are intending to buy from you, so you can keep them coming back for more
• Increase the time users spend on your page by adding more content for them to browse
• Ups your word count, because Shop and product pages are classically low on the great-SEO-required word count of 300 words

The below example is from my client Sarah Price’s site, on her Shop page where she sells her Sustainable Social Success Workbook.

Still curious about how to create the perfect Mini About?

…and all the other elements that make up a bomb website? Join the waitlist for my upcoming website copywriting course to learn about ALL things website copy—and how to optimize your site for SEO, the best blogging strategies, & how to get started with email marketing.

Other ways I can help you:

• Read my blog post about how to write a minimal Services page
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter, where I send one copywriting tip, once a week
• Follow along with me on Instagram for even more copywriting tips
• Book a mentorship session with me

Or, of course, you can hire me to write your website copy for you! 🙂 Click here to inquire.

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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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