America’s SBDC Blog

A “Forbes 100 Best Websites for Entrepreneurs”

Once upon a website: Tell your business’s story on your About Us page

By Andrea Rowland

Andrea_RowlandIf you’re an entrepreneur, you know that marketing your business involves selling yourself as much as pitching your products. You are your business’s most valuable commodity. It’s your passion, competence, credibility and tenaciousness that fuel its success. To new and existing customers, you are the face of your brand.That’s the main reason it’s important to have an About Us page on your website. While your entire website is a blank canvas for you to paint your business’s unique story through compelling copy, inspiring images and dazzling design, your About Us page (although you may call it whatever you like) is the go-to space for visitors to learn all about who you are and why they should care.

Your story

What motivated you to start your business? How has your business grown, and why? What do customers say about you? What do you hope to accomplish? Why are you and your team the best people to deliver on your promises? These are just a few of the questions you might choose to answer on your About Us page. This is your chance to tell your story

An engaging personal narrative can add the personality your website needs to make visitors want to learn more — to click through to your products and services page, fill out your contact form, and check out your linked social media profiles.

It’s OK to feel a little intimidated if you’re not a practiced writer. This might help get you into the writing groove:

1.  Set aside 17 minutes.

2.  Grab a glass of water and switch your ringer to vibrate. If you’re in the presence of barking dogs or screaming children, find a quieter place to work.

3.  Grab your keyboard, go to your whiteboard, or cozy up with paper and a pen.

4.  Spend 5 minutes writing down questions people might have about you and your business. For hints, refer to the short list above

5.  If you’ve got a really long list of questions (fingers crossed), spend two minutes editing it down to your Top 10.

6.  Spend the last five minutes jotting down answers. Don’t overthink it. This is brainstorming. Just write/type the first thoughts that come to mind.

7.  Repeat if necessary.

Ideally, in less than 20 minutes, you’ll have a great base of content to begin crafting into a few punchy, passionate paragraphs on your About Us page. Shorter is better; no one wants to scroll, especially on a mobile phone. When you get to that point, be sure to share your draft with a trusted friend or family member for feedback.

To learn more about telling a story with your website’s design, check out this article.

Visuals

You’ve gotta have ‘em. A few strong photos, maybe a video, these are the elements on the page that will capture visitors’ attention. Complement your written story with images that will help bring it to life. Good images.

Customer testimonials

In addition to a page dedicated to showcasing positive feedback from your satisfied customers, you should include one or two exceptional testimonials on your About Us page. Let your happy customers reinforce your story! Their testimonials will help build your site visitors’ confidence in you, too.

Contact info

Finally, don’t forget to put your business’s primary contact info somewhere on the About Us page. You want to make it as easy as possible for visitors to get in touch with you. Consider crafting a conversational line that actually links to your Contact page. Maybe something like this: I hope our story inspires you to learn more. We’d love to hear from you!

Using GoDaddy’s Website Builder? You’ll find a variety of templated options for your About Us page.

Calling all SBDC professionals! You have exclusive access to all of our training materials referenced in our blog, please visit the Americas SBDC website Members Only area. A complete GoDaddy Training Materials webpage is available under “Partner Resources.” To get the login info to the Members Only area please email marketing@americassbdc.org now. Please note only SBDC professionals have access.

Bio: Former small business owner and newspaper journalist, and a published nonfiction author, Andrea Rowland helps craft compelling communications for today’s go-getters through her work as an editor at GoDaddy. Connect with Andrea on Google+. The world’s largest domain name registrar and Web hosting provider, GoDaddy gives small business owners the tools to name their idea, build a beautiful online presence, attract customers and manage their business. To get more tips for your small business—including articles, videos and webinars—check out the GoDaddy Training Hub.

Subscribe to our Blog

Monthly Archives