Writing an “About Me” page is one of the hardest things to do. It means you have to talk about yourself.
And very few people are comfortable writing about themselves.
I mean, where do you draw the line? Isn’t it almost like bragging? Will your audience really bother reading about you? Shouldn’t the “About Me” page be about your audience?
Tough questions which every new entrepreneur struggles with.
There is a lot of conflicting information out there about writing an “About Me” page and understandably this can be confusing.
But an “About Me” page is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Every “About Me” page is different, unique and is written in context of the person’s goals, perspectives and based on who their audience is.
But there are some do’s and don’ts which every successful “About Me” page should incorporate.
So let’s deconstruct the “About Me” page and look at some of those valid points.
It’s your chance to shine
Yes the “About Me” is page is about you – it’s an opportunity for you to tell your story, to let your audience know who you really are and tell them why you do what you do.
Your audience wants to know the real you. They want to know what makes you tick, what you like and what you don’t. It’s about showing them the real you through words, photos or videos.
So before you get all excited and start crafting your story, you need to know that exercising some restraint in your message will resonate better with your audience.
Why?
Because while this page is about you, it’s really about your audience and what THEY want to know about you.
So start with a backstory. Explain how you got to where you are today. Show them why you are doing what you do and explain how what you do and how it will help your audience.
Amy Porterfield's" About Me" page is an excellent example of how she relays what she can do to help her audience through a story about her life and journey which is engaging. It really connects with the readers.
Inject your personality into it so that your readers get a sense of the kind of person you are and how you work.
While the “About Me” page is your biography, you don’t have to list your qualifications like a resume or a list. Weave a personal story and make it valuable to your audience.
Don’t go on and on
Stories are great. The engage and pull the audience in further - if they are interesting.
But long stories which can’t get to the point quickly lose their traction pretty fast.
If you want to write a personal story, then make it relatable to your readers. Why should they read all about you? What are they getting out of it?
A good place to start is to understand what your readers find interesting.
Yes, you’re right – they like reading about themselves and they want to know how you can help them.
There is no rule about how long the “About Me” page needs to be. If you take a look at some “About Me” pages, they are quite short.
Take a look at Grace Lever’s page - it is short and concise whereas Mike Perry’s page is long and starts with a video.
In his case he talks about all the design projects he has worked on and he also goes on to list his published books and other projects. He also includes a few fun quirky photos of himself on this page. That’s because as a popular designer, creative director and brand consultant, all this information is relevant to people who want to hire him.
The ideal length for an “About me” for small businesses is between 250 words to 500 words. This will keep your writing concise and relevant without boring your readers too much.
Make it stand out
You can start with a headline which grabs their attention. Try something quirky or something funny but keep it relevant. You can go punchy or keep it simple. It all depends on what you want to portray about yourself and how your readers react.
Other ways or making that first great impression is to add videos or photos which make a statement.
Remember your online audience is impatient and usually scan all their information online, so make relevant sections of your “About me” content stand out, which will help them grasp the most important pieces of information first.
Know your audience
Knowing your target audience or your buyer persona is important in every aspect of all your marketing strategies.
Your products and services are meant to be for a particular segment of people. For example if you are a health coach and weight loss expert you are targeting those people who need help with managing their weight and leading a healthy lifestyle.
Knowing that - helps you craft your content which speaks to your target audience effectively.
If you know who your customers are, you can tailor all your marketing initiatives to get the maximum response, engagement and conversions.
This cuts the guess work which goes into all that work you put in to market your product or service and you can create a targeted message designed for a particular response.
And it starts with knowing your audience at the most intimate level – their dreams, desires, wants, needs, fears and dislikes.
When you are writing your “About me” page, you are crafting a message which speaks to your buyer personas.
Like Mirasee's "About us" page which clearly addresses their target audience. Anyone reading this will know who it is for.
On this page you are marketing yourself or your business and you need to address your buyer persona by understanding their situation, their problems and pain points and knowing what kind of help they need.
If you don’t know who you are talking to then you don’t know what to say.
By understanding your target audience, you can deliver a more authentic message and establish yourself as and authority.
Show them how you can help
“About me” pages can be tricky when you can’t draw the line between writing about yourself and making it all about your target reader.
It’s a balancing act.
Your customers and target audience want to know how you can help them.
Tell them how you can. Demonstrate through storytelling how you have helped others with your products or services.
Talk about your expertise and how you are the most qualified person to help your readers. Understand the art of storytelling and construct stories from events in your personal and professional life and show them how your life relates to theirs and how you can help them.
But don’t forget to give them some of your personality too. Highlight parts of your personality which you want them to know about and those which are relevant to your offerings.
And show them why you are the best solution to their problems.
In a great example, XO Sarah starts off with telling her audience how she can help them and what she can do for them. Her headline makes that first important statement about her and what she will do for her readers.
Understand how they want to be addressed and think of how you want them to feel after they read your “About me” section. Consider these points as they will guide you in shaping your message with the appropriate tone and style.
Let them know you with a photograph
A big mistake some businesses make is not putting a face or faces to the business.
If your audience reads your “About me” section, they would want to know who the person or persons are behind the business.
If they are going to part with their hard earned money to hire you, then they want to get a proper sense of who you are – and that comes from what and how you write your “About me” copy and through your photos.
Let your audience really know you and this starts with a visual impression of who you are – like a photograph of you which reflects your personality.
Don’t forget to add your name as that further cements who you are in your readers mind. They can now connect the photo with your name and your “About me” content.
This humanises your business, and makes it easier for readers to connect with you and remember you.
Call to action
A CTA or Call to Action is one vital element for all your digital marketing and the same is true for your “About me” page.
The reason why you do this is because you want your readers to move further along the buyer’s journey with you.
Take Neil Patel's "About Me" page, which starts with a video captioned "Generate more traffic and sales today" - enough to let you know what you will get working with him - with Neil telling you more about himself in the video which engages the audience easily. Below is video is a CTA you can't miss.
Rather than just reading about you on your page and forget about it, a CTA will prompt your readers to take some sort of action and keep the relationship between you and your reader ongoing.
This CTA could be something like signing up for your newsletter or connecting with you on social media or contacting you.
You usually add this in the end and highlight it, but you can also intersperse it within your “About me” content at relevant places without going overboard.
Other things you can do
- Add links to your social media so your audience can connect with you and have access to your posts.
- Add social proof and testimonials to establish your expertise.
- Feature links to some of your work.
- Show how you are an expert by including links to where you have been featured or interviewed.
- Add interesting and relevant videos such as your artwork process if you are a designer.
- Include your professional bio if relevant.
This wraps up the most important do’s and don’ts’ of writing and creating your “About me” page.
Now that you have all the important information about writing this vital page, you can get inspired and culminate all these points in one beautiful relevant concise piece of incredible content.
Sounds easy?
Need help writing your "About Me" page? Contact Me