It's an easy mistake to make.
You slap some words on your About page, wrench them apart, shovel in a bit fluff, a pinch of jargon; and give it no more thought. Because it's not that important, right?
Not exactly.
You see, this is where so many of us get it wrong, and leak piles of cash in the process. Even though we may pay it less attention, our About page is one of our most visited - which makes it low-hanging fruit, just waiting to be plucked.
By which I mean, if your visitors aren't captivated, bewitched, mesmerized or just plain hungry-for-more after reading your About page, you can grab yourself a hanky and wave them goodbye.
In other words, you just lost a sale.
Because your About page isn't just about painstakingly-crafted words that make you look good. Your About page is like speed dating
Let me explain.
An outstanding About page hooks your customers with excitement, endorphins, neuroscience... reciprocity.
Imagine that you're preened to perfection; sitting in front of Mr or Mrs Future Perfect - but you've only got five minutes to get them to tick 'Yes' next to your name.
Do you:
- Talk in quick-fire succession about how amazing you are, hoping they'll faint with admiration?
- Be interested. Ask questions. Quickly find some common ground?
- Dazzle them with your Zoolander pout?
As I'm sure you know: the best way to get someone interested in you is to show interest in them. Why?
Because: How to win friends and influence people.
Dousing your About page with me-me-me features is the equivalent of dousing it - and your business - with petrol and placing it near a naked flame. Because features bore the pants off people and your customers will u-turn faster than you can say: Bounce rate, what's that?
Ready to put this in to practice?
Show them the engine room
Nobody else has your history, your provenance, your expertise, your reputation, your values or your unique take on business. Think about it. Five companies: all offering the same service, with similar expertise and similar pricing. How do you choose which one to work with? You choose the one that makes you feel a certain way. Whether consciously, or not, you'll choose the one that aligns with your values and interests.
Whether that's because you admire a company's eco credentials, or because you share a mutual love of tango dancing, or simply because you like the way they write....
Fact is: Birds of a feather flock together.
You see, your About page kicks open the doors to your business and lets your customers take a peek inside the engine room - in all its sweaty, honest, human glory.
And if they relate to what they see?
Ka-ching.
Some examples...
Zendesk: a shining example of an About page oozing with personality.
Friendly, smiling photos of the founders; a window into their worldview (bringing zen to a chaotic word of customer support), values that underline their likeability and their relentless commitment to their customers. A winning formula for this market leader.
In comparison, Freshdesk has an About page with a lot less personality.
There's nothing intrinsically wrong here, but you have to work much harder to get them. How can I know (deep in my gut, where I make those decisions) that they're right for me? And by default, how they'll treat my customers?
If an About page feels more like a curtain and your customers have to work to see behind it; they'll simply move on.
Better words = more sales: FACT
Let's say, you get 100 website visitors every month and three people pick up the phone and buy your service at $100 each. That's a conversion rate of 3% and $300 in your pocket.
Now imagine your About page is perfectly coiffured and ceaselessly resonating with your carefully-researched and very specific target customer. Your conversion rate is extremely likely to increase.
So now you've lowered your bounce rate and you're seeing a conversion rate of 6%. That's $600 in your pocket.
But it doesn't end there.
You can see the market's buying; your confidence grows - so you double your fee. Word gets out about your amazing service... your traffic grows. Now you're getting 500 visitors a month at your 6% conversion rate.
That's $3000 (a 1000% increase). Just because of your words.
See how it snowballs?
Because, if you hadn't noticed, choosing the right words can mean the difference between making sale, or not, between converting more customers, or not.
Between meeting your targets, or not.
So remember: words are your biggest sales tool, don't overlook them or let them go to waste. Go through your website with a fine toothcomb and make every single word count.
Worth a bash, isn't it?
