The 5 Parts of a Great Website Bio

You may remember us teaming up with Create + Cultivate last year for their LA conference. Since they are such stellar providers of marketplace wisdom, we’re excited to continue that relationship and begin sharing noteworthy content from their blog with you here! Get ready for loads of practical advice for flexing those Achiever muscles.

Written by Celeste Mitchell:

If you think of the pages on your blog or business website like the squares of a Monopoly board, your “About” page would be Boardwalk. So valuable is this piece of virtual real estate, people come barreling through your front door like it’s a never-ending open house whether you invited them in or not. They’re intrigued! They’re curious!

So, what have you planted on your “About” page?

Remember, you’ve got approximately 3 seconds to land your Mr or Mrs Right (customer) before they jump ship to the instant gratification of another shiny domain. They’re instinctively going to head to your About Page. When they get there this is what they need to see: Clear content, with a hook, that answers questions, and has an element of surprise.

How are you faring in these five areas?

1. THE HOOK

There’s a clever little tool in writing you’re going to need to get to know intimately, if you don’t already.

It’s called the hook.

It’s your angle. Your “bingo!” Your “aha” moment. Your “slap me down and call me Suzy, this person really gets me” statement. And the writers who produce the most memorable work are masters of the hook.

It’s all about infusing the theme of your message with the emotion that will reach right into the belly of your readers, make them spit out their muesli and pay attention to what you’ve got to say.

It takes in the worldview and assumptions of your reader and challenges them with a new idea.

Hit them right between the eyes with a powerful intro statement or heading to your about page that does exactly that. Surprise them, shock them, and most of all… become a master of intrigue through words.

2. COLORFUL LANGUAGE

Nobody ever made a lasting impression by thinking, ‘I hope I sound professional.’ Be bold in your language choices and work hard to ensure you don’t sound like everyone else.

Go through your copy with a big red pen and underline any words or sentences that feel too generic or cliched. If you think you’ve heard it all before, so will your readers, which means you’re not capturing their attention (refer back to the hook and try again)!

3. PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN

You may be a word nerd through and through, but if your About Page doesn’t look pretty (or work well on mobile) it’s going to be pretty easy for potential customers and clients to left swipe you right outta there.

Invest in design. Use subheadings to break up chunks of text. And for the love of WordPress, do not publish your page without a photo that shows the world who you are (eye contact and smile, people!).

You wouldn’t buy anything from a shopkeeper if you walked in and they were wearing a paper bag on their head, so don’t be shy. Show yourself!

4. THE PERSONAL TOUCH

Don’t be afraid to stamp your personality on the page, but don’t feel you have to tell the world your ENTIRE life story, either.

Think back to your connectors, to your audience and don’t get too caught up. They want to know your story but they also want to be able to relate.

Give them just enough of what they need to know about you, but ultimately keep the page all about them (uh huh, that’s right… this page is all about THEM).

If you’re still chomping at the bit to tell more of your story, why not write a blog post called ‘10 things you never knew about me’ or tell your story in an emotion-fueled post?

 You wouldn’t buy anything from a shopkeeper if you walked in and they were wearing a paper bag on their head, so don’t be shy. Show yourself!

5. CALL TO ACTION

Once you’re satisfied your copy is alluring, interesting, informative and tells your customers everything they need to know, you’re ready to rock!

Think about what call to action you want to include on the page? What’s your priority?

Is it…

• Directing people to your services page so they can book to work with you?
• Asking them to contact you to make a booking?
• Getting them to sign up to your email updates?
• Sending them onto the blog posts you’re most proud of so they can immerse themselves in your brand?

Don’t overwhelm your customers with multiple links – keep it clean and simple so your about page can perform at its best.

What makes the best impression on you with a website?

Images via Melody Munn