3 Common “About Us” Page Mistakes

As a copywriter, one of the more common assignments I get from clients is helping them rewrite the About Us page for their company’s website. Over the years, I’ve noticed that companies make a few common mistakes when it comes to this all-important page,

Why is this page important?

After the home page, the About Us page is often the reason why someone will consider doing business with you. It must be written in a way that persuades your prospect to call.

Here are 3 three common mistakes people make on the About Us page, and what you can do to correct them:

1. Too much info – The About Us page should not read like “War and Peace.” Keep the content clear and consise. 300-400 words should be plenty to convey who you are, who your target audience is and why someone should do business with YOU!  If you attend networking events, use your 30-60 second elevator speech as a guide.

2. It’s all about YOU – While your About Us page does need to talk about you, don’t mistake that to mean that’s all you talk about! This is not your resume. We don’t need to know the awards you won in high school or college, unless they are relevant to your profession today!

3. No Value Proposition – Remember, people want to know “what’s in it for me.” Your About Us page needs to explain WHY someone should buy from you. What are the benefits your product or service offers? If you don’t offer people something of value, they’re not going to do business with you.

About Us Template

Here are 6 elements that your About Us page should contain to be an effective marketing element of your website:

1.  Answers question, “What do you do?” – The first sentence should be clear and to the point. Example: “I am an expert in…”

2. Answers question, “Who do you serve?” – State who your ideal client is. If you specialize in a certain niche, say so.

3. Professional accomplishments – Don’t go overboard here, but do mention the most important element that backs up what you do.

4. Credibility boosters – Mention any awards, certifications or memberships.

5. Past Projects – Briefly detail any past projects and work that set you apart from your peers.

6. Innovations – List anything novel or innovative that you’re doing in your niche that makes you more attractive to your target audience.

 

3 Reasons Why Case Studies are a Valuable Marketing Tool

Many businesses typically include testimonials on their website as a way to convince potential clients to buy their products or services.

But if you want to go the extra mile to promote your business, a much stronger marketing  tool to use is the case study. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. A case study allows you to go into detail about why your product or service is superior to your competitor’s. Instead of relying on a customer quote, you can use specific facts and figures to demonstrate how you were able to enhance your customer’s sales,  productivity, etc.
2. A case study allows you to paint a compelling story for a potential client by illustrating the challenge your customer faced, the solution your company provided, and the results.
3. A case study is a powerful sales tool, since the more case studies you have to show to a potential client, the easier it will be to convince that client to do business with you.

How do you go about producing a case study?  The first thing you should do is interview your best customers to see if they’d be willing to be featured in a case study. If you’ve got a client who raves about your product or service, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get them to talk about their experiences.  Ask the client to provide concrete details on how their company benefited from your product/service.

After that, the format is straight forward. The case study should include the company’s background, the challenge it faced in the marketplace, the solution your company provided, and the results.

The finished product can be displayed on your company website, or printed for inclusion in an information packet you hand out to potential clients.

A case study is only a great tool if it’s written in a manner that will enable it to convert your leads into sales.  If you’re a small business owner who isn’t comfortable writing this type of marketing material, hire a professional copywriter to do it for you.