Most everyone likes a good piece of homemade pie and everyone likes a good About Page. Both are rare, however.
Rare because most aren’t done well. Both are meant to satisfy and make good memories. A store-bought pie or a fill-in-the-blank website won’t do that. Both have to be handmade. Handmade means you care.
Be Remembered
To write an About Page requires a light touch, like making pastry. Two different skills, the same result – something that always gets remembered for the right reasons. Who can resist that? Being well remembered is what you want for your business.
When I make a pie, I think about who I’m making it for. I think about the people or function when I make the pastry, when I roll out the dough, when I place in the filling, when it’s baking. My foremost thoughts are who the pie is for.
It’s the same for an About Page. I interview the person or the representative of the company to find the hook (usually a very small anecdote). I think (for days if necessary) and then write. At every stage I consider my client and their ideal client.
Show Some Emotion
We balk at emotion for a website. Websites are facts. Facts are meat and potatoes. And pie is dessert. So, make the About Page dessert (and eat it first?).
Even a rebar company has emotion. There’s a person or people behind it and they are not robots. They have integrity. Integrity is passion. Passion is emotion. Humans are an emotional species.
You might say, ‘that sure was good’ (like you would as you pushed away from the table with pie crumbs on your face). That’s emotion. Maybe it’s not the wet-eyed stuff of a cat rescue site, but that emotion is plenty for most businesses.
A Secret
Give your page a little business secret. For example, say why or how your business came to be or where you were educated. Just don’t make your About page regurgitate what is said on your other pages. There won’t be any ice cream. And you certainly won’t be remembered.
My own About Page is the only place that says how I came to operate my business. It’s not long, about a 20-second read. The rest of my site is the writing service I offer, but that small piece on my About Page says why I do what I do.
When your About Page is so good people come back for more. Like pie.