When a new client comes to me for help with a website, it’s not uncommon for them to focus on creating copy for pages like “About Us” or “Our Story.”
The problem is that these pages don’t generate much financial value, and although some customers might be interested to learn about you, what the vast majority of people want to know is: how will this product or service benefits me?”
If your website is just a platform for you to tell your cool startup story, it isn’t likely to have much pull with new customers.
Focus on the Pages that Generate Sales.
People who visit your website have the potential to become customers, but you have to give them a good reason to make that decision.
No one is going to hire you or buy your products just because you started your company from your garage with your best friend from college. That’s a detail that might inspire loyalty, but only after the person has become a customer.
Your first priority is to convey value to your visitors so that they are compelled to give you money in exchange for your products or services.
The Example that Everyone Can Relate To: Amazon Shopping.
With all the holiday shopping people are doing, now is a great time to use Amazon as an example of this value-first, personality-later method of sales.
When you look at a product on Amazon, you’re usually reading a list of bullet points that explain why the product is useful to you.
You’re not there to read about how the creators were inspired by nature (or whatever). That kind of information is completely unrelated to your purchase.
Part of what makes Amazon such an effective marketplace is that it cuts out that nonsense and forces its sellers to deliver only the pertinent details in their top 5 bullets.
It’s Not About You. It’s About the Customer.
Good copywriting focuses on how the reader benefits.
Even when I’m talking about myself and the story that led to my becoming a copywriter, I’m presenting the information in a way that makes it clear how the reader benefits: they’re getting a copywriter who actually knows what it’s like to create a business.
If you must have an About Us page, just make sure the information is useful to the reader.
But more importantly, make sure your website has copywriting that will actually generate sales. Unless you’re in the creative writing business, there’s no need for stories that don’t serve the sale.