Ready to get personal?

It’s the nightmare page from your college admissions process all over again.

You’ve passed your SATS, acquired the letters of recommendation, and narrowed down your choices. Now all you have to do is write that personal letter.

Hours slip by and it still sits there, mocking you straight to your face.
How do you talk about yourself in a way that impresses others but also doesn’t come across as egotistical?

If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll run against the same dilemma once again when creating your website’s “About Me” page. Here are some tips on creating a piece that has to, somehow, capture both you and your business.

Be like Google Maps

If you’re not sure where to begin, give customers the big picture. It’s impressive and will show them what you’re about overall. This might mean starting with your mission statement or the goal of your brand.

From there you can dive deeper into the specifics.

For example, if you’re a sustainable beauty brand whose goal is to improve the environment and provide income to poor women around the world, you can explain why each of those elements is important to what your company does.

Unlike other companies, your brand allows women to purchase makeup that isn’t made cheaply in factories and isn’t bad for the environment.

Give them what they came for

Goals are well and good but no one is going to buy your dreams.

So, what are you selling?

Your “About Me” page should explicitly state what customers can buy and reiterate how it works with the goal of your brand.

Continuing the example above, if you’re concerned about the beauty industry and products for women empowering women, your makeup may be au natural and less pigmented, to bring out women’s real beauty.

A lot of brands will try to throw in trendy words like ‘justice’ or ‘sustainability’, only for the products to have nothing to do with those lofty statements. Prove you’re one of the authentic brands they can trust.

Remember your science lessons

Because so many brands talk the talk without walking the walk, you’ll want to add more details and prove your claims.

Exactly how much of your product is giving back to women in developing countries? Is there a statistic you can give to prove your brand is decreasing waste?

Numbers, facts, things customers can hold onto (and check) will be invaluable on your “About Me” page.

If you lack useful numbers, showing the steps you’re taking to make your goals a reality is also acceptable. Customers like to prove their own goodness by supporting companies who are at least aiming to make a difference.

Give them the comfort of knowing your brand cares about more than just the bottom line.

Don’t be a robot

There’s a reason many companies hire a writer to build their “About Me” page.

Most of us are all taught to write a certain way in school. As a result our writing can come across as stilted and robotic.

It’s the style that makes customers, especially those desiring authenticity, back away, and try to find a more human brand.

Whether you are using a freelance writer or writing it yourself, try reading your page out loud and see if it sounds like something you would ACTUALLY say in a conversation.

Add an extra image or two

Your “About Me” page can stand out with some custom additions. An explainer video showing your origin story, some photos of your company retreat or a whiteboard full of ideas.

Find something you can reveal about your brand through images rather than words.

There are no hard and fast rules to this tip, just try to find a way to express your company and yourself through another visual medium.

Don’t forget about you

Even though you should focus on showcasing the brand and the goals of your company, remember to add the human elements such as founders or key creators behind the product or service.

There is an addictive quality to any origin story. We like to know the human struggles behind a brand to help us appreciate its existence.

Personal details might include your age, race, background, if you’re supporting a family, or a host of other facts that someone could look at and go, “Hey they’re just like me!”

The more you add the more likely you will connect to the customers who will make or break your brand.

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The “About Me” page is far more important than people think. It’s an often visited feature of a company website that can increase interest or turn potential customers off entirely. Build your page carefully, show your goals, add social proof, and don’t be afraid to get personal.