Driving repeat business for your eCommerce shop goes beyond having great products. In today’s fast-paced, at-your-door-in-two-days eCommerce world, online sellers need to give their customers more to hold on to. Buyers want to support businesses with similar values and interesting stories to tell — and that’s why we’re going to learn how to create an About page.
Of course, you don’t want to try to stuff all of that into your product description or on your home page.
The About page is another place on your eCommerce website where you can share what makes your business unique.
Your About page should provide a story that humanizes your brand — and shows how your business got started, what inspires and motivates you, and why you’re passionate about what you do. Every business has a story to tell, and this page is where you should be telling it.
Related: Web content development: What to include on 5 core website pages
Why create an About page?
First, let’s talk about why you need to share your story. Story has been used for hundreds of years to build connections between people. It’s even more important now that transactions happen even faster with technology like GoDaddy’s GoCentral Online Store.
Customers relate best when they can see themselves in the story — particularly when they can identify that you’re solving the problem that they have. And yes, even if you’re selling products that feel like a splurge or luxury (like custom bath bombs or specialty dog leashes), you’re still solving a customer’s problem.
How to create an About page
Here are the four key components you need to share in your business story. We’ll use Carrie, the owner of a specialty dog leash company as an example as we look at how to create an About page.
Identification: “There’s a problem here.”
Carrie was tired of losing her bland leashes at the dog park. Everyone’s leashes looked alike — always a solid color, without any real personality. Carrie and her two dogs were full of personality that her pet accessories didn’t express.
Realization: “I could fix this.”
Carrie’s father was a leather smith and her grandmother was a seamstress. She decided to take the skills she had learned from them over the years and create a couple of custom leashes for her precious pooches.
Expansion: “I can help others with this problem.”
The first time she took her new leashes to the dog park, she started getting comments. By the third time, she started taking custom orders. Based on the feedback from those first few orders, she realized that more people than she knew were interested in custom leashes for their dogs, too.
Mission: “Helping others connects me with the world.”
Carrie wanted to help other dog owners express their personality and love of their pets with custom and semi-custom dog leashes, collars and harnesses. She started her online store to help dog owners around the world. She also donates 10 percent of all of her profits back to the local dog rescue organization. In every package, she includes a picture of a pup from the rescue her business supports.
You can include details about how many years you’ve been serving your customers, or how many customers you’ve helped achieve their goals.
What to avoid on your About page
Of course, there are also a few things that you shouldn’t do as you figure out how to create an About page.
Don’t stuff it with industry jargon
People like and appreciate straight talk about who you are and what you do.
Industry jargon doesn’t make you sound smart — it often sounds aloof and unapproachable.
And if someone is new and can’t figure out what you do, they won’t know if they need your product or service. That doesn’t mean that your writing should be sloppy. It can (and should) be well crafted, polished and accurate.
Don’t include boring, off-brand images
If an image can communicate a thousand words, then carefully choose images as you learn how create an About page. They should align with your brand and encourage visitors to make a connection. Whether that’s candid headshots of your team, photos of customers with your products, or even historical photos of your products through the ages, your About page isn’t where you want to just grab the first flatlay you come across.
Don’t create laundry lists of bland commercial values
Few things are as uninspiring as a bullet list of generic values that don’t align with the rest of your messaging or speak to your customers. When a first-time visitor encounters them, they’ll think “more corporate blah-blah-blah” and keep scrolling. Instead, demonstrate your values in a character-driven manifesto and customer-inspired stories.
Related: How to write a mission statement you’ll be proud to share
Don’t overshare
There’s a fine line between being engaging and oversharing, so tread carefully. When they’re done reading, visitors should be able to share what you do clearly and succinctly and understand your brand values. Remember, you’re sharing a short, relatable story — not your autobiography.
Don’t use coy or clever calls-to-action
Let your reader know how to continue the conversation with you — whether that’s signing up for your email newsletter, writing a review, or placing another order. Don’t make them think about it — just make it easy for them to say yes.
Related: How to create CTAs that drive the right moves
Don’t use video alone
Video content is a great way to give your brand personality. But not everyone loves video. If someone’s browsing your site at work or on public transportation, they might not want to watch your brand video just to figure out who in the heck you are. Be sure to include a text option for the video-averse among us.
Related: 9 types of video content to move customers through the sales funnel
Don’t skip SEO
Your About page has the opportunity to be a powerhouse of SEO links, especially as you establish your brand. In some examples I’ve seen, well-crafted About pages have generated thousands of organic page views because they were well optimized. Plus, many of those page views turned into email subscribers and leads because the pages had appropriate calls-to-action and conversion-optimized forms.
Wrapping up
Remember, your customers choose to buy from you over and over again because they’re connecting with and supporting a real live person — not just a nameless, faceless conglomerate. Learning how to create an About page for your eCommerce site helps give it a friendly face to purchase from again and again.
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