Why are about pages so important? Because they’re the second most visited pages on our sites! If you watch your Google Analytics I bet you’ll see that most people are diving straight for your about page after landing on your site.

Maybe this sounds scary if you don’t have an about page or the one you have is basically empty (talking about ourselves is hard—I get it!) but the good news is that people reading our about pages is a perfect way for us to build trust with our potential customers and get them closer to booking our services.

If you’ve been ignoring your about page like it’s taxes or the DMV, you’re passing up a valuable chance to build an important connection. The good news? I have a framework that’ll help you guy check and refine your about page so that it works for you!

Before we go deeper, I want you to get over the fear of talking about yourself. I know we tend to lose our words when asked to write our own bio, but as a service provider, you need to get good at selling yourself to your audience. If you truly believe in what you offer, you need to see yourself as a guide and an expert who is worth meeting. And know that people want to do business with people that they like, so don’t be afraid to share your (very like-able) personality!

Without further ado, here are 5 things you can do to write a better about page for your creative business website:

Open it with a great headline.

Think about what you would title a movie you’re in, or how you can hook someone in with something great or unique about you. Tell them what you stand for and who you are as a professional in your space. And don’t be afraid to be creative and quirky here! On my about page I have “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve said “I have an idea,” I’d be one rich cat. But my life revolves around using my ideas to help people like you get paid to do what you love. Because the optimism of creating has done so much for me that I can’t help but share it.”   This hooks the reader with something fun, and then goes on to talk about what I do for them and why I love it.

Tell your story.

As a creative, there is a reason why you do what you do, and why you feel called to create.T ell that story in whatever way feels most true to you, whether its serious, funny, or quirky. On my page I tell a long story, but it’s gotten me a lot of great results from my audience! I begin it with “I grew up in New England with adventure-scratched knees, colored pencils, and wild works of my own fiction where I heard my creative voice for the first time. At 13 I experienced sudden loss, and grief that triggered an autoimmune disease. I subsequently poured myself into more artwork, writing, and creative endeavors…” Tell the story of how you became the creative you are today and what your work means to you. 

Bring them into the story.

This is your about page, but it’s about how you relate to your customers. Bring them into the story and tell them how they are a fit to work with you. On my page I say “From that realization on I knew I needed to offer design and photography services to help makers and dreamers–people who know how to build big beautiful things out of what is seemingly broken or useless.” And then I go on to talk more about who they are and how I help them get paid to do what they love. Show your audience where they fit in the story of you as a service provider.

Include your picture!!!

So many people forget to include their picture in their about page. Don’t be one of those people! Site visitors are actively trying to find out more about you and decide that they trust you, and showing a professional, high-quality picture of your face goes a long way here! Now don’t mistake “professional” for “corporate.” This can be a fun picture that shows your personality or you in your work environment doing what you love. Just try to avoid pictures that are too artistic so that people can’t really see you. And if you can have a photo where you’re making eye contact with the camera that is even better.

End it with a fun fact list if you’re out of ideas! SO many great About pages have a fun fact list included at the end that helps the reader find small ways that they might relate to you and reveals more of your quirks. People want to work with people they like, so this is another way for you to appear as a likeable, fun service provider!