It’s a filter, not a pitch

Open up the analytics for your agency. If you have an “About” page in your main navigation, chances are it’s one of your top 3 most visited pages (it’s my 2nd).

Then go ask your LLM of choice about your agency and take note of which pages it cites. Again, chances are, the About page is mentioned a couple times (assuming you have one).

But if I had to guess, it’s one of the pages we end up spending the least amount of time on.

It feels weird to talk about yourself, and most of us assume people aren’t there to read our biography. But that’s exactly why so many About pages miss the mark… They’re written like a résumé instead of a greeting.

It’s a filter, not a pitch.

When someone lands on your About page, they’re asking themselves “Can I see myself working with these people?”. The about page acts as a filter. Not to try and appeal to everyone with nonsense like “we craft digital experiences”, but with what you believe, who you work with, how you think, and what people should expect.

There’s a fear that being too specific will cost you work. But in practice, the opposite is true. If your About page could’ve been written for any agency, you’re going to have a hard time convincing anyone you’re the right choice.

If it’s not actively telling some people they’re not a good fit, then it’s not going to convince anyone they’re a perfect fit either.

Auditing your About page

If you’re looking at your About page wondering what to do with it, here are a few things worth considering:

• Who you work best with. That doesn’t mean you have to list out every industry, but just something to help people say “hey, they’re talking about me!”. Think “Companies tired of being passed off to a junior account manager the moment the contract is signed.”
• Real photos of real people. You don’t have to go out and hire a photographer for studio headshots, our phones have plenty of enough quality and feel way more real anyway.
• A point of view. What do you believe about our work as agencies that not everyone agrees with? What do you refuse to do? What do you insist on? This is a great place to take a stand.
• Why your business exists. There are a million agencies to choose from, so what problem did you see that you wanted to fix?
• A next step. If someone spends three minutes reading your about page, they’re seriously interested. So make sure to give them a single click to start the process.

Here are a few of my favorite about pages: Fathom Analytics (strong point of view), The Content Lab (tons of personality), Jammy Digital (clear about who they help), Basecamp (nails the ‘why’), and Neville Medhora has a great writeup I always go back to for inspiration.

There might be a million agencies similar to yours, but there’s no one with your exact background, point of view, experience, standards, taste, and personality. Your unique combination of these things is exactly why someone should hire you. The About page is where you make sure they know it.