As a financial service professional, your website is one of the key components to establishing your online brand. Your “About” page is perhaps the most critical page of your site when it comes to attracting new prospects and engaging current clients. This page will often be the first stop a new visitor will interact with on their customer journey.
A recent study by Epsilon found that potential clients are 80% more inclined to engage with a financial advisor whose website offers advice customized to them. Therefore, you need an “About” page optimized to appeal to your ideal client to create an effective website.
This article will focus on the features an advisor needs to create an optimized “About” page, whether for themselves or their entire firm. Here’s how to write an about me page:
The On-Ramp to Your “Client Journey”
Understanding how lead generation and client engagement occur is the first step toward increasing their efficacy. The process that takes someone from a casual investigator to a loyal client can be considered a road or path. A series of touch-points define that path, each providing an experience that will either bring the prospect closer to or further from deciding to engage your services.
Your “About” page will usually be an early (if not the first) touch-point a potential client experiences on that path.
1. Ask the Big Questions
People who visit about pages typically have a specific challenge in mind. Your About page should explain why you are uniquely qualified to help your prospects take on that challenge.
Throughout your branding, but especially on your About, one question should direct all of your content:
Why you?
You can break this down further by asking:
The primary purpose of a financial service professional website is to serve as a home base for their online persona. When prospective clients decide if you are the right person to meet their needs, your website will be one of the first places they look. Make sure you are answering the question they are asking themselves.
2. Help Prospects Self-Qualify
While other parts of your website may be geared towards returning clientele, the “About” page is where a new prospect will go to make sure your services are a potential solution to the questions and challenges they are looking to address. In marketing, this behavior is referred to as “self-qualifying.”
As we have become increasingly accustomed to an online process for investigating potential service providers, self-qualifying has become a critical behavior for service providers to recognize.
3. Create a Connection
A successful About page influences decision-making by connecting with your target audience: you can do that by using a conversational tone and using words that evoke emotion.
It is a good idea to write your “About” page in first-person (either using “I” or “We” can work). This will help you better tell your story and the story of your advisory. Storytelling is proven to boost conversion rates. Remember to avoid excessive self-praise, and don’t be boring.
4. Include a Helpful CTA
Your About page must include a call-to-action. What are your recommendations to people after reading your About page? Make sure your call-to-action guides them to the next touchpoint on their client journey.
No matter what kind of CTA you decide to use – opt-in form, link to your best blog posts, or whatever else – be sure your readers will benefit from it.
5. If It’s Important, Put It Above the Fold
Scientists believe that while a goldfish has a nine-second attention span, the modern internet user has an attention span of only 8.5 seconds. That’s why the most critical information on your About page must appear above the fold.
In a survey by Nielsen Norman Group, 80% of internet users look at the information above the fold, while only 20% scroll down the page to find it.
The fold is the first part of your page in a browser window that people can see without scrolling. It might be the only part of the page your investigators will have the patience to read.
By taking the time to create a strong “About” page, you will give your prospects and clients an excellent chance to get to know you and understand the unique value you have to offer. Following these simple guidelines will put you well on your way to creating your best “About” page.
Copywriting That Brings Your Brand to Life
