How to Write an About Page That Actually Converts

The about page is consistently one of the most visited pages on any service business website. When someone is genuinely considering hiring you, they go to the about page. They want to know who they are dealing with.

And yet most about pages are aggressively unhelpful. They read like a CV nobody asked for, or a stream of self-congratulation that makes the reader feel like they interrupted a very important self-admiration session. Neither version does what the page is supposed to do: build enough trust that the reader takes the next step.

I have rewritten a lot of about pages for clients over the years. The problems are almost always the same, and so are the fixes. This guide walks through both.

Why Most About Pages Fail

The fundamental mistake in most about pages is the same mistake made in most bad marketing copy: it is written for the writer, not the reader.

The writer sits down and thinks: what do I want people to know about me? So they write about their qualifications, their history, their achievements, their values. All of this is written from the inside looking out — from the perspective of someone who already knows and cares deeply about themselves.

The reader arrives with completely different questions. They are not thinking about you. They are thinking about themselves, and specifically about a problem they have or a goal they want to reach. They come to your about page to answer a very particular question: is this person or company the right choice to help me with that?

That gap — between what the writer wants to say and what the reader needs to hear — is why so many about pages generate visits but not conversions.

Who Actually Reads Your About Page

Before writing anything, it helps to be clear about who is reading this page and what mental state they are in when they arrive.

The typical about page visitor has already seen your homepage or found one of your service pages. They are not cold — they have some interest. They are now doing due diligence. Specifically, they are trying to answer questions like:

• Do I trust this person or company?
• Do they understand my situation and what I need?
• Have they done this before for someone like me?
• Will working with them feel professional, comfortable, and worth the price?

These are trust questions. The about page's job is to answer them — not to list everything that might possibly be interesting about you, but to specifically address the trust concerns of the person most likely to hire you.

The Structure That Works

There is no single about page structure that works for everyone. But there is a logic — a sequence of moves — that consistently outperforms the standard biography format:

1. Open with them. Your first sentence or two should be about the reader's situation, not your history.
2. Establish what you do and who you do it for. A clear, jargon-free statement of your offer and ideal client.
3. Your story — told with purpose. Not a chronological career summary, but the parts of your story that are relevant to why you can help them.
4. Credibility signals. Evidence that what you are saying is true: client results, qualifications, recognisable names, media mentions.
5. Personality and point of view. Something that makes you human and memorable beyond the credentials.
6. CTA. A clear, low-friction invitation to take the next step.

Not every about page needs all six sections, and they do not always appear in exactly this order. But this sequence reflects the trust-building journey a reader naturally wants to take.

Writing the Opening: Lead With Them, Not You

The most reliable way to improve an about page is to rewrite the first sentence.

The bad first sentence — and I see a version of this constantly — sounds like one of these:

These openings are not wrong, exactly. They are just completely uninteresting to a reader who arrived with a specific problem in mind. They do not answer any of the trust questions the reader is silently asking.

A better opening leads with the reader's situation:

These openings do something different. They tell the reader: I understand your situation. That sense of being understood is the single fastest way to build trust in copy.

Your Story: What to Include and What to Leave Out

The story section is where most about pages go wrong in the second way: they include too much, in the wrong order, with no clear relevance to why any of it matters to the reader.

A story on an about page is not a biography. It is a curated selection of experiences that explain why you are the right person for the work you do. The filter is always: does this detail help the reader trust me more, or understand how I can help them?

What to include:

• The origin of your interest in this work. Why do you do this specifically? If there is a genuine story there — a problem you solved for yourself, a realisation from a previous career, a specific moment of clarity — it tends to be far more compelling than "I always loved writing."
• Experience that is directly relevant to the client's problem. If your clients are typically SaaS companies, your years writing for SaaS products matters. Your degree in philosophy, while it may have shaped how you think, probably does not belong in the lead.
• A point of view. What do you believe about the work that is different from how everyone else in your field approaches it? This is what makes a story distinctive rather than generic.

What to leave out:

• Childhood backstory unless it has a specific, clear connection to the work
• Every job you have ever had, in chronological order
• Generic value statements that could appear on any competitor's site ("I believe in the power of storytelling...")
• Awards and certifications that would only matter to other people in your industry, not to clients

Building Credibility Without Bragging

There is a tension in about page writing: you need to establish that you are good at what you do, but you cannot come across as someone who talks primarily about how good they are. The solution is evidence rather than assertion.

Asserting credibility sounds like: "I am a highly sought-after copywriter known for delivering exceptional results." Nobody believes this, and everyone writes it.

Evidencing credibility sounds like: "In the past two years I have written conversion copy for seventeen SaaS companies, including three that went on to raise Series A rounds." The same information, but grounded in specifics that the reader can evaluate.

Forms of credibility evidence that work on about pages:

• Specific client results — with numbers where possible, and where clients have consented to their inclusion
• Recognisable client names — if you have worked with brands the reader will know, name them
• Media and publication mentions — "As featured in" sections with logos are effective, if accurate
• Testimonials positioned within the page — not just on a separate testimonials page; a quote from a client embedded near a relevant claim adds real weight
• Specific numbers — years of experience, number of clients served, volume of work produced — anything concrete is more credible than vague

Showing Personality Without Oversharing

The about page is the one place on a website where personality is both allowed and expected. Readers want to know who they are dealing with as a person, not just as a professional. But there is a right amount of personality, and most about pages either include none (coming across as a corporate robot) or far too much (reading like a personal diary).

The goal is to be specific and human without turning the page into a therapy session.

What works: a sentence or two about what you care about outside of work, phrased in a way that also reveals something about how you approach the work. "I spend most weekends trail running, which has taught me more about pacing and patience than any writing workshop" tells me something real about you that is also relevant to your professional character.

What does not work: a long list of hobbies ("I love hiking, reading, traveling, cooking, and spending time with my family"), which is both generic and uninformative. Everyone loves these things. Listing them tells me nothing about you.

The test I apply: does this personality detail either make me more interesting to my ideal client, or does it make my ideal client feel a real human connection to me? If it does neither, cut it.

The CTA: Where Most About Pages Drop the Ball

The about page CTA is almost universally an afterthought. After spending 500 words on their story, most people add a line like "Get in touch to learn more" and call it done.

This is a significant missed opportunity. The reader who has made it to the bottom of your about page is a warm prospect. They read about you, presumably liked what they read, and are now standing at a decision point. The CTA needs to make the next step obvious and easy.

Effective about page CTAs share three characteristics:

• They are specific. "Book a free 30-minute call" is more actionable than "get in touch." "See my recent projects" is more compelling than "learn more."
• They reduce friction. Tell the reader what happens when they click. "No obligation, no sales pitch — just a conversation about your project" removes the anxiety about what they are committing to.
• They follow naturally from the page's emotional arc. If the about page built a genuine connection, the CTA should feel like a natural extension of that connection — not a gear-shift into sales mode.

About Pages: Freelancer vs Business

The core principles are the same whether you are a solo freelancer or writing an about page for a company. But there are some meaningful differences in approach.

For a freelancer or solo professional, the about page is an opportunity to lean into the personal. Clients are hiring you specifically — your judgment, your voice, your approach. The page should feel like meeting a person, not reading a company document. First person throughout, personal story included, personality present.

For a small agency or team, the about page needs to balance the personal with the collective. If the business depends on specific team members, show them. A page about "our team" that features no actual humans feels evasive. Clients hiring an agency still want to know who will be doing the work.

For a larger company where the about page is genuinely about the organisation and not individual people, the focus shifts to mission, values, origin story, and what makes the company's approach distinct. Even here, the reader's questions are the same: can I trust these people? Do they understand my problem? The answers just come from the organisation's story rather than an individual's.

Phrases to Cut From Every About Page

A final practical section. These are the phrases that appear on almost every about page I audit, that add nothing and often actively undermine trust:

• "Passionate about..." — Everyone claims to be passionate. It signals nothing. Replace with specific evidence of what that passion produces.
• "Results-driven" — This is what every person in every professional context is supposed to be. It is not a distinguishing characteristic.
• "I wear many hats" — Usually means "I have not decided what I specialise in." Specialists charge more and attract better clients than generalists. Find your lane.
• "I have a unique approach to..." — If the approach is unique, describe it and let the reader decide. Announcing uniqueness without demonstrating it is marketing noise.
• "My clients are my top priority" — No client reads this and thinks "great, unlike all those other service providers who ignore their clients." It is a zero-information statement.
• "I believe in the power of [storytelling / connection / creativity]" — Fine as a value, meaningless as a differentiator. Everybody in creative services believes this.

Every time you cut one of these phrases and replace it with a specific example or concrete detail, the page improves. The goal is always to say something real rather than something that sounds like it could be on any professional's website.

If you are writing copy for the rest of your site as well, the guide on how to write a services page covers the page that most about page visitors read next.