Jewelry ECOMM Tech
How to Write an Effective “About” Page for Your Jewelry Ecommerce Website December 04, 2019 (0 comments)
Writing an informative, interesting, and relevant “About” page for a jewelry ecommerce website is daunting for many jewelry business owners. It can feel like the equivalent of crafting an online dating profile or building a resume from scratch.
How should you begin? How could you possibly use language to capture everything that makes your jewelry brand unique? In this article, I’ll share some tips that will make writing an “About” page feel less intimidating, so you can start writing your first draft without fear and revising that draft to produce a piece of content that makes you feel confident and proud.
Take the Pressure Off Yourself
The cursor blinking on a white screen or the lines on a fresh notebook page are so...empty and intimidating. If you’re not sure how to write an effective “About” page, then you’re experiencing writer’s block: the same anxiety you felt when you once sat down to write a high school term paper or emotion-filled letter to a loved one.
Writer’s block, for the most part, is a form of procrastination, and the main causes of procrastination include fear of failure, perfectionism, fatigue, and distraction. Being unable to write something that you deem important isn’t always your fault, but you must be able to identify the reason you can’t get started and then take steps to overcome it.
First, take the pressure off yourself. If you’re feeling afraid, tired, or distracted, then you must break the project into manageable chunks. Instead of telling yourself that you must write an entire “About” page, remind yourself that you can complete this task one step at a time. Start by jotting down bullet points or free-writing in a journal. Don’t even worry about writing complete sentences until you’re able to articulate your thoughts in whatever way makes you feel comfortable and secure.
Ask a Trusted Friend to Interview You
It can be really difficult for people to talk about themselves and the things that are closest to them, like their business. If you’re having trouble gaining perspective, you can consider asking a trusted friend to pretend to be a journalist. Ideally, this person is very naturally inquisitive and someone who doesn’t already know the ins and outs of your jewelry business.
On a piece of paper or in a collaborative Google Doc, that person can jot down a list of questions he or she would like to ask you about your brand. These questions can range from “What inspired you to start your brand?” to “What do your customers say they like most about working with you?” Once you see the list of questions, you can start drafting answers. These answers can serve as the foundation for your “About” page.
Consider Your Brand Identity
An “About” page is more than just a piece of text that describes your brand. Instead, it should read like a verbal embodiment of your brand, as if your brand is speaking directly to the customers. If you or another person is the main persona behind the brand, then the “About” page could be written in the first person. If your brand is its own persona, then the third person voice may be more appropriate.
Furthermore, the diction - or the word choice - should match the brand’s persona. If your brand is lively and energetic, then your word choice should represent that. If your brand is more serious and sophisticated, then you may want to use more descriptive, polysyllabic words. When you’re feeling stuck, look at the “About” pages on your competitors’ websites and observe how they approach describing their brand.
Make It As Long As It Needs to Be
I don’t necessarily want to tell you to keep your “About” page concise because you may have a really compelling longer brand story you want to share. When written effectively, a longer brand story will capture and hold the reader’s attention. However, you should trim the fat off your “About” page, so every word in your narrative has a purpose. Furthermore, you could consider writing your “About” page the same way you would a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. To find 11 examples of story structures for business storytelling, check out this article from Dummies.com:
Revise, Revise, Revise
After you write your first draft, you’ll want to spend some time away from your “About” page. That means you need to save and close the document - and then stop obsessing! You won’t be able to gain any perspective until you put away your work and start living your life. Then, a few days later, you can revisit your “About” page copy and read it without judgement.
At that point, you may find that you want to add something new or change the wording of a sentence or two. When you feel like you’ve hit a wall with your own revisions, then you’ll want to show your draft to a trusted colleague or even a professional editor, who can make suggestions for things you may not have considered before.
Hopefully, you now feel like you can tackle your “About” page with confidence and ease. Remember that even the most effortless “About” pages took a lot of time and many revisions, and the creation of your perfect “About” page will be a process, just like a beautiful finished piece of jewelry.