Your freelance About page is one of the most important pages on your website.

When a new reader or potential client arrives at your website, they’ll first visit your about page. This is an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with that reader and keep them from leaving your website and never returning.

About pages are valuable real estate on your freelance website, but most people squander them by writing about things that their reader doesn’t care about… such as an entire autobiography.

So, keep the following in mind when creating your about page:

Your about page isn’t about you at all. It’s about your target audience.

This is your opportunity to tell your story and connect with potential clients and readers on a more personal level.

While it should not be a carbon copy of your portfolio or LinkedIn profile, it should introduce you as an authority in the field. After all, the purpose of your freelance website is to get clients, right?

So, how do you personally connect with your potential clients while also highlighting your expertise on a single page? Let’s get started.

5 factors to consider when creating your freelancer about page

#1 What’s in it for them?

When a new reader lands on your about page, they want to know a few things:

• What do they expect to learn from you?
• How can you help them?
• Why should they bother sticking around and reading?

Answer these questions and explain what you have in store for them if they stick around, join your community, or hire your services right off the bet.

Hook your readers right away with a headline and a paragraph or two that speaks to their deepest frustrations or desires.

Create a headline that either calls out their biggest pain point and frustration in their business or one that tries to tap into their deepest desires.

Take a look at this example from Paige Brunton. She’s not talking about herself at all. She captures the attention of her reader by saying exactly what they are thinking right now.

Tap into the emotions that your ideal clients and readers are experiencing so that your headline immediately connects with them, draws them in, and keeps them on the page.

#2 Introduce yourself

After you’ve grabbed the reader’s attention by touching upon their most pressing desire or problem, it’s time to introduce yourself as the hero they need.

This is not the place to tell your entire life story (spoiler alert: your freelance website is not for that!). Maintain the relevance of your introduction to the pain point or desire you just mentioned. Explain to the reader why they should hire you.

Highlight your credentials or accomplishments – not in a braggadocious way, but in a way that tells your clients they can rely on you to get results.

How do you go about doing that?

• Share your experience helping clients, employers, or friends and family with similar issues.
• Share any relevant credentials, education, or awards.
• Share links to your best work, guest posts, or media coverage (e.g., podcast interviews!) 
• Explain why you started your freelance business, why you got into this field, or why you’re so passionate about what you do.

The purpose of introducing yourself and your story is to build trust. Focus on the things that make your clients trust you.

“The more your clients trust you, the more they’re sold on what you have to offer.” – Imad Guemmah

Kelsey from Paper & Oats discusses her working style before highlighting her guest posts and podcast interviews.

#3 Build trust with social proof

You’ve gained your reader’s trust in your experience and abilities as a freelancer; now, it’s time to take it a step further.

Nothing builds and maintains trust like social proof, also known as testimonials and recommendations.

This is why we rely so heavily on Amazon reviews, and Uber Eats star ratings! Even if we don’t know them, we trust their opinions.

Include a few testimonials or recommendations in this section. Extra points if you include photos of your clients with their testimonials.

#4 Make it personal

You’ve gained your reader’s trust at this point. You want them to feel as if they know and like you now. You’re trying to create a stronger bond with them so that they can envision themselves working with you.

Stories are one of your strongest tools to form a deeper connection with your website visitors.

Share some interesting or fun facts about yourself that your ideal client would enjoy learning about. If you have a good idea of who your ideal client is, you can make educated guesses about what will and will not resonate with them. For example, if your ideal client is a 45-year-old male CEO of a software company, he’s unlikely to be interested in your jewelry-making hobby. If, on the other hand, your ideal client is a single 30-something female solopreneur and aspiring digital nomad, she’ll undoubtedly relate to your travel bucket list.

Not everything you reveal about yourself has to be a shared interest or characteristic with the reader. But the goal here is to get your client to nod in agreement, say, “oh, me too!” and think to themselves, “I really want to meet them.”

If you’re at a loss for what to say, consider what you’d tell them over a cup of joe rather than a formal interview.

Check out how Hilary Rushford of Dean Street Society uses a collage of her favorite things to help readers discover who she is.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate what makes you unique. Be creative.

#5 Keep the relationship going

You’ve worked hard to get your reader to know, like, and trust you. The last thing you want is for them to walk away without doing anything.

You’re essentially establishing a relationship here. Now is the time to exchange phone numbers so you can reconnect.

By including CTAs (Call To Action), you can encourage readers to connect with you and keep your virtual flames burning brightly. You should have at least one CTA on your about page, but you can have several.

Here are a few CTA examples to consider:

• Book a consultation call – Schedule a consultation call with your potential client to discuss their project. If you’re looking for clients, this is the most important CTA on your about page.
• Get on your email list – offer your freebie or lead magnet to get your new reader on your email list as soon as possible. With your email onboarding sequence, you can stay in touch and send them more information about your great services.
• Connect on social media – share your active social media channels with them and invite them to message you there. If you’re constantly on Instagram, promote your channel and invite people to follow you and connect with you there. This will keep you in their thoughts when you hopefully appear in their feed.

Jenna Kutcher discusses all of these CTAs here. She links to her most important blog posts (to keep readers on her site), links to all of her social channels, and highlights Instagram, where she is most active and has a big CTA to download a freebie and join her mailing list.

Use one, all, or none of these CTAs. The goal is to make it as simple as possible for readers to keep up with you.

When you write your freelancer about page with your ideal client in mind, you’ll be able to tell a compelling story that hooks them from the start and motivates them to learn more about you.

Do you need help in creating your dream freelance website? Take advantage of the free guide!