Imagine this for an unsubscribe to email message:
“We’re sorry to see you go. How sorry? Well, we want to introduce you to Derrick – he’s the guy who thought you’d enjoy receiving the Daily Groupon email.”
Then a video shows someone throwing hot coffee into Derrick’s face and yelling at him—followed by a “make Derrick happy again and re-subscribe” button.
Groupon toned things down when they got bigger.
But what a way to bring some levity to the moment – perhaps even change a few minds.
It also speaks volumes about the Groupon brand. And it sure beats the hell out of the default copy that so often populates automated responses like these.
“About” pages offer the same scope for imagination.
But most are dead boring, which is a shame, because the About page is typically the second most-visited page on a website, following the Home page.
Naturally, people want to know who they’re dealing with – never more so than in higher-stakes B2B sales.
And yet most ‘About’ copy sounds like it was written by the accountant (no disrespect).
“Company X is a________. We’ve been _______ since 2010 and offer our clients a leading team of _______ with comprehensive skills in ______.”
You get the picture – tedious.
The internet heaves with this turgid prose.
Sure, you’ve got to include this kind info somewhere on your website. But making it the lead copy? C’mon! You’re letting slip an opportunity to make it brilliantly clear why your business is the best choice. And guess what, the date you founded the business or claims about your talented teams and enviable reputation won’t do that job.
You’ve got to tell readers why you’re here – why you’re in business when there are so many other businesses like yours doing similar things.
Start by answering these questions:
- What grieves you about the world (or your sector, at least) and how are you fixing it? Let’s call it your reason for being
- How did you get to this point? Like, what have you learnt along the way that shapes your offerings and how you work today?
- What’s your special magic that gives you the ability to operate the way you do?
Now you’ve got the ideas to make your About page copy really pop.
Just like custom pen maker Tactile Turn.
Read their About page and tell me that doesn’t make their reason for being clear.
Gawd, I fancy one of those pens!
Also, take a peek at Vernacular’s About page.
Compare it to others in the B2B writing and comms game and tell me if you think it nails my reason for being and how I’m usefully different to others in the sector.
How’s your landing page looking?
Give me a call if you think it could work harder for your business.
O21-526-559 or Richard.carter@vernacular.co.nz