Is your “About” page doing its job?
Where your portfolio sells your work, the About page sells you as the maker of that work. It helps people make a critical decision about working with you. Here are some things that can hinder the impression that people get, and how to correct them:
Thinking your About page is just about you.
My definition: My “About” page demonstrates how my skills benefit others, and strives to make a connection with potential clients.
People find themselves on your site for one thing: To find a photographer who will take beautiful pictures of them. It’s all fine and good that you love shooting landscapes in your spare time, but you aren’t telling them how this will benefit them. This is the missing link. Connect the dots for them, and make it really easy for them to hire you.
Example:
You: “I love shooting landscapes.” Them: “Glad that you have hobbies, but can you take beautiful photos of my family?”
Try instead:
You: “Shooting landscapes feeds my creative energy and I love incorporating those colours and textures into my people photos.” Them: “Wow, this person invests in their creative side through personal projects, and I’d love to see how they use colours and textures in my Fall shoot!”
Not expressing your personality
This may be a good time to surf the net. Look up some random photographers, and stalk their About pages. I bet you that many of them will say some variation of the following:
I love photography
I have loved photography since I was little
I’ve had a camera in my hand since before I could walk
I want to take beautiful photographs of you
I love being creative and capturing your memories
This hits the second point of my definition. Our About page should function much the same way that we would when we meet someone in person and they are getting to know us. This is where people make a connection with you as a person. Tell them something a bit deeper, a bit more interesting – the things that truly make you unique. If the person resonates with your love of shoes, your late-night snacking on only the cream part of the Oreo and the fact that you love Justin Bieber, they will be searching for that contact link quicker than you could say Despacito.
Hiding your face
Does your profile photo have your camera in front of your face? Are you so tiny in the photo that people can’t make out your face? Do you have your back turned?
There are times when uber-creative photos work, and this isn’t one of them. As a general rule, people work with those that they like. They’ve hit on your website, liked your portfolio, and essentially want to meet you. They go to your About page, and…you’re hiding from them. You know about the expression that the eyes are the windows to the soul. You may also know how expressive eyes are in photos, and how disconcerting it is to us on a basal level if eyes (or the closest eye) are not in focus in an image. To connect with you and build trust, people need to see you. You can add some creative photos to support the story, but the first image clients see, should be a clean image of you.
Not telling them what to do next
This sentiment will be repeated in other posts related to the strategic design of your website. This is critical – do not have dead ends on your pages. Yes, there are menus and links at the top or side of your website. But again, make it easy for people. They may have scrolled and lost the menus. You want to hand them the next piece of information once they’ve naturally come to the end of a text. Don’t make them search – put it right in front of them. Finish off with something like “Would you like to know more? Click here to contact me!”
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