Very often people think of their about us page as a corporate dumping ground or an afterthought – something that has to appear on a website, but are baffled when it comes to working out what exactly needs to go on there.

This is a real problem, because the “about us page” is a key way to build online credibility – and as you’re already aware, customers only buy from people they know, like and trust. So lousy about us information = lousy sales!  This problem worsens, the more expensive the products and services are, so it’s vital that you get the about us page right.

Here are 3 ways to improve your about us page and make sure customers know more about your business.

1. Communicate your USP Clearly.

Many visitors arrive at your site directly from the search results – and guess what’s listed on the search results page along with your website – your competitors. They are only a click away. You can’t afford to be lax.

Of course it’s important to have a professional, intuitive website, but if visitors don’t have confidence in the organisation behind it – sales and profits inevitably suffer.

By adding your (unique selling point) USP, you are encouraging the visitor to see value in what you do, and also differentiate your business from your competitors. What’s more if you don’t tell prospective customers about the benefits of buying from you, no one else is going to – right?

Explain how you solve people’s problems quickly and easily – that’s great information to include on your about us page.

2. Provide Bios of Key Staff

Ultimately, people buy from people they feel comfortable buying from, even when those people are part of a large organisation. When you use your about us page to demonstrate the charisma and personalities behind your organisation, the unique knowledge and skills you possess etc, you make your business more likeable and trustworthy in the eyes of the user (customer). It helps to combat corporate facelessness and promote the idea of expertise, honesty and integrity.

3. Offer a Brief History of the Organisation

Visitors want to know that the company they are buying from is not just being run from someone’s back bedroom. Adding information about the organisation’s roots to your about us page is helpful. It doesn’t need to be a dry piece, describing everything in minute detail. Try to keep it interesting and “personable”. Perhaps mention some impressive statistics, list awards you have won or reference magazines articles and interviews published about your business.

Have a review of your about us page – is it helping or hindering your business? Fixing your about us page can be a really quick fix and boost your sales.

If you have some comments about how you have improved your about us page to improve your online credibility, just add a note below.

If your business needs some in-depth training on how to improve online credibility, check out my comprehensive course, the Website Success System, which has a whole module on credibility and how customers perceive your business online. Getting rid of showstoppers like this is critical to increasing your online sales and securing the long-term future of your business.

I’m going to concentrate on user-friendly email etiquette techniques in this blog post.

At this time of year everyone dreads going back after the holidays - because they know there will be a zillion emails to wade through. Again.

Often it feels like you need another holiday right away, just to get over the hassle of sorting out your burgeoning inbox.

Email should be quick and easy – an instantaneous way of communicating all over the globe.  However, email overload is a common complaint amongst workers and the benefits of this quick, cheap communication method are, unfortunately, undermined.

Knowing a few simple email etiquette rules can make a big difference to how well you communicate your ideas.

How to Write Effective Emails

Remember that emails are not analysed the same way as a printed letter when the recipient opens it. More often than not, the receiver skims through quickly to get a sense of the message without reading it word for word.

Many rules that apply to writing user-friendly content for the web apply to emails.

• Break messages into clearly explained points
• Stick to 1 point per paragraph
• Use plenty of line breaks and sufficient line-spacing
• If there are several points, use an ordered list (1., 2., 3., etc)

Always check an email carefully before sending it. Ideally wait a while before you proofread your own work so that you are less likely to skip over your own mistakes, or get someone else to you help out if the email is particularly important.

If you’re writing a complicated, lengthy message, write it in a word processer so that it’s easier to refine and double-check at the end using the inbuilt grammar checker and spellchecker. Once you’re happy with what you’ve written, just cut and paste it into your email tool ready to send.

Forward with Care

When you forward an email make sure the recipient has all the information they need. Deleting the email trail below your message can sometimes lead to the context being lost, making  it difficult for the recipient to understand what’s going on.

Equally, make sure you’re not forwarding on sensitive or inappropriate information by mistake. A quick skim through the supporting information lower down in the email, before forwarding to colleagues, clients or suppliers can save a lot of embarrassment and problems later.

How To Use Email Effectively

Let’s start off by looking at what can go wrong with poor email etiquette.

Bad Email Habits

• Hiding behind emails instead of  speaking to the person directly because of a desire to avoid an awkward conversation
• “Covering your back” - writing “I told you this was going to happen” emails in advance designed to absolve the sender from any responsibility creates loads of dull and irrelevant emails
• Copying in innocent bystanders – conversations can change over time and become less relevant to certain people on the distribution list, so it is a good idea to remove some of people who are not directly involved in the discussion over time
• Copying in senior staff – blind-copying your seniors, or sending them strongly worded emails out of the blue is not helpful
• Avoiding answering questions by answering another, different, question – delay tactics like this are not popular…

Good Email Habits

• Publicly praise people and teams who have done a good job  – giving out compliments for jobs well done is highly valued by the recipient(s)
• Keep everyone up to speed who needs to be. Don’t miss out people who need to be involved in the discussion.
• Send timely notification that you have received something – not everything sent comes with a courier tracking code, so a quick email confirmation instantly puts the sender at ease.
• Streamline sending electronic files. Sharing information on memory sticks, CD and DVDs can cause many problems, such as virus threats and data security risks.

Email (n)etiquette

Although email has evolved from rules governing both the written and the spoken word, it does have its own unique set of guidelines. It’s easy to get swept up in the moment and send an email without checking it carefully – and once it is sent, realistically, the damage is done. Emails are often as permanent as a fax or posted mail item.

Good and Bad Email Etiquette

Dos

• Do include all relevant information
  If the person receiving the email needs any additional “history” or “supporting information” make sure you include that when responding
• Do trim the recipient list
  Do remove people from the list of recipients if the context has changed they don’t need to receive the message anymore
• Do check for simple mistakes
  Run  your spellchecker over your emails before sending and check you’re communicating clearly
• Do have descriptive subject lines 
  “Meeting” is not as good as “Monthly Marketing Meeting Invite”
• Do modify the subject line over time if the context changes
  If the nature of the email changes over time, amend the subject line to reflect the new theme, e.g. “Monthly Marketing Meeting – Cancelled”
• Do let new senders know their email reached you
  If it’s the first time someone has emailed you, send them a confirmation so that they know their message made it successfully

Don’ts

• Don’t use ALL CAPITALS
  It’s the online equivent of shouting and will irritate the receipient
• Don’t mark everything “Important” or”Urgent”
  There’s a good chance the recipient has their own views on their priorities . If you abuse this email feature, when something really is genuinely important, you will have burnt that bridge.
• Don’t forward on jokes to groups
  As well as looking like an office joker for all the wrong reasons, you’re running the risk of offending someone, or just adding to their email overload! Pick selected recipents, or ditch forwarding jokes altogether. Share them by the water cooler instead.
• Don’t use a chunky signature file or “sig”
  By all means include a couple of lines of useful contact information in plain text format, but don’t shoehorn a big graphic onto the end of  all your emails – the novelty quickly wears off for the receipient and starts to undermine your credibility.

These email etiquette tips will help make your email communications more effective within your organisation and for your suppliers and customers. Here’s to 2010 being the year of reduced email overload!

Have you got any email tips you’d like to share? Please share it with a comment…

You need to get inside the heads of your visitors and customers. You need to understand what their goals are and what motivates them

It goes beyond reading background materials, reviewing old marketing pieces and doing some cursory research on the web.

So how do you get inside someone’s head? Simply use a questionnaire to get the information you need to simplify the copywriting (and marketing) objectives.

This use of a questionnaire or copywriting brief is a tool used by ad agencies and corporate marketing and creative departments to streamline copywriting.

You can use this form yourself, or help clients complete it if you’re writing for someone else.

Remember, good input is key to a successful project, campaign, or marketing program. This copywriting brief is designed to elicit good input. But it takes thorough and thoughtful answers on your part.

Let’s see what’s on the form.

Copywriting brief

Please answer the following questions carefully.

1. What is the description of the piece(s)?

• salespage?
• web page?
• podcast?
• video voiceover?
• free downloadable resource, etc?

2. Which keywords/key phrases are being targeted?

3. What is the marketing focus?

• What products or services need describing?

4. What is the communications problem that the piece(s) must solve?

• Awareness?
• Positioning?
• Repositioning?
• Product introduction?

5. Who is the audience?

• Demographics?
  • Age?
  • Income?
  • Gender?
  • Location?
  • Status?
  • Interests?
• Job title?
• Function/role?
• Responsibilities?

6. What is their point of view about the product, service, category?

7. Who is the secondary audience(s), if any?

8. What business problems or issues does the product(s)/service(s) solve for the audience(s)?

• Efficiency issues?
• Profitability issues?
• Operations issues?
• Technology issues?
• Health?
• Relaxation?

9. What effect do we want the piece(s) to have on the target audience(s)?

• Make a purchase?
• Make a phone call?
• Visit website?
• Request more information?
• Increase their awareness, etc?

10. What can we offer to achieve the desired response?

• Demonstrations?
• Situation evaluation?
• Sales collateral?
• Personal visit?
• Skype call?
• Instant messaging chat?
• Free sample?
• Free trial?
• Free report?
• White paper, etc?

11. What is the single essential message we must tell the target audience(s) to achieve the desired effect?

• Be as concise as possible!

12. What evidence is there to support our claims?

• Features and benefits?
• Testimonials?
• Expertise
• Case studies, etc.?

13. Can anyone else make a similar promise?

14. Are there any technology issues to address?

• Compatibility
• Operating systems
• Hardware requirements, etc.

15. What specific industry issues must be addressed?

• Trends?
• Legislation?

16. Are there any industry, product or competitive issues to be avoided?

17. What tone should the piece employ?

• Hardhitting/serious?
• Educational/informative?
• Humorous, etc?

18. What do you like about your current piece(s)?

• Look and feel?
• Tone?
• Messaging?
• Functionality, etc?

19. What don’t you like about your current piece(s)?

• Look and feel?
• Tone?
• Messaging?
• Functionality, etc?

20. What overall impressions (look and feel, etc.) would you like the piece(s) to make?

21. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces?

• Proposals?
• Collateral?
• Letters?

22. How will the piece(s) be used  and at what point in the sales cycle?

• Read online?
• Printed?
• Forwarded on?

23. Any other comments/notes?

If you opt to ask the client to fill it out, why not use it as an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting and interview the client and complete the form with the client and ask them to review the form at the end of the session. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.

In the end, think to yourself/stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they want to actively participate in the input process.

One you have all the information you need, you’re ready to write a winner.

Get the template for free…

If you’d like to try out this process, why not save yourself a bit of time and download my free copywriting brief word template? (just right click and choose “Save Target As…”)