The homepage gets them in the door. The About page closes the deal.
Think about what happens after someone reads your homepage and decides they might be interested. What do they do next? Almost without exception, they click About. They want to know who is behind the words. They want to know if you are a real person, whether your story makes sense to them, and whether they could imagine working with you.
The homepage earns the click. The About page earns the trust. And trust, not design, is what turns a visitor into a client.
This does not mean the homepage does not matter. It matters enormously. But coaches and consultants consistently underinvest in their About page, treating it as a formality rather than the persuasive piece of writing it actually needs to be.
"Your About page is not a biography. It is the moment a stranger decides whether to become a client."
What visitors are actually doing on your About page.
They are not reading your credentials the way you hope they are. They are asking something more fundamental: is this person for someone like me?
They want to see themselves reflected in your story. They want to feel that you understand something about their situation, either because you have been there yourself, or because you have worked closely enough with people like them to know what it is like. They are deciding whether you are human, whether you are likeable, whether your values align with theirs.
They are making a gut-level decision about whether to trust you. Credentials matter, but they come second. The human story comes first.
The most common About page mistakes coaches make.
1. Opening with credentials instead of connection.
The instinct is understandable. You want to establish credibility, to show your qualifications, to make a case for yourself. But the visitor is not there to evaluate your resume. They are there to meet a person. Start with something that connects, not something that impresses. The credentials can come later.
2. Writing entirely about yourself without mentioning them.
Your About page is not about you. Or rather, it is only about you in so far as your story is relevant to them. The most effective About pages are the ones that make the visitor feel understood. That requires knowing when to step back from your own narrative and reflect the reader's experience back to them.
3. Listing facts instead of telling a story.
A list of qualifications is not a story. A story has a turning point. Something changed. Something was difficult. Something led you to the work you do now. Without it, an About page reads like a professional profile. With it, it reads like a conversation. People do not remember facts. They remember how things felt.
4. A stiff, formal photo or no photo at all.
A coach who hides behind a corporate headshot, or no photograph at all, creates distance at the exact moment they need to create connection. You do not need a professional photoshoot, though it helps. You need a photograph that looks like you on a good day: warm, present, and real. The visitor is looking for a person. Let them find one.
5. No clear invitation to take the next step.
What do you want someone to do after reading your About page? If the answer is "feel moved by my story," that is a start, but it is not enough. Every page on your website needs one clear next step. Book a call. Learn about the services. Download something free. Give them somewhere to go, or they will simply leave.
"The best About page is not the most impressive one. It is the one that makes the right person feel, for the first time, genuinely understood."
What your About page is really for.
It is not for impressing people. It is for making the right person feel found.
When your ideal client lands on your About page and reads something that sounds like their own inner monologue, when they recognise their situation in your story, when they feel that you get it in a way that others have not, that is the moment they become a potential client. That is the moment trust begins.
This is why the About page is often the page that closes the deal, even when the homepage was the page that got them in the door. A homepage can earn a click from almost anyone. The About page is where the right people self-select, and stay.
What a great About page actually contains.
Not all of these need to be separate sections, but an effective About page for a coach or consultant typically includes:
- A hook that connects to the reader's experience, not a list of your accomplishments
- Your story, with a human turning point that led you to this work
- A clear statement of who you work with and what you help them with
- A few lines on your approach or philosophy, because values build trust
- A photograph that feels warm, not performative
- One clear call to action at the end
The length matters less than the feel. A short page that makes someone feel understood will always outperform a long page that only impresses.
Where to start.
Read your About page as if you are a stranger. Not a stranger who already knows what coaching is and why it matters, but a stranger who is quietly wondering whether anyone truly understands what they are going through.
Ask yourself honestly: does this page make that person feel found? Or does it make them feel like they are reading someone else's story?
That is the question your About page has to answer. And if it cannot answer it yet, that is not a failure. It is just the next conversation worth having.
Let's look at your About page together →Did this resonate with you?
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