Your "About" Page - Establishing Trust

3/23/2015

When a potential client reads your "About" page, their emotional compass should be pointing directly towards TRUST!

It's Marketing Monday and time to bring back a favorite topic one more time...

I've written a lot about this over the last two years, but there are a whole bunch of you who still don't get it. It's March 23 and in theory anyway, you've still got a few weeks before professional photography is officially out of the slow season. It's only one small component of your website, but it's so important to do it right!

Remember your target audience is almost exclusively female. Women make 98% of the purchase decisions to hire a professional photographer in the portrait/social specialties.

Nobody cares how you got started, what awards you've won at PPA or WPPI, what gear you use or how long you've studied to be a photographer.

Clients what to know why you love being a photographer. They want to know if they can trust you to capture the images they want most. They want to know if you're a good storyteller. They want to hear how much you love capturing memories, emotions and moments they might miss.

Your Bio/About section is a chance for you to show your heart. It's a time to be romantic, sappy and share your passion.

...and a few technical tips:

Sign your About page with your signature or a facsimile. Make it personal and more like an artist's statement.

Let's get rid of cheesy head shots that have nothing to do with who your are. Get a decent environmental portrait of you with a camera in your hands or actually photographing a client.

Stay away from tons of personal stuff that's not relevant. I've seen About pages with whole paragraphs about the artist's hobbies, their pets, families and even their favorite foods. You don't need to be entertaining, but you do need to be sincere.

Keep the section relatively short - three to four paragraphs.

Your About page is one of the two most valuable pieces of real estate on your website, the other being your galleries. Stop wasting the space with information that could put a rock to sleep! Share your heart, your passion and show your potential clients why you're their best choice to capture and protect those memory-making moments.

Illustration Credit: © bahrialtay - Fotolia

5 Comments

"Why?"

Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound byte. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. There were fifty different artists featured in 2016 and we anticipate doubling that in 2017. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

[ b ] link

3/23/2015 04:55:03 am

While I agree with most of the points you make, I disagree about the note about the personal stuff.

I feel like in a world were everyone and their brother is a photographer these days, it's so important to sell YOURSELF and not photography. The more real and authentic you are, the more attractive you are to clients. By sharing real details about what you like to do and even what you like to eat makes you relatable.

I just booked a destination wedding over the phone this past weekend and the bride told me specifically that after reading all about me, she felt like she knew me and felt so comfortable hiring me even though we never even met in person.

My bio on my old site: http://thebecker.co/#About (The bride who just booked me contacted me originally through my old site)

I just switched platforms last week, and my new bio is lacking (I went for super simple, no personal stuff (not even a headshot). Just trying to get clients to get my eBook which has all kinds of personal stuff): http://www.thebecker.com/contact

But, my top priority for this week was to personalize my about page so I appreciate the timing of this article!

Rebekah Nemethy link

3/24/2015 06:41:22 am

While these are all great points I think you kind of jump around the most important part of an about page... photographers think that it's all about them when really it's all about the client! Address 3 major concerns you see worrying your clients, solve the problems that are top of mind to them. Write YOU more than you write I, and you'll be on the way to a good about page.

George Gimenes

3/25/2015 05:32:09 am

Great article and discussions, and well timed for me particularly, as I'm currently working on my "About" page .
Thanks for sharing...

Trenton Talbot link

3/30/2015 08:01:39 am

Just like Becker said above, I think that the emphasis of "About" content (no matter textual or visual) should be relatability. And it should be [at least somewhat] entertaining to read. Here's mine: http://trentontalbot.com/about/ (feel free to criticize))

Michael link

4/25/2015 07:02:22 pm

I'm starting to make the adjustments to my About Me page and i saw this article come across the screen.
Are there any stand-out 'About Me' pages you'd recommend taking a look at as great examples?

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