Netpreneur

Many small online business owners don't say much about themselves on their web sites and the "about us" page can often be very vague, reading something along these lines:

"Established in 2005, Example.com offers the very best Flombles at the cheapest prices. Rest assured when you buy from us, you're buying quality. We are experts in the field of Flombles... blah, blah, blah".

This type of thing can be found on thousands of sites - but it really is just fluff and puffery. It says nothing about you and can cost you sales as it has zero credibility.

The vagueness may be for reasons of privacy, but if you're wanting people to purchase your goods and services, they need to be able to trust you won't just grab their money and run. There needs to be a human connection.

Small businesses with few staff that thrive do so mainly due to the "personal" vibe they cultivate with their clients. In fact, the personal touch allows them to charge far higher prices than the big box competitors and still survive. We purchase from small business services as we know the owners or staff - we trust them as humans, rather than as a business name.

When I ran my mobile computer services business back in the mid 90's (I had no shopfront), most of my customers already had a fairly good idea what type of computer they wanted and how much they wanted to spend. What they were unsure of was who to trust. I spent as much time selling myself as I did the products. The fact that I visited them in their own homes played a big role in my success as the customer felt empowered being on their own turf.

We don't have that sort of face to face in the online world, but the "About Us" page is an excellent means of selling yourself and it should be considered one of the most important pages on your site.

Here's how to structure a good "About us" page

Aside from the general "we're the best" blather (and keep that side of things subtle), include a few paragraphs about yourself and your team.

Remember to include the following points

1. A photo of yourself/your team helps people to connect to you as a human being rather than just as words on a page. It has an added benefit when you are communicating with potential customers via email as they'll be able to put a face to the name

2. List your experience in your area of business - don't hide your candle under a bushel, but by the same token; try not to go overboard or exaggerate your experience.

3. Reveal some (positive) personality traits, hobbies or pursuits to potential customers that translate directly to your business. For example, let's say you sell surfboards - if you're a member of any surf club; mention that.

4. Your contact details. Invite your visitors to communicate with you - even if it's just a link to your contact page.

5. Some of your plans for the future (relevant to your business)

If you are hesitant to provide those sort of details and arethat concerned about your privacy, it's really time to get over it. Nice people like to do business with other nice people.

Don't make the common mistake of trying to make your online business out to be a faceless international mega-corporation, because then you'll be competing at that level - and you simply don't have the resources to do so.

Selling you as much as your products is one of the secrets to success in small online business.

Tags: content development, credibility, ecommerce, trust