[I]’ve written about tackling the The Dreaded About Page before. Creative people, apart from guests on Oprah and anyone named Kardashian, generally hate writing about themselves. We like to talk about our art, darlings. Actually, there is a third category of person who is comfortable with the whole self-promotion thing and they are unicorns – just kidding. I’m talking about copywriters. If you have any reservations at all about writing your own copy, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending a professional copywriter. These geniuses will listen to your talk about your passion, take your dull (it’s probably not actually that dull) and polish it until it sparkles and feel uniquely you.

As with graphic designers and web developers, good copywriters will set you a brief and ask you to tell them about your business and your goals. Be specific about the areas you need help with. Even better, show them your website and talk to them about ideal word count for the space you have. There is nothing worse than having to redesign your website around your copy, or edit your shiny new copy down to fit your website. Above all, remember that copywriters aren’t mindreaders. Give them enough information as possible about your business, your ideal client and your personality.

That ‘polish it until it sparkles’ thing? This brings me to Kathryn Bellamy of Copy Kat Creative. She promises to strip down your brand, dip it in honey and roll it in glitter. How’s that for a brand promise? She’s also a self-described wordsmith, linguistic lady boss and punctuation pirate. I was lucky enough to work on Kat’s site with her about a year ago, as well as a couple of workshops. She also gives good Facebook.

I asked her to give me her 5 top tips to help us all with writing about ourselves. If you’d like to get a bit more up-front and personal with Kat, she’s going to be hanging out in our Facebook group and taking questions, like the copywriting boss she is. Also, here’s a nice picture of her so you know what she looks like. #hairjealousy

Without further ado:

Writing about yourself can be one of the hardest things to do without cringing. Do you try to be funny? Will that sound unprofessional? Does anyone actually read it? When I’m talking someone through their About Me page, I try to stick to five key pointers.

1.  Rule one: yes, people do read your About Me page. So set some time aside to really nail it (or set some time aside to brief a copywriter to do it). A little like your logo, it’ll be the ‘figurehead’ of your website and one of the first things your customers see, so it needs to be good. Not necessarily long, just punchy, simple and engaging.

2.  On the subject of length, keep it brief. Customer attention span can be limited so don’t waffle.

3.  Think of the three key things you want to achieve with your About Me page. Write them out in bullet points and craft your piece of writing around those three pillars. For example, if you’re a photographer, you might want to lay down what your style is (fun, sophisticated, experimental), something about how you work (professional, laid back, adventurous) or who or what you regularly work with (weddings, families, pets). If you’re not a Jack or Jacqueline of all trades, don’t pretend to be. Spreading yourself too thinly isn’t always a plus.

4.  EXCLAMATION POINTS ARE LAZY AND STUPID! This might be a personal thing but try not to pepper your words with these things. And if you insist on using them, absolutely, positively NO MORE than one at a time. No exceptions. You may as well use an emoji for all the good it will do your branding…

5.  …which segues nicely into my final point: spelling. I’m not a good speller. Most people aren’t. Even in this digital age of spellcheck and autocorrect, I painstakingly comb my work for errors. Nothing says ‘rushed and unprofessional’ like a grammar gaffe. It’s worth the pain, I promise.

PS. Another fav of mine on copywriting is the very funny and very sweary, Ash Ambirge, of The Middle Finger Project. If you are easily offended, she is not the copywriting ninja you need in your life. Everyone else, grab a glass of wine and enjoy.