It seems like a minor detail, doesn’t it? The About Page on your website. Your golf course’s name and designer. Maybe your location. Number of holes. Description of other amenities.
A list.
Bulleted points about your business.
In other words. BOOOORRRRING…
Your About Page should be the first impression of your business. It’s your tuxedo. Your glimmery dress of the internet. It should give your golfers and other patrons the first glimpse into the experience they will have when coming to your facility. Paint a picture! When you meet someone for the first time, you take some extra time on your hair or pick out your favorite shirt or maybe you’re like my husband and always make sure your belt and shoes match.
The same care should be made when writing your About Page.
It sets the stage for you and your golf course. It gives your customers a glimpse into what they will experience when they come to your golf course. Are you a boring bulleted list?
No. I didn’t think so.
Your About Page is one of the most visited pages on your website.
When your web visitors check out your About Page, you want to make them want to hop in their car and drive to your course because they simply can’t wait to meet you! Lists of rules and regulations about your golf course are the equivalent of wearing a hot pink tube top and daisy dukes to meet the president. In other words. A Big No.
Let’s get grammatical. Sorry. I can’t help it. I went to school to be an English teacher and I love diagramming sentences. There I said it. I’m weird. Let’s move on.
The About Page.
There are really two ways that the About Page should be approached. Intro paragraph followed by bios or a series of paragraphs that tell your golf course’s story. The manner in which it is presented depends on the nature of your golf course.
ANATOMY OF THE PAGE – GETTING PERSONAL
Point One
PRIVATELY OWNED/FAMILY OWNED
- If you are family owned, you can get super personal on your About Page. Writing should be done in the first person. Tell the story. People love to hear your journey! When I first took over my family’s golf course in 2004, I tried to write like all of the other golf courses. Third person. Sterile. No humor. Big words. In other words, not me. Most importantly, not my business.
- Once I switched my entire website over to sound like me, it made all of the difference in the world. Golfers know what to expect. They come through the doors prepared to joke because my golf course sets the stage on its About Page.
- Introduce your golf course in the same manner you would when you go to your local chamber meeting for the first time and you stand up at the lunch meeting and tell information about your business. Be personal and tell the story.
- Let them meet the family and know a little of its history. Were you a dairy farm? A family with a dream? How did your golf course come to be?
MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE
- If you’re a municipal golf course, then you need to have a very brief description about the golf course. We’re talking a paragraph here. Just the highlights of the golf course and its amenities. This paragraph should be followed up with images of all of your key players and their bios.
- No. Not the kind of bio you see on every other golf course’s website.
- You know the one, it says, “I graduated in 1978 from Small College in Kansas and then I worked for Small Business in Arizona.”
- That doesn’t tell your golfers anything! They want to know about you!
- Let me get through the specifics of each type of golf course, then I’ll move on to Bio Writing Tips.
MULTI-COURSE OWNER/MANAGEMENT COMPANIES
- Your main Management Site should have a brief overview of your company, then move on to highlight the key people on your team.
- Include pictures. Be a real business. Not just a name. Find the voice of your business and be consistent.
- Each of your golf courses should have their own About Page. They should vary and be true to the particulars of that golf course and it’s overall objective.
- The opening paragraph with the general description of your golf course can present some highlighted information such as number of holes and amenities. Picture your ideal golfer and write to their interests in your opening paragraph. Then, the key team leaders should have their bios.
PRIVATE CLUBS
- Private Clubs are going to have to take who their ideal golfer/patron is under consideration before writing their About Page. If your ideal customer is a real estate attorney and his philanthropist wife, then you’re going to want to change your copy and writing style to attract them.
- If your ideal member is the family whose dad who works from home with his online business, three kids who love swimming, and a mom who loves red wine, then you’ll want to write your copy to attract that customer.
- Describe your golf course, highlight your amenities, and paint the picture of what your member will experience on their first visit.
- Then, follow up your About Page with bios from your key team leaders. If you have someone who takes new members through an orientation process, then have their picture and intro as one of the top people.
WRITING YOUR ABOUT PAGE BIO
Point Two
Write a bio where your staff members sounds like your staff members.
Have them write it in their voice.
What do they sound like when they greet new golfers? Listen to the catchphrase they say when someone comes through your door. That’s how the bio should begin! Be real and authentic.
Your key players should write in the first person – that means use the letter I – for you non-English teachers. If you have trouble getting the words to flow, have some questions that you ask each person on your team to prompt them. If they aren’t writers, then grab your iPhone and record your lunch conversation.
Don’t go posting your conversation on SnapChat like Kim Kardashian. We’re just trying to write an About Page here.
Take the voice and overall feel of your lunch conversation and write it for your site! Include an interesting question like: What’s your favorite super hero?
INCLUDE MORE THAN WORDS
Point Three
Pictures
Your About Page should not only include pictures of your key team members, but it should also include some pictures of your facility. Maybe a slide show, so you can have a series of pictures to display all of your amenities. Have several images, but remember to keep your main paragraph describing your facility above the fold. (For you non-tech types, that means keep your paragraph the first visible thing that is seen on the page.)
Point Four
Trust Symbols
You’ll also want to include any trust symbols that help to distinguish you. Were you voted best? Have you been featured in a magazine? Place those symbols on your About Page to provide credibility.
Point Five
Opt In Offer
At the bottom of your About Page, you should include the Opt-In to sign up for your Email List. Once you’ve charmed them with your wit and style, you want them to sign up to get even more information about your golf facility.
LET’S GET STARTED!
Who is eager to go re-write their About Page?
Let’s get started!
It shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, so schedule some time and improve the overall feel of your website and attract new golfers.
