Well, just another copywriter … doing it way better than most of them.
Her about page has been a hot topic (actually the home page as well) among copywriters and people from The Copywriter Club (she has talked from TCC IRL platform) and people simply LOVE the personal brand that she has created, the way she writes, and also very importantly, the way she uses art/web design to support copy.
I’m a fan and I know many others.
A Teardown of Michal Eisikowitz’s About Page
This is the sixth web copy teardown that I did. In case you want to watch/read all of em, here’s the list:
- FindThatLead: Home Page Teardown and Headline Fix
- Tensor Social: Home Page Teardown and CTA Fix
- Sharpin X: Kickstarter Pitch Teardown and Headline Fix
- allbirds: Tree Dashers Product Page Teardown & Body Copy Fix
Also, in case you want to stay updated whenever I post a teardown, a tutorial, or a marketing lesson from Mad Men, take a look at my YouTube channel and subscribe.
And just like always … the video is here to do the heavy lifting, so this blog post would be a brief one.
What’s in this Teardown?
Michal’s about page is one of the best about pages I’ve ever seen. She is a senior copywriter, been into this for 10 years+ and definitely there wasn’t anything that I could improve, except perhaps a thing or two about the social proof.
I talk about how the placement of the social proof could be improved and also if only one testimonial was enough or not.
Other than that, I have a question (NOT A SUGGESTION) about her reasoning behind not having a CTA button (or two) in the hero section. Although there are two possible reasons why she didn’t do that.
Disclaimer: It wasn’t me judging her work at all. I know the kind of mammoth personal brand she is and I have nothing but respect for that. This is more or less my meek attempt at learning about page copy from one of the best examples. I definitely don’t know the reasoning behind her copy decisions, I have more questions than suggestions, and I wish for this teardown to be helpful to those who want to know how about page copy should be written.
The White Pocahontas … and the Song She Sings (The Hero Section)
Why Pocahontas?
It is because Pocahontas is wise, she is smart, she has a kind heart and she is … *drum rolls* … selfless. This the key to understanding the kind of personal brand Michal Eisikowitz creates. The kind of personal brand she is.
She puts her clients and prospects before herself.
This is how a good freelancer works. This is “offer value before you ask for value (money)” in action.
So, the headline + subheadline (depends on how you interpret the only three sentences in the hero section) basically focus on this main thing. The idea that an about page should be more about your prospects and clients and less about you!
Her about page seems to be dismissing two main (BS) notions about pages: a) it should be about you since it is called about page, and b) it should be in third-person singular (even when you talk about yourself).
She avoids this obituary-kinda about page rhetoric. The whole page is about her clients and is in the first and second person singular.
The hero section copy simply nails it:
It’s not me. It’s YOU. (It’s me? With all letters capital? Is she blaming me?) Here she achieves the element of surprise and then immediately saves the day by proving that she doesn’t mean what it sounds like.
Seriously, this is ABOUT YOU. (I tried to replicate the same effect on my about page).
Every Story has a Conflict … (Pain, Agitation & Solve/Solution)
The first bit of messaging in the body is based on this most famous copywriting formula – pain, agitation and solve or solution.
She talks about the pain in the *** that bad copy can be, she talks about the virtues of good copy and the best thing is that each bullet point serves a particular purpose – no repetition at all.
When she talks about the solution, she skilfully instills this idea in her reader’s mind that she can help them win the game.
Every Pocahontas Wants to be Famous … (Authority)
She is a freelancer. No, she is a personal brand so it is all about authority. She establishes authority in many different ways. For example, there is this quotable quote type thing she says about “uniqueness of your offering” with an image in the backdrop where she is talking from TCC (The Copywriter Club) IRL (in real life) platform. She oozes confidence and authority from everywhere.
Then she achieves authority by:
- Telling how big a perfectionist she is
- Telling how she hates cliches
- Telling how she has been a famous author of two books and 73 published features
- Telling how she has been into this field for 10 years as Assistant Director of Marketing, Consultant and Senior Copywriter, etc., and
- Telling that she’s got a degree in Communication Sciences
Pocahontas is Humble Too … (About Her)
Even though she establishes authority this way or that way, she knows that this is actually not about her, but her clients. The little about detail that you’d find on her page (about her) is actually very little, but here too she offers value to the reader.
She tells very little about her person, then she pivots to detail that are personal/professional (about her writing endeavors) and then she pivots to copywriting, and then she links that with the value that she offers to her clients.
Coz at the end of the day, it’s all about giving value before asking for it.
Pocahontas is Beauty AAAND Brain … (Perfect for You If & Guarantee Blocks)
So, an about page is actually a sales page; you have to sell yourself.
And this is why you have to throw in the persuasion blocks that you otherwise use in a sales page: “a perfect for you if …” part and a guarantee.
The “perfect for you if …” thing is a smart stunt. Before ever your client judges you and gets to think whether or not to consider you, you sort of stop them then and there and tell them that before ever they judge you, they have to prove that THEY are a good match for your services.
The guarantee is not yet another bold, italicized, red-colored and fancy-font “14 days, iron-clad, no questions asked” kinda ****tty guarantee that we get to see a lot, that no one trusts any longer and that never bodes well.
She is a freelancer who gives time, energy, and her mind and loses money coming from other projects; she does not refund the money; no one does so any longer.
But there HAS to be some sort of guarantee here to make the whole thing foolproof for the reluctant and sitting-on-the-fence kinda buyer.
Her guarantee is her perfection; that she would not sit pretty until the work she delivers is perfect, pleases the clients, their customers, and their wives (that was a joke).
This is it dudes and dudettes …
I hope you liked the teardown.
In case you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, share them in the comment box below.
I’d soon be back with another teardown …
Till then …