Painting professionals hear about the importance of generating online leads, maintaining a social media presence, and staying on top of their company’s online reputation all the time. However, many struggle with their company story. Some may not be good writers, or maybe they just don’t know what to tout about their company.

As publishers, we at inPAINT magazine have seen our share of good, bad and ugly when it comes to company descriptions, ‘About Us’ pages, and other online copy. So, we’ve put together a few tips to keep in mind when writing about your painting company online.

KNOW WHO YOU ARE

From your website’s ‘About Us’ page to your company description on third-party review sites and beyond, it’s important to have a clear profile of your company that includes certain basic, consistent facts. You may use shorter or longer versions of one write-up for different situations, if you’d like. After reviewing our share of company pages and third-party review sites, we recommend you include these key elements for basic profiles:

-Years of experience

-All the services/specialties your company offers

-Photos of completed past projects

-Licenses, insurance and certifications held

-Awards and honors

INJECT PERSONALITY, BUT STAY PROFESSIONAL

Some companies have a great back story. Maybe the owner is a veteran or someone who has overcome extreme adversity. Or maybe your company sponsors a little league team. It’s not a bad idea to include that information, just make sure you stay focused on what your company has to offer. Mentioning past life experiences that led you into the profession is one thing, but too much detail about unrelated information can be a distraction.

SHOW IT, DON’T SAY IT

A lot of people write very typical marketing phrasings like “great customer service” and “committed to excellence.” While these are not bad things to say, these phrasings have become stale.

Instead, SHOW your audience you’re great by highlighting your A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and industry awards for quality. If you haven’t won excellence awards, emphasize experience. … if you’ve painted more than 5,000 homes in your region, say so. Ten years of experience? Say that. If you just opened your doors, tell people about how many years of combined experience you and your partner have in the painting industry. This writing demonstrates you are committed to quality or excellence without having to actually say it.

STUDY THE COMPETITION, CONTACT INFO

Study competitor websites and descriptions. What are they emphasizing? What are they NOT saying? Pay close attention to the ones that really impress you. Don’t copy them, but use the approaches you do like in your own profile. And always make sure contact information is visible. Some companies will even have the phone, email and address at the top of every website page and tab. Remember, if you’ve enticed a person enough to want to call, don’t frustrate them by having to wander around your website to find your contact information.

On a final note, keep your profiles short. For your own personal website, see what you can accomplish with only a few hundred words, or less. For profiles on other sites, ask for word counts or suggested lengths before you write.

For more useful tips on how to better run your painting business, visit inpaintmag.com