This post corresponds to Audio Blog 1 which you can listen to here.

Most websites have a default page called “About Us.” Does yours? It should.

Why? Because, as Chip and Dan Heath explain in their brilliant book Made to Stick, we must never fall into the trap of The Curse of Knowledge. I have added a separate post explaining that concept in greater detail, but to boil it down it basically means that we shouldn’t expect our customers to know anything about our company, culture, products or services (at first) Here’s an example:

If you are looking into an affiliate marketing program (getting other companies to sell your products) you might stumble onto a site like affspot.com, an affiliate marketing forum. If you visit that page you might notice right away that it doesn’t say who the forum is for or what topics should be addressed. I guess we’re supposed to know that stuff already, eh?

If you don’t have an About Us page there’s a good chance your first-time visitors will feel lost. Don’t let that happen. Use your “About Us” page to talk about your company’s background, the market you serve and the problems you solve. That’s your first chance to let your prospect know that you identify with him/her.