The Power of Pronouns in Corporate Blog Posts

“Writers who use a variety of pronouns ('I' and 'me' but also 'we' and 'you' and 'they') laugh more and take fewer aspirins than those who stick to first person singular,” observes psychologist James Pennemaker.
 

I’m not sure business blog content writers who use a variety of pronouns self-medicate less than content writers who use first either first-person pronouns only (“I” and “we”) or speak in second-person (“you” and “your”) only. I am pretty confident, though, that the varied-prounoun SEO marketing blogs will generate ”healthier” results for their clients’ businesses and professional practices.

Nobody likes guys or gasl who can speak of nothing but themselves, you know, the “But-enough- about-you” types.  Yet, as a corporate blogging trainer, I stress the importance of first person business blog writing because of its one enormous advantage – it shows the people behind the posts.  In first person, blogging for business can in reveal the personality of the business owner or of the team standing ready to serve customers.

       “At —— Dry Cleaners, we believe….”
       “At ——— Heating & Air, we always…..”
       “Despite the widely held belief that….., I’m convinced that……”

On the Say It For You website are listed five categories that are typically covered in business blog writing.

• The benefits of your products and services
   
• The history of your business and your own journey
   
• Successful case studies and testimonials
   
• News of importance to your customers
   
• Your perspective on trends in your industry

Your perspective can be provided only by you, in first person, straight to the readers:  I/we think…. I/we feel…..  I/we want…..   I/we dream about….. I/we know……  “It seems that, in the blog world, the more personal, the better,” is the way fellow blogger Natalie Clive puts it.

In a way, though, all content writing for marketing blogs is second person writing, all about the “you”s who are the targeted readers. Imagine that for every piece of information you write about your own company or professional practice or organization, the reader is going to be asking “So what?” Bottom line, content writing for business had better be about the “you”s’ wants and needs.

What place does third person writing take in business blogging? Facts, statistics, explanations of how products work, can all be stated in third person.

       “Insomnia costs U.S. $63 billion annually in lost productivity”

       “The fastest-growing group of bankruptcy filers consists of older Americans.”

Since following Pennbaker’s lead about varying our pronoun use appears to be healthy advice for us freelance blog content writers in Indianapolis, might taking two or three pronouns make our readers call us in the morning?