The Royal “We” in Business Blogging

“When Roman consuls spoke of public issues, they did so on behalf of all those with whom they shared power, and so they used the royal pronoun ‘we” instead of the singular,” Doug Lennon explains in The Little Book of Answers.  Then King Richard I began to use the “royal we”, implying that he was speaking for his subjects as well as for himself. It’s improper, Lennon cautions, for nonroyals to use the plural.  (That’s why, when Margaret Thatcher referred to herself as “we”, she incurred nothing but ridicule.)

Why, then, do I so like for Indianapolis freelance blog content writers to express themselves as “we”?

• Using first person pronouns (“I” and “we”) helps keep the blog conversational rather than either academic-sounding or sales-ey.
• “We” shows the people behind the posts, introducing the personality of the business owner or team ready to serve customers.
• Using “we” allows statements of opinion, establishing the business owner or professional as a thought leader:  “At ——-.we believe…”  “Here at ———-, we always…”  “At ______. We’re convinced that….”
• We freelance blog content writers “speak” not for ourselves, but on behalf of the companies and professional practices we’re marketing. Richard I spoke for his subjects; we’re writing for our clients.

On the other hand, shouldn’t content creators learn anything from the icy reception Margaret Thatcher earned by using the “we” word? Yes, but it’s got little to do with putting ourselves – or our clients – out there as royalty.  In fact, all content writing for marketing blogs is second person-driven, meaning that it’s all about the “you”s (the targeted readers who are the potential customers) and their wants and needs.’

The royal “we” in business blogging just keeps things up close and personal!