I Said, He Said, We Said

Last week, one of the writers on a forum I follow brought up the issue of what point of view to use on a writer's website. Do you say "I have over ten years of writing experience"? Or "Jane Smith has over ten years of writing experience"? Or, as you sometimes see, "we have over ten years of writing experience"? I think it depends on the kind of impression you want to make on your website.

Here are the pros and cons to each option.

First Person
Personally, I use the first person, because it's friendly and a little less formal than third person. I write primarily for consumer audiences, so this approach gives me the chance to show some personality and really connect with readers. My website is almost like a virtual extension of my apartment (which is also my office), so I want it to feel welcoming. A lot of lifestyle writers use the first person for similar reasons.

Of course, not everyone wants a breezily written bio. If you're trying to convey authority and professionalism to a more business-oriented audience, then this might not be the right choice for you. Some people also have trouble writing about themselves in the first person because "well, I hate to brag and …" If you're self-conscious tooting your own horn, then maybe you should try third person to gain some distance from your subject. You can always rewrite it into first person later.

Third Person
When I ghostwrite bios for businesspeople, I generally use the third person ("James Johnson holds a Master of Business Administration …"). This is the accepted point of view for more formal bios, so if you write primarily for trade publications or businesses, then the third person might be appropriate. You'll also see this on most book jackets.

However, when people use the third person in conversation it can seem funny or border-line pretentious, depending on the person and the context. To avoid that stuffy, "I'm-so-great-I-refer-to-myself-in-the-third-person" affectation (which I'm sure you've seen before), perhaps limit the number of times you use your full name. Using your full name at the beginning, then using just your first name could be a nice compromise (it's casual, but not too casual). "He" or "she" works, too.

First Person Plural
Honestly, I'm not a fan. When I see phrases like "our team of writers" and "we offer a range of copywriting services" on a website for a sole proprietor, it always seems to me that they're trying too hard. I once wrote to one of these companies asking if they were interested in partnering with another freelancer and the person wrote back saying "uh, it's just me."

I know that some writers want to create the illusion of a full-scale operation so that bigger companies will take them seriously. But they're only fooling themselves. Once a company hires them, they'll figure out that it's just another freelance copywriter in her living room. My feeling is that as long as you can produce quality work, it doesn't matter if you have a cat to keep you company or a whole staff of helpers. Plus, if you're the one with all the expertise, it's nice for clients to know they're actually hiring you and not some underpaid intern.

What point of view do you use on your website? Have you seen one person successfully use the third person plural? I'd be interested in hearing your perspective!

Flickr photo by eggman