VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Don G. · King's Row Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1071 Location: MA

I'm in the preliminary stages of revamping/streamlining my website. In the past (and present), all the propaganda has been written in the first person; "I've been in the business for blah, blah, blah years, etc., but I notice just as many sites written in the third person; "Mortimer is the greatest thing since sliced bread, etc."

Is there a consensus as to what it the better way to present the info? I realize there are other more important things to deal with, but eventually, I'll need to deal with this as well, so any and all input is appreciated.

ConnieTerwilliger · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject:

Gosh - great question. Whatever you pick - be consistent. After reading your question I went to my site and see that I float back and forth between 1st and 3rd. (Not on the same page, but across the whole website. For the class side of my site, 1st person is probably best.)

If you are really funny - then first person might work well. This isn't brain surgery we're doing here. Hyperbole without humor will backfire.

If your niche is very straight forward material, perhaps 3rd person would add more credibility?

Pondering...
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Doc · Guest

Some advice I received from a friend and ardent contributor to this board is that it takes 7 mentions of a particular product (in this case the product is YOU) before they will remember.

Therefore, I suggest 3rd person and use your name a lot.

It's a basic marketing strategy and one which I employ.

ConnieTerwilliger · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:28 pm Post subject:

Connie says "That be good advice, Doc and ardent friend and contributor" ....
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Lance Blair only refers to himself in the third person. I tried the second person plural and it got weird.

If your website is touchy feely and is all about a story that you want to tell, then the first person would work well.
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject:

oooh, how about 3rd person future tense?

todd ellis · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:09 pm Post subject:

i am todd j. ellis, millionaire. i own a mansion and a yacht.
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who's/on/1st?

louzucaro · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:11 pm Post subject:

My name is Amy Walker. She is 25 years old, and it was born in London, England.
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bobfromboulder · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:06 pm Post subject:

Lizden · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:32 pm Post subject:

Well....then...I...guess...I'm...sunk! Shocked

When I was building my site, I went with the 1st person, and a more conversational style of my "talking" to the website visitor...hmmmm.

But it DOES seem to make sense to use your name a lot for search engine spiders....again.....hmmmm.

Add another thing to the to-do list!

L.
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Deirdre · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject:

If you use first person, you run the risk of the visitor getting "I" strain.

DB Cooper asks "why use it at all?"

I must confess to a complete dislike of most of the "about me" crap I read, because it is crap. Badly written, 1st-year college press release crap.
Anyone who has more than one short "about" paragraph had better be bloody brilliant or I lose the will to live, or rather to bother listening to demos.

Your demos really should speak for themselves.
If you're offering other services, such as copywriting, production, or what have you, by golly explain away but think in terms of a resume unless you're Neil Simon.
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Lizden · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject:

OK..this is really funny...well...not funny-funny...but...ANYWAY!.....
I don't HAVE an "About Me" page on my site!

I actually just built the site around what I can do for someone & my sound, but NOT what I did or who I WAS!
I do have a testimonial page which lists what several clients have said, but nothing "about me"...

OK...so let's recap:
- NO mic on my index page
- NO "About Me" page!
I'm following DB's rules without even realizing it! Wink

COOL!

Liz
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:58 pm Post subject:

I'm not sure I agree with the SEO argument. For that to hold true, you've essentially optimized your site for searches containing your name. So people searching for your name will probably get to your site anyway just from the Title and meta tags.

I don't have an "about" page, but I do have an FAQ about my services. There I use the 1st person so it gives the listener a sense of a one-on-one conversation.
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todd ellis · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:28 pm Post subject:

i got nuthin'

no, really - just demos & contact - oh, and links
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who's/on/1st?

louzucaro · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

I don't really think that "you should" or "you shouldn't" apply here.

Whatever works for you and your style works. If you prefer a more personal, casual style (like I do) and want it to sound more familiar, first person might work well for you.

If you want it to sound more business-y, then third person might be the way to go.

Re: an About Me page, I don't really see a problem with that so long as it's not on your home page...if it's on a sub-page and a visitor doesn't want to read it, they won't, so no harm done.
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