Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

You could write your entire Web site without any pronouns at all, other than those referring to the customer. Then, on the "About Us" page, which specifically means a personal bio or autobiography, change the POV. At that point, if there`s only one person ("I"), the company appears differently than if it`s an organization (" we").

This is the approach I`ve decided to go with, for now. The FAQ page refers to me in the first person singular, but every other page is "you" focused or uses the company name if there`s no way to rewrite it. I guess I`ll have to testdrive it a little and see how it works out. Thanks so much for your help, both of you, I really appreciate it.

PS, Craig, why don`t you like FAQ pages? Mine is essentially an "About Us" page but addressing the specific concerns I`ve heard from jewelry customers in a more organized format.

Too many people use a pseudo "frequently asked" questions page with questions few people would ask. It just looks fake. On technical sites I visit, or those that involve running an application, I can see the need for questions---tech support. But for a site like this, the so-called questions should be addressed as a sales pitch, not a device. Just my opinion, but it looks "forced" to me. :-)

Go for personal! I am in a similar situation with a one-gal show jewelry business. I just changed my content to read `I`. People who know me, know that I`m a solo-prenuer, were appalled that I was initially passing myself of as a `we`. I`ve decided to stick with it, since I`m in an artistic field and still small people don`t want to see that I`m passing myself off as a larger company, it makes their product and experience not seem as personal.

"... and implies a larger organization than one person."

I always use "we" because though I do 90% of the work myself, I generally hire a helper to go with me to a project.  So, "we" applies from the perspective of the client.


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Steve Mann
Internet Videographer
MannMade Digital Video
My Email