Who are you talking to?

Ever talk with someone whose favourite topic is “me, me, me”? Where every sentence starts with “I”? Most boring conversation ever.

If your marketing messages are focused squarely on you, your customers won’t feel like they are part of the conversation.

Don’t bore your readers by talking about yourself

Writing in the second person – using the pronoun “you” – is a simple way to focus on the reader.

When creating marketing material, it’s tempting to list out all your qualities:

• We do these awesome things!
• We offer amazing services!
• We have a whole lot of experience!
• We believe in many wonderful things!

But that approach leaves the reader cold.

What’s in it for me?

We humans can’t help it. We’re driven to put ourselves first. We are motivated by what we get out of product, service or experience. That’s why marketers know to focus on the benefits of a product instead of just the features.

By limiting how much you talk about yourself, you are forced to focus on what’s important to the customer and how your product or services can benefit them.

Shift the focus and loosen up

Focusing solely on you and your product can also lead to using formal language that comes across as stiff and not especially approachable.

There’s often a perception that if a topic is serious, the language should be formal. You may be concerned that being informal may mean not be taken seriously or may seem disrespectful.

You can be conversational and respectful. Being conversational involves

• Using simple words
• Using “you” and “your” instead of “us”, “we”, or even worse “one” in place of you
• Using contractions like “don’t”, “won’t”, “it’s”, etc.
• Avoiding the passive voice (For example: “The ball was kicked …” or “The decision was made…”)

Being respectful comes from taking care to choose your words carefully and using the appropriate tone.

Being informal and conversational may be even more important when the topic is serious or personal. Conversational language is easier to read. It gets to the heart of what’s important to the reader. If it’s a personal topic, it makes sense to speak directly to the reader.

Create the connection

Focusing on the customer and using “you” language sparks the connection. Don’t get caught talking to yourself. Use you language as a first step to building a relationship with your customers.