Easy Furniture Web Tip #303: You Not We

Furniture World News Desk on 2/2/2021

When writing your web pages, remember the best grammatical voice to use is the 2nd person, i.e. you, your.

The second person voice is the longstanding, proven gold standard for effective marketing copy.

It’s amazing how many web pages I see  filled with the first person voice, i.e. I, we, our. It sounds like bragging.

Yes, you are proud of your store, but you need to demonstrate it in a way that is appealing to your customer and the first person voice simply doesn’t work.

Here are some examples of first person voice ...

• “We’re proud to have been in the furniture business since 1976.”
• “We provide the best selection in direct wholesale furniture.”
• “We’re the mattress leaders with more brands than any other local seller.”
• “Our showroom is filled with the latest design concepts in home furnishings.”

What’s interesting is how easily all of the above can be rewritten in the second person.

• “Shop secure in the knowledge you are dealing with a family business in continual operation since 1976.”
• “You’ll find the best selection in direct wholesale furniture.”
• “Enjoy shopping with the mattress leaders with more brands than any other local seller.”
• “You’ll love browsing our showroom filled with the latest design concepts in home furnishings.”

Yes, that last one does include the first person “our showroom” but the whole sentence is essentially “you” themed. You don’t need to be crazy about leaving out “I, we, our,” sometimes it’s necessary.

There are times when it is appropriate to use first person, like the About page. Or you may choose to use third person, i.e., “he, she, it, they.”

However, if you strive to use the 2nd person voice as much as possible, you’ll help your prospect to visualize herself or himself shopping and purchasing at your store.

Easy Furniture Web Tip 303: Review all your web content to see if you need to revise your text to 2nd person. It’s well worth the effort.

Katherine Andes specializes in web content development and SEO — including page customization for storefront and franchise websites. Visit BetterWebSales.com or phone her at (559) 309-2940.

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