Blogging Tip: Don’t Use So Many I’s

A friend and former client sent me a message when this blog first launched. He said that he had a tip for me, because he really liked me and wanted me to do well. He suggested that I take out some of the I‘s in one of my posts, implying that there were too many.

He was right. Looking back at the post, there were a lot of I‘s. Even though the post was supposed to be informative and helpful, it appeared to be focused on me, because of all of the I‘s.

Image Credit: Yours Truly (Tia Peterson)

So here’s the tip of the day: don’t use so many I‘s! Focus on your readers. If your blog is meant to be helpful, perhaps you should use more you’s. He mentioned a book, Hypnotic Writing (affiliate link). Have you read it? I have not read it yet but it is now on my list of to-do’s.

Here’s why it’s hard: Blogging is a very solitary thing at times, and can be quite cathartic for some people (see Soulful Blogging: Interview with an Artist-Blogger Jessica Schanberg). But there are many differences between personal and business blogging, and focus (you vs. your readers) is one of those differences. Business-oriented blogs should focus on the people reading them.

Is it ever OK to use I with reckless abandon? Are there times when it doesn’t matter so much? I have a few more thoughts on this but would love to hear your opinions… Maybe you could start by taking a look at your latest post and counting the number of times you used a standalone I.

P.S. There are 8 I’s in this post. How many are unnecessary?

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seospidy@Internet marketing

I always avoid " I " my blog is dedicated to all internet marketing Newbie's its not one man effort everybody have special role in promoting my business and making me successful blogger and entrepreneur of most reputable search engine optimization firm.

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Tia Peterson

Hey Keith - First, thanks for being part of the community here, now! I feel privileged. :)

Second, I totally agree with you. It's very, very hard to write from a personal perspective without using "I." But you're right that a post can be made better using plenty of you's. I found that most sentences can be re-written without the "I" but it definitely removes a significant amount of humanity.

It's definitely a difficult one. I must say that looking back at stats, the posts that are very you-centric and have very few (if any) "I's" seem to do best, both in terms of visits and comments.
.-= Tia Peterson´s last blog ..8 Minute Post – Becoming Un-boring =-.

Keith Davis

Hi Tia
This is a difficult one.
I write my posts as a conversation between me and the reader. That means the post has lots of I's and lots of you's.

Main thing is to have plenty of you's in the text.
Guess that there must be an optimum I / you ratio but thinking about it might produce strange posts!
Not sure.
.-= Keith Davis´s last blog ..A helping hand… =-.

Tia

Hi Angela - That is SUCH a great way to learn about blogging - visiting blogs. Make sure to create a Google Reader account and subscribe to the RSS feeds of all these blogs. Then, every day (or whenever you have time) open up your reader and scan all of the latest posts from each of the blogs. It's a great way to see everything and once.
.-= Tia´s last blog ..Common Sense Blogging: Don't Stress Over Stats =-.

Angela Herrera

You know I am a "newbie" to this blog world, and I am hooked!! I started off slow and not knowing a whole lot, but just jumping from blog to blog and joining some really talented communities has helped!!!
Thank you for any advice you can give a baby blogger.
Love from a California Momma,
Angela
.-= Angela Herrera´s last blog ..“Blind With Jealousy” Is Totally A Real Thing =-.

Robyn from Sam&#39;s Web Guide

We express ourselves through the outpouring of what's inside of us. Above anyone else, you are your main best friend who shares all knowledge, experiences and secrets, so that's why it comes so naturally that when we speak we easily say "I" above anything else.
.-= Robyn from Sam's Web Guide´s last blog ..6 Best WordPress Alternatives =-.

Robyn - Totally agree. You nailed it. Sometimes you can't help using "I" especially if you're recalling a personal situation or story. But now that it's been brought to my attention, I find myself flinching every time I use "I" (even when writing this comment!)

As a result, though, my posts are better. Mark my words: far more people react positively to posts that have fewer "I's" and more "you's". I don't know why (maybe it's in that hypnotic writing book). We are just wired to think inwardly, perhaps, and we like it better when we read something in which we are the focus...?

Thanks for your comments! It got me thinking again about this.

Hey Tia,

I can relate to this. I remember when I was in forth grade and my English teacher would make fun of me when I read my paper to the class and 80% of it was glittered with "I" :) I've had the habit from as far back as I can remember until present day.

On a serious note though, it really depends on the message that you are trying to get across and what you are trying to achieve with your blog posts. I tend to use more "you" because I'm trying to provide information that my readers can put to use for themselves and also relate to with their own experiences.

The word "I" can be used more often if you are telling a story about yourself. However, in some cases you just can't avoiding using lots of "I's" :)
.-= Robyn from Sam's Web Guide´s last blog ..6 Best WordPress Alternatives =-.

Melinda

Great post. I totally agree. I find myself always going back over my post and changing the sentence to be about "you" instead of "I".
.-= Melinda´s last blog ..Dinner in fifteen minutes =-.