Writing a Good Blog Using Point of View

This is a guest article by Natalie Clive. You too can be part of this great knowledge sharing community. Take a look at our guest blogging guidelines.

Most bloggers aren’t professional writers, although some may have a raw talent for it. Therefore, no firm grammatical standards have ever really been set for blog posts. And honestly, this flexibility is what makes reading blogs so enjoyable. Each blog is different and has its own tone and take on things. One way that you can manipulate that tone and create a unique persona is by choosing what kind of point of view, or perspective, to use in your writing. Since the last time you reviewed this was probably in your middle school English class, here is a brief explanation of the different points of view and when to use them.

Using a particular point of view

There are three points of view in the written word: First Person, Second Person, and Third Person. Each perspective serves a specific purpose. The point-of-view you choose to use in your blog depends on the kind of message and tone you wish to convey.

First Person

Uses personal pronouns I and We. This means that you, the author, are an active participate in the story. The reader is seeing things through your eyes. While this point of view is usually used informally, it can allow you to express your inner feelings more readily.

I did consider writing this blog post in the first person, but decided against it. Using I can sound too informal and might possibly make me lose some credibility in the eyes of my readers. It was better for me to put a hint of formality into the article to show that I really know what I’m talking about.

Second Person

The pure form of second person point of view uses “you” but never “I.” Second person is told by you, the author, and refers to a specific other person. By using “you” you can draw the reader into your story or article and make them a character. However, this can be a very difficult tone to manipulate so the first and second person are often mixed. The use of second person is moderately informal, but not as informal as the use of the first person.

This article itself is actually written in the second person, minus the examples in the other sections. Have you noticed that everywhere else in this article you read the pronoun “you.” This is done purposely to make you feel like you are a part of the article. That way you feel as if you can apply the principles taught in the article directly your own writing. It also gives the author a hint of ambiguity so that you can focus on the content and not the author’s feelings. Pay attention well and you’ll notice that song lyrics and advertisements also use the second person point of view.

Third Person

Uses “he, she, it” or a person’s name. “I” and “you” should never appear. This point-of-view actually gives the most flexibility if you are telling a story. Almost all novels use this perspective. It is also appropriate to use third person for technical documents and formal explanations. However, since blogging usually involves your opinions and personal expressions, third person can be a difficult medium to use.

The third person point-of-view is a very formal way of writing. Unless a blog is created to give specific scientific explanations or perhaps is a short story, the third person view will rarely appear. Natalie Clive, the author of this article, finds it far too stiff-sounding to use third person point of view when she blogs.

The point of view that a blogger chooses has the potential to make or break a blog. Most bloggers write in either the first person, second person, or a combination thereof. It seems that in the blog world, the more personal the better. But that’s the great thing about blogs, you can write whatever you want, however you want. So be creative! Use whatever point-of-view necessary in order to capture your audience’s attention and keep them reading.