Reading some social-marketing blogs, you’d think that hiring a ghost-blogger is rather like hiring a writer for your master’s thesis. Immoral, unethical, deceptive, and…well, you just don’t do it!
Rather obviously – as ghost-blogging is one of the services we offer here at Your Words’ Worth – we take a different view.
The simple truth is that, in today’s online marketplace, you simply can’t get by without a blog on your site. It provides fresh content for the search engines; if it’s done properly, it can raise your rankings for your selected keywords; and most of all, it helps you to present your expertise to your potential clients, building trust and drawing ongoing visits to your site.
Problem is – a blog is an ongoing commitment. It’s like a garden – you can’t just plant the seeds, walk away and forget it. You need to tend it, water it with fresh content, weed out the spam, and harvest the leads. And as you lavish this loving care, your blog’s vibrant growth attracts visitors……well, the comparison’s getting a little labored at this point, but you get the idea.
And all of this loving care takes time, attention, a certain level of marketing savvy, and most of all, thought and creativity. Most of which the average business owner is already lavishing intensively on day-to-day operations!
So is it unethical for a business owner to delegate this task to a ghost-blogger, when other business tasks are expected to be farmed out? Few entrepreneurs, for example, handle their own bookkeeping or taxes, or even marketing content.
But blogging is a personal expression, right? — a glimpse into the mind of the person whose vision is driving the company. It’s supposed to be original writing, just, well, like a thesis.
We beg to differ. For one thing, the client’s degree, certification, or primary professional credentials do not depend on ongoing business blog content. Secondly, a business blog, when all is said and done, is a marketing tool.
Finally – for many people, business owners and otherwise, the thought of producing daily (or weekly, or even monthly) original content triggers absolute creative paralysis. Does this mean that their website should not have a blog, that it should languish in the unvisited limbo of static sites?
We think not. Just as a speechwriter crafts a spoken message in a client’s voice, the ghost-blogger can serve this purpose online.
Of course, the other side of this equation is the ethical stance of the ghost-blogger. Some say that ghost-blogging (or ghostwriting in any form) is something akin to prostitution – selling one’s creativity and receiving nothing but money – no recognition – in return…the crassest sort of selling out. And that’s a point of view, certainly. There are indeed ghost-bloggers who will take on an assignment, write the content, turn it in, and receive payment while barely interacting with the client beyond the level of the business transaction. Philosopher Martin Buber would call this a mutual “I-it” transaction, both client and writer treating each other like objects, means to an end.
That’s not the way we operate here! As a copywriting/ghostwriting firm for green, sustainable, and conscious businesses, we screen clients, connecting with them at a level of shared values, shared viewpoints, shared conscience, even shared spirituality (not religion, mind, but overall spiritual perspectives).
We seek clients with whom we resonate at a deep intuitive level, to be able to write the words that sing true to their message.
And we work with our clients to ensure that their blog content – like any other content we provide – truly speaks their message, views and values at the deepest level.
In other words, we take our tagline very seriously: Giving Your Vision Your Voice.
To put it simply, our ghost-blogging services are a collaboration in the truest sense: you tell us the message you want to communicate; we provide substantive coaching to help you polish it; and we craft the blog post with the words that ring true for you. You review the content (once or several times), and you are free to edit until it rings true for you in accuracy, authenticity, and clarity. You have complete control, start to finish; only when you’re 100% satisfied with the words and the spirit of the entry will we post it.
Now, if you as a business owner are troubled about the ethical issues of hiring a ghost-blogger, we’re happy to support you in crafting your own, equally effective blog posts. Your Words’ Worth offers affordable creative coaching, optimization, and editing services to support you at any level of do-it-yourself initiative.
Bottom line? In our view, no, the ghost-blogging service we provide is not wrong or shameful. It’s a necessary support service for the busy or creatively-challenged business owner, one that we practice ethically, with intuition, integrity, authenticity and pride.
