You see it again and again in marketing circles: Content is King! Content drives traffic! Content draws visitors!
And it’s true – it does. A website with high-quality, targeted, relevant content, does draw traffic and build trust in your prospective clientele.
But from what I’m seeing these days, some beginning writers are taking this to mean that just by producing content – any sort of content – they can sell their services to any website at all. Seeing a site with a blog in need of attention, they’ll offer to guest or ghost-post on their area of interest – often wildly irrelevant to the site’s niche market.
And you might think – yes, this person can write decently, and s/he isn’t charging to create content for my blog; why not accept? Assign a topic, see what happens!
Maybe you’ll be lucky. Maybe the novice guest/ghost poster will do the research and come up with something that speaks to your visitors’ needs and concerns. Unfortunately, however, this is about as likely as a first-time putter getting a hole in one on a PGA golf course.
So what should you look for in guest (or ghost) bloggers before you ask them to develop content for you to post? Here’s a short checklist:
- Do they demonstrate an understanding of your business field and mission?
- Do they understand your target audience, their needs and concerns?
- Do they have cogent reasons for choosing your blog as a potential guest-host?
- (For guest bloggers) Is their field of expertise related or complementary to yours?
- (For ghost bloggers) Do they have the qualifications and/or experience to speak meaningfully for you to your audience?
- (Sad that this should be a criterion, but declining educational standards make it so) Do they demonstrate correct usage, grammar, spelling, and punctuation?
Especially for sustainable and restorative businesses, when you’re marketing not only your products and services, but also your values, integrity and expertise, it is critical to work with bloggers who share your knowledge, perspective, and ethics.
How do I know? Your Words’ Worth has been working with green businesses since our beginning in 2004, and has been committed to serving restorative businesses since 2010, offering writing experience and lived experience in permaculture, alternative health and wellness, holistic living, personal growth, and eco-spirituality.
I chose these niches for my business because they follow the path I have chosen for my personal life. I understand your audience because I am your audience….and a tough, rigorous, greenwash-wise audience at that, not afraid of asking the hard questions (just ask the consultants and contractors I’ve hired!).
If you’re a eco/social entrepreneur looking for a ghost blogger who gets it from the start – email me here.
