On the fence.
That’s my current position on ghost blogging. For years, I’ve been adamant about not using ghost bloggers. I’ve maintained a hard line that a business blog needs to reflect the voice of the owner and she/he needs to be invested in the content being published in their name.
I’m changing my tune.
When I started blogging in 2004, there were no social networks to contend with. Adding a blog to your marketing mix was a lot more straightforward: you wrote an article, optimized it for the search engines and published.
Now, not only do you have to take the steps above, you also have to create stunning images and promote the heck out of your posts if you want anyone to read and engage with your content. And, you need to be active on your social networks so you’re building an audience who will click through to your blog and respond to your posts. It’s a lot of work. I get it. That’s why I’m changing my tune.
As I work with more and more clients who know they need to publish more content, but don’t have the time or gumption to write blog posts, it got me thinking and wondering about you… would you ever retain a ghost blogger for your business?
The Poll
I posted the poll below on Google+ and realized I needed to ask you too. Let me know by clicking on the answer that reflects how you feel about using a ghost blogger to write your posts. I’d also love to know the reasons behind your choice if you have a moment to comment as well.
I’ll be back soon with some ideas about how you can use a ghost blogger if you fall into the “Yes” camp.
Yes!
Most of the reasons have already been voiced. It’s a service, just any other that a person might hire out instead of doing themselves. Several of my clients are excellent writers but time is an issue, many others feel they either lack the skill or the confidence to write themselves.
Thank you for all the help and tips over the years!
Thanks for adding your voice to the conversation, Barbara!
Intriguing thought Denise. I initially thought no, then thought about it some more and figured sure, why not. Now it feels more like maybe. Or more accurately “it depends.” I’m open to ghostwriting (heck, did a lot of it in my corporate marketing communication days). And yes, a good writer or as Annie Sisk said “the right copywriter for a particular business” could get close to my voice, but they won’t be able to match my energy. My topics are more spiritual/metaphysical and can be woo-woo yet practical. And when I am writing about downloads I’m getting or reading the energy on the planet I honestly don’t see how a ghostwriter can do this for me unless I record it and let them type it up and clean it up. With more general self help stuff I could see how a ghost writer could do these types of posts for me. It would likely require me to have a blog calendar (yeah, I know, good idea, just haven’t executed it yet!). Thanks for sparking some new thought trails, Denise. Curious to see where this leads!
Karen, you make a very good point about different types of content. Something as personal as a download you’re getting probably isn’t a good thing for a ghost blogger to attempt. But other types of evergreen content could be. Thanks for sharing your perspective!
It’s important to me to keep my voice. However, after I’ve spent time promoting a post on social media every day, I have not so much energy to write a new post! If I’d ever hire anyone, it would be to do the social promotion so I could focus more on writing posts. I don’t begrudge anyone who does use ghost writers or who is a ghost writer; it just doesn’t fit my focus at this time. I really need to clone myself several times over!
Maggie, agree, given the choice between writing and doing the blog promotion, I’d probably go for the promotion help, too. Thanks for your comment!
Maybe, because yes, time is of the essence. But also because I run a local news online site and don’t have time to be everywhere. I do use freelancers, but a regular ghost-blogger might fill up some holes I have. Actually, I guess I do have a ghost reporter, as he doesn’t want his name or byline on what he writes. So I guess I change to Yes. But I’m really picky in that my news writers must report ONLY the facts with no personal bias in the article.
You bring up a good point. No matter what type of content a ghost blogger is writing, it should adhere to the blog owners specific guidelines. Thanks for stopping by!
As you know Denise, I’m a ghostblogger myself so this poll is very meaningful. The #1 reason people hire a ghostblogger as you said is time – they don’t have enough — AND they know they should have a blog AND promote it everywhere!
Thanks for this poll – it helps me make my case 🙂
I appreciate your reply, Trudy. It always comes down to a balance between time and money. No time, then it’s an important investment to make.