Boo! on Business Blog Ghostwriting

By on October 2, 2006 in Blog Coach, Conversations with 5 Comments

Lots of conversation going on about "ghostblogging" or ghostwriting on company blogs. I’m not a fan – and you shouldn’t be either.

Company blogs – businesses that have a blog – should not employ full ghostwriting services. Copyediting? Sure thing. Transcribing? Great idea (and a time-saver for the CEO). But not ghostwriting.

It’s a lie. And the truth will bubble up. Especially in small business.

Let’s say I’m a landscaper. Problem is, I can’t write worth a mound of leaves. I see the value of blogging and, wanting to make my business more findable, I decide to have my blog ghostwritten. Eventually, someone will hire my company based on what they read in the blog – but I didn’t write it.

The prospect asks about a post that was written. I don’t have time to write it, you think I have time to read it? I stab at a guess – and even get it right. Yet, the customer says that I sound nothing like my blog. Goodbye integrity.

This may play out differently in a large corporation, but the principles are the same.

I offer blog transcribing as a solution. Drop your thoughts into a voice mail for your blogger. Have the blogger clean it up, strategically link out and post.

Here’s how I see it, four choices:

  1. Have a company blog, but give the actual writer the byline
  2. Copyediting – you write it, someone else cleans it up and posts
  3. Transcribing – you say it (voicemail?), someone writes, links, tags, etc.
  4. Stick with the (cob)web site – don’t blog

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  • http://rightconversation.com Amy Gahran

    Good post, Mike
    Intriguing idea about blog transcribing. Have you had any takers on that? Also, how is that disclosed on the blog, and could you point to an example?
    - Amy Gahran

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    Amy – I really like this idea…as a backup plan.
    I’ve had one taker in the last year, but frankly – he just didn’t want to do the work. Eventually, he asked if we would just write it. We declined – the blog is no longer active.
    It’s not disclosed on the blog, because the words are those of the principal. I don’t think copyediting needs to be discolsed either.
    Because we stress the importance of having a real voice, face, and character – we prefer the company have someone from within the organization write the blog.
    The transcribing service as a backup plan is $25 per post (up to 300 words) and $10 for each add’l 100 words. But see the problem? The danger becomes how a company may begin to justify the cost before the blog really takes off.
    Transcribing could be an alternative to ghostwriting, but I’d still prefer the company blogger to be from within.

  • http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com Drew McLellan

    Mike,
    Interesting post. Your thoughts align perfectly with the marketing premise of authenticity. Consumers today want to hear a company’s real voice. To your point — that doesn’t mean it should be unpolished or so raw that the delivery blocks the content. Even authenticity allows for everyone to put their best foot forward.
    The trick is finding the balancing act between genuine and ready for public consumption. But I agree with you — ghostwriting in a medium that is built on a premise of transparency seems like it would taint the message, no matter how much the audience wanted to embrace it.

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    Good point, Drew. A company shouldn’t let their message get lost on a sloppy delivery. That’s why I always suggest a short B.P. (Blogging Practice) session before going live.
    Just like anything we do, our blogging will get better the more we do it.

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