Ye Olde Ghost Blogging Debate Haunts Blogs and Book Pages

“A simple definition of ghost blogging is necessary,” a post by social media commentator Desiree Tunnell begins. “It is the practice of writing blog posts for others and is becoming increasingly common in the corporate world.”

When I first began my work as a professional ghost blogger, debates on the ethics of blogging for others often raged at networking meetings and seminars.  Meanwhile, of course, more and more companies were venturing into online marketing campaigns, viewing blog content writing as just another advertising and marketing function to be outsourced.

Five years and some 7,000 Say It For You blog posts later, I see the same “best practices” debate popping up in books and blogs. “Winning back time” is the way Doug Karr and Chantelle Flannery, co-authors of the book “Corporate Blogging for Dummies”, describe the big advantage for corporate executives, business owners, or professional practitioners in “hiring it done when it comes to composing, researching, and editing content for SEO marketing blogs. “Ghostblogging,” say the authors, “isn’t a dirty word, nor is it a dirty profession.”

Using the Flannery/Karr definition, the Say It For You freelance blog copywriters in Indianapolis are not “ghosting”.  True ghost writing, the authors explain, involves ghostwriters signing their work with the name of the business owner or practitioner for whom they’re writing. In contrast, I recommend posts be signed “by Susie of the ABC Company’s blog team.”

“Decide ahead of time whether you wish to disclose that you’re using a ghost blogger,” warn Flannery and Karr. “There is always the possibility of a ghost blogger being discovered.”