PR Professionals as Blog Ghostwriters

As you work with clients on the subject of building social media communities, the question of whether blogs can be ghostwritten will come up.

Most bloggers will instintively say..."Don't do it." But I have another perspective. It can be done, but here are the applicable rules:

1. You must have an actual face and "voice" of your blog who is a real person.
2. That real person has actual collaboration with the people who are writing the blog posts.
3. The real person read the comments on the blog and responds to them personally.
4. Honesty is the best policy. Be honest with your readers.

It's never the ideal situation to have a copywriter writing your blog. But it's better than having no conversation at all.

Comments

[Mike Sansone]

I could embrace a blog that follows those guidelines - though I wonder if the company would follow those guidelines. If they do, it could work.

[Janet Green]

Claire, this a great topic - sorry my comment is coming so late to the party!

I'm a little pessimistic about how a ghost-writing relationship would work for the writer. You would either have to be so immersed in the business, and trusted by the company, that you could consistently write material that meets their mission and advances their goals... or you would have to submit every post for prior approval, which would be a nightmare. Maybe there's an arrangement I'm missing that could address both of those potential problems? ~ Janet