The Ghost in the Blogging Machine

Here's a fact that may take you by surprise. Some of the great blogs you read regularly are not, in fact, the work of the named author at the end. Copywriters are finding that blogs are now joining the ranks of SEO web content and article writing in that it is being regularly outsourced to copywriting services. Why? Because often the named authors simply don't have the writing skills to create interesting, engaging copy or the time to blog regularly because of the demands of running a business. So they hand the whole thing over to a web copywriter and then simply sit back and take all the glory.

But don't feel bad for the copywriters. They're used to being the ghosts in the machine - it's what they're paid to do. Discretion and confidentiality is important in the relationship between a copywriter and their clients. They are often writing on very complex and technical subjects on behalf of important people who are considered to be industry experts. To pull this off convincingly, demonstrating a high level of expertise, adaptive writing skills and accurately replicating the client's tone of voice is critical to a successful ghost-written blog.

Why all the secrecy?

Businesses that employ copywriters don't want their customers to know they're outsourcing their blogging (or any of their other web content for that matter) to a copywriting service. It's not a matter of trying to be secretive or pull the wool over the reader's eyes. It's in fact out of respect to the reader. They have invested time and their interest in the personal brand of the named writer. Damage that respect and you risk destroying the connection between the reader and the named author and possibly turning the reader away from the brand altogether.

But readers still expect to see regular blogs from prominent members of an organisation. They want to read about their experiences, their expertise and their thoughts on issues that interest both them and the reader. But if they're a high profile celebrity or business entrepreneur, is it really feasible that they are going to have the time to write this kind of killer blog day in, day out? The simple answer is no. So they hand the job over to a ghost copywriter. Someone they trust to portray them in the best possible light - someone who can present the named writer as an expert in their particular subject yet still maintain that air of approachability.

How can someone else have my tone of voice?

If you read a blog written by the named author and one written by a professional web ghost-writer, you would be hard pushed to tell the difference. So how does a copywriter manage to achieve their client's tone of voice so accurately? It's all down to experience. Web copywriters are professionals. They write day in, day out, usually thousands of words every day. They are usually highly qualified, very experienced and have that ability to adapt their writing to suit each individual's tone of voice. Web copywriters are the impressionists of the Internet. They can mimic the flow, the sentence structure and the tone of their client so accurately that not even their peers can spot the difference. But a web copywriter also knows about brand awareness, social media and positioning. They're actually very talented people with practically no ego. Web copywriters don't mind being the ghosts in the blogging machine. That's what they get paid to do and as it's their living, they have to be good.

Professionalism in your job

So the next time you read an inspirational, engaging and interesting blog by your favourite author don't worry too much about who actually wrote it. Just enjoy interacting with it, responding and perhaps even clicking on the author's link to their website. For those who want to keep up their web profile but don't have time to blog every day, trust your copywriter to do the job for you. That's what they're trained to do. That's what you pay them to do. And that's what they'll deliver for you, on time, every time.

By: Sam Cartwright