Hiring a ghost blogger

[Jessi]

Have you ever hired a ghost blogger to write for you?

This is different than a guest blogger, who would tack on their name/links to their posts. And it's not just flat out buying some articles to put on your site either.

Instead, it's hiring someone to blog as though they are you. They should mimic your brand, voice, etc, and write like you would. How do you train someone for this important role?

 

[SimplySidy]

I once had done two posts as a ghost blogger on a friends blog. I realized that this is kind of a more difficult thing to be done - You as a ghost blogger must follow the pattern of writing so that the style of content doesnt look being written by a different person (specially if there are too many posts by the owner of the blog, it may not be a factor if the bog is relatively new, with lesser posts and visitors). The next problem I faced was - you had to understand and narrate the subject just like the owner of the blog - which many a times gets difficult specially when you both write on similar subjects and you have your own understandings of the subject.

Maybe, I went too far, but that experience made me feel that ghost writing is something I would not opt for. Another reason, I dont have any blog today where I post content, though I have plans on setting up a blog on my website. But as that is a consultants website, I think, the chances of ghost blogger are remote.

 

[mikelouis]

I have done several ghost blogging for some time now. I have been using ghostbloggers.net. It is a great site with quality web content that I would recommend any one to check it out. Other than that, I also hire but will thoroughly check their samples before they get the job.

 

[Jessi]

Maybe, I went too far, but that experience made me feel that ghost writing is something I would not opt for.

I think it's a lot easier when it's done for a site that doesn't have a true voice.

For example, I have a client who has never actually written one of her own blog posts. She has always paid someone else to do them, but they are posted as her name and always use the first person "I" as though she is talking about her own experiences. She requests that they be kept fairly general and focus on the topic at hand instead of personal experiences. This make it easier to not have a very specific voice to follow, though.

 

[SimplySidy]

I think it's a lot easier when it's done for a site that doesn't have a true voice.

For example, I have a client who has never actually written one of her own blog posts. She has always paid someone else to do them, but they are posted as her name and always use the first person "I" as though she is talking about her own experiences. She requests that they be kept fairly general and focus on the topic at hand instead of personal experiences. This make it easier to not have a very specific voice to follow, though.

I have been on such few blogs where such kind of posts are made. Personally, though, I feel that if it is my blog and I can write, I should write more instead of hiring people to write for me and paying them. If every other post looked different (at least in the style of writing, I think it somewhere would add uneasiness amongst the readers who want to be regular - my personal view though).

 

[KristinaRoy]

Style of writing is the biggest issue while hire a ghost blogger to write for us. Two persons can not write same and think about a topic. If you hire a ghost blogger from starting of the blog then no issue but after publishing your own some blog posts it may create problem.