Ghost Blogging Gets The Girl

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As I explained in my last “Say It For You” blog, I’m part of a small, elite group of specialty writers for hire as part of a business’ marketing plan. The goal – “win the search” by moving the client’s business listing higher on Google (or Yahoo or MSN).

While reasons for using ghostwriters include lack of time and lack of discipline, many celebrities and public figures throughout history used ghost writers because, despite having subject knowledge and valuable opinions to tell the world, they themselves weren’t confident in their own writing abilities. We find a famous fictional example of this in Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, in which Christian woos Roxanne with love letters ghostwritten by Cyrano.  It’s a classic ghostwriting scenario – Christian’s got the looks, the cash, and the lineage, to win the hand of Roxanne.  But Christian’s tongue-tied – he can’t write to save his soul!  His friend Cyrano, cursed with an outrageously long nose, but blessed with amazing talent as a wordsmith, composes the love letters, up to and including the marriage proposal clincher.

The end of the plot is bittersweet, with Christian riding off into the sunset with the beautiful Roxanne, leaving poor Cyrano, far abler with both  words and swords,  single and very much “Home Alone”.

Ghostwriting isn’t typically aimed at getting the girl, but modern ghost blogging can help “Say It For You”, win the search, and get the business!

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Ghost Blogging in the Tradition of the Founding Fathers

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As a ghost blogger, I’m part of a small, elite group of specialty writers for hire.  Web articles, or “blogs”, although fairly new to the business marketplace, play a key role in any savvy modern marketing plan.  The goal – “win the search” by moving your business listing higher on Google (or Yahoo or MSN).  That way, when potential customers are looking for your type of product or service – they see your blog, leading to your website.  They read the very relevant information you’ve provided (skillfully expressed on your behalf by our ghost blogger), and decide to stick around and do business with your company.
While ghost blogging is fairly new, ghostwriting itself has a long, proud history.  The reasons for using ghostwriters are essentially the same now as they were back then. Celebrities or public figures didn’t have the time, discipline, or writing skill to create a book, a speech, an autobiography, an article, or even an important letter, so they hired writers to do these things for them. Those are the exact reasons business owners hire others to ghostwrite blogs, newsletters, or newspaper columns – no time, not enough discipline or writing skills to do it themselves.
I was especially gratified to learn that my newest professional pursuit is in the tradition of no less a personage than the first president of the United States.  Yes, George Washington used several very famous ghostwriters, including Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, no less, to compose his political speeches and writings.  And, while I don’t count myself in the same league as these “Greats”, like them, I “Say It For You”!

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How ‘Say It For You’ Blog Was Born

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I’m Rhoda, and I’ve been a writer for thirty years.  If you visit my website at www.sayitforyou.net,, you’ll learn that for many years I wrote financial advice columns for Indianapolis Business Journal, Indianapolis Star, Columbian magazine, and Radius Magazine.  Along the way, I composed travelogues and even some poetry for Mensa newsletters, and wrote motivational speeches to deliver at Toastmasters and at my investment seminars. Every word of these articles, poems, and speeches was written by me and appeared under my own byline.

Two years ago, with me now retired from my financial planning practice, my writing took a new and exciting turn.  I realized that, with the development of Internet commerce, marketing is more about driving business to websites than about people driving to stores.  Web logging, or “blogging” for short, was first used to share thoughts and carry on discussions.  Now blogs, I learned, have turned into a powerful marketing tool, part of Search Engine Optimization, drawing traffic to business websites.

And that’s where I saw a way to turn a problem into a professional opportunity.  All my business owner friends know that writing blogs in their area of expertise can help get their websites to pop up on Page 1 or page 2 on a Google search instead of on Page 19 or 20.  But how many small business owners have time to compose and post regular blogs?  Eureka!!  I had fixed on the perfect way to combine my love of writing with my considerable experience in marketing. (Psst!  Can you keep a secret?) I became a ghost blogger, and “Say It For You” was born.

What qualities make for a great ghost blogger?  Drill sergeant discipline, for one.  Web rankings are based on frequency of posting new content, so blogging must be kept up faithfully, using search terms in the blog that lead web users to you.  A ghost must use her “third ear”, hearing not only what you want to say, but picking up on your unique style of saying it.  That way, the ghost can speak your message, in your ”voice”, to your customers. A good ghost blogger should not, herself, be seen or heard!

In short, what do I do? Simply put, I Say It For You!

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