Full disclosure: I'm a ghostwriter. I write books, articles, blogs and more that are published under my clients' names.
Using a ghostwriter is a smart move for busy executives, professionals and subject matter experts who need to publish material but don't have the time and/or writing skills to do it themselves. One caveat: If you decide to hire a ghostwriter, be sure you know and approve what he/she is publishing under your name.
What prompted me to write about this? A former client of mine (why “former” is a story for another time) posted a Valentine's message on the corporate blog. This is a law firm and the message was under the byline of the senior partner. First, there was a typo in the headline (“you” instead of “your”). And it went downhill from there.
Here's the opening paragraph:
Valentine’s Day is a Day for celebrating Romance and Love. With this said, people who have not found that “special someone” yet may dread this day. We say “don’t fret!” There are other ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day!!!
Beyond the obvious incorrect capitalization and excessive use of exclamation points is the generally poor writing and questionable subject matter. Certainly it's okay to have fun with your blog and occasionally go off-topic, but you still need to do it in a way that is consistent with your image and message. Here's more:
Here at [name of firm] we are in a standard “Office Setting,” which means that we are here from 8am to 5pm (or late) unless of course it is a National Holiday.
What does that mean? I don't think even correct punctuation and capitalization could have made that sentence relevant to the blog.
And one more excerpt:
We encourage all of you to show your love and appreciation to those who are close to you like family members, co-workers, and friends. We are going to continue to show our gratitude and love to the people we serve, today, and all the days to come.
Really? I don't know about you, but I'm not looking to my lawyer for relationship advice or love.
More issues with this particular post: It was too short and lacked keywords–it's not going to rank on key search terms this firm's prospective clients use. I'm not identifying the firm to avoid embarrassing the senior partner and his marketing director, but this blog is a textbook example of what to do wrong when blogging.
Blogs are great tools for content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and online reputation management (ORM). But effective blogging takes skill and effort. If you're going to do it, do it right. Develop a content plan that will keep readers coming back (or subscribed) and a search engine strategy that will generate high rankings. And if you're not writing your blogs yourself, be sure you know what's being written on your behalf.
Jacquelyn's latest book is Christian Business Almanac: The Ultimate Daily Guide for Kingdom-Driven Entrepreneurs and Leaders.
She is the author of the nonfiction books Simple Facts About Self-Publishing (Second Edition), Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the Book of Proverbs and Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the night as well as the novel Choices (A Joyful Cup Story). With her husband, she is the co-creator of several coloring books for adults and the novelty My Book About series.
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- Is How You Speak Distracting People from What You Say? - October 16, 2024
