The Lazy Hippy - Ethical Internet Marketing > Ghost Writers - Are the Ethics Questionable?

Ghost Writers - Are the Ethics Questionable?

Posted: Si on Jul 12 | ethics

By: Cameron Martel

Ghost writers are quite popular on the internet, and many websites use them. In fact, chances are very good that most of the websites that you frequent use ghost writers for their content or updates.

When Si approached me about writing an article about ethical internet marketing, I knew immediately that this was the topic that I needed to tackle. I, by profession, am a copywriter, and I ghost write for many different websites.

The ethics come in to play when you consider a few different points:

1) Is content ethical if the original author doesn’t get credit?

2) Is it ethical for a website to use a ghost writer in the first place?

3) Are ghost writers capable of delivering the same kind of message as the original website owner?

When considering these points, it’s important that you look at them from an analytical point of view. Regarding the first point, I don’t see any ethical problem here. A ghost writer is well aware of the fact that they are giving up creative ownership when they submit the content as a ghost writer (hence the term).

If I kept creative ownership over all of the intellectual property that I’ve sent my clients, I’d have enough content to fill an entire library of encyclopaedias (I’ve written over 2,000 articles that average 550 words). However, I have instead chosen to accept a monetary figure (which is very fair, trust me) in exchange for giving up those rights.

I can sleep well at night knowing that I have made some money for myself as well as having provided a valuable service to my clients. If webmasters didn’t use ghost writers, there would be many websites that wouldn’t get updated regularly due to time constraints. After all, there are only twenty four hours in a day.

If a ghost writer is capable of producing quality content that is targeted and relevant towards the subject matter, why does it matter who wrote it so long as it’s good?

This brings quality in consideration. I feel that my writing is of exceptional quality, and that is why I feel comfortable charging the rates that I do. The quality of my content is just as good, if not better, as what most webmasters are capable of delivering.

For the website, this means a steady influx of fresh, exciting, and original content that will continue to draw in visitors. For the visitors to the website, it means a continual supply of relevant and useful information. In this situation, everyone wins.

So, to make a long winded topic a short one, no, I don’t feel that using ghost writers is ethically questionable. In fact, a good ghost writer can be an invaluable addition to any website, as the content that they can produce could mean the difference between new content and outdated information.

By: Cameron Martel of AffiliateWeb.org

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I agree with Cameron, I don’t see it as unethical and I’ll happily use ghost writers. Although I think on a blog like this, it is better for the readers if you state when an article is from another author. I’ve used articles from Cameron on here before, and although he didn’t ask for it, I credited it to him as a guest post. To me that seemed logical for this site as readers get to know a certain viewpoint and writing style, any unexplained difference would be noticeable. Amongst other things cameron’s writing is concise, well-structured and the right length. My posts tend to be either short and not saying much, or rambling a bit too much and going off in tangents! Here’s all of Cameron’s articles for thelazyhippy.com.

I’d like to thank Cameron for writing this article, it’s an aspect of ethical internet marketing I hadn’t even considered until I read it. I will certainly be asking Cameron for more content for this and other sites, if you are looking for quality writing I definitely recommend him. You can contact him through his site, AffiliateWeb.org.

- Si

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