A lot of
titles in the business world are misunderstood. Most of them, I would argue.
That said, if you ever meet a copywriter with a big chip on his or her
shoulder, I hope you'll cut her (OK, me) some slack.
Most
copywriters could also be called "ghostwriters," and although neither
is a particularly lofty title, in our information-laden world, writers of all
ilks* deserve some more…consideration, for starters. (More compensation, too -
but I'll leave that topic for another day.)
What Do Ghostwriters and Copywriters Write?
Everything
In the past
year or so, I've written about employment placement services, OSHA
regulations, e-parking apps, replacement windows, agricultural dust
control products, hand-crafted jewelry, landscaping services and bulk mulch
products, mobile pet grooming services, PeopleSoft implementations, escape room
games, marketing automation, keratin hair straightening processes, online
accounting services, floral arrangements, appointment-setting software, lead
paint remediation products, snow plowing and ice management techniques and a
variety of medical conditions, surgeries and treatments, and reimbursement
systems affecting both patients and providers.
Over
approximately the same time period, my work has also appeared in three Forbes
blogs, The Huffington Post, and a couple of other places I can't mention.
Do Ghostwriters Create Policies and
Procedures? Some Do
I've
written policies and procedural manuals for employees of companies where I've
never been employed. And by written, I don’t mean wrangled someone else's
words, but written meaning created and
developed the policy (after discussions with several company principles or
department head) and then re-written, for stakeholder approval. I have not
written public policy but many a hired-gun copywriter has. Sorry if that ruins
your romantic notion about politicians and other public servants but hey,
they're busy people. (Do you have any idea how much time it takes to raise enough money to run for office?)
My point?
Information is a tricky thing. Regardless of the expert's name on an article or
the name of the publication, it's quite possible the piece you're reading was
written by a copywriter with a basic journalism degree in his (or her) back
pocket, an unimpressive balance in his (or her) bank account, and a whole lot
of secrets.
Professional Ghostwriters are Not in
the Fake News Business
This rant about
ghostwriting/copywriting is absolutely not intended to be a jab at journalism,
public relations, corporate information, business blogs or any other form of
writing. Quite the contrary. Journalists are trained to research, investigate,
interview and quickly disseminate information - real, helpful information. Not
"just the facts," but the facts plus context.
When you
need to provide accurate, clear, helpful information to a particular audience,
you need a professional communicator. Now, maybe you won’t be afraid to say “ghostwriter.”
_____________________________________________________
*Like
copywriters, ilk is a word that doesn't get a lot of
respect. (While many modern spell-check programs don't recognize it, Merriam-Webster does.) I love how internet retailer Woot
uses "ilk" in an ad for a bag that's definitely not elk.
As long as
I'm using Woot's image, I should point out that the company appears to
"get" copywriting and all forms of marketing/communications. Kudos to Woot, Ghostwriters, and Elks everywhere.
Old-school sales people like to talk about priming the pump and filling the funnel...and there's a reason social media and content managers use the same phrases.
