Well expressed. I agree totally with your points. My two blogs have the purpose of building a relationship with my readers, so that they can see I am genuine and trust me. As a freelance writer, I’m not pushing for my audience to hire me, but I’m showing them that writing is my passion, and that I can write. By reading my blogs, they can see my styles.

As you know, I’m also a ghost blogger, so I am helping people put their thoughts down in words on a blog. Maybe what the writer in The Age doesn’t realise is that ghost blogging is quite an art. I write in my client’s voice, not my own. When I interview them for posts, I listen very carefully to the words they choose and their tone. I don’t change anything, don’t put my own slant and style into the writing.

And the other beauty of using a ghost blogger is that this person can flesh out points that perhaps the client knows intimately, but hasn’t explained clearly enough for the reader. As you said, editors have a vital role in publishing. When I wrote my autobiography, ‘Beyond The Red Door’, an editor employed by the publisher went through my manuscript and asked me to clarify some points that I thought were perfectly clear. But on re-reading and stepping outside of my shoes, I could see that the image I was painting was blurred.

I do hope The Age - which has made commenting difficult on this particular subject - does find this post!

Blogs are definitely about relationship building and can enhance both your reputation and your visibility to your clients. I have made some of my corporate clients aware of my blog and their feedback has been very positive.

Like all writing I believe the blogging process is very structured and allows for the development of your own formula for success. Your guidance has directly impacted on my own blogging process and I believe that as my “formula” evolves, I will be in a position to have others assist me with blogging on my site.

Thanks for the insightful points!