SEO Content Writer or Ghostwriter: They Tell Me to Pick One

I've asked many "personal branding experts" how to get my name out there, and knowing what I know about SEO, you'd think this would be easy.

Apparently, I'm supposed to pick a niche, stand in the corner, and beg for scraps until one of us is full.

But I have another plan, and it works.

They say, "SEO content writing and ghostwriting are entirely different beasts." They repeat, "You should choose a focus," and "Your brand is confusing if you do both." I don't agree, and here's why.

1. I don't do boxes. I do creativity and tailored momentum. Boxes are for unpacking trauma and moving out of toxic relationships. So no, I'm not picking one.

2. I write to be found and felt. For me, it's about algorithms and ancestors, headlines and heart. You can't separate the two if you know what you're doing, and I do.

3. I believe SEO gets them there, but ghostwriting makes them stay. B2B/B2C clients want copy that converts; memoir authors want content that sticks.

You can't have one without the other, especially if you're a seasoned wordsmith carrying innate talent developed at the dawn of search engines and web crawlers.

Knowing how to combine search engine optimization with trauma-informed storytelling means surgical copywriting, soulful content writing, invisible ghostwriting, and the ability to pivot between them all without losing the thread.

As an SEO Content Writer in Iowa

My years as an SEO specialist and content writer has taught me countless things, including how to build blog funnels that ranked without paid ads.

I've helped hijack Google's attention span and transformed faceless brands into household names within saturated markets just by developing an SEO strategy that hit audience painpoints and stayed laser-focused on KPIs.

Although I've lived in Iowa for nearly a decade, my remote content writer services have helped turn ordinary businesses and burgeoning brands into digital success stories. And the way I see it: there are real people behind those businesses and brands, so helping the business succeed helps the people succeed.

I like that.

As a Midwestern Ghostwriter

Ghostwriting, on the other hand, made me well-rounded.

It taught me discretion, empathy-as-a-service (EaaS), and how to shoulder someone else's weight while maintaining focus. Writing for someone else is like practicing emotional alchemy, after all.

With SEO content writing and ghostwriting, you're using key topics and insights to channel a voice that isn't yours, build trust with strangers, and reverse-engineer belief systems in real-time.

How is that different from SEO strategy, avatar development, or brand storytelling?

Being a ghostwriter in the Midwest means I encounter fascinating family history, local legacies, urban legends, and generational trauma stories. Those stories expose culture in ways that birth new understanding, which informs brand principles, content strategies, and audience personnas.

What nobody tells you is that ghostwriting and SEO writing have plenty in common:

• Both require deep listening and knowledge of local culture.

• Both demand precision and excellent timing.

• Both work best when the writer disappears.

So no, I won't niche down (for now). I have no plans to dilute myself for an evolving template. I'll keep writing content that ranks, stories that roar, and raw commentary that reveals - because if I know one thing, it's that truth moves faster when it's well-written.

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Here's What I Know

Most content is either optimized or honest, seldom both.

The content that's honest fails to meet SEO best practices and often sacrifices crawlability for compassion toward a plateauing audience. The optimized content satisfies the algorithm but leaves a hungry audience starving. What does it take to accomplish it all?

Me.

Stop hiring SEO content writers who only know how to finagle keywords but can't reach the audience's heartstrings. Quit choosing ghostwriters who understand compassion but can't help you get your story in front of the right people.

Stop being safe, and start being smart. Because other professional writers in Iowa can't keep up, and an empathetic, eccentric expert with my experience is a diamond in the rough.

Let me handle it: the rankings, the resonance, the real talk. You focus on what you do best, and I'll make sure the words fit.

Book me here when you're done settling for either/or.