Hiring a ghostwriter can be one of the wisest investments you ever make in the future of your company.
Instead of worrying about hiring an in-house writing team, an on-demand ghostwriter can create brand assets for your company to add to your business’ blog, build your network on LinkedIn, or increase the amount of content you share on social media networks like Quora, Facebook, and Twitter.
Working with a ghostwriter lets you significantly increase your content output without needing to hire a full-time writing team or pay company benefits to keep them on staff.
If you think an on-demand ghostwriter might be just what your business’ branding needs, keep reading.
7 Reasons Why You Should Consider Hiring a Ghost Writer
1. Save Time
You’re too busy to write but have expertise you want to share with your target audience. Ghostwriters work with clients to understand the knowledge the client wants to impart to their audience, and craft a written piece in the client’s voice.
2. Publish More Content
Working with a ghostwriter to create content frequently can lead to numerous business opportunities, including guest-posting on major media publications, appearing as an expert on podcasts, and even speaking engagements at conferences.
The more often you publish quality content online, the larger your digital footprint and the greater your odds of being discovered by customers in your sector.
3. Increase the ROI of Content
Hiring a ghostwriter can be an awesome investment for businesses. Instead of spending your valuable time writing, you can focus on business activities only you can handle.
Delegating your content creation efforts to a hired hand lets you focus on your areas of expertise while entrusting the creation of your content marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) content to a highly-skilled ghostwriter.
Hiring a ghostwriter is an excellent way for executives to position themselves as thought leaders within their industry.
Working with a ghostwriter to disseminate your knowledge lets you share your expertise with others and showcase the depth of your understanding of topics related to your industry.
5. Scale Your Content Marketing
Hiring blog writers to ghostwrite content for your business is an excellent way to ramp up your brand’s content marketing efforts. Many business owners want to attract new customers via their company’s blog, but don’t know where to start to get the content marketing ball rolling.
A talented ghostwriter can work with you to create a content calendar, offer suggestions on blog post topics, and create your company’s blog posts according to your preferred schedule. Some ghostwriters will even post your content directly to your website and add accompanying images.
6. Work with Industry Experts
In-demand ghostwriters are often experts in their own niche. Whether you are looking for travel content or B2B marketing content, you can hire ghostwriters who specialize in your industry. Working with expert ghostwriters improves the quality of the content you share with your audience and increases the speed at which the content is delivered to you.
7. New Content Types
Working with a ghostwriter can increase the types of content you offer to your audience. Ghostwriters can create e-books for your business to offer for sale or give away as a free digital download (awesome for lead generation!), or they can write case studies, white papers, and press releases. Once you start using a ghostwriter to increase your company’s content production, you might even kick yourself for not hiring an on-demand writing force sooner.
But before you can hire someone to create content for your business, you need to figure out who to hire.
9 Questions to Answer Before You Hire a Ghostwriter
As a content marketer, business owner, or company executive, you understand the marketing power of content. But you also know that producing engaging content is time-consuming and requires a unique level of skill.
This is why many businesses hire a ghostwriter. It’s one of the most effective ways to position a company executive as a thought leader in their industry.
Obviously, not all freelance writers are the same. So, in the second half of this post we’ll look at what questions you should ask to get the best ghostwriter for your business needs.
1. What Do You Want to Achieve?
Before you begin your search, you should understand your marketing goals. You can then define the types of content that are more likely to achieve your objectives.
Do you want to build brand awareness with a series of blog posts? Or do you want to engage “hot” leads with an in-depth white paper? Knowing your destination will help you choose the most suitable writer from day one.
2. What’s Included in the Price?
The writer should know your expectations. Will they do their own research, or expect you to provide it? Some ghostwriters charge for revisions. You need to know these things upfront, so you can set the right budget.
Don’t ask how much they charge per word, because it depends on the amount of research involved and how long the project will take to complete. If they give you a price per word, tell them what your ceiling is so they don’t exceed the limit.
3. Are They a Subject Matter Expert?
Finding a writer who already understands your industry is an important part of the process. Ask what experience they have in writing for your industry, and if they enjoy writing in this genre. If they’ve already written similar content, you have a head start.
4. Can They Provide Samples of Past Work?
Reading previous work from a writer gives you a good sense of their writing ability, style, and range of voice. If you’re looking for a writer to produce various types of content, make sure their portfolio contains a diverse range of writing. If the samples are difficult to read and dull, perhaps the writer is not the best fit for your business.
5. Does Their Style Suit Your Brand?
Their work should also align with your brand’s voice. Are you comfortable with their writing style? Is it easy to read, and do they seems knowledgeable about the subject?
This is not to say that the writer cannot alter their “voice,” which is why it’s important to give any writer you choose to work with a style guide. This should include your brand’s tone of voice and language preferences.
6. Do They Have the Time for Your Project?
Many writers will have other projects on the go. If you have a content schedule, you need to know that the writer can meet your deadlines. Can they start immediately? Are they in the same time zone as you? Are they available for future work? These are all important questions to ask potential collaborators.
7. What Kind of Turn Around Do They Anticipate?
It’s important to establish deadlines so that the writer understands your expectations. But you also need to give writers some flexibility to create quality content. It’s not really helpful to ask: “How long will it take you?”
Writers have shifting workloads and each project can have unforeseen complications. This is why it’s important to state your expectations, but also be flexible when necessary.
8. How Will They Communicate?
Knowing how you’re going to communicate with your ghostwriter is key to projects running smoothly. What platform will you use to communicate?
Ongoing communication is important for clarifying briefs. If you’re in different time zones, you should clarify your working hours. You should also let the writer know if you want occasional feedback on progress.
9. What Do They Need from You to Get Started?
Offering support will strengthen the relationship with your writer. Do you have any statistics that you want included in a piece? Can you refer the writer to online resources for inspiration? For the best results, ensure the writer has enough information from the outset.
Building Partnerships for Business Growth
Hiring a ghostwriter is a two-way partnership that is stronger if you provide ongoing assistance and communicate clearly.
Follow these tips and you’re more likely to find a quality writer that will help you deliver more professional, persuasive, and attractive content to your target audience.
If you need a ghostwriter for your next content project, get in touch with Constant Content today.