Keeping up with your content creation is essential if you want to stay on top in the digital marketing world. With so many responsibilities that come with operating a business, it can be difficult for companies to generate content consistently. Therefore, many businesses outsource their content to a ghostwriter, allowing more internal resources to focus on running the company.
Ghostwriting is one of the more obscure forms of content creation. The textbook definition of a ghostwriter is identified as someone who “is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author.” In today’s digital marketing industry, with the growing importance of content creation, most ghostwriters are hired to write blog posts.
Ghostwriting blogs can be challenging, we know, we’ve written our fair share. To help other ghostwriters with this task, here are a few tips we picked up ghostwriting for clients. (Yes, we wrote this ourselves.)
STEP 1: MEET WITH THE CLIENT (AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU CAN’T.)
Possessing the personality of another person can be a tricky task. When ghostwriting for a client, it’s crucial to get in touch with them. Meeting with your client will help you learn about their personality and quirks, making it easier to channel their voice into your writing. Your client will know most about their brand’s tone and voice, so soak up as much of them as you can!
Unfortunately, a meeting is not always possible. If you are unable to meet in person or talk over the phone, the next best thing is finding a similar personality in the same industry. Start by browsing the internet for a high profile influencer in a similar role. The best ones have many resources you can use to learn about their beliefs and mindset, making it easy to impose these aspects of their personality into your writing. Researching multiple influencers can help you build a unique voice, but falling to meld them into your writing can result in a confusing and inconsistent mess.
STEP 2: EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT THE INDUSTRY
After you’ve found your muse(s) or met with your client, the next step is to educate yourself on the topics and industry you're writing on. If a ghostwriter were writing an “autobiography” for a client, a great deal of time would go into researching the client. Similar strategies apply to blogs. Your client is presumably an expert in their field or wishes to be perceived as one, and it’s your job to uphold that persona. Be sure to research your topic before writing your article to familiarize yourself with proper terminology, and the general tone of the industry. If you don’t have a grip on the industry, it will show in your writing, and tip off your readers.
STEP 3: PUT PEN TO PAPER (OR MORE LIKELY, FINGERS TO KEYS.)
Before you begin writing, you need something to write about. Take some time during your research period to find what other industry experts are blogging, posting, and talking about. Ask yourself, “How is my client’s point of view different?” Since you’ve already stepped into your client’s personality, this shouldn’t be too hard to answer. Then, sit down and write, write, write!
Once you’ve got the meat of your post down, it’s time to add the finishing touches. Be sure to link any statistics, facts, or related articles in your post, not only to support your arguments but also to boost your SEO ranking. A clear call-to-action is one of the most important pieces of your post, and probably the reason you’re writing in the first place. Whether it’s to ask readers to leave a comment, share, follow you on social media, purchase a product, or visit another page, make sure you clearly tell your audience what you’d like them to do next.
After you’ve successfully put together your piece, send it to your client for approval. Feedback from your client will allow you to confirm if you are writing in the proper tone, and correct any misinterpretations of industry concepts. They’ll know right away if something off and be able to steer you in the right direction towards a perfect blog post.
Of the many different types of content creation, ghostwriting can be one of the most challenging. Not only must a writer know their clients, but they must also understand their client’s industry. Writing in the voice of someone else is a difficult task, but can become a productive part of your business if you can master it.
Let us know your experiences with ghostwriting! For more exploration on ghostwriting, content creation, and digital marketing, join the conversation over in Digital Brand Envy.