Ghosted: How To Hire A Ghost Writer For Your Blog

It’s finally happening: as you are progressing in your business journey, you’ve decided to invest in a high-level blog to discuss your latest interests and discoveries. Something sophisticated, that delivers true value and originality. Content that attracts the perfect clients directly to your business, and gets you noticed as a thought-leader in your industry.

After all, you’re well aware of how vital a good content strategy is, and you’ve decided to truly invest.

And yet, as successful as you are in your business field, you don’t think much about your qualities as a writer.

Maybe you don’t know the darndest thing about copywriting, or maybe, as much as you would like to write your own content, you realise you just don’t have the time.

Running a business is bloody hard work, after all, who has time to write on top of that? Outsourcing is definitely the answer. But you don’t want a blog filled with the same generic crap as your competitors.

No, want something truly original, that reflects your values, methods, and practices, and truly contributes something meaningful to the discussions of your industry.

You need a ghostwriter. Or ghost writer, if you prefer (they’re both technically correct).

But how exactly do you hire a ghost writer? Can you even hire someone to ghostwrite your blog? I mean, it’s not a book, is that even a thing?

Well the short answer is yes, you can, yes, it’s quite definitely a thing, and the easiest way to do it is to hire Acrylic’s resident ghost (by which we mean Hazel, ghostwriter extraordinaire for 10+ years).

But you want more details than that, right?

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Who You Gonna Call?

A GHOST WRITER! (yeah, I couldn’t help myself #SorryNotSorry)

You’ve probably heard a lot about ghost writers and what they can do for you. Maybe you have never thought about hiring one. Isn’t it something only celebrities do to write their autobiographies?

Well, no, and there’s really there’s nothing to be scared about.

Despite their ghastly name, ghost writers are highly skilled professionals who enjoy writing so much that they turned it into a job.

Why Hire A Ghostwriter For Your Blog?

The short answer is: WHY THE HELL SHOULDN’T YOU?

Writing for fun is something that we can all do, from time to time, but that doesn’t necessarily imply that we’re good at it.

My husband loves writing as a hobby and he’s a voracious reader but when push comes to shove, I’m the one who does his copywriting. If he needs to write a report, or a new cover letter, or even a Facebook post, I am the one who’s in charge of penning it.

While we both enjoy writing and reading, I’m the one who writes for a living; I’m far more efficient.

And there’s nothing wrong with that: as a matter of fact, many famous personalities have profited from the hard work of ghost writers for their books or blogs!

As we like to say, learning how to delegate is one of the most important parts of running a successful business.

Hiring a ghost writer for your blog comes with a lot of great benefits…

#1 It’s Cost Effective…

We can hear you objecting to this. How is hiring someone to do something you could be doing yourself cost-effective?

And yet, it is!

A ghost writer will do whatever it is that you wanted to do but they’ll do it faster, more efficiently, SEO oriented, and well…better.

And that’s the short answer.

As with other technical aspects of your business that require high-level skills, learning how to write effective blogs will take you quite some time. And that’s just to get them to sound decent and be vaguely optimised. Learning how to write compelling, original, charismatic, thought-leadership content?

That takes years. Years and years of literally doing nothing but writing all day, every day.

The number of hours it will take you each week to write a sub-par blog post is simply not worth it. Where’s your ROI here? If what you’re writing isn’t actually going to effectively achieve your goal, it’s not worth it.

Even if you can create the level of content needed to do what you’re trying to do, ask yourself this: how much money could you have earned, had you spent all those hours doing what you do best, instead of trying to be a wordsmith? How much client work could you have completed? How many orders could you have filled? How many new ideas could you have concocted and implemented? How much face-to-face networking could you have done to gain new business?

The possibilities for what you could have been doing in that time are endless.

We’re willing to bet the value of those activities – either in cashy money, or the fact that nobody else could actually do them – is substantially more than you’d spend hiring a ghost writer to pen those posts for you, and do a more effective job of it.

#2 It’s Faster…

Yes, you are passionate about writing but, at the same time, it’s not your job. This usually means that you are used to dealing with prolonged delays when writing your own stuff for several reasons.

The first one is that, since you are writing for yourself, you might think that you missing a deadline is no big deal. At the end of the day, there’s no one else involved. You will be the only one who will be affected by that.

Right?

Technically, yes, the only person to suffer the consequences is you, but there are consequences. Blogging only works if you are consistent in your efforts. That means publishing your blog once a week (at least), every week (without fail). And if you’re looking for an influencer-level blog that REALLY gets you seen, you’re going to need that to be long-form content.

From both an SEO perspective, and the ability to actually convey a meaningful message in each post, you need articles of substance.

We’re talking 2-3000 words.

Each.

Every week.

Without fail.

How fast can you really do that?

Can you honestly say you’re going to be able to stick to it each week? Or are there going to be weeks when you think, “Well, skipping a week won’t hurt that much!”

It will. Trust us.

This problem is completely avoided when you hire a ghost writer. They don’t have issues penning posts of that length, they do it every day. They’re not phased by the need to do it every week either. They do it for all their clients.

The reason it’s faster to hire someone else to write your blog is that if you are not writing for a living you might find it more difficult to get started and be consistent with your assignments.

Writing as a hobby is pleasant and can be done in the spare time, between grocery shopping and car washing. You do it as and when you feel like it. You write as much or as little as you have in you.

Writing as a job takes concentration, commitment, and a stress-free environment.

How many times have you found yourself dealing with writer’s block?

That rarely happens to ghost writers.

They can get started right away and deliver some high-quality content for you in half the time it will take you to actually get started.

#3 It’s Marketing Oriented…

Not only are ghost writers incredibly talented and skilled, they also know how to leverage your content to effectively sell your offerings.

When writing a blog, a ghost writer knows how to work all of your keywords into the text flawlessly; it will be SEO-oriented, providing you with some killer copy and the right optimisation to get your blog seen.

But of course, marketing-oriented copy is not just about using the right keywords: in the end, they’re just words and not magic ones!

There are a myriad of other factors to consider, like perfecting the right tone of voice, knowing your target audience, understanding what topics they are genuinely interested in (versus what you want to talk about), and knowing when to SELL and when to provide VALUE!

It doesn’t matter how talented as a poet you are: it won’t help your idea sell unless it’s specifically targeted for people who enjoy the genre and speak in rhyme.

A ghost writer knows what sells and they’re capable of replicating the formula for all of the content they are working on.

You will spot professionally written content from a distance: it flows, it attracts, it engages and you can’t get enough of it.

#4 You’ll Be Able To Translate Your Tone Of Voice Into Written Words…

You think you have some killer ideas, but every time you try putting them down to paper you get confused.

In the end, you notice that none of the enthusiasm that you had in the first place made it out into words.

Sure, the content is well written from a grammar perspective, but it’s not… effective. It looks as exciting as a leaflet on seasonal flu.

Plus, you’ve just noticed that you are missing the keywords.

You probably spent a lot of time between thinking about what to write, getting started, and actually writing and it was all for nothing: the beautiful piece of content you had planned to go out for today is unusable.

You have to start again.

Whatever happened doesn’t depend on your ability as a writer, but, rather, on your experience as a marketing-oriented content writer.

You see, ghost writers are not born this way. Most of us made the same mistake as you did in the first place. And I personally still deal with delays when it comes to writing my own private stuff!

What makes a ghost writer the best choice for your blog is that we know how to fix the most common mistakes and tell your story the way you want it to be told.

A ghost writer will help you build your brand’s tone of voice and translate all of your magnificent ideas into powerful copy.

#5 It’s Better…

Yes, guys, it’s better. As you progress through your business journey you’ll find out how much more profitable it is to hire the right people.

Hiring a ghost writer for your blog will mean an incredible power-up for your image, your credibility, and your brand.

After all, who wouldn’t want to know that such a fundamental part of their business is being handled by professionals who can work more efficiently, faster and better?

Everything you can think, a ghost writer can write it better.

No, It’s Not Cheating! Here’s Why:

One of the last pièce de résistance to hiring a ghost writer is, usually that you might feel like you are cheating.

After all, it’s not you the one who’s writing, right?

Well, a ghost writer will undoubtedly use their skills to tell your story better than you could possibly do, but the ideas are yours.

A ghost writer will, at most, give you their prompt on how to tackle certain topics, but you are the mind behind it all. They will just do quite a bit of high-quality writing on your behalf.

To make sure that you’re not “cheating”, choose a ghost writer with whom you can easily communicate. That’s to ensure that they’re not “inventing” anything and that everything that they are going to write about you and your brand is truthful to who you are.

There’s a big difference between asking someone you’ve given directions to further re-elaborate your words and paying somebody to write “what they want” about you.

Who Did It Best? Celebrities Who Successfully Hired Ghost Writers…

As frowned upon as it is, hiring a ghost writer is actually a widely common practice amongst highly esteemed professionals who want to have their stories told. And a couple of successful writers started their careers as ghost writers.

But as common as it is for actors and singers to hire a ghost writer to write their memoirs, there are also politicians and entrepreneurs who found it beneficial.

This is the case of former U.S Presidents, Barak Obama and John F. Kennedy. Both had written a great deal of material before deciding to ask for a ghost writer’s help to put everything together and publish their books.

But of course, there are lots of personalities who hire ghost writers for their blog, their speeches, and their books.

And then, of course, there were incredible celebrities who profited from the help of famous authors as their ghost writers: this is the case of world-renowned illusionist Harry Houdini, whose ghost writer was none other than H.P. Lovecraft himself.

Not bad, right?

You are not required to be as famous as Sir Elton John to hire a ghost writer for your blog. You just need to love and care for your business!

How Do You Hire A Ghost Writer?

Marvelous, you’ve decided that hiring a ghost writer is the right thing to do. After all, you can still refine your writing skills in your free time.

And of course, you want to know where and how to be sure to catch “the best” one available. Here are a few tips on all you need to know to hire the perfect ghost writer to turn your blog posts from trivial to thriving…

#1 Know Where To Find One

Despite the name, ghost writers don’t need mediums to be found. But still, you might ask yourself what’s the most effective way to hire one. After all, it’s not a position you see advertised that often on job portals!

Usually, the best way to find a ghost writer is to search for one on either freelancer’s portal (such as Fiverr and Upwork), or in digital marketing agencies that offer this kind of service.

While hiring a freelancer would be a nice idea if you are writing a book, if you want someone to write your blogs you really need to hire someone on fixed terms.

That’s because you won’t be able to develop a strong collaboration with someone that does just a couple of gigs a year for you.

They won’t be able to grasp your tone or your ideas, and while this can be solved when hiring a freelancer for a long-term project, this is simply unavoidable for other types of collaboration.

Our tip? Find a marketing agency with good reviews and go meet them.

#2 Try To Come Up With Some Ideas

In order to hire the perfect ghost writer you have to know what you want to write beforehand. Or at least have some general ideas.

That’s because a ghost writer will just do the writing in the most optimal way, but they can’t “invent” things for you.

What do you want your blog to be like? Is there something that you absolutely want to write about? Take note and then go searching for a ghost writer who you think is a good match for the content you have in mind.

#3 Look At Their Portfolio

Experience is what divides an amateur writer from a professional ghost writer. And the latter is what you want for your blog.

When in the process of hiring a ghost writer make sure to take a closer look at their previous work: they might be exceptional ghost writers, but what if they matured significant experience in a field that’s couldn’t be further from your business?

What if you are a beauty guru and the ghost writer you want to hire is an experienced medical writer? That wouldn’t be a nice fit, now, would it?

But taking a look at their portfolio is essential also for testing their professionalism. Is the ghost writer you want to hire capable of understanding their clients’ tone? Can they change accordingly?

Or do they have a standard style they heavily rely on? Your communication should be unique and bespoke. Never settle for somebody who’s not going to do your brand justice!

#4 Never Forget To Communicate

You are looking for a ghost writer to hire because you have no time or strength to dedicate to writing your blogs. And that’s ok.

But you should never leave your poor ghost writer hanging on a thread, not knowing what you want them to write, only to later go on and complain about what they’ve done.

Prepare to communicate on a frequent basis, to ensure that everything you want to be told gets written correctly!