How to Start Your Journey of Becoming a Ghostwriter?

Ghostwriting is a vast industry, and even though it may not seem so, ghostwriters can earn a hefty amount from writing books, articles, blogs, etc. From celebrities to politicians, multiple people avail of a reliable and professional ghostwriting service for their speeches, biographies, and even emails. So, let us learn about the ways to become a ghostwriter and how to market ghostwriting skills and get more opportunities.

Who is A Ghostwriter?

A ghostwriter is a person who writes pieces, such as articles, blog posts (though these two have merged over the years to mean the same thing), web content, SEO content, email campaigns, etc., but is not credited for his or her writing efforts.

So, instead of publishing these pieces under your name, they are printed under someone else’s name — it could be your client’s or the company’s name. It is also important to note that you cannot use any of these writings elsewhere, unless with the approval of your client.

However, it would help if you strike a deal with your client to convert the ghostwritten pieces into PDF and showcase them privately to potential clients who may need writing samples from you. This would not affect your clients in any way if they were already published.

Why should I become a ghostwriter?

What sense would it make to dive into the ghostwriting business if you won’t get credit for your efforts? Maybe you need to look for any other lucrative freelance writing career and push ghostwriting into a bottomless pit. While this is what every beginner might think about ghostwriting, what they don’t know is that ghostwriting is one of the most demanded freelance writing opportunities right now.

Additionally, ghostwriting jobs attract better pay because you don’t get credit for your writing services. There are two categories of ghostwriting: ghostwriting for beginners and ghostwriting for experts. The experienced ghostwriters obviously charge more than the unexperienced and beginner ghostwriters and why shouldn’t they? They have years of experience under their belt, which gives them this position.

Moreover, experienced ghostwriters get work easily and usually have contractual work lined up for them. Whereas ghostwriters who have just entered the industry usually find their first job on freelance platforms. People looking for affordable ghostwriters often search these freelance platforms to select a ghostwriter to do their projects.

The Earning of Ghostwriters

As mentioned earlier, ghostwriting services differ by the rates freelance ghostwriters charge. More experienced ghostwriters can charge up to $2,000/ project, depending on your client and years of experience. For example, ghostwriting for a celeb or an industry expert will earn you more than writing for just a broker-client on a freelancing platform, such as Fiverr or Upwork.

On the other hand, beginner freelance ghostwriters can charge as low as $5, depending on the clients they fetch. So, in conclusion, there are no specific rates for ghostwriter jobs, but the experience level and who you work with influence how much you get paid as a ghostwriter.

Payment Methods for Ghostwriters

There are many modes of payment ghostwriters can choose from. If you decide to work with direct clients, then you could agree to get paid via PayPal, wire transfers, Payoneer, or bank transfer, among other payment means. This same method applies even if a ghostwriter is working on any freelance platform.

How to Become a Ghostwriter?

Below are a few steps that can help you start your journey as a ghostwriter:

1. Create Your Writing Sample

The initial step is to create a writing sample. Like other jobs, your ghostwriting journey will also require you to have samples that are a testament to your writing skills and can be shown to interested clients.

Now the question arises of how to create a ghostwriting sample. You can create a ghostwriting sample in multiple ways — from the crystal ball technique to the skyscraper technique.The crystal ball technique is where you create a writing sample based on a job posting requirement and present it to your client as a writing sample. This method is more helpful when using freelance platforms get ghostwriting jobs.

On the other hand, the skyscraper technique is based on a proven SEO strategy. The ideology behind this technique is that you want to create a writing sample by targeting specific terms called keywords, which is in line with what Google considers worthy of ranking on page 1.

In other words, you create your article by following the structure of the top-ranking articles on Google but now make it more in-depth. To create your writing sample, use a sample job posting with phrases such as ghostwriter needed and carefully analyze the job description to know what the client needs. You can get a sample job posting on freelance writing job boards or freelance platforms.

2. Become A Freelance Writer On Freelancing Platforms

Once you have your writing sample ready, it’s time to job hunt on freelance marketplaces, such as Upwork. I highly recommend that you start your ghostwriting journey on Upwork. Upwork has become strict these days, and not just anyone will get approved to be part of the awesome community. So you need to make sure that your application to join Upwork is on point and that you have listed all the relevant skills you have.

While this is not a 100% guarantee that Upwork will approve your account, there is a 100% technique that I have proven to work — the 2-step account creation. Now, with this technique, all you have to do is start by creating a non-writing profile.

You could opt to create an engineering freelance account, a legal consultant account, or a machine learning account. The reason why you should choose any of these categories is that Upwork has a deficit in these areas.

Start by researching data science (machine learning) or whatever you choose to have an idea of their job description, then rewrite this as your overview. Once you have crafted your Upwork overview, go ahead and start filling out your application to join Upwork. Finally, you need to know that Upwork allows you to change your Upwork profile anytime you wish.

So, once you get approved, adjust your machine learning profile and begin sourcing for ghostwriting jobs for beginners. Take note to include as much information when filling out your application.

3. Learn From Your Clients

Sourcing for the right ghostwriting jobs for beginners will help you land a few ghostwriting gigs. Learn as much as you can from your clients. Some clients are hard to learn from, but you have to try and work only with experienced clients. Be free and human with your clients while maintaining professionalism at the highest level. Work with the client step by step, keep updating them regarding how far you have gone with their project and they will always be happy to correct you politely when you make mistakes.

4. Improve Your Freelance Writing Skills

Learning never stops, and trying out new ideas should help you up your game in the freelancing space. Take freelance writing courses, read reputable blogs, and acquire more knowledge. Additionally, keep practicing by writing daily. Developing a writing habit improves your writing skills. While there is no standard amount of words you should write every day, you can have a schedule and maybe start with 500 words, then increase the limit gradually.

5. Start A Freelance Writer Blog

Starting a freelance writer blog is just an extension of bettering your writing skills. The foundation of starting a blog is to choose a niche you would like to write on. The niche can be comedy, educational, etc. The niche can be based on your interest. For example, if you are a makeup lover, then your niche can be health and beauty.

Once that is sorted, you can choose a domain name of your liking. A domain name is your blog name.There are a couple of ways to settle on a domain name. You could name your blog by considering what you are passionate about or about the things people will learn from your blogs.

The last step is to choose a hosting company. You can research multiple hosting companies and choose the one that suits your needs the best.

How to Market Yourself as a Ghostwriter?

Even while you have scored a few ghostwriting projects, you must promote yourself if you are serious about making a mark in the industry and earning well from this role. To do that, you have to follow some ways such as the following:

1. Guest Post On Relevant Blogs

Guest posting on blogs helps you get more attention so people know you are a ghostwriter. But make sure to include a killer author bio that states that you are a ghostwriter for hire. This way, potential clients interested in hiring you can do so. There are a ton of “write for us” blogs, such as The Write Life, The Elephant, and Digital Health Buzz, among other publications that accept submissions.

Before you guest post on blogs, you will need to write a pitch to the platform’s editor through a pitch story idea. You, therefore, need to research what the blog is about and what the most shared post on their blog is to increase the chances of your pitch story being approved.

2. Connect With Industry Influencers on Social Media Handles

By collaborating and connecting with industry experts on social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Instagram, you can market yourself brilliantly! People underestimate the power of this technique, but in this way, you can always build your following and chances of getting more projects.

Be as helpful as possible by posting valuable and actionable advice on your walls. If you must follow anyone, make sure you are following only the people in your industry and whenever someone within your industry follows you, show them love by following back.

How to Score Expert Ghostwriting Gigs as a Ghostwriter?

Cold Emailing

One of the most effective ways to get freelance writing jobs is cold emailing. However, a lot of people do not know the exact way how cold emailing works, which is why they give up on it pretty soon.For example, instead of finding prospects on your own, you hire a data mining freelancer who may not even know your specific goals. However, cold emailing can be a goldmine if practiced the right way. First, you need to decide on your preferred niche and that can be done by choosing a niche that suits your liking. From sports to entertainment, there is a huge range of niches that you can select from.

The Process

Once you have chosen your niche, it is important to identify the prospects you want to get in touch with. There are plenty of ways to identify prospects, and a quick Google search can greatly help you do so.

Once you identify your prospects, make sure that they value content marketing and that they have active blogs. You can do this by hovering through their website pages and checking out their most recent post.

The next step is to find the most relevant email addresses for those in charge of content in whatever companies you have chosen. There are a few email finder tools, such as Snovio, Skrapp, Hunter, etc.

Finally, write your pitch email. When writing your article pitch, ensure that it is precise and only includes important points that need to be covered. Moreover, the headline should also be catchy yet relevant. Lastly, make sure to personalize your email by including the person’s name.

Job boards

While job board jobs will not pay you as high as gigs you land through cold emailing, they surely can be a great addition to your ghostwriting gigs marketplaces. There are a ton of job boards — both paid and free. Free job boards tend to be crowded by many freelancers and, therefore, may not present you with the best opportunities. However, you can still land a ton of ghostwriting gigs if you surely know what you are doing.