How To Become A Ghostwriter For Bloggers
Learn How To Become A Ghostwriter For Bloggers to earn a little extra money or start a whole new career! This rewarding specialty service not only helps bloggers save time, but will lead you to work in an industry you love and dive into new opportunities!
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Writing is a key skill to have, no matter what kind of content you put on the internet. Unfortunately, there are plenty of content creators or bloggers who either don’t like writing or don’t have the time for it. That’s why freelance content writers (like blog post ghostwriters) are in such huge demand!
Put your writing skills to use by learning How To Become A Ghostwriter For Bloggers. This specialty online service comes with tons of opportunities to work in a field you love while helping your blogging clients save their precious time. As a ghostwriter for bloggers, you will quickly become a valuable resource!
What is a ghostwriter?
Ghostwriters aren’t only for authors or storytellers! Bloggers can hire ghostwriters to perform research and write their blog posts. In exchange for payment, the ghostwriter gives up the byline (A.K.A. credit) and the blogger can put their name on the written piece without issue.
Ghostwriters, much like copywriters and freelance writers, are specialized service providers. They can be a crucial part of anyone’s marketing process! It never hurts to pass on the content creation to someone specialized so business owners and bloggers can utilize their time wisely and rest easy knowing it’s in good hands.
What makes a great ghostwriter?
Every writer is different, but those who write for the web should have a few special qualities and skills. If you’re thinking of becoming a full time freelance blog writer, having a few or many of these abilities is important:
Have a strong knowledge of SEO and keyword research
Produce work fast and with great quality
Be flexible for your clients’ sake
Know what topics/headlines to prioritize in the copy
Be able to research topics you aren’t familiar with with great detail
Have a casual, creative, and engaging writing style/voice
Be able to write in more than 1 voice (so readers won’t be able to tell the blogger used a writer!)
Listen to what the client wants, and apply it to the copy
Have an awesome ability at condensing the information
How to make money writing blog posts for other bloggers
Whether you’re ready to start a new career path, make a little extra money on the side, or forget about blogging full time and stick to something a little more low key, becoming a blog post ghostwriter is a great opportunity. Launch your freelance writing business once you’ve nailed all of these down:
You absolutely must have some great writing skills
A lot of the rules you learned when studying writing in high school or college get thrown out the window when it comes to content writing. Instead of long format or formally written essays, the content you put online usually needs to be condensed, engaging, easy to read, and easy to skim.
Even if you’re already a great writer, you need to be flexible with these skills. The writing needs to stretch and mold according to your client’s voice and style. Sometimes, this can mean putting your instincts aside to give the client what they want.
Before you launch your writing career, become really familiar with the common themes you see in online blog posts. You’ll probably notice that the writing is casual and formatted in a way that’s easy to read. Study a few posts in the industry you’d like to write for and practice writing your own stuff, or even take on clients for cheap (this can be great for your new portfolio as well).
Learn how to keyword research effectively
You have to know what you’re talking about, right? You also want to include all of the juicy information readers are searching for on Google so the blog post actually pops up in search. This is where keyword research comes in!
My guide on keyword research for food bloggers is a good place to start learning about the process. Otherwise, check out the free training by Productive Blogging to dip your toe in the world of keyword research. Once you have a decent baseline, get comfortable with keyword research tools, like Keysearch, SEM Rush, or Ubersuggest, and make sure to include this knowledge when you’re selling yourself to potential clients.
Put the reader first
Blog writing is all about being concise and engaging. Let’s be honest - half the time, readers aren’t sitting down to read through the entire post! They’re skimming the posts, looking for the one piece of information they need.
Ghostwriters for bloggers have to know how to give the reader what they want while making this purposeful information fun to read and with plenty of personality. Use headlines (H2s and H3s), bullet points, numbers, etc. so the post is easy to skim and answers are easy to find. Once you pull the reader in with your clever writing and formatting, they’re likely to stay on the website for longer (which is great for your client’s SEO and traffic).
Come with a portfolio
Potential clients are going to want to see your skills. Set up a digital portfolio with a few samples (anywhere from 2 to 5 is great as a newbie) on your website or in a folder on Google Drive or Dropbox.
As ghostwriters, it’s important to protect our clients’ identities. You can request permission to link the published blog posts in your portfolio but it’s usually a better idea to include only the final draft as a PDF. Remove any internal links from the posts as well so the client is fully anonymous.
Specialize in a topic you love
It can be tempting to say yes to “all of the things” but you’ll make more money and get more clients by specializing in 1 topic. And if that topic is something you absolutely adore, then the words and work will come easily!
I chose to write for food bloggers because I love all things food, flavor, and experimenting in the kitchen. You can lean towards bloggers who focus on parenting, travel, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, Disney, interior design, real estate, and much more! Focusing on one specialty showcases you as an expert in that topic, therefore, you can easily charge higher rates.
Now it’s time to develop your writing business
Whether you’re fully prepared or not, I encourage you to start your ghostwriting career or side hustle right away! We all start somewhere and it’s better just to dive right in instead of waiting for everything to be “perfect”.
Just make sure to check these items off the list before promoting your services:
Have packages and/or pricing available.
Figure out where your ideal clients are “hanging out”.
Prepare a contract template.
Have policies, systems, and boundaries set in place before promoting your services.
If you’re looking to learn more about becoming a ghostwriter for bloggers, send me an email or follow me on Instagram! I’m always happy to help a future writer.
Learn how to use your existing writing skills to make money online! Click the banner below to get started:
