by Laura McCamy | Apr 10, 2018 | Writing
If you wonder how your colleague or competitor is able to produce so much content while keeping up a busy work schedule the answer is probably ghostwriting. Whether you want to boost your own brand or your company’s, there’s no shame in hiring a ghostwriter to help you with content creation on the DL.
Here are four reasons to add ghostwriting to the resources that help you run your business and manage your career.
1. You Don’t Have Time to Write It Yourself
You are an expert on your business. You might also be a good writer. But let’s be honest: you’ve got a million things on your plate and writing keeps getting pushed to the back burner. You’d like to keep your blog up to date, revise your stale web pages, or push out a white paper, but it’s hard to clear enough space in the thicket of IMs and urgent tasks that crowd your days.
Writing takes headspace. Coming up with the topic is just the beginning. It takes time to develop a thoughtful and engaging approach to the topic that will captivate your desired audience. It takes even more time to write clear prose that concisely conveys your meaning.
Imagine if your role were to assign the topic then evaluate and tweak the end result, without all the work in between? Ghostwriting to the rescue!
2. Ghostwriting Content is Professional Content
We are all writers these days. Almost every professional and business owner has to do some writing for work, even if it’s just emails. It’s easy to forget value of a professional writer can bring to the highest-level writing.
A professional writer can break down insider information into terms a layperson can understand. A professional will craft your message with your audience in mind, using language inspire your customers to action. Your professional ghostwriter can turn even the most boring topic into fun and interesting copy.
Professional ghostwriting gives you an authoritative voice. Whether you’re building your personal brand or marketing a product or service, your ghostwriter can help amplify your message.
3. Two Brains Are Better than One
When you work with a professional writer, you get more than a set of fingers on a keyboard. You have added a creative asset to your team, someone who can generate fresh ideas and improve your content strategy.
The best ghostwriters will bring you ideas and pitches. You might end up with a juicy approach to your content marketing or copywriting that can take your marketing or branding to a new level.
Freelance ghostwriting gives you a big bang for your buck. You’ve got the creative input of a talented idea person for a fraction of the cost of bringing on a fulltime employee.
4. Ghostwriting Relieves Pressure
If you love to write and you find it’s a pleasant change from your other work tasks then, by all means, write your own co^ntent. If you’re like most people, however, writing can become one more unwanted task to weigh you down.
Your ghostwriter relieves pressure by taking this job off your plate. Ghostwriting allows you to increase your productivity. The blog posts and fresh content that keep falling to the bottom of your to do list will be written and posted, often in less time than it would have taken you to do the writing yourself.
Convinced you need a ghostwriter? Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I’ll offer tips on best practices for working with a ghostwriter.
by Laura McCamy | Dec 4, 2017 | Writing
You have a lot on your hands running your business. You have to stay on top of everything from marketing to accounting to fulfillment. You probably don’t have time to write a blog on top of all of that.
You might question whether your website even needs a blog. Do prospective customers of your trucking company really want to read about the new 18-wheeler you bought? Do your dental patients want to know about the new hygienist in your office? No, I don’t think so either. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider content and integral component of your marketing strategy.
Here are three reasons you should add blogging to your marketing budget.
1. Your Blog Will Improve Your SEO Score
You may only need a bare-bones website with a few pages and minimal content to tell the world that your coffee shop is open for business. But if you’re struggling to get into the top rankings for your keywords (such as coffee shop + your neighborhood or city), a blog could be just the tool for the job.
Blog posts add keywords to your site that can get picked up by search engines, without doing the keyword stuffing that will get you axed by Google. The more content you have, the more legit your site seems to the algorithms that rule the search engines.
At the moment, Google is looking for long-form content. Blog posts of 1,000 words or more can improve your page ranking. Your customers may rate a post of that length TL;DR, but if they find your site, you’ve won the battle.
2. Your Blog is Your Free Gift to Your Customers
A free pen with your company logo is fine, but it’s probably not going to get you much traction (who writes with a pen anymore?). The best free customer gifts today are virtual.
Free shipping is an example of a free gift that ecommerce websites use to build customer goodwill. Your blog can operate as a free gift engine for your current and potential customers.
For example, the trucking company blog might include posts about ways to reduce freight costs, tips to reduce shipping times, and best practices for multi-modal shipping. The dentist might have posts about what we learn from teeth found at an archaeological dig or the truth about George Washington’s wooden teeth. The coffee shop might post about upcoming neighborhood events or the origin story of a particular blend of coffee.
Evergreen blog content that gets a growing number of page views and link-backs over time also gets your brand noticed. An informative or entertaining blog post is a great way to give your customers and potential customers something of value and keep your name top of mind.
3. Your Blog Tells Your Customers Who You Are
Every business has a story. Maybe you started your trucking company because you wanted to train more women to be long-haul truckers. Or you take time out from your dental practice to provide your services free through Dentists Without Borders. Maybe you inherited the coffee shop from your grandmother and you’re carrying on the traditions she brought with her from Italy. Tell those stories in your blog.
Your content is a way to get personal with your customers. It’s a great vehicle for sharing the passion that gets you out of bed every day, the vision behind your business.
Your content marketing is a great place to develop your brand voice and the personality of your business. Well-crafted blog posts will give your customers a warm fuzzy feeling about you while they establish your expertise in your field.
by Laura McCamy | Nov 1, 2017 | Writing
First, a little about you:
You’re a marketing manager with an evolving content strategy. Or you manage communications or donor relations at a nonprofit. Or you run an agency that provides content for a variety of clients. You need creative content that will convey the personality of your organization. Funny, knowledgable, compassionate, or passionate – you need to reach across the interwebs and connect with your audience, your customers, your members.
Now, a little about me:
When I was seven, I wrote my first story. It was about a girl named Carrie McNelson who got kidnapped by pirates and my little sister liked it. I’ve been writing ever since.
These days, I write blog posts, web pages, and white papers for clients in a variety of industries. I create newsletters and content for nonprofits. I edit and coach other writers. I write fiction and nonfiction, too. I’m passionate about voice and writing content tailored to each audience.
My sister still likes my writing. I think you will too.
