Becoming A Ghostwriter
With thousands of websites and blogs sprouting up every day, there are so many people that can?t or don?t have the time to write. This is why ghostwriting is such an in-demand online business.
There are tons of business owners that need to have continuous content for things like ? blogs, website content, article directory articles, guest blog posts, email marketing (email autoresponders), eBooks, opt-in reports and squeeze (sales) pages.
Let?s take marketers for instance ? many have more than one niche (different blogs or websites on different topics/products). If they like your style of writing, you could potentially get a lot of work from just one client because off this.
What You Can Earn
When first getting started, you?re going to see a lot of people charging like 3 to 4 bucks a page (a page is usually 450 to 500 words). Don?t let that scare you, and don?t think you have to charge that low of an amount just because you?re a newbie. Marketers who want good, quality content aren?t going to be hiring those writers for their projects. Most of them understand that price and quality go hand-in-hand.
I can tell you that most beginning ghostwriters will start out charging around $6 to $8 dollars per page (and be able to get that amount). As you continue to build your reputation as a quality ghostwriter, you can raise your per page rates in no time!
If you think you don?t have award-winning writing skills and can?t do this, think again. Online writing is a lot different than print writing, or say an English thesis. Of course you need to have good grammar and spelling skills. You also need to know how to string together a thought. But, when you write online it?s more of a conversational tone. On the web, readers attention spans are short and you need to engage and connect with them quickly ? the majority of the time they don?t want to read overly-complicated? material.
How You Can Build Your Online Reputation
Write unique, good-quality content. Again, it doesn?t have to be Ralph Emerson or Emily Barrett Browning, BUT it does need to flow and make sense. ALSO ? though this may seem like common sense ? don?t steal another writer?s work. There are online tools that people can check to see if your article is unique or not. Ripping someone off is a sure-fire way to kill your reputation.
I?m big on research, and I can tell you that clients will love you even more if you learn about their business. For example, by equipping yourself with a little background knowledge of their business, you can help come up with ideas or topics if they get stuck. It will also be easier for you to write an article for them.? It?s such a great branding tool to help set you apart from other ghostwriters.
Always deliver on time. So many ghostwriters deliver late work ? either because they take on too much? or don?t leave enough padding for when life gets in the way. Always underestimate your completion time that way if you finish before you?re even more golden!
Down-the-line, you can start offering additional services like keyword research, SEO even article marketing if you want to expand your business or raise your service fee.
Where To Find Clients
You can sign up at sites like Freelancer, and Elance. These are bidding sites where you set up a profile and portfolio and bid on projects that interest you. What I mean by bid, is that maybe you?ll see a project for a 50-page eBook or a 15 page report. Since you?re starting out and as a way to build good feedback ratings, you could bid $350 bucks for the eBook or $105 for the report. If your bid and portfolio impress the person who posted the project, you?ll get the gig.
Sign up at free forums like the Warrior Forum, Digital Point or Website Babble. Contribute valuable comments and become part of the community. Connect with another marketer and offer to write them a free page so they can see if you?d be a good fit for them.
Another option is to sign up at a content writing service like Writer Access. You sign up, send in a sample, and if they accept you they will assign you a rating between 1 and 5. Pay is based on this rating and when jobs are available you can accept one.? The money may not be all that great at first , but if you can snag yourself a private client it can be profitable. You can do this in a section called ?Casting Calls? with a list of marketers looking for writers and you have the chance to pitch yourself to them. There is also something called ?Love Lists? where a client will put their on their list for special assignments. You can pick up a private client both of this ways.
Create your own website ? you can get yourself a domain for about $10 a year along with website hosting for $10 ? $20 a month. All of my sites are on Hostgator and they?ve got excellent customer service. You can then install a free WordPress blog and advertise your services.
What To Do If You Don?t Have A Portfolio
If you?re just starting out, you?re most likely not going to have a portfolio. But no worries! You can create a simple portfolio for potential clients to see by creating a writing samples page on your website. If they feel you?re a good fit, they?ll place an order on your site!
Whichever way you choose in becoming a ghostwriter, or if you do a combination of them all ? don?t give up, especially if you enjoy providing this type of service. It will pay off.
In part 3 of this series, I?ll be talking about some other Internet marketing services you can provide.
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Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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