When you decide to work with one or more freelance writers to carry out your content strategy, you have the option of working with ghostwriters or bylined writers. What’s the difference?
- Bylined writers have their author name attached to what they write.
- Ghostwriters don’t get public credit on your site. The work can be published anonymously, under your name, under the company’s name, or under a pen name.
Depending on the type of content you need, there are benefits to both scenarios.
Benefits of Working with Bylined Writers
For example, if you need expert-level or highly-technical content, the credibility a subject matter expert brings to your company is often worth giving them a byline. Their reputation boosts yours by association.
Also, writers who provide both service types often charge less for bylined pieces because credit itself is valuable to them.
Benefits of Working with Freelance Ghostwriters
On the other hand, ghostwriters give your brand a more consistent voice. They specialize in presenting content as if it came right from your (or in line with whatever brand image you’re going for). Bylined freelance writers usually bring their own voice to the table, and maintaining their own consistency is important.
When you work with a freelance ghostwriter, you also boost your own visibility or that of your brand. When your content is promoted, visibility isn’t diluted between your company and the author’s brand. You’re the sole focus.
When you have a ghostwriter publish under your name in particular, the visibility focuses on you. And that’s important if you’re the primary source of the material being published or you’re looking to build your reputation as a thought leader in your industry.
If you’ve decided working with a freelance ghostwriter is a good option for you, you should know what to expect going in.
What a Professional Freelance Ghostwriter Brings to the Table
Here are some of the key things a professional ghostwriter contributes to your business:
- Research skills — They know the difference between a popular source and a credible one and pick up on industry basics quickly.
- Interview skills — Ghostwriters know how to interview you and other staff to pull out expert knowledge and weave it into cohesive content.
- Adaptability — A ghostwriter is like a chameleon, able to maintain and move between consistent brand “voices” for multiple clients, departments, and projects.
Understanding what a freelance ghostwriter brings to the working relationship will help you better prepare for the process.
What Working With a Ghostwriter is Like
When you begin working with a freelance ghostwriter, you should be prepared to answer questions about your overarching content strategy. For example, a ghostwriter will need to know things like:
- what kind of content you’re looking for;
- what you hope to get out of that content (leads, subscribers, social media shares, visibility as an industry thought leader, etc.);
- the frequency of new content you’re expecting;
- what readers each type of content is targeting (customers, prospects, industry peers, etc.).
They should also review some of your existing content. If you have a content-heavy website, they may do this before accepting work from you. Otherwise, they’ll ask for it when they’re ready. If you don’t have much past content for them to review, expect them to pick your brain a bit more to get a feel for the style, voice, and goals you’re aiming for.
If you’re looking for high-level material (such as basic web copy or blog posts targeting beginners to the subject matter), chances are good your ghostwriter will be able to handle most research independently. This is also true with projects where ghostwriting is the norm, such as press releases or product descriptions.
If you’re looking for expert-level content, thought leadership pieces, or highly-technical content however, be prepared to play a bigger role in the research process. After all, if the aim of the content is to present you as an authoritative source, you should actually be the primary source for their content. (And by “you,” that could really mean you, or it could mean key members of your staff.) In that case, you should expect to be interviewed and quoted directly.
Remember, a key goal is to make the content sound like it’s coming from you, but as polished as possible.
The most important thing to keep in mind before you hire a ghostwriter is that it isn’t always a “set it and forget it” proposition. A ghostwriter will take the reigns and work as independently as possible. But if you want the best content possible for your brand, there’s a good chance you’ll be working together to some degree, especially on high-impact projects.
It might sound like more work than you were counting on, but remember that quality content matters.
If you’re ready to work with a professional freelance ghostwriter, contact me any time to tell me about your project. I can help make the process as easy on you and your staff as possible.
