Should I Hire a Ghostwriter for My Company Blog?

SHOULD I HIRE A GHOSTWRITER FOR MY COMPANY BLOG?

A blog is an effective communication tool between a business and its customers (or potential customers). However, companies often find that running a blog poses several challenges. These challenges range from lack of time to lack of writing experience.

Suppose you’re thinking about starting a company blog or have already started publishing content. In that case, you might be facing challenges in producing content.

So, what can you do about it?

In this article, we are going to explore how hiring a ghostwriter for your company blog can provide you with a great solution to the challenges you might be facing.

Defining a Company Blog

A company blog is a communication tool used to publish official information. A good blog should reflect what you want customers to know about your company, products, and services.

A blog is also a powerful marketing tool.

Companies use blogs to position their brands in consumers’ minds by delivering valuable content consistently.

Since this content is generally free, its purpose is to give brands visibility in customers’ minds.

Your company’s blog can become a highly effective communication and marketing tool when done right. Nevertheless, there are three key considerations when implementing an effective blog strategy.

• Consistency. Consistency is crucial in establishing an effective blog strategy. It doesn’t matter if you publish weekly, monthly, or even quarterly. The key is to maintain a consistent tempo. In doing so, your followers will anticipate when the next post is due. Consequently, your company blog serves its purpose.
• Relevance. Undoubtedly, your company blog must be relevant to your brand and target audience. A common mistake is to produce content about random or unrelated topics merely because these topics are popular at the moment. This approach will most likely confuse your followers and undermine your brand’s message.
• Value. Your company blog needs to deliver as much value as possible. For instance, how-to guides are extremely valuable to customers and a great way for your company to advertise its products and services.

The Challenges of a Company Blog

Producing a company blog comes with its share of challenges. So, let’s take a closer look at the most significant ones.

Lack of Qualified Writers

Companies often find they don’t have anyone on their staff who can take on a load of producing content regularly. In this situation, it’s not that staff members cannot write effectively, it’s that they don’t have the experience needed to take on a company blog.

Lack of Time

Unless your company has a full-time staff writer on hand, you’ll most likely need to ask someone from your team to contribute to the company blog on top of their usual workload. Consequently, it may become complicated for staff members to contribute alongside their usual duties.

Lack of Consistency

When there is a lack of time and qualified writers, publishing content consistently may become extremely difficult. While content may be great, a lack of consistent publishing may cause followers to lose interest in the blog’s content.

Lack of Vision

A common misconception is that a blog is just about publishing as much content as possible. This strategy is flawed because there needs to be a vision behind the content. Therefore, a lack of vision may lead to random content that fails to communicate your company’s message.

Lack of Value

A successful company blog delivers value by consistently providing readers with useful content. Producing unrelatable content may defeat the entire purpose of your blogging strategy. Ultimately, the core of all successful blogs is to provide readers with valuable insights that solve a specific pain point.

Hiring a Ghostwriter for a Company Blog

When companies are serious about producing a meaningful blog, they often turn to a trusted ghostwriter or team of ghostwriters.

A professional ghostwriter, or team of ghostwriters, can produce valuable and relevant content that communicates your company’s core values and unique value proposition.

Nevertheless, hiring a ghostwriter may seem somewhat daunting, especially if you’ve never worked with one before.

It is, therefore, a good idea to do your homework on hiring a ghostwriter before taking the plunge.

Five Things to Consider When Hiring a Ghostwriter For Your Company Blog

1. Is it a good idea to hire a ghostwriter for my company blog?

In short, yes. It’s a good idea to hire a ghostwriter for your company blog since a professional ghostwriter has the skill set to deal with the challenges we discussed earlier. Here’s what a professional ghostwriter brings to the table:

• Writing Experience. Professional ghostwriters know what it takes to produce quality content. They understand the writing process and how to engage readers with compelling and relevant material.
• Availability. Professional ghostwriters have the skills to handle the workload that comes with producing regular content. As a result, professional ghostwriters can maintain a steady output of high quality content. Please remember, though, that the best ghostwriters are generally very busy. So, don’t be surprised if you may have to negotiate the frequency with which they produce new content.
• Vision. Your company can work together with a professional ghostwriter to develop a vision for your blog strategy. By working in tandem, you can develop an approach that consistently engages readers and delivers meaningful content.
• High Quality Content. A professional ghostwriter can take your company’s unique value proposition and translate it into a compelling message. As a result, your company blog’s content will consistently provide readers with useful content.

2. How does a ghostwriter know what to write?

There are two answers to the question.

First, your ghostwriter will write whatever you tell them to write. If you have a clear vision of the company blog’s direction, you can provide your ghostwriter with a list of topics. From there, a professional ghostwriter can craft meaningful content.

Second, a professional ghostwriter will work with you to develop a list of topics for your blog. This approach is especially useful when you don’t have a clear vision for the blog. Therefore, your ghostwriter will work with you to come up with a plan to generate top-quality materials.

Above all, experienced ghostwriters intuitively know what works and what doesn’t. As a result, they will assist you in making crucial content decisions.

Your ghostwriter’s input will become a valuable resource while you will have the final say.

3. How does a ghostwriter get information?

Professional ghostwriters must be skilled researchers. Otherwise, it would be virtually impossible for them to produce high quality content.

Even when a ghostwriter is highly knowledgeable, they must conduct research in order to produce accurate and relevant information.

The biggest concern in this regard is how a ghostwriter handles your company’s information.

After all, your company has sensitive information that you may not want your ghostwriter to access.

To avoid any possible issues with information, it’s always good to sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with your ghostwriter.

These agreements provide you with peace of mind knowing that your ghostwriter understands your information’s sensitive nature.

Here’s a key element to consider:

If a ghostwriter is hesitant or unwilling to sign any confidentiality paperwork, move on.

Reluctance to comply with NDAs is a major red flag. Moreover, don’t be surprised if a professional ghostwriter brings up the subject before you do. Please remember that experienced ghostwriters understand their clients’ concerns.

Last, it’s a good rule of thumb to determine the information your ghostwriter accesses. For instance, your ghostwriter may only access public information such as your website. By the same token, you may grant your ghostwriter access to specific company information.

Above all, it’s crucial to establish boundaries. In doing so, you can avoid inadvertently releasing confidential information.

4. Where do ghostwriters get information?

This question ties into the previous one.

Ghostwriters must be skilled researchers in order to produce high quality content. As a result, professional ghostwriters are familiar with public information, scholarly databases, government data, and other sources.

Nevertheless, you might be concerned about how your ghostwriter collects information related to your company.

For instance, your ghostwriter may interview employees and managers. Also, your ghostwriter may go through archival information on your company.

If you’re keen on supervising the information your ghostwriter is privy to, it’s best to set up a fixed contact point between your company and your ghostwriter.

Your contact point can be a manager, staff member, or even a senior executive. The contact point signs off on content outlines and supervises research. Moreover, they authorize material before it goes to publication. In this regard, your company retains control over the entire writing, editing, and publishing process.

5. What are the pros and cons of hiring a ghostwriter for a company blog?

There are numerous pros and cons that come with hiring a ghostwriter. So, let’s take an in-depth look at both sides of the argument.

Pros:

• Hiring a ghostwriter saves time and effort. Your company does not need to assign extra work to incumbent staff members. Your chosen ghostwriter will take care of the content you intend to produce.
• Hiring a ghostwriter means your company has a dedicated staff writer on call. Yes, your company has a dedicated staff writer (or team of writers) without actually having them on the payroll.
• Hiring a professional ghostwriter means you gain an experienced staff member. Instead of training a writer to do the job, you gain an experienced professional that can hit the ground running from the beginning.
• Hiring a ghostwriter boosts your company’s marketing efforts. A successful company blog boosts your marketing strategy, eventually leading to more customers and improved sales.
• Hiring a ghostwriter means you have one less thing to do. A professional ghostwriter is quite capable of working in the background with minimal supervision. This quality enables you to focus on the most important duties involved in running your business.

Cons:

• Hiring a ghostwriter costs money. Indeed, your company needs to invest in a top-notch ghostwriter. Nevertheless, investing in a successful company blog strategy may become part of your marketing budget.
• It may take some time to find the right ghostwriter. While you may find several ads for ghostwriters out there, not all have the skill set that matches your company’s needs. Therefore, it may take you some time and effort to find the right fit for your team.
• There is an adjustment period. While an experienced ghostwriter will hit the ground running, there is always an adjustment period. During this period, you must work in tandem with your ghostwriter until they develop the tone you want for your company’s material.
• You may have to compete for a ghostwriter’s time. In short, the best ghostwriters are always busy. So, you may need to compete with other clients for a ghostwriter’s time. If you find they can’t dedicate the time you need for your blog strategy, it might be best to move on.

On the whole, working with a professional ghostwriter is a worthwhile experience. Like any trusted business partner, your ghostwriter will become a valuable contributor to your company’s success. Thus, it’s crucial that you invest the time and effort needed to find the right fit.

One Last Consideration

By now, you might still be thinking, “Is it better to hire a ghostwriter or produce content in-house?”

The answer to that depends on the circumstances.

If you already have experienced writers on your staff, you may choose to produce content in-house.

Also, you may consider hiring a part-time or full-time writer.

Once they’re on your payroll, you control their time and attention.

However, if you plan to produce voluminous amounts of content, it may be best to hire a ghostwriting agency. Ghostwriting agencies can provide you with the brainpower and expertise you need to get the job done.