Running a business can be hectic. Chances are, you’re juggling 100 different things right now and writing online isn’t one of them. You’re too busy being reactive rather than proactive, which is to be expected when you’re fighting an apartment building fire with a water gun. That’s where a ghostwriter can potentially be helpful, proactively growing your online presence while you focus on other things. This article will dive into what a ghostwriter is and whether one might be helpful for you.

What is a Ghostwriter?

A ghostwriter is someone who writes content for someone else under the other person’s name. Some of your favourite executives you look up to likely have a ghostwriter writing their LinkedIn content or blogs. This is typically due to one or some of the following reasons:

1. They don’t know what to write about
2. They aren’t a strong writer
3. They don’t have time to write

If one or more of these resonate with you, it might make sense to explore hiring a ghostwriter. 

Why Hire a Ghostwriter?

Before you do that, let’s address the elephant in the room. Why should you hire someone to write blogs and/or LinkedIn content for you? The answer is simple - it comes down to your personal brand. Business moves at the speed of trust. When someone has a problem, they turn to someone they trust and someone they associate with a solution to their problem. If you’re constantly showing up in their LinkedIn feed several times each week, you’ll likely be top of mind for them when it comes time for them to seek help on the topic. 

Creating organic content on your personal LinkedIn page rather than paying for ads can save you a ton of money. This is because LinkedIn’s algorithm will push posts out to the networks of the poster along with anyone’s network who comments or likes the post. This is a win-win for community engagement and can help you generate millions of views on your content for free. 

If your content is engaging and consistent, it will drive traffic to click on your profile and then onto your website where you’ll convert the visitor. This can help bring in potential customers, employees, investors, partners, mentors and mentees. Remember though, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You won’t go viral on LinkedIn overnight. It takes time to build trust and rapport with your network, so don’t be discouraged if your first few posts don’t bring in any traction. 

Are Ghostwriters Worth It?

Time is money. If you think about the hourly rate at which you value your time and multiply that by the time it would take you to learn the LinkedIn algorithm and copywriting techniques, brainstorm, write, edit and publish posts, it’s likely that it will take up a lot of your time. If you hire a ghostwriter to do all of that for you, they’ll be able to do it much faster than you and will thus likely be more cost-effective than if you were to do it yourself. Plus, they can ask you prompting questions to help you reflect on your experiences and goals, turning your 5 minute tangents into valuable content. It might take you over 5 hours to create a month’s worth of LinkedIn content, whereas a ghostwriter can likely accomplish the same in under 90 minutes. Spending a few hundred dollars each month is a small price to pay to potentially bring in thousands of dollars in revenue from the investment - notice the term investment and not cost. While it may get listed as an expense on the income statement, remember that funds going to your personal brand are an investment.  

If you’re considering a ghostwriter, we can support you with blog writing and LinkedIn content creation. Drop us an email and we can chat to see if there’s good alignment between your goals and our capabilities. Here’s to helping you grow your personal brand and your business while you sleep.