Ghostwriting 101: How to Capture Their Voice Without Losing Yours

by Arjunan Stan, Guest Contributor

In the beginning, Ghostwriting for an SEO Content Writer can be a bit overwhelming; this is because you may always think about whether you are doing your subject justice or not. However, in reality, taking the apprehension away comes down to knowing when you need to use your subject’s voice and when you must use your own. It should be a blend of your writing skills and the subject's knowledge. If you do more of one over the other, then you are not ghostwriting. Instead, you’re just writing.
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A ghostwriter can breathe life into your content strategy.

In today’s digital world, the demand for quality content has increased by ten folds. They go by the policy that “Content is king,” a well-written post that is engaging, relevant, and curated by an SEO Content Writer is vital in the recent age of digital marketing.

Today the role of a ghostwriter has become visible, and people are beginning to understand what they do, so there is a minimal stigma with having a professional writer help with a manuscript. For some industries, having a ghostwriter is a badge of honor. Besides, there is an increase in self-publishing platforms that are on the rise. As a result, more businesses look at books as essential marketing tools.

When you hire ghostwriters as web content writers, you will breathe life into your content strategy. It can be difficult to manage content for your blogs and social media pages, along with online interaction when you have to manage your time effectively. Hiring a ghostwriter is an excellent way to delegate and manage your tasks and develop an online presence without having to spend too much money.

You can hire two types of ghostwriters; they can be an individual or staff from a company that supplies ghostwritten material. If you have not yet found a ghostwriter for your marketing web content services, then it is time to invest in one.

Guest blogger vs. Ghostwriter- How does it affect SEO?
Guest Blogger
A guest blogger who is writing as an SEO Content Writer is someone that has been invited to write a guest post on your blog. Most times a guest blogger will be a professional in their respective industry and will also work in the same or a complementary industry.
Pros:

• By using a guest blogger, at times, you can get a break from posting; this means that lining up guest posts from your blog is a great idea when you know you have no time to write great content on your own, and you’re busy managing other tasks.
• By consistently churning out content that is published on time you are also increasing traffic to your site as well as increasing your chances of ranking at the top spot on the first page of search engines, like Google.
• You can offer your readers a perspective on something that is outside your knowledge area, yet still related to the theme of your website. As long as the readers can connect to the posts.
• You can always feature a client, vendor, or business associate and begin building a relationship with them. This is a great way to gain credibility.

Cons:

• You don’t know what the result is going to be and the writing style may not match your website’s style.
• You cannot control the content.
• Your readers may not relate to the guest posts as they may not convey the tone that you had previously set with your readers.

Ghost Writer
Ghostwriters, as SEO Content Writer, may not be familiar or experts from your industry, but they are expert writers, researchers, and well-versed with extracting the essence of your expertise and writing about it.
Pros:

• They save you a ton of time with research and writing content, every week. All you have to do is spend an hour or so every month to meet with the ghostwriter and outline the month’s content.
• Unlike guest blogging, you will have control over the content. A ghostwriter will write from your perspective and balance it out with their writing style.
• The content created by the ghostwriter will match your tone, this will resonate well with your audience and also increase your SEO and traffic.

Cons:

• The process of Ghostwriting is not free of charge.
• You don’t do the work, yet you can still manage it.
• You will have to surrender some amounts of control over to the ghostwriter.

The profession of ghostwriting
If you need great content to boost traffic to your website, but don’t have the writing skills to deliver the results, the ghostwriting is the way to go. A ghostwriter that is proficient with digital media will offer expert writing services as an SEO Content Writer; this means that they will write articles blog posts, social media interactions, eBooks, scripts and so on and whoever commissioned it will be signed off as the author.

The core message that lies behind the words will belong to you. The ghostwriters will merely mold the words in a way that is packaged well enough for consumption. Once ghostwriters are given an excellent brief, they will then will perfectly capture your voice.

When to use the subject’s voice
The core ideas
The basic concept of the post should be based on the marketing company, no matter your personal bias. It would help if you also kept in mind that you will not get a byline and the post will be published under the subject’s byline. Your opinion should be mute.
It would be best if you also steered clear from adding or subtracting any ideas. If the subject brings up any point that is important to them. It means that it should be featured in the end product in some way or the other. Also, if the subject doesn’t mention any topic, then you must not include it in the finished text. To make the point clear, you must clarify the context and sound amazing. Just out, if they don’t say it- don’t include it.

Using a signature word or phrase
When writing for the subject try to include a phrase or word that you know only will set a tone that resembles the content on their website. By matching the mood, you are not setting your post apart from the rest of the posts on the site, and the readers will still find the material relevant, hence increasing the traffic and SEO as well.

Use data as proof
There is data in almost every web content article. Nothing can support a good piece than a valid statistic or chart. Always aim to use the majority of data points that are offered by the subject and always inquire after the source.

When to use the ghostwriter’s voice
Outline
Most times companies that use ghost writers are busy managing other areas of their job, so they are always working with information and have a lot on their plates. They will provide you with an outline of the piece that they desire. It is your job as a writer to give life to the draft and arrange them in the way you think will have the best flow.

Transitions
Moving from one point to another can be tricky, you should have the ability to retain the reader’s attention. This means that you must add smooth transitions from one location to another, you can try to mimic other writers’ transitions and incorporate your style into it.

Important explanations
This is means that when the content tends to get too technical, then you must explain, that is, the readers should understand the piece with one read. The writer is a proxy for the audience,   and if you think that the audience needs to follow a point on a simple level, then it is your job to break it down in layman’s terms.

When should a ghostwriter refrain from using their voice?
As a ghostwriter is writing an article for the subject, you should know that you can’t use any voice and you must know what needs to be cut and can stay. Subjects who rely on ghostwriters usually have a lot on their plate; you must include the points that you have discussed, and reflect their tone as much as you can. You must know that you are writing by keeping the website’s voice in mind and not your voice. You can use your writing skills to enhance the points given by the subjects but keep it as close to what the subject wants, as possible. Use your editorial eye and scan the details that are relevant, and the ones that aren’t can be cut accordingly.

Conclusion
As a marketer, you can always reach out to Ghostwriters who are willing to write as SEO Content Writer, learn more about their writing style by reaching out to them and ask them to offer some samples as well.
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Author bio:

 A creative content writer and an SEO specialist working currently at Stan Ventures, a popular White Label Blog Management Service provider. You can reach me online through LinkedIn for a quick response.

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