As a social media ghostwriter, I've made over $50,000 in one month. From the opportunities it's created for me, I've made $250,000 per month. And I've taught 120+ students how to make their own living.
The best part? It's all location-independent work.
So, yes. Starting a ghostwriting business is worth it.
In fact, it changed my life.
A ghostwriter is a highly specialized type of freelance writer who creates content for others without receiving recognition or credit for their work. They write in their client's writing style, and the client publishes it as if it were their own.
This field has traditionally been reserved for fiction writing, memoirs, and celebrity autobiographies.
Now, self-publishing is all the rage. And today's 20-somethings are basically iPad kids.
Everyone's addicted to the internet, so that's where money changes hands in the modern world.
For someone already running a business, spending time even thinking about these things is too much.
So when they find freelance writers who do it better than them, they're willing to pay good money.
A ghostwriting company is the same as any other freelance writing business. You'll need to:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">5 copywriting tools I use to run my ghostwriting business: <a href="https://t.co/i13igDev8Y">pic.twitter.com/i13igDev8Y</a></p>— Dakota Robertson (@WrongsToWrite) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrongsToWrite/status/1659465816016814080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Once you've laid the groundwork, purge your social media profile. Make it look like you've been doing this for years.
People who say "social media doesn't matter" aren't entrepreneurs. You have to clean up your (virtual) act so you can publish content and build the network that'll make you money.
Calling ghostwriting "writing services" is a bit misleading. In reality, there's a lot more to the ghostwriting process than that.
All successful ghostwriters have the following areas down to a tee:
You also have to be a well-rounded consultant. Your clients should be 10x smarter because they have you in their corner.
I have a whole article on how to find copywriting clients. It applies to you as a freelance ghostwriter.
There are three main places to find new clients:
Email is more of a numbers game than social media.
If I were you, I'd publish content and start networking on LinkedIn and/or Twitter in tandem with launching your business (especially if your ghostwriting service revolves around one of these platforms).
The first step is to optimize your profile. To show you what I mean, let's dissect Chase Dimond's.
Everything about this Twitter profile is perfect for business.
Up top, his header is bright, eye-catching, and makes it clear what he does. It also includes social proof and contact information.
Below, every element of his bio is conversion-optimized. He reinforces his social proof, states in plain English what he actually does, and finishes with a clear CTA.
He even gets creative by setting his 'location' to a second CTA.
By the way, he does this for his LinkedIn profile, too (with ultimate consistency).
The rest is all cold outreach. When doing this, remember it’s is the first representation of your writing abilities.
Don't embarrass yourself like this:
Be simple, direct, casual, and personable. Not a bot who uses phrases like “quite active.”
And definitely do your research.
All the best ghostwriting companies start somewhere. But cracking into the ghostwriting industry can feel like an impossible task.
Here's what you need to know about scaling your business:
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