By Danielle Mellema, Digital Content Manager and Chief Ghostwriter, engage5w

When you think of the kind of people who work with ghostwriters, who comes to mind? Maybe former presidents writing their autobiographies, or celebrities sharing their life stories in memoirs or self-help books?

If you are an individual or business with lots of ideas but little time to turn them into words or an industry expert with knowledge to share but who dreads writing, you are the exact right kind of person to work with a ghostwriter—no celebrity status necessary.

Content marketing is a proven strategy for building a brand in today’s marketplace, but without time to create high-quality engaging content, too many companies either opt for a quantity-over-quality approach or eke out the bare minimum for their brand’s online presence.  Ghostwriters specialize in creating dynamic, well-written blog articles that focus solely on what matters to you, while sounding like you wrote it yourself. Consistent work with a ghostwriter lays the foundation of credibility and social proof for you or your company and boosts your overall brand strategy.

Working with a ghostwriter may sound a little foreign to most, but it’s actually a very straightforward process. It requires relatively little time and effort on your part, and in return ghostwriters take essential but time-consuming branding and content creation work off your plate, freeing you up to do what only you can do to grow your business.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your ghostwriting relationship:

Pick your topic ahead of time.

While a ghostwriter can be a helpful sounding board as you’re brainstorming possible topics, you’ll get the most out of your conversation if you at least have a general idea of what you want your article to be about and the direction you want to take it. A ghostwriter can ask the right questions to bring out your voice and expertise to create an article with a clear message, but you’ve got to give them a little something to work with.

If you’re having a hard time settling on a topic, here are some questions to get your wheels turning:

• What am I learning right now?

• What do I/does my company do especially well?

• What would I want someone five or ten years behind me in my field, in their leadership development journey, etc., to know?

• What do I value?

• What would be helpful to my audience?

• What trends am I noticing in my industry?

Learning your voice is a collaborative process.

What separates excellent ghostwriters from other kinds of professional writers (and AI-powered Chatbots!) is their ability to capture your voice. The article should not sound like an essay on your chosen topic. It should sound unmistakably like you or your company’s brand.

Learning a client’s voice takes time, but there are things you, as the client, can do to shorten the runway.

• During your phone calls, take some time to get to know your ghostwriter. Make it a conversation. This gives your ghostwriter lots of “data,” so to speak, to work with when they’re making decisions about which terms or phrasing to use to make your article sound like you.

• Additionally, don’t fill every single pause during your phone call. Ghostwriters are always in observation mode during a call in order to learn your voice. A pause on their end almost certainly means they’re taking copious notes that will make your article sound like you wrote it yourself.

• When your ghostwriter submits the article draft for your review, take the time to make good edits. Some clients prefer a very conversational tone in their writing. Others like their writing to sound a bit more polished than the language they would use when speaking. Your thoughtful edits are what your ghostwriter relies on to learn your style and preferences. When you edit, don’t just check for typos and punctuation. Ask yourself: “Does this sound like me? Is that the way I’d say this?” Use the comments feature in the document to give helpful feedback that will help your ghostwriter learn your voice.

Keep the right mindset.

If your marketing efforts are directed toward trying to crack the code on viral content or attention from the media, ghostwriting will likely disappoint you.  The kind of content you are creating with your ghostwriter works best as part of a long-term digital marketing strategy built on first-rate content tailored to meet your target audience's needs. This takes time and consistent investment—there’s no shortcut for that.

If you are a person who believes that quality brands with staying power are built one smart step at a time, ghostwriting is a high-impact way to set yourself apart from the competition. Ghostwriting tells your brand’s story through consistent quality content that engages your audience and boosts your brand as it continues to evolve.