It can be intimidating to hand off responsibility for your company’s image to someone else. You know what you are about, but will other professionals be able to get your business’s character across? Hiring a ghostwriter can be an especially hard decision if you have previously written your own sales emails and blog posts. But, with the right preparation, a professional writer’s work will fit seamlessly into the image you have created for your brand.
First, a Bit About Branding
If you’ve been reading about marketing your business, you’ve probably run across plenty of people talking about the importance of branding. Branding refers to building a cohesive image for your business. It means maintaining consistency in fonts, colors, slogans and descriptors for your business to make your firm instantly recognizable and to create positive mental associations in your customers’ minds. Branding extends to your content marketing strategy. By choosing subject matter and writing styles that fit your branding, you project a consistent image and build your brand.
Clearer Communication, Better Results
The more you explain what you are looking for regarding tone, word choice and structure, the more you are giving your ghostwriter to work with. Most writers can adapt well and fall easily into different voices. But, a clear idea of what it is you are looking for is key.
Develop a Style Guide
Do you like more formal language or a casual voice? Do you think your audience prefers a more narrative approach or get-to-the-gist bullet points? Do you have strong feelings about the Oxford comma?
Creating a style guide with your DOs and DON’Ts will help guide your ghostwriters toward the look and feel you want for your blog posts. If, for instance, you like to always refer to people who patronize your business as “our customers” instead of just “customers,” put that in your guide. Over time, it can become one of the strongest tools in your arsenal for getting great content that fits just right every time.
Provide Examples of What You Like
Have you seen blog entries that make you say “that’s exactly what I’m looking for!” Offer links to these posts as examples when hiring a ghostwriter. As you have jobs done for you, make a note of the ones that you feel really capture the spirit of your brand, have converted to sales, or are just an especially good read. Over time, you will develop a list of the posts that will define your company’s voice.
Handing over content creation to a professional means you spend less time on promotion and more time doing the work that you do best. With the right direction at the start, you can relax and know that your brand and your company’s voice are in the capable hands of writers who know what you want.
Lara S is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
