How to Become a Ghostwriter & Earn from Scratch in 9 Steps

Think about it. Many experts are too busy to write books, update their blog posts or create content on social media so the demand is there. Anyone can become a ghostwriter from scratch but, not many can survive the hustle to create a brand that earns them a decent living.

I remember it vividly. From competing fiercely for the few jobs on job boards to creating a portfolio that can convince a client to commit their work to you, starting a career in ghostwriting can be very brutal for beginners. Add that to a fast evolving AI system threatening to phase out writers and things get worse.

Yet, in the middle of the chaos, people are still finding jobs. A number of established ghostwriters are still picking and rejecting jobs at their own convenience while others hustle.

I believe this does not have to be so. So, I’ll be sharing with you in this guide, the strategies that’s worked for me and many other ghostwriters successfully and how you can use these strategies to start your ghostwriting career from scratch.

Understand what Ghostwriting is all About

Before you become a ghostwriter, one of the key things you need is a clear understanding of what ghostwriting is all about. Although it might mean different things to different people based off their policies, one of the cardinal meaning of Ghostwriting is that you’ll create and evolve a person’s work without giving away details that they actually did not author the work.

What is Ghostwriting?

Ghostwriting is simply the process of creating content like books, blog posts, articles etc. for other people without getting credit for the content. It is a profession popular in different niches like Thought Leadership, Music, Blogging Etc.

The Purpose of Ghostwriting is to help busy professionals, leaders, creative, public figures etc. with ideas but without adequate time to still bring their ideas to life, publish their books, write their script, songs etc. without having to be the ones to write it.

Why People Choose Ghostwriting as a Career

Generally, different people will always choose a career for different reasons but one of the main reasons why writers start ghostwriting is because it is very flexible. As a freelance ghostwriter for example, you have the flexibility to choose when, where and how you want to get your jobs done.

Outside the satisfaction that comes with helping to bring great stories to live, it is also a career that is very lucrative and rewarding financially. And if you’re very skilled, you can get to work with diverse authors, get paid a specified amount regardless of how a book is performing even without having to put your face out there.

Who Should Consider Ghostwriting?

Content writers. If you want to become a ghostwriter, you have to be a very good writer. You have to understand writing or content creation beyond the basics. You also want to be very versatile and adaptable so you can easily deliver content that meets the needs of your client.

Does this mean you can’t become a ghostwriter if you’re not already a writer? No! You can learn how to write, become a content writer and get on to ghostwriting from there. A lot of people have done that.

Doing this will demand a level of effort, consistency and practice on your part but if you get started and commit to it, you can eventually build solid profile as a ghostwriter, even if you were not a writer from scratch.

Identify your Skills & Choose a Niche

There are so many areas or niches you can excel in as someone writing for other people. But, before you become a ghostwriter, you want to know your skills, experience, expertise and how these influence your naturally preferred writing niche.

Identify your Strengths

Find out, what are your core strengths? What kind of content writing feels natural to you? As much as your preferred writing niche might not generally be lucrative or high in demand, choosing a niche that you are skilled in can make it a lot easier to build a long term career as a writer.

Outside natural strengths, you also want to consider your area of expertise or experience as professional. Let’s say you’re a medical practitioner for instance, it’ll be much easier to build a robust profile as a ghostwriter targeting clients in the medical industry, compared to someone who is not a medical professional.

Identifying your strength makes it easier for you to start a career as a ghostwriter but always pay attention to the demand in your preferred industry before making the final decision.

Popular Niches for Ghostwriting

It is not enough to choose a niche that aligns with your skills, to become a successful ghostwriter, you have to choose a niche that is popular, with a decent demand, a good pay and a chance for you to build a career. Some of these popular writing niches are:

• Non Fiction Books: These are very popular with a very decent demand. It is where I had my first shot at ghostwriting. This niche covers business books, self help books, memoirs, biography etc.
• Blog Post & Articles: In a time where personal branding is becoming very popular, there’s an upsurge in demand for ghostwriters who can create blog posts for both business and personal platforms without taking credits for it.
• Technical Writing: Translating technical concept into concise and easy to understand content is a niche that is very lucrative and in high demand.
• Finance & Blockchain: This is also a very decent niche with a good pay. I know a handful of writers who are earning very decently in this niche. Getting started here demands you have an above beginner level knowledge of the industry.
• Speeches, Publications & White Papers: Speeches have traditionally been a popular niche for ghostwriter however it needs a good visibility. Also, publications like ebooks, white papers etc. are increasingly becoming popular and marketable to tech companies, SaaS ad even smaller brands.

Irrespective of your preferred niche, you have to keep in mind that some very popular and seemingly lucrative ghostwriting niches might be filled up with a lot of professionals. What this means is that such niches will be highly competitive and you may have to put in a lot of work to attract clients as a beginner.

Benefits of Specializing

You may want to start as a generalist but even if you do, it is important to specialize in a specific industry a some point as doing this gives you a lot of leverage in terms of building a robust portfolio, establishing your expertise and even charging better rates.

Traditionally, most ghostwriters do not specialize as soon as they get into the profession but you can do either ways, depending on what works for you. You can start as a generalist, grab a few jobs to understand niches you’d prefer and then streamline to take jobs only in that niche.

You can also specialize from the get go if you’re very sure about your preferred niche, build a specialized portfolio from scratch and target a very specific audience from that point. Whatever you prefer should be determined by your specific goals, resources and other factors as they apply to you.

Build a Ghostwriting Brand and Portfolio

Now that you already know what’s working for you and you’ve decided on your area of expertise, the next step you want to take to become a ghostwriter is to build your brand and a portfolio.

Why Creating a Portfolio is Important

Ghostwriting is highly professional. It demands a lot of expertise and professionalism from practitioners. Client want to know who you are, what you have done. And what you can do for them without breaking a sweat.

They also want to know that you’re very adaptable and can easily take up a specific tone of voice, writing style etc. as the situation may demand. So, they will need your portfolio to be sure about this. This also ties in with your branding.

Creating a Brand as a Ghostwriter

So, if you want to be taken as a professional ghostwriter that knows their onions, you want to stay on top of your game while also making sure that you present yourself as such, from the get go.

• Create a Brand: Starting with branding, create a brand that supports your work and aspirations. A strong branding that will demonstrate to anyone, who you are and the things you can achieve for them, at a first glance. This includes doing things like getting a brand color, logo, a short bio that is consistent across all your platforms etc.
• Get a Website: Get yourself a website and create a portfolio showcasing your writing samples and demonstrating your ability to adapt to different writing styles and topics. Include specific pages detailing your services, showcasing your portfolio and giving potential clients all important information about your ghostwriting business in a very captivating way.
• Get on Social Media: Get on key social media platforms and create a page for your brand. Take a step further, create and share content for your audiences on your social media platform.

PS: Personally, I believe one of the strongest ways to prove yourself outside other strategies as a ghostwriter is to write and publish your own book. Doing this can be very helpful to you, from a branding stand point.

Portfolio Tips for Ghostwriters

Even though you don’t have to show client’s work for the sake of confidentiality, you still have to focus on showcasing your versatility and the result you’ve created for clients. Your portfolio should be able to showcase the following:

• Leverage Testimonials: Testimonials like word of mouth can be very persuasive. Ask existing clients for testimonials and use them as a part of your portfolio, highlighting your professionalism, adaptability and ability to match their expected outcomes.
• Use Descriptive Case Studies: Since you’ll not be able to share specific client jobs in most cases, consider describing the job, the project’s scope and the overall results you were able to achieve with it.
• Include Non Book Content: If you’re primarily ghostwriting books, include other content that are not book related like blog posts, speeches, articles etc. This goes to further enrich your portfolio.
• Ask for Permission to Share: Ask clients if it is okay to share their work privately. A few client may agree to such request especially where you can ensure all necessary confidentiality.

Platforms to Showcase your Portfolio

There are a number of platforms to showcase your portfolio as a ghostwriter. This includes your website, popular social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook etc., Behance, Medium, About.com etc.

Don’t limit yourself to a single platform. Showing your platform in multiple platforms is very important as it creates visibility for your brand.

Develop the Skills you Need as a Ghostwriter

There are core skills that’s needed to succeed in this profession. If you want to become a ghostwriter, you must build these skills professionally. These include:

Advanced Writing Skills

It’s not possible to escape writing. Like I mentioned earlier, ghostwriting demands a higher level of writing expertise than the regular writer. You have to master this skill. Even if you are not a writer right now, learn how to write, read widely, create and share your content. The more you write, the more your capacity improves.

Voice & Tone Versatility

As a ghostwriter, you’ll be writing for different clients who are going to have different voice and tone. To create a piece of content that reflects every individual client, you have to master and easily adapt your content to match their natural tone and range. Start with using different writing tone and writing style for your own personal content.

Listening & Interviewing Skills

One of the major ways to get content from clients is going to be through interviews. You’re going to master how to ask probing questions that will get clients to disclose details that will add depth and more value to their project. You can practice this with family and friends or start with mock projects to build your muscle.

Time Management

Time management is very important. You’re going to work with super busy clients who may not have adequate time to grant interviews or answer follow up questions as soon as you ask them even with clear deadlines. Learning how to manage whatever time you have with them will be a great skill you have to develop. Additionally, as part of time management, you have set realistic project timelines, stick to project timelines and get your deliverables completed within set timelines.

Research & Organizing Skills

Ghostwriting comes with a lot of research and content organization. From gathering extra materials to boost your client’s work to organizing pieces of interview and content into a single body of work, you’ll need a decent mastery of research and organizational skills, to keep the content, voice and every other part of each project consistent with project goals and expected deliverables.

Confidentiality and Professionalism

This might not necessarily be a skill but but ghostwriting generally thrives on confidentiality and professionalism. So, you want to work on being more confidential and professional with how you handle client’s projects as a breach of confidentiality can lead to serious consequences.

Editing and Proofreading

Editing and proofreading are important skills ghostwriters must have. In some cases, clients will prefer you write, proof read and edit their books from scratch so they can just publish it directly. Understanding editing will be very helpful. Also, ensuring your content is well polished and error free are non negotiable for serious ghostwriters.

Find Ghostwriting Clients

After all this is said and done, you do not just want to become a ghostwriter for writing sake, you need clients who will pay you to write for them. And as a beginner, you have to go looking for clients, right where they hangout. Doing this might demand you take these steps:

Register on Freelance Platforms

There are a number of freelance platforms that are currently taking on new ghostwriters like Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer etc. These platform already have existing customers, other ghostwriters etc. You can get on them, create your own profile and position yourself to get client directly or apply to jobs right on the platform.

Network on Social Media

With its large audience, the social media presents a great platform for writers of all kinds, including beginners and established authors to build an audience, sell their brands and position for new clients. Leverage this platform to build and share your portfolio, project your brband and apply to work directly.

Cold Pitch Prospects Directly

There are potential leaders, thought leaders, experts etc. who are not even aware that they need the services of a ghostwriter. You can cold pitch these people directly, show how working with a ghostwriter will add value to your brand and then position yourself as the writer that can get the job done. Although all your cold pitch may not necessarily deliver on results, you’ll be surprised at how much results you get out of cold pitching if you’re able to do it right.

Ask for Referrals

There’s no shame in asking for referral from clients especially after you’ve delivered a great job for them. In fact beyond asking for referrals, follow up. Star with your clients, friends, family members etc. Provide incentives that will get them to refer you, deliver excellent services with a competitive pricing.

Promote your Business Directly

You can also promote your business directly to get clients. There are many ways to do this which will be discussed in details but for starters, paid advertising, organic marketing and search engine optimization are all strategies that can deliver a decent returns on investment if you have the budget and you’re also able to do it the right way.

Set your Rates for Ghostwriting

Even after you become a ghostwriter, to build a successful career, you have to understand ghostwriting rates and then set prices that reflects your work, industry etc. as failure to do this might affect your income.

Understand Industry Pay

While fixing your rates, it is important to know what the industry is currently charging. This also includes other factors like the work volume, your level of experience. Consider his; if you’re an entry level freelance ghostwriter, would you want to charge as an advanced level fee? Will that be competitive?

Also, consider the industry margins. Where the rates are premium for specific industries, charging something significantly lower might create the impression of inferior output. You want to set up rates within prevailing rates in your industry.

Hourly vs Project Based Rates

Deciding on whether to charge a hourly or project based rate is a matter of personal choice but a number of factors can also influence your choices here. A number of beginners I know have favoured hourly based charges while some established ghostwriters have opted for project based rates. Your choice should depend on what works for you generally.

If you’re setting the rates for a short one-off project like blog posts etc., you can consider using a project based or hourly rates. Where you’re engaging in long term projects, you can commit to a project based rate.

How to Charge for your Work as a Ghostwriter

Personally, I recommend charging a single project based flat rates for long form and one off projects like books etc. This option rewards the value you bring to the project. You can also consider per word rates for smaller projects like articles, essays, speeches etc.

For ongoing projects like social media posts etc., a monthly or retainer rates can be much more competitive while an hourly rate can work well for undefined or projects with a varying scope of work and unclear completion deadlines.

Upfront Payment or Contract?

Even if you just started ghostwriting yesterday, it is important to figure out how you get paid for the jobs you do. Most ghostwriters prefer upfront payment. At least a certain percentage of it but your percentage might be dependent on certain factors, depending on your bargaining power and reputation, and also other factors like the type of project you’re working on.

For long term projects, negotiate for upfront payment at least to a certain percentage of the overall fees. Where you’re negotiating for a short term projects, you an negotiate based on what works in your industry.

Create Systems & Manage the Business of Ghostwriting

Business systems are repeatable set of principles, structures or practices you put in place which you can reliably leverage to create a consistent outcome for your client, always.

Considering that ghostwriting demands a lot of professionalism from the get go, to become a ghostwriter successfully, you need a system that will accentuate your professionalism while delivering on clear outcomes consistently.

Design a Workflow

One of this systems you have to identify and structure is your work flow. From when you contact your client to when the job gets delivered, you have to create a work flow structure that can be used repeatedly.

For example, you must have a contract outline that highlights your responsibilities, clients obligations and expectations from you, a non disclosure option where necessary and how long it lasts, a client requirement template etc.

Create Contracts ad NDAs

We have already established that this aspect of writing thrives on confidentiality and professionalism. As an expert, put in place measures like contract documentations and Non Disclosure Agreements to protect yourself, your team and your clients. This is crucial.

Set Clear Expectations

To further streamline your ghostwriting process, set clear terms and policies, payment expectations and options, royalties (if any) and every other details which your client will have a pre-knowledge about before you embark on any project. This is very important.

Design Communication Schedules

Some of your clients are going to be very busy and getting them to sit for interviews or other sessions might be difficult without a structure. You can have a general structure say a three part interview arrangement which covers the introductory interview, a development interview and a final interview. Alternatively, you can design an approach that aligns with the needs of individual clients.

To become a ghostwriter successfully, these are some of the things you’ll have to put in place, including a potential production timelines for different kind of projects so you can start out fully prepared.

• Take up Free Gigs: Guestwrite for people free, in exchange for nice testimonials, building experience and getting industry exposure. There are a lot of places you can seek out these kind of offers. With this kind of offer, consider targeting high value clients that will yield some good returns on investment for you, in terms of exposure, testimonials and storytelling opportunities.

• Offer Subsidized Ghostwriting Gigs: Instead of offering high end prices, you can offer subsidized pricing for potential clients. This is one of the secrets that worked for me while I engaged in Ghostwriting. Offering discounted pricing serves as an incentive for clients. It also gets you real paid jobs while you grow your craft and build your brand.

PS: Either of these strategies can get you to garner a few jobs while building your portfolio but it is important you understand when you have to pivot as you grow to a certain level.

Promote your Services

Beyond planning to become a ghostwriter, you must learn how to network, promote your brand and get your brand out there for as much visibility as it can garner, if you want to get more clients. Take these steps consistently:

Create & Share Content

Starting with social media, identify the leading platforms with the highest number of your target audience, get a handle on these platforms and begin to create, share content and engage with your target audience using strategic content marketing.

Engage in Blogging

Outside getting visible on the social media get yourself a website where clients can meet you online, create and share blog posts on this website. This is a great way to build visibility on the search engines and attract clients directly.

Leverage other Platforms

Alongside your brand platforms, engage in promotional services outside your owned platforms. For example, consider posting niche related content as guest posts on other websites with a decent number of your potential target audience. Post on other web 2.0 websites like Medium, WordPress etc.

Use Paid Promotions

Paid promotion can be a life saver for beginners with a budget. And there are a lot of options you can start with. For example, you can opt for paid promotional services using either social media advertising, Google Advertising, other third party sponsored advertising etc. These will be very useful in driving visibility for your brand, especially in the early days where you’re just getting started without a lot of traction.

Outside these direct promotions, be keen on networking and connecting with your potential target audience like business CEOs, busy professionals, founders and cofounders etc.

Also, pay attention to engage in using strategic marketing and storytelling to create curiosity, build thought leadership and project your brand as expected.

Mistakes to Avoid as a Ghostwriter

After taking all these steps to become a ghostwriter, there are some common mistakes you have to avoid if you want to stay successful in this career. For example:

Underpricing your Services

As a beginner you might be tempted to price down your services to stay competitive with clients. This is always trap. While this might get you some low paying clients, oftentimes it leads to burnout. lower fulfilment and a cycle that might be difficult to leave as you grow. It also leads to the risk of creating a perception of lower quality outcomes especially if you’re in a very competitive niche. If you must charge a lower rate as a beginner, have a strategic exit plan that gets you to charge better as you keep growing.

Not Setting Clear Terms

Ambiguity in contracts can create avoidable issues. Be very clear with your contract expectations, target outcomes and other details. Set clear terms and expectations so clients can understand what is involved and also agree to your terms before the commencement of the project.

Ignoring Editing

As much as your creative and well aligned outcomes are important, what is even more important is creating a piece of work that is polished, error free and designed to meet the needs of your clients. So you want to pay attention to editing and putting in layers of editing to your work before the final conclusion.

Missing Key Details

There are some key details that can transform a client’s work while making your job as a ghostwriter come out even more polished and well written. Pay attention to key details during interviews. Outline important data, seek clarifications where necessary and input it into the story, just as expected.

Ignoring Clients Voice

Using your client’s voice is very crucial. Regardless of your expertise and brand reach as a ghostwriter, write in your client’s voice, unless you’re told otherwise by your client. To fully understand your client’s voice, you’ll want to interview them several times, study their tone of voice, body language, research their writing style, thought process etc. And then create a piece of work that mirrors all of this.

Final Words

Whether you’re just about to start today or you just want to polish your brand, building a successful career as a ghostwriter is very possible, regardless of where you’re starting from.

In addition to what you just learned today, I want you to keep learning. Do not just read this up, start ghostwriting and forget about learning. Focus on growth. Try different strategies, review your outcomes and retry strategies that worked.

While using these tips you read here can get you the needed head start that will define your journey, you want to keep in mind that becoming a successful ghostwriter will take time, effort and work. And you cannot achieve anything until you get started.

Also, as much as possible, be open to learning from others and don’t be shy to promote your brand when you finally gain the expertise.

And finally, you can become a rock star writer and learn the ground work that will set you up successfully by signing up for our writing course here. Or you can also reach out to us here.

Now, it’s over to you. What are your biggest fears when it comes to starting a career as a ghostwriter? Drop your comments below.