Author: Christopher Jan Benitez

Let’s not beat around the bush:

Do ghostwriters get credits for their work?

If you’re looking for blog ghostwriting services, it’s common to ask this question. Especially if it will be your first rodeo, it’s understandable to want to get the details straight. 

So, should you really give them credit?

In this post, we’ll find out the actual answer. This way, you’ll know what to do once you work with a ghostwriter.

Do ghostwriters get credit, really?

No, they don’t. As their title points out, they’re “ghosts”. They’re not supposed to claim that they’re the ones who whipped up online content for the person they represent.

As their client, it’s not your obligation to give them credit. Because the deal is you pay money for their services. And as far as the same deal goes, you’re off the hook once you hand over what is due — and is rightfully theirs.

Now for some real talk. If they’re not getting credit for their work, it’s only fair to wonder what’s in “it” for them. 

The answer? Well, one is the huge paycheck waiting for them! 

A ghostwriter in New York, for instance, can enjoy an annual salary of about $45,000.

Remember, ghostwriters are usually skilled writers. For other people, they can write a book, get them featured in magazine articles, and more. They can mirror their clients’ writing style, take charge of these people’s personas, and more. 

For this reason, they make their clients’ lives a lot easier. And also for the same reason, they’re usually highly compensated.

Beyond the high pay, here are the other reasons a ghostwriter works this way:

• High demand and steady work – The need to create written content will always be there. So, it’s no surprise that the need for ghostwritten works is high.
• Variety of work – Ghostwriters explore different topics
• Thirst to be better – Writing is an ever-evolving skill. And it gives these ghostwriters an opportunity to always do well.

Should I use a ghostwriter?

Ghostwriters don’t really leave empty-handed.

So, focus on what they can do for you. Because they work anonymously, you get to reap all the benefits of their work.

Ready to use a ghostwriter now?

Reach out to them. However, before anything else, think about these things, first:

Length of the project

Will the ghostwriter be working on a short-term project? Or is it a project that will run for months or even years?

Either way, using a ghostwriter is an excellent idea. They will speed things up and help you meet your deadline.

A perk of offering short-term writing projects to ghostwriters? You usually won’t need to invest resources other than the ones for a quick project. Give them instructions and inform them of your expectations, then let them work. If they do a brilliant job, that’s awesome. 

And if they performed terribly, a simple course to take is to carry on with your business. Next time, just hire someone better.

If you want to work with a ghostwriter for the long haul, you’re walking in an unfamiliar territory. You may also need to invest in them and help them write well for you for as long as it takes.

Here are some tips that you can share with a ghostwriter to help them handle a long-term project:

• Schedule and start – Jot down what you need to do, create a plan, then start the work.
• Stick to a to-do list – Commit to your plan. Using productivity tools like the Pomodoro Technique can help.
• Rest adequately – Get eight hours of sleep if you must. Willpower is an exhaustible resource.

Ideal ghostwriter

The first person who offers you their ghostwriting services may tell you that hiring them will save you time. It makes sense for them to bring that up because it means you don’t have to spend more time searching for ghostwriters.

Based on that perspective alone, you could nod your head in agreement.. However, if you factor in a ghostwriter’s qualifications, you will start walking in the opposite direction. So only use a ghostwriter if you’ve found someone qualified.

Here are some questions you need to ask before using a ghostwriter for hire:

• Are their organizational skills good enough? If you have plenty of work mapped out for them, they should be able to organize all of them. Then allow them to prioritize the more urgent tasks as they deliver high-quality work for you.
• Are they resourceful? They should always know what to do with what you give them. Rather than keep bugging you with concerns, they should know how to handle things independently, too.
• Are they out-of-the-box thinkers? They should be creative and propose brilliant ideas.

Related: Ghostwriters Get Royalties: True or False?

Typical ghostwriting collaboration

A ghostwriting collaboration differs for every ghostwriter and their client. And it could be easier if you set rules on how to work prior to starting. 

Each ghostwriter works uniquely, and so does each client.

To help you work with a ghostwriter effectively, here are some tips you should note:

• Don’t micromanage – No second-guessing or pointing out errors before they polish a project. Remain in the background and let a ghostwriter work how they want to.
• Communicate clearly – Don’t use analogies, for instance. Be direct when delivering your message and ask them if they completely understand you.
• Provide guidance – Offer suggestions if they need them. For example, you can provide research materials.

How much does ghostwriting cost?

As mentioned, ghostwriters can make a lot of money for their writing skills. So if you can provide them with fair compensation, hire one.

Know little you need to shell out for their services? Then, take the factors below into consideration:

Skills  

The more skills a ghostwriter has, the higher you should think of paying them. If they can do the work that you originally thought of hiring someone else to do, then let that payment go to the ghostwriter instead.

For example, they can help you manage your social media accounts. They can keep these accounts updated, engage with your followers, and more.

What other skills do ghostwriters need to have for higher pay, you ask? Here’s a few of them:

• SEO knowledge – Can they create and edit meta and title tags, for example? If they know their way around search engine optimization, they’re worth a lot.
• Editing skills – Proofreading and editing can be time-consuming. If you don’t need to hire an editor anymore, take it as a cue that you should compensate higher.
• Familiarity with graphic design – Can they take care of all visual-related elements for you?

Experience and credibility

Hiring a credible and experienced ghostwriter doesn’t come cheap. That’s because it takes time – and effort – to build experience and credibility. 

You can’t go from being an undecorated ghostwriter to an experienced and credible ghostwriter overnight, can you?

Here are signs that tell you a ghostwriter is credible and has relevant experience.

• Knowledge about a subject – If possible, they’re willing to show you that they’re experts. If they’re niche-specific ghostwriters, they should be willing to talk extensively about a relevant subject.
• Social proof – It’s easy for anyone to claim that they’re experienced and credible. However, is there anyone else that can honestly support their claim?
• Professionalism – Working with an inexperienced ghostwriter can open the door to unprofessionalism. So hire a ghostwriter who’s reliable, hardworking, and respectful.

Your project’s word count 

Let’s be realistic. 

Ghostwriters usually charge clients based on the number of words they should write. They can give you a quote for a flat fee. However, this fee would still depend on the number of words that they need to write.

So if you want them to write a relatively lengthy article, be ready to pay them a higher amount. For a 5,000-word article, for example, they will charge you something like this:

5,000-word article = 5,000 x $0.15

If their per-word rate is $0.15, then it’s fair to compensate them $750 for their work.

Related: how much does it typically cost to hire a ghostwriter?

Related: How Much Does It Typically Cost to Hire a Ghostwriter?

Final thoughts

Still asking the question, “Do ghostwriters get credits?”? 

And still worried about who gets the credit for their written work once you bring a ghostwriter into the picture? Well, don’t because as the discussion above goes, it’s you -you get all the credit. 

And don’t feel bad about the whole setup, either. Ghostwriters are “ghosts”, remember? If they wrote an excellent piece on your behalf, the praise goes to you!

So go ahead and hire a ghostwriter to do magic for your online business.

Here’s how I can ease off your load:

I can be your ghostwriter!

I provide professional ghostwriting services. And I can elevate your brand and help grow your online business.

If you’re wondering how much you need to pay me, that’s what we’ll discuss here.

In this article, let’s explore all the costs involved in hiring a ghostwriter. This way, you can justify the cost of hiring ghostwriters and start hiring one right away.

Let’s begin.

So, how much does it cost to hire a ghostwriter?

Hiring a ghostwriter comes with a price. And you’ll realize this price is reasonable once you consider the resources that ghostwriters need to invest to complete a project.

Plus, not all ghostwriters charge the same price for their services. The sooner you come to terms with this, the faster you’ll get the answer you need.

For instance, ghostwriters that work through New York charge about $200,000. However, it is entirely possible to bump into a ghostwriter that might charge less-way less-for the same work.

You can get articles ghostwritten for you for $5, for example.

This is because each ghostwriter is unique. The price for their services also depends on the quality of the work they’re willing to put in.

Here are the different categories of ghostwriters:

• Cheap writers – They have little experience and still need your help in writing. You can find them on Upwork, Fiverr, and other freelancing websites.
• Mid-range ghostwriting professionals – They’re great writers — excellent even. Gaining enjoyment and experience from a project is what they’re all about.
• High-end superstar writers – They’re well-established writers. Politicians, actors, musicians, and TV personalities are their clients.

Related: Do Ghostwriters Get Any Credit?

Want a ghostwriter to charge less? 

The good news is, they can — at least, I can. However, for that to happen, you need to do your end of the bargain.

For one, a ghostwriter might charge less if you reduce your word count. Considering the fact that they charge you on a per-word rate, you can lower your original proposal’s word count.

Say, you can reduce a blog post containing 1,000 words to a 500-word post. So if you want the ghostwriter to reduce their fees by 50%, this is one workaround. 

Here are more tips on how to help convince ghostwriters to lower their fees:

• Offer a flexible deadline – You can give them a week’s worth of allowance, for example. Ghostwriters have other priorities other than your project so you need to show them you respect their time 
• Communicate well – Chat, call, or e-mail them. The easier they find you to work with, the higher the chances of them lowering the price.
• Pitch a relatable topic – Ask them to incorporate something meaningful and relatable for your project. It could be about a personal passion.

Another way to get around this? Approach them and ask them what you can do for them to lower their price.

Ghostwriter contract and fees

As you negotiate with a ghostwriter regarding the cost of their services, be direct about conveying your project. A common reason why disputes occur between ghostwriters and their clients is a misunderstanding.

Want to avoid a misunderstanding? Then, draft a ghostwriting contract and let it spell out the essential details of your project.

Here are other factors that you need to take into account:

• Rights – Are original ideas written for your project solely yours even after the project is completed? In any case, inform your ghostwriter.
• Out clause – Don’t like a ghostwriter’s work along the way? You should specify that you can end the project when you see fit.
• Duration of project – Six months or 1 year? You should also specify how long you want the project to last.

Related: What Exactly Does a Ghostwriter Do?

How to hire a ghostwriter

True, asking “How much does it cost to hire a ghostwriter?” can shed light on the costs of hiring a ghostwriter. It can help you understand why ghostwriters set the prices for their services the way they do.

So, if you want to jump into the hiring stage, go ahead. Keep these things in mind, though:

1. Pick out a deserving and qualified ghostwriter

Millions of ghostwriters exist. This means, there’s plenty of fish out there. However, hiring the first ghostwriter you come across is not a good idea-it’s a terrible one!

Why exactly, you ask?

• Bad personality – You don’t want to work with someone who doesn’t respond to constructive criticism and is unreliable, do you? 
• Lack of enthusiasm – Ghostwriters that are lazy and unwilling to get the job done would only give you a headache and slow you down.
• Incompetence – Hiring a ghostwriter who can’t write well defeats the purpose of having someone else handle your work.

If you rush into the process of getting a ghostwriter, you’ll probably end up wasting resources – time, money, and energy. Instead, go through all your options first. And once you allocated a budget, decide which category of ghostwriters you want to access.

Then, select a professional ghostwriter based on his unique qualifications and winning credentials. If the ghostwriter you choose makes you feel confident that they can deliver the work you require, hire them.

2. Discuss your project thoroughly

Before a ghostwriter works, it’s important to iron out all the details of the work. The purpose of this is to eliminate any wrong impressions. Otherwise, minor confusions could arise along the way – and could be too difficult to correct later on.

So, tell them what kind of work you expect. In turn, encourage them to tell you what they expect from you.

To get into the specifics, here’s what you should do during this phase:

• Answer questions – Leave no room for doubts and address even the simplest concerns about your project.
• Offer suggestions – Provide actionable tips on how they can work on your project better.
• Provide communication channels – Inform them of your phone and messenger accounts, for example. Assure them that they can get in touch with you anytime.

3. Provide your contract or an NDA

Fact: An NDA (or a Non-Disclosure Agreement) goes by different names. This includes Proprietary Information Agreement, Confidential Disclosure Agreement, and Secrecy Agreement.

Whatever you decide to call an NDA, the idea remains the same. Providing an NDA for another party to sign is standard business practice. And it’s useful in cases involving a ghostwriter because it addresses confidentiality. 

After walking your ghostwriter through your project, they should be good to go. However, it’s advisable to play it safe.

Don’t forget, ghostwriters work behind the scenes. If you want them to keep your business relationship confidential, let them sign an NDA.

Here are the benefits of letting ghostwriters sign an NDA:

• Clear understanding of rules – Stating all your rules in an NDA makes it easy for the other party to follow them.
• Show of respect – If a ghostwriter is more than willing to sign an NDA, it shows they want to start a professional relationship with you on the right foot.
• Legal protection – Ghostwriters can claim you used their intellectual property. However, if an NDA states you’re free to use their property, you can avoid a lawsuit.

Conclusion

So, that’s it! Regarding the costs of a ghostwriter’s services, I hope I’ve addressed your concerns. 

If you still have questions, you are always welcome to contact me. Also, feel free to discuss your project with me if you like me to provide professional ghostwriting services for you.

Let’s get one thing straight, though. I can only be your online content ghostwriter. 

Looking for ghostwriters to help you write a book, polish musical scores, or anything else? I’m afraid that’s not my department. 

However, if you need help with blog posts, SEO-friendly articles, case studies, and any online content, I’m your guy!

Content writing is getting quite some buzz lately.

A content writer is responsible for creating engaging and informative content across various formats such as articles, ebooks, and social media posts. You can hire writers with low or high salaries depending on skill. You can get them as contractors with clear and logical results required of them and give fixed rates. Or, you can even do it yourself and go for content writing courses. Whatever the case, you may look for more insight on what a content writer does, so you’d be sure to get your marketing campaign right. And we’ll be talking about just that.

Well, you or someone you know have probably bumped into content writers for many reasons. If digital marketing is important, then so is a content writer. Digital marketing is booming nowadays with the rise of ecommerce, and writing is one key service that goes with it. The funny thing with writers is that–they don’t just offer article writing services and write. It’s true! Ask five writers you know and you’ll get five various versions of this answer.

So, what does a content writer do that’s so important?

Well, you or someone you know have probably bumped into content writers for many reasons.

If digital marketing is important, then content writing immediately follows.

Digital marketing is booming nowadays with the rise of ecommerce, and writing is one key service that goes with it.

The funny thing with writers is that–they don’t just offer article writing services and write.

It’s true! Ask five writers you know and you’ll get five various versions of this answer.

Content Writers as Researchers

What goes into a superb piece of content?

Whatever that is, it will need research. And for that very reason, as a content writer, content writers need to be researchers too.

Sure, you can have a separate person take care of research, but you might as well put the tasks together so that the writer has a better opportunity to soak in the topic.

This is important since content writers likely deal with a subject he or she isn’t specializing in.

More than that, it’s crucial for them to capture the unique tone and personality of the brand that needed the content.

To achieve that sync between writer and brand voice, you just can’t go without excellent research.

Sounds like a lot of work, right?

Not to worry, there is an exception though; writers can do less research when already well-versed or an authority on the topic.

Content Writers as Editors

A good content writer must possess strong editing and proofreading skills. When you hire a writer, the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time or money on editing.

Why hire in the first place if that’s the case?

This can also go the other way around. Writers also have to edit a lot if the summary or brief is too raw and poorly formatted.

Refining the entire thing is part of the job and paying for a brilliant writer is well worth the money if it means peace of mind with your project.

Content Writers as Designers

Again, there’s more to writers than just the meat they provide to a content piece. That blog post or article can’t be good without beautiful formatting.

We’re talking white space, fonts, what and what not to bold/italicize, etc.

Not to mention where to put the headers and sub-headers. In fact, this takes a bit of an artistic touch!

More than just making a content piece look pleasing, the flow has to come in easy to understand chunks the target audience can easily read.

Nowadays, there are many free tools online like Canva for simple graphic editing so you don’t always need to get a graphic designer when simple templates will do.

Not just writers, but also SEO experts

Content writers can write just the number of words you need and finish it at that. Good ones, however, also make sure that your content is optimized for online viewing. The importance of SEO in the process of content writing cannot be overstated.

If not, (and true more often than not) they make sure the content fits the topic and audience.

Otherwise, what good will writing it do and not follow the best SEO writing tips?

This means checking if it uses the right keywords for on-page optimization, headers make sense for SEO initiatives and that the general ‘rules’ are followed.

With that, we move on to the final, most important bit.

Content writers as your partners in branding

In the end, they want to make sure you look good.

Whether or not writers do it on purpose, it just has to be that way for them.

Brilliant writers have that instinct in their blood. It’s practical too!

Imagine having one that doesn’t care how people would perceive your brand.

We just can’t have that now, can we? It’s bad for the company, bad for the writer’s reputation, and just doesn’t do any good at all.

So writers are more than contractors who are paid for their work, they’re partners in branding.

Now that you have a better appreciation of what is content writing, let’s quickly run through some of the foundations for aspiring content writers.

Content writing tips for beginners

What is a content writer? Content writers are responsible for creating engaging and informative articles, blog posts, and other written materials. They work closely with content marketers to ensure the content aligns with marketing strategies and goals.

Whether you’re looking for a short set of solid guidelines for writers to follow or standards to gauge how well written your article is, we got you covered!

This way, you can also get a good feel of the writers you hire.

Of course, they’ll need impeccable grammar and excellent communication skills. The latter is important to ensure directions are well understood and implemented.

But on top of these, we’ll quickly cover what else they should monitor to know just how skilled they are with writing.

1. Make the headline stand out

“How to, The 7 things, Why a…” are all good ways to start, but you’d want to do even better with and add some meat to the headline.

Writers should know this by heart because that’s what readers literally look at.

More than that, it grabs Google’s attention as well and determines whether your content is relevant for search queries of that topic.

Throw in the primary keyword, keep the word and letter count short (6 to 7 words and 55 to 70 characters) and score it with a free headline analysis tool, and you’re all set.

2. Focus on readability

Now that long-form content is a trend nowadays, readability is becoming more and more important.

Your readers and Google need to absorb your pages of content to know if it is interesting.

Instead of making big chunks of paragraphs, break them down and use subheadings.

This way, your goal will move your reader from one paragraph to the next and your job will be less daunting.

For this reason, numbers and bullets are becoming popular ways to deliver the topic in articles.

3. Improve the flow, not just keyword count

Keyword stuffing is plain unacceptable nowadays. It makes little sense for your readers and it doesn’t do well with Google either.

Not only will your content piece be a chore to read, but it will also get you a penalty from Google.

To avoid this, use a keyword just once every 300 words. Tools like Yoast will help you determine the ideal number to use depending on the length of your content

Lastly, make sure it makes sense overall.

You will not like an article with keywords copy-pasted all over the piece just to meet SEO goals and neither will your readers.

4. Edit like they mean it

You will want thousands (or millions!) of eyes on your content.

And if you get to that level, you won’t be able to sleep at night knowing your readers thought of you as a run of the mill source of content or worse, a scam of a company.

A good sign that you’re serious about your business is to have flawless content pieces with top of the line graphics and superb writers deliver on this.

This way, the first impression readers make will be great and immediately associate this with your company’s image.

For free tools to get you there, you can check out Grammarly Premium for proofreading.

Conclusion

Now that you know the responsibilities of an excellent content writer, we hope you can make more confident decisions when hiring one or doing it yourself.

This way, it’s now easier to isolate what tasks you can delegate and prioritize.

The best thing with content writing is that there’s just no one-size-fits all solution or process to magically make ‘perfect’ content.

You can try new things if it means tweaking your format or topics to get better results.

Additionally, incorporating social media into your content writing strategy is crucial for enhancing audience engagement and optimizing content visibility in digital marketing.