One of the biggest challenges people face when starting a blog for their business, is figuring out what to write about – and more importantly – how to get people to actually want to read it.
First, it helps to understand the benefits of blogging as a small business owner.
Why blogging is important for your business:
1) Full control of your digital footprint.
What will people find when they Google your name or business? Having a blog allows you to control what others will find about you online. You can control your message, and target your ideal audience through strategically and proactively creating content that they are looking for online.
2) Increased online presence and visibility.
Sharing content regularly will make it easier for others to find you. As a small business, making yourself accessible online will ease the process of establishing a reputation for yourself, and will aid in the process of putting your brand out there for others to discover. The more quality content you produce and share, the more traffic you will drive to your website – increasing customer engagement and acquisition.
3) Establish yourself as a leader in your industry.
Creating and sharing content regularly through your own online platform will help you to establish yourself, and ultimately your business, as a go-to resource in your industry. When done right, people will regard your site as a valuable resource, and will hopefully share your content with others – increasing your reach to potential clients.
Having a blog for you business is highly beneficial, but what if you don’t like writing, or just don’t have the time to write consistently on your blog?
Pros and cons to hiring a ghostwriter:
First, what is a ghostwriter?
A ghostwriter is a person who writes content that is officially credited to another person.
The Pros:
1) Quality. If writing just isn’t your forte, hiring a ghostwriter will allow you to enjoy the benefits of content creation – it will allow you to produce and share quality content with your existing and potential clients.
2) Time. Time is money – especially for small business owners who wear many hats. Creating content is a time-consuming practice, and not everyone has the time to create and share content consistently.
3) Expertise. An experienced ghostwriter will know how to effectively research topics, create content that people will want to read, and engage your readers.
The Cons:
1) Brand. Especially for small businesses, your personal brand (including your written voice and tone) are essential to the success of your company. Writing the content yourself allows you to appear more authentic to your readers. There are ghostwriters who have the ability to mimic your brand in their style of writing, but it takes an added level of research to be done properly.
2) Cost. Because of the extra research required, and the lack of credit that the ghostwriter will receive in producing your content, ghostwriting services can be quite pricey. While hiring a ghostwriter can save you a significant amount of time, it is not always an affordable option for smaller businesses.
3) Resources. Not all ghostwriters have experience in marketing, SEO or social media strategy. Many are expert writers, but may leave you in need of additional resources to get the content out to the right audience in a strategic and effective way.
Should you hire a ghostwriter?
If you are trying to decide whether or not you should hire a ghostwriter, ask yourself these questions:
1) Do I have the time to create my own content (blog posts, social media updates, website copy, guest articles, etc)?
2) Am I able to come up with new content ideas, and write engaging copy (without spelling and grammatical errors)?
3) Do I enjoy storytelling, writing, and working on the computer?
If you answered YES to these questions – DO NOT hire a ghostwriter. Instead, give it a try yourself! If you need some guidance with how to get started and what to write about – I can help.
If you answered NO to these questions – DO hire a ghostwriter. Give it a try and see if it works for you! If you’d like to hire a ghostwriter, I can help with that too.
Have you ever hired a ghostwriter? What did you think of the experience?
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