International Association of Professional Ghost Writers

Message from Mary Anne

Greetings:

I’m delighted to welcome returning and new subscribers to this issue of “Invisible Ink.” It’s been fun watching the list grow as word gets out about this new association—I feel like I am part of a very special group of writers.

As I write this, I can look up to see the steady snowfall that is blanketing my backyard. Unlike other parts of the U.S., Central New York has actually had a mild winter so far. While I am not exactly a fan of this season, I’ve actually missed the cozy feeling of sitting at my keyboard, writing away as the snow piles up outside. In other words, I find today’s scene strangely comforting…for the moment, at least, and probably because I don’t have to go out in it!

I postponed the free teleclass on how to use Twitter to attract clients to your ghost writing business to allow myself more time to promote it. If you don’t currently use Twitter because you just don’t get the appeal, or you think it would be a time waster, I hope you will register for and join me on the call. I, too, initially found the site to be more than bizarre. Since I have learned to utilize it, I’ve made it my primary networking tool. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned with fellow ghost writers, and hope you’ll join me on this free call. Details on how to register can be found on http://iapgw.org as well as below. Oh, did I mention the call is free?

To your success,
Mary Anne Hahn
IAPGW Executive Director

P.S. Just four days left to take advantage of the IAPGW’s charter member offer. Join between now and March 1 in order to receive the following special benefits:

1. $50 off professional level membership and $30 off associate level membership dues for the first two years;

2. A one year, no questions asked refund policy if you’re not totally satisfied with your membership;

3. A six-month members-only partner program, where you alone will be able to earn referral fees for bringing new members to the IAPGW.

Membership fees will never be this low again, so I urge you to take advantage of this offer right now. To join, go to: http://iapgw.org/member-benefits

Feature Article:
The Case of the Disappearing Client

© 2010 by Mary Anne Hahn

Recently, I landed a ghost editing assignment for which I felt especially suited, one that held the sweet promise of ongoing work. The client worked for a professional organization in a field where I possess a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience. She needed someone to edit articles that she received from contributors for the association’s newsletter that, while technically correct and filled with information her members needed, required serious revamping.

Someone who was familiar with my work and her need introduced us via e-mail. The client filled me in on what she was looking for, I quoted my price ranges depending on the amount of editing needed, and she accepted. She e-mailed the first two articles to me. I rolled up my sleeves, went to work, and sent them back to her within the specified time frame. At her request, I invoiced her using PayPal. I sat back and waited for payment, and more assignments, to roll in.

Knowing that the reason she’d hired me was because she was swamped with work, I waited a week before sending a follow up e-mail. I asked her if the work I’d done was satisfactory and, if not, what could I do differently? I reiterated my interest in doing whatever it took to maintain an ongoing working relationship with her.

Bottom line: I eventually received payment for the two articles, but nothing else. No feedback, no new work. My e-mailed questions above went unanswered.

The fact is, as with any endeavor, we ghost writers will not be able to please everyone all the time. Some clients will be difficult to work with, period, and others might envision something totally different than what we give to them. Like receiving a magazine rejection letter, we may find ourselves a bit stung and demotivated when a relationship with a client doesn’t work out as we’d hoped.

Rather than give in to discouragement or question our writing ability, however, we need to look at these occurrences as learning experiences and use them to improve the ghost writing services we offer to future clients. In my situation, for example, I now see that I could’ve/should’ve asked the client for examples of what she considered to be good articles, or samples of articles she herself had edited, rather than assuming my knowledge of the subject matter would suffice. Or I could’ve/should’ve requested back issues of the newsletter. I also could’ve/should’ve set up one exploratory phone call, rather than handle the entire relationship via e-mail.

Even huge corporations need to learn from setbacks and mistakes, whether their own or the published accounts of others. Ghost writers are no different. I’ll know better when similar opportunities come my way and hope that, by sharing this experience, I can help you avoid similar pitfalls in your own ghost writing business.

February Poll Results

What kind(s) of ghost writing do you do/are you interested in doing?

Autobiographies/Memoirs 33%
Nonfiction books 21%
Ebooks 17%
Article Writing 17%
Fiction 13%
Other 0%

Stay tuned for a new poll in March!

Upcoming Events (New Date!)

Announcing…our very first IAPGW teleclass, “How to Use Twitter to Get Ghost Writing Clients.” Twitter is something I’ve used extensively to promote my ghost writing services, my WriteSuccess blog (http://writesuccess.com) and the IAPGW, of course; by following some specific list building and “Twittiquette” guidelines, I believe you’ll find this social media site to be an immensely powerful online networking and promotional tool for your ghost writing business. I plan to give you a step by step guide on how to use it, spending 15 minutes a day or less!

The details for this event are as follows:

Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Time: 3 PM Eastern (2 PM Central, 1 PM Mountain, Noon Pacific)
Cost: Free!

To register for this class, simply send a blank e-mail to:
MaryAnne.Hahn-498454@autocontactor.com

You will then receive follow up e-mails confirming your reservation, and providing you with call details and the dial in number.

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Message from Mary Anne

Greetings:

As stated on the “About” page on the International Association of Professional Ghost Writers Web site, the vision of the IAPGW is outlined as follows:

1. To embrace ghost writers of all kinds,

2. To raise global awareness of ghost writing as a profession, and

3. To connect ghost writers to everyone who has a story to tell, information to share, or a message to convey.

I’ve been diligently working on that “consistent and global promotion part,” and the efforts are beginning to bear fruit: references to the IAPGW now come up on the first page of Google when searching “ghost writers association” (with or without quotes); on the first page of Google under ghost writer association (without quotes); on the second page of Google when searching “ghost writers” with quotes; and on the fourth page under the search term ghost writers without quotes. I managed to accomplish all of that in less than a month’s time.

What this means is greater Internet exposure for professional IAPGW members, because the association benefits at that level includes listing in the members-only directory on the site—exposure that will only continue to grow as time goes on. Moreover, if you join before March first, you also get the following charter members-only benefits:

1. $50 off professional level membership and $30 off associate level membership dues for the first two years;

2. A one year, no questions asked refund policy if you’re not totally satisfied with your membership;

3. A six-month members-only partner program, where you alone will be able to earn referral fees for bringing new members to the IAPGW.

That’s besides other member benefits including discounts on Web hosting and office supplies, upcoming teleclasses and, oh yes, exposure to your ghost writing service. J But the charter member offer expires for good on February 28, 2010. Really, really. So now is the very best time to join—and you can do so right here: http://iapgw.org/member-benefits.

To your success,
Mary Anne Hahn
IAPGW Executive Director

Member Testimonial

“As one of the first people to sign up, I’d sure love to see more members. So far, my Web site is getting some traffic from the IAPGW member directory. While that’s nice, that’s not why I joined. I joined to connect with other freelance writers and ghost writers. With a full year to decide if the organization makes sense for you, there’s nothing to lose!”

Celeste Stewart http://celestestewart.com

New Member Welcome

Stella Myers, Associate Member
Branson, MO, USA

To join, go to: http://iapgw.org/member-benefits.

Featured Article:
Web Site “Must Haves” for Ghost Writers

© 2010 by Mary Anne Hahn

These days, it pretty much goes without saying: your Web site is by far one of the most important tools in your ghost writing business arsenal. When done well, your site serves as a combination business card/brochure/showcase/order form/relationship builder. It might be the first impression you make on potential clients, or the most lasting one, so you want to get it right.

First of all, unless you possess highly proficient site building skills, you should consider hiring someone to build it for you. I didn’t with my own ghost writing site, and regret that—so much so that I will be having that site entirely redone in the near future. While things like WordPress, site builders and site templates have become increasingly sophisticated and easier for amateurs to use, they don’t hold a candle to what an experienced Web designer can do for you. From choosing eye-catching colors and graphics to hooking up plugins and widgets, a professional site designer can handle everything from developing a logo to setting up an online payment processing account.

Besides, your main talent lies in writing not Web design, right? So you’ll want to focus your energies on developing outstanding content for your site, content that instills confidence in visitors that you are the kind of ghost writer they would love to work with.

So what are the “must have” elements on your ghost writing Web site?

1. A list and/or descriptions of what kinds of writing and editing services you offer.

2. A list and/or description of the types of clients you write for, particularly if you specialize or have extensive experience in writing for certain client types.

3. A list and/or description of what traits make you different from other writers. Do you offer speedy service? Technical expertise? Are you fun to work with, or particularly thorough, or versatile? In other words, let your personality (at least in a business sense) show in your web site content.

4. Testimonials from past clients. Don’t be shy about asking for these! Offer to ghost write them for their approval if they prefer.

5. Links or references to writing samples. One writer I know has Amazon.com links and graphics to books she has ghost written. Very impressive!

6. Rate ranges. Yes, I come from the school of thought that there’s no sense wasting time with people who can’t or are unwilling to pay for professional ghost writing services; they will shop around for the best deal, and you will end up feeling frustrated. You can list your rate ranges per hour, per word, and/or by project type and length.

7. A contact form and/or e-mail address.

8. Information on how you handle the ghost writing process, e.g., whether or not you offer a free initial phone consultation, how you gather information from the client, whether or not you require a contract or service agreement (highly recommended), etc.

9. A media page if applicable, with information on or links to press releases and articles about you, or interviews you’ve done.

10. A way to collect site visitors’ e-mail addresses so that you can build relationships and follow up with them. This can be done by offering a free downloadable report, an online newsletter, a blog feed, or an autoresponder series of informative e-mails on a topic that would be of interest to your visitors.

Another tactic I’ve seen ghost writers use is to have PayPal buttons for writing “packages” (say, three 500-word articles for a certain price). Making it easy for new clients to test the waters with you in this manner can be a great way to begin ongoing and long-term working relationships with them.

Take a look at what other ghost writers are doing in order to get ideas for your own site, but at the same time strive to let your own originality shine through. Make your Web site something that truly reflects you and the services you offer.

February Poll

What kind(s) of ghost writing do you do/are you interested in doing?
Post your responses at http://iapgw.org

Upcoming Events

Announcing…our very first IAPGW teleclass, “How to Use Twitter to Get Ghost Writing Clients.” Twitter is something I’ve used extensively to promote my ghost writing services, my WriteSuccess blog (http://writesuccess.com ) and the IAPGW, of course; by following some specific list building and “Twittiquette” guidelines, I believe you’ll find this social media site to be an immensely powerful online networking and promotional tool for your ghost writing business. I plan to give you a step by step guide on how to use it, spending 15 minutes a day or less!

The details for this event are as follows:

Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Time: 3 PM Eastern (2 PM Central, 1 PM Mountain, Noon Pacific)
Cost: Free!

To register for this class, simply send a blank e-mail to:
MaryAnne.Hahn-498454@autocontactor.com

You will then receive follow up e-mails confirming your reservation, and providing you with call details and the dial in number.

– - Click Here To View The Newsletter Archives