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Company Tone: Getting Your Ghostwriter To Speak In Your Voice

 
As opposed to previous generations, millennial consumers want more from the companies they interact with than quality products and excellent service. They want to interact with businesses that seem relatable and radiate authenticity. One excellent way to communicate those qualities to consumers is through content marketing. Specifically, through blog posts, articles, white papers and e-books that relate your message in a compelling manner. As small business owners don't have the time to take on a writing project, they'll want to retain the services of a qualified ghostwriter. However, finding a ghostwriter who can speak in your voice is essential to the success of content marketing efforts.

 

 
Know your brand's tone

Before contacting a ghostwriter, it's important that you understand what kind of tone you want the project to have. To determine your project's tone, you should have a clear understanding of your brand's core values, its target demographic and the perception consumers have of your industry. For example, a general practitioner or medical specialist should project an authoritative and formal tone that lets consumers know they can be trusted. Conversely, a third-wave coffee shop or food truck owner would benefit from a warm and idiosyncratic tone that will separate them from their corporate competition. Not having this information at the ready will make the whole process much longer and harder than it needs to be.

 
It's all about collaboration

The key to producing quality ghostwritten content is collaboration. While a number of freelancing platforms make it easy to find experienced and self-sufficient contractors, being too hands off with a ghostwriter is a bad idea. As this Content Standard piece points out, to properly emulate an executive's voice and personality a writer will need a wealth of information about their client. This means giving them access to emails, journal entries, articles or speeches you've crafted in the past. You should also make yourself available for interview so that the writer can get a first-hand understanding of your idiomatic way of communicating. If you don't collaborate with your ghostwriter, the content you receive won't feel authentic.

 
Be selective

In today's hyper-connected global marketplace, it's easy to make contact with thousands of independent contractors operating all over the world. However, just because content creation is a buyer's market, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be selective when searching for a ghostwriter. As this Entrepreneur article notes, it's imperative that owners verify their potential ghostwriter's qualifications, brand fit and work history before making any kind of offer. Not doing so could leave you out of pocket and saddled with work that is substandard or not suitable for your purposes.

 

 
This article was written by Mario McKellop for CBS Small Business Pulse.
 

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