The 4 Pillars to a Successful Ghostwriting Career

 

1. Positioning
2. Packaging & Pricing
3. Prospecting
4. Practice

 

Let’s dive in.

 

1. Positioning: To stand out from the other writers who call themselves Freelance writers, you need to have your game in check. It boils down to what Ghostwriters call the 1-1-1 technique.

 

What does that mean?

 

It means;

Solving one specific problem, for one particular kind of person or people, and solving it in one specific way.

The goal here is efficiency. When you are efficient in solving a particular problem for a particular person and in a specific way, over time, you master the very art of it, and with that mastery, you can scale your business easily. It is this very reason why it is possible to grow your business to a revenue of more than 30k dollars a month.

 

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. A baby needs to learn how to crawl before learning how to walk. In the beginning, you might be scared to charge an Elite’s fee, but with time, after you have gotten a feel of the business, you will be able to charge an Elite’s fee. Get it at the back of your mind that you are solving a problem and because of that, you are a specialist. This is different from a freelance writer who charges per word or per hour. So, because you are providing solutions to problems, you deserve to be rewarded handsomely for it.

The more specific you get about what you are offering, the more you can charge for your services.

 

2. Packaging and Pricing: To go by how the mafias say it. “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” ‘Packaging and Pricing’ is where you list out the services you are offering to solve the client’s problem. But before offering your services, it is important to educate the client on the problems he is having. Most times the client might not know he is having those problems. It is therefore the job of the Ghostwriter to educate the client. In actuality, Ghostwriters are business consultants. Let’s say you go through a potential client’s website and you notice that the company does not have a means of collecting the Emails of their visitors. Or they have a means of collecting Emails, but they are not offering the visitors incentives to make them want to take action, which in this case is typing in their Emails. Or the website is badly designed. It is the job of the Ghostwriter to point it out to the head of the company and also provide possible solutions.

 

Let’s be clear. You are not trying to sell anything. You are only trying to educate the company on the various means they are losing money. When the problem is well established, the client will then be inclined to solve that problem. Most times, this is where the client then ask if you can solve the problem for him.

 

A client will not be interested in requesting your services until he is well grounded in the problems he either doesn’t know he is having or when he knows, he doesn’t know how to solve the problem.

 

This is where the ghostwriter comes in. His or her job will then be to create irresistible offers in the form of leads through a Newsletter or an Educational Email Course to either grow the company’s audience, nurture that audience, and convert them to either buy the company’s products or patronize the services of the company.

 

For example, let’s say your client is an Architect.

Most architects struggle to consistently show up online. Their work is brilliant but invisible. They’re too busy with client projects or overwhelmed by the idea of “marketing” to showcase their process, design philosophy, or unique style on social media. They’re not writers. They’re designers and problem-solvers. Crafting high-impact content that educates, inspires, and attracts clients is not their zone of genius, and it takes too much time to do it right.

 

Without a digital presence, architects miss out on: 

– Speaking opportunities 

– Ideal clients who align with their design values 

– Recognition from industry peers 

– Long-term brand authority 

 

As a Ghostwriter who has niched down to helping Architects solve this problem, you make it easy for the client to say yes when you craft a ghostwritten, high-quality, consistent stream of content that translates their expertise into compelling posts that grow their audience, reputation, and inbound leads. You have gone through their website, and you observed that they are leaking money through their online presence. You educate the client, and the client is finally convinced to patronize your services. Your irresistible packaged services would be something like this:

Social Ghostwriting Blueprint Package – Architects

Benefits:

– Become the go-to voice in your niche

– Clients will seek you out

– Builds credibility, authority, and opportunity.

Dream Outcome: To be known. To be respected. To attract your ideal projects by simply sharing what you know and love without doing any of the writing yourself.
Deliverables
Social Positioning & Persona Development
• Clarify your brand voice, tone, and content goals. We’ll extract your values, specialties, and point of view to form the foundation for all future posts.

Content Pillars for Architects
• Define 3–5 content buckets: design philosophy, project breakdowns, tools & materials, architectural history/inspiration, and behind-the-scenes studio life.

30-Day Editorial Calendar
• A publishing plan outlining topics, formats, and engagement goals.

4 Weekly Ghostwritten Posts
• Clear, compelling, and engaging posts designed for your platform of choice.

Image/Asset Coordination
• Guide your visual post layout or collaborate to prepare brand-aligned content.

Hashtag Strategy
•Research and compile niche hashtags to boost organic reach.

Engagement Guidelines
•Scripts and prompts to help you engage with your audience efficiently.

Monthly Growth Report
•Track performance, identify top posts, and optimize strategy monthly.

Influencer Mapping & Trends
•Monitor top accounts and translate patterns into strategy.

Repurposed Content
•Convert top posts into threads, carousels, or newsletter intros

Ghost Interview Content
•Short monthly calls to extract insights and turn them into content.

Project Timeline (6-Month Roadmap)
Month 1: Foundation & Strategy
– Define voice, audience, and goals

– Create content pillars + 30-day editorial calendar

– Publish 4 initial test posts

Month 2–3: Momentum Phase
– Weekly posts go live

– A/B testing content types

– Analytics and hashtag testing

Month 4: Optimization & Expansion
– Identify top

-performing formats

– Scale reach with repurposed posts

– Increase engagement etc.

The rest can be found in my book “Ghostwriting Business Blueprint”

Due to a lack of space, I will end the offer here.

  3. Prospecting: Prospecting is about how to land clients. There are basically 4 ways to land clients. They are:

•Cold Outreach
•Organic Content
•Ads
•Referral or word of mouth

Never sold a thing in your life? Everyone knows sales unlock opportunities. But the word “sales” comes with baggage. Most people picture pushy, sleazy tactics and that fear keeps them from ever taking control of their earning potential.
And honestly? That fear is valid. I wouldn’t want to feel “salesy” either.

But there is a completely different way to think about sales. As I stated earlier, proper education equals sales. That is how sales should be thought of. You are not trying to be salesy, you are only offering a free consult, which is about educating the potential client about possible problems his or her company may be facing now or in the near future.
But let’s go through the 4 various ways to land clients, and which is by far the best way to land elite clients. Let’s start from the bottom.

Referrals and word of mouth are when new clients come to you because someone they trust, either past clients, colleagues, or friends, recommended you. It’s one of the most powerful (and cost-effective) ways to get work because the trust is already pre-built.
Unlike cold outreach or ads, referrals don’t require convincing strangers, you’re leveraging.

someone else’s credibility. A warm introduction makes closing far easier and often leads to higher-quality, longer-term clients.
Key Characteristics
•Clients come pre-sold based on someone else’s recommendation.
•Often free. No ad spends or big marketing campaigns needed.
•Relies on relationships and delivering great results.
•Can grow exponentially: one happy client can lead to several more.

Examples of Referral & Word of Mouth in Action
1. Past Client Referral (Ghostwriting for Architects) “Hey John, I mentioned your work to a colleague who’s also struggling to keep up with LinkedIn content. They asked for your contact. Can I connect you two?”
2. Industry Peer Referral
A social media manager you worked with refers you to one of their agency clients who needs ghostwriting. They say: “We don’t offer writing in-house, but I know someone incredible at this.”
3. Public Word of Mouth (Social Proof)
Past clients tag you on LinkedIn or Twitter when someone asks for a ghostwriter: “You need a writer who understands architecture? Talk to [Your Name]—they’re the best I’ve worked with.”

Why It Works
•Pre-built trust: Leads from referrals convert faster.

This blog is taking too long. If you would like to get the full details, check out my book:

Ghostwriting Business Blueprint