No Writing Credits for Ghostwriting

I started to take writing seriously when I received a book I had written for a pastor via USPS mail. I didn't see my name on the book, but instead his name was visibly apparent on the cover. I received no credits. In fact, no one knew I had written the entire book, but the pastor and myself. That is what ‘Ghostwriting’ is all about. 

Once the person solicits your writing service and you sign the contract, you have indicated that after you are paid for your services, the work no longer belongs to you. You give up sole rights to the content. Is that a good place to be? Well, if the price is right and you agree to the terms, you should have no qualms about it. 

However, in order to produce your own writing credits, it is ideal to write your own books as well. If someone were to ask you, ‘what books have you written and published for yourself,” would your answer be, ‘well, I wrote a book for such and such, but the copyrights didn't belong to me?” How would that sound? A person soliciting your writing services and wanted to know if you had written any material of your own couldn't be able to tell if you indeed wrote a book for someone else or not. You must have your own book(s) in order to be taken seriously.

That is what I did. 

You can find my books on Amazon.com, if you click the link.

As I said before, it took holding the book I had written without my name on it – to realize that I was doing myself an injustice by not writing a book for myself. So I delved into it; after convincing myself that this was the best thing to do. It took me several months to finish because writing for others was how I earned my income and time spent doing that – only afforded me little time to spend on writing my book. I finally finished my first book, “The Wounded Soul,” of which I am the proudest; not only because it was the first one, but for the first time, I held something in my hands that was mine and it HAD MY NAME ON IT! It was an exhilarating feeling; to say the least.

I felt proud to know that I created something that could actually help others. I write and publish my own books for this reason only. It is not all for the money. A lot of times, I give away my book to someone I meet as long as I know that they will appreciate my hard work and will actually read the book and not put it down to collect dust.

I still love to write for others and I know sometimes I short-change myself when it comes to payment, but if someone wants to write about a particularly good cause and I can help, I try to work out a reasonable rate and will go below my rate, if I feel that the finished content will be very important to the readers. This is how passionate I am when it comes to being involved in a good cause and getting the word out through the written word.

Writing allows me to learn so much more than I know now or knew before. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities. It sharpens my research skills and sometimes pushes me into certain industries and niches that I had never been before. I am always growing and learning and I love that!

If you own a website and need web content or an electronic book written, I would be happy to assist you. Email marketing, article writing, manuals, forum postings and web auditing are also some of my specialties. Check out my books on Amazon by clicking the link here.

Targeting the Prospect’s Emotions

When you are writing an article, book, electronic book or web content, the prospect’s emotions should be your main target. Believe it or not, people purchase from emotions. Your content has to be focused on what they are feeling at the moment and how you can solve it. People are looking for you to solve their problems. If you can write content that speaks directly to their immediate situation and give them a reason why they should consider the solution you will be providing, you will get the sale.

The Benefits

A prospect looks for benefits of a product or service. What’s in it for me? This is the question in mind when someone comes to your website or reads your blog and articles. If you list the features of the product or service instead of the benefits it will provide to the prospect, you will lose out on a long term customer. Listing the benefits means that you are going to mention the problem first and then give the prospect the solutions that could fix the problem.

Example:

Let’s say you are selling pills for migraine headaches, your copy headline could read something like this:

Have you ever had an excruciating migraine that you just cannot get rid of?

OR

Your migraine is becoming quite unbearable in your life, isn't it?

Notice, I asked a question. By now, your visitor knows that you understand how ‘unbearable’ and ‘excruciating’ a migraine can be. Those are strong words, but they evoke emotions. Your next words, then would be, “I understand what you are going through because I know someone or I have experienced the very same thing.”

Getting Attention

Now you have their attention. What? You or someone you know has gone through the same thing? That is what the visitor is thinking. So that means you more than understand what they are feeling. You have empathy for the prospect and they can sense it through your words.

Next, you would say something like, “Yes, for years I had been searching for something that would stop this pain forever, but couldn't find it until I discovered…”

This is when you put a name to your product and now you are going to list the benefits that the product provides such as:

•         Name of product helped me and my customers to get rid of the migraines once and for all.
•          It provided the relief that I was seeking and it will do the same for you
•          No longer do I suffer from migraines. In fact, I don’t even remember having them and by this time next week, you will feel the same way I do

Humanize the Content

Now, the prospect views you as an ally and not a salesperson. You have gotten their attention because you put a human component to your product in this case. You identified with the person’s feeling because you or someone you knew was feeling pain, seeking a solution and found it. Do you think you would get the sale or a subscriber sign up after this? Of course, you would.

This is how you target someone’s emotions. You let them know that you understand and that you know exactly what they need to fix it. You are now the expert and they will trust you. In addition, you should provide honest testimonials because this does help.

Conclusion

I hope you take note of what is required to reach the targeted prospects that you are seeking. They don’t care about the product features as much. They care that you care!! Go on over to Amazon to view and purchase books that I have written. 

Is Google Hummingbird Pecking at your Content?

For online business owners, Google gave absolutely no formal notification at the launch of Google Hummingbird. Apparently, Google decided to go that route in order to handle the more complicated search queries on the Internet. What’s all the pecking about? Google is always on rapid alert – continuously making changes to its algorithm and adding new technological stuff to the already complicated learning curve. You have to be able to keep up. This new development doesn't mean that your content is in jeopardy. It only means that you have to embrace the changes, so that your potential customers can find you easier and in different ways.

With more reliance on Google, users have been searching for longer phrases, which demanded prompt results from Google instead of a range of different page results that may or may not have the answers. Therefore, Google decided to update its algorithm and call it the Hummingbird. The Hummingbird handles conversational searches in a semantic process. So rather than process queries by the corresponding words found on a stored web page, Google Hummingbird comprehends the real framework of the query and returns the exact answer.

Question and Answer Approach

You will have to make changes to your website, since it is obvious that people are seeking the precise answers to their questions. Adapting a question and answer approach means that you may have to create a FAQ page. You don’t have to rewrite your entire existing page content, but adding a FAQ page will definitely help. In addition, it would help to create “How to” articles that answer a question.

Is content still king?

Content is still king, but with Google Hummingbird, you have to write in-depth content that addresses definite needs and wants. Your content should communicate pertinence to meet the needs of your potential prospects. This means that you have to strive to be the authority or expert in your field. Regardless of what Google is looking for, you, as a business owner should strive to provide valuable content to your readers and visitors. These days, many of your prospects are capable of conducting their own search, but you want to make it easier for them by providing information that may take them longer to find or information that they can understand. They will rely on you and treat you as the ‘go to’ business when it is time to find something worthwhile. This puts you in a better position than your competitors. Google will also recognize you for it by giving you top placement over your competition.

Conclusion

The primary goal for implementing the Google Hummingbird was to understand the human need. As a content creator, you should try to give more attention to creating pages for each basic human need and the intent of your prospective customers as it relates to your products and services. In other words, you have to think ahead of the ‘what ifs.’ Begin by mapping out your potential customer’s needs and design your website and content accordingly; using the right keywords, phrases and language to address those needs. 

Writing electronic books

If you have never ventured into the electronic book market, you are leaving money on the table. For one, Kindle Publishing provides an excellent platform for selling your expertise and receiving monthly royalties for the rest of your life. You can also write and offer your ebook (electronic book) for sale on a wide range of other platforms such as Barnes and Nobles, Lulu, BookBaby, your blog, and Amazon. So why aren't you documenting what you already know and what others are searching for?

You should conduct research to see what others are looking for, but if you have knowledge of a particular subject, then you should make this your first ebook since you already have in-depth knowledge about it. People value the information that experts like you can provide. For example, if you have worked in a specific field such as building contractor, you may be able to help people seeking information on:

• How to build their first home
• What to look for when hiring a building contractor
• What licensing is required from your local municipality to build a home
• How to find a building contractor
• How much do you expect to spend in improving a basement

These are only some of the things that you can write about. If you have written various articles on topics related to your expertise, you can use each of them in different chapters of your electronic book. Once you have created your ebook, it is now time to do the marketing. If you have a Facebook or Twitter following, be sure to announce your ebook before you even finish it. When it has been completed, it is time now to write articles and post them to article directories with a link to your ebook at the end of the article. Be sure to give the reader a call to action in the resource box.

Other things to consider
Submit your ebook to all the channels that will accept your ebook, but start with Kindle Publishing. Be sure that you have a captivating cover. If you don't know how to create an ebook cover, solicit the services of a professional. It doesn't have to cost you an 'arm and a leg.' You can go to Fiverr.com and find ebook cover creators that charge a small cost of $5 to $10. It is that simple. You may have to buy an image at iStock Photo. Don't ever attempt to copy and save an image from Google Images because many of those images are copyrighted.

Conclusion
Don't let fear stop you from trying new things. Let your writing do the talking. You can use a pen name and not your real name when publishing your book to stay anonymous. You can do this and you don't even need the required expertise. Once you are good at researching and understanding certain concepts and information, you can write an electronic book that provides value to the readers. Good luck! By the way, visit my book page to see how I did it - Click MY BOOK PAGE here.

Writing as a hobby or paid for your service

If you are a hobby writer, you can turn your writing expertise in a full time business. As a hobby writer, you can write whenever you want and at various different price points. You can even become a regular contributor as a guest blogger or just to get your name out there, but why do that when you have the skills to do otherwise.

A full time writing business is more lucrative and fulfilling. You get to write on a wide range of topics or a specific niche. You also provide information to your audience that can change lives, motivate others, offer important details and show you as an expert in a particular field.

Nothing is wrong with starting out with writing as a hobby, but use this platform to build a readership. Get your name out there so that when you decide to make the full transition, at least, you won't be a stranger.

You can begin by creating a blog and making regular posts such as twice per week. Allow your readers to make comments on your blog posts. Write articles and submit to article directories such as ezinearticles.com. You can use this platform to gain expert and platinum status. Moreover, ezinearticles.com has a high search engine ranking and you can 'ride on their coat tail,' so to speak. You get heightened recognition by being an expert writer on 'heavy hitters,' like ezinearticles.com.

If you do not want to pursue a full time writing career, at least make some money while you use writing as a hobby. How? Sign up as an Amazon affiliate, for example, and sell books on your blog. This may give you the impetus to transition into a full time writing career.

The sky is the limit to what you can do with a writing career. You can write electronic books and sell them on Kindle Publishing. You can write articles for other people. A great place to start bidding for article writing is Elance.com. It may be a bidding war, but you can write a winning proposal to get your bid noticed and picked. Elance.com has free and paid membership so you really have nothing to lose.

You could also think about starting that book you have always wanted to write. The hardest part is getting started because of fear or you don't know how to get it published. There are websites like CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com, which allow you to self publish your work. So again, there is no excuse. Even if you are an hobbyist, you can still get that book out. That will push you to write more and get into the writing arena full time.

As an avid writer myself, I can tell you that I began writing several years ago, but didn't take it that seriously since I had a full time 9-5 job. When my mom died 7 years ago, I had no choice because of the situation she left, to get into writing full time. I had to be able to travel to see my ailing dad often and no company would put up with my frequent departure. So I went back to my writing and the rest is history. I am a self-published author of several books on CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com. I also write articles, web content and electronic books for online marketers, which is also a rewarding and lucrative way of acquiring a full time income.

So I encourage you to look at writing more seriously once you have the talent and skill to do it well. In the beginning, you may have to settle for low pay, but as you build your portfolio, you will land higher paying gigs. So go for it. Please visit my Amazon page to look at some of my books. A writer loves to get feedback from readers. Click to go to MY BOOK PAGE HERE.