6 Easy Steps to Win a Ghostwriting Project

The advent of online publishing has brought with it various freelance writing opportunities. And one of the great writing opportunities the web provides is ghostwriting. For those who are not familiar with this term, ghostwriting does not mean writing about ghosts. It simply means writing for someone else. As a ghostwriter therefore, you are paid to write for somebody who gets the complete credits for your works.

I have been ghostwriting for over a year now, but due to my hectic schedules, I only write now for one or two steady clients. But the point is, I am earning money online through ghostwriting on top of my regular freelance writing activities.

In order to be a ghostwriter, you need to have a client who pays you to write for him or her. And to find clients for whom you can ghostwrite, it is imperative that you win a ghostwriting project. This hub is meant to help you win a ghostwriting project by following the simple steps given below.

Easy step #1: Sign up with a site or sites offering ghostwriting projects.

If this is your first time to consider ghostwriting, then it goes without saying that you have to sign up with sites offering ghostwriting projects. There are several websites that offer various ghostwriting projects. But the most popular ones include:

• Getafreelancer (GAF)
• elance
• guru
• ifreelance
• EUfreelance

Before deciding to sign up, try to browse through these various sites to learn their different features and limitations.

Easy step #2: Build an impressive profile.

Once you have signed up, work on your profile to make it look and sound professional and attractive to prospective clients. Some clients would look at the profiles of various registered ghostwriters to see if the writers are suitable to their projects. And if a client thinks you are qualified to do his project, he would invite you to bid on that project. Or if you have posted your bid already and the client examines your profile, he would be impressed if you have created a good profile.

Be sure though to put only what is true – never try to claim anything that you are not. And always be open with your limitations.

Easy step #3: Browse through open projects.

Sites such as GAF, elance and guru have hundreds of open ghostwriting projects at any given time. Since free memberships to these sites give you a limited number of allowable bids per month, you need to be careful in using up those free bids. If you want to have more bids though, you can opt for paid memberships which can also give you certain privileges like free or low project fees in case your bid is chosen.

Easy step #4: Decide which project you can and want to work on.

After making an initial assessment of all projects of particular interest, try to choose the ones you can possibly deliver given all the applicable terms and conditions. There are several factors you need to consider in selecting a ghostwriting project to bid on. These factors include the following:

• Topic.It goes without saying that you go for those topics which do not only interest you, but are also within your area of expertise. However, if the topic is not that highly specialized and can be easily researched, then you can opt for that too. Just be sure that you can handle it.
• Fee. Naturally, you would want to look at those good-paying projects first. But most of these projects are normally quite demanding in terms of writers’ qualifications as well as timelines. Also, be sure that payment method is acceptable to you prior to posting your bid on a certain project.
  
• Timelines. This is very important in choosing a project especially if you are still starting out. Do not waste your allowable bids on projects which you think you cannot deliver within the required timelines.

Easy step #5: Bid on the ghostwriting projects you’ve chosen.

Once you have decided which ghostwriting projects you want to work on, the first step to do is of course to bid on those projects. But before posting your bid, be sure that you have read and understood all the project requirements. If not, try to raise your question to the project creator through the private message board. You would certainly want to maximize your allowable bids as these can be very limited, so be sure to clarify with the project creator anything you find unclear.

In making your bid, do not forget that you are competing against a number of ghostwriters – some of whom are experienced professional writers. As the competition is very stiff, you need to make your bid stand out to be noticed by the project creator. To do that, you should do the following:

1. Create a smart and catchy opening that targets most of the project requirements. It is important to catch the attention of the project creator the moment he or she starts reading your bid.

2. Make your bid as brief, precise and straight to the point as possible. Remember that the project creator has a lot of bids to read, and will have no time for lengthy boring bids.

3. Clearly state your interest in the project and why you think you’re qualified to do it. Again, try to keep it clear, concise and most of all, true. It does not pay to claim you’re some great writer when you’re not.

4. Ensure that your bid is free from typos, as well as spelling and grammatical errors. Prospective clients can see through your bid the quality of your work, so if it is poor, your chances of being chosen are very small.

5. If the project clearly states a specific deadline, then assure the client that you can deliver the articles on or before the stated deadline. But you must not make false assurances just to win a project.

6. If required, attach a sample or samples of your work. As much as possible, try to attach those that fall under the same category as the project. For example if the project involves health-related topics, it would be better if you can attach an article that covers any topic under this niche.

7. If you have no experience writing for the niche covered in the ghostwriting project but you still believe you can handle it, simply tell the client so, but do attach one of your best works. This may still help you win the project.

8. Many project creators require that their writers are primarily English speakers. However, don’t let that deter you from bidding. The first project I ever won had the same requirement, but I circumvented that by assuring the client that I can speak and write English fluently.

9. If the project creator is interested in you, he or she will contact you to talk about the project details further. And if you have settled everything, then the project will be awarded to you.

Easy step #6: Deliver the articles as you have promised – high quality and on time.

There’s nothing that can urge project creators to award you their ghostwriting projects than good reviews from fully satisfied clients. To satisfy your clients, you must deliver the project according to what you have agreed on before accepting the project. Project creators usually hire ghostwriters for long-term so if they like your work and your work etiquette, you can be assured of a continuous work. And continuous freelance ghostwriting job means steady extra income.

These are just basic information regarding freelance online ghostwriting as well as how to win a ghostwriting project. However, once you engage in it, you will still learn a lot of things pertaining to this topic such as the various advantages and disadvantages associated with it.