Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Most people who start out as ghostwriters stick to a specific niche in which they are comfortable. For me, it’s computers and technology. I felt that owning my own computer repair shop for several years gave me insight to be an expert in my field. However, I’ve long since branched out into other industries. While being an expert has its benefits, it often doesn’t take excessive knowledge in an industry to write.
How to Be An Expert in Any Field
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t take a great deal of work to please a client. As long as the content is fact-driven and written well, most of them will be happy. It’s all about delivering a piece that is exactly what the client is looking for. Here are a few things I do when people come to me with a new topic or industry niche.
Research Everything
Personally, I research everything whether I know the topic or not. This keeps me knowledgeable regarding the industry and makes the writing look professional. If you’re taking on a niche you’ve never covered before, make sure you do the research. Otherwise, the content may come out less than ideal for a client.
When you take to the Internet to look up facts and information, make sure you’re pulling from quality websites. There are a ton of blogs and sites out there that don’t have the best information available. Not everyone takes the time to be an expert in their field when creating content. For example, I base information on my health blog, Crossing Colorado, by using scientific data and actual study papers.
Although Wikipedia does have a great deal of valuable information, keep in mind that anyone can write its pages. I’ve come across several entries that I knew for a fact were false. Always collaborate your claims with high-end sites. This will help you avoid looking foolish when writing content for a client.
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Write with Confidence
Don’t be timid when creating a new piece in an industry you’ve never experienced. When you write with confidence, you exude professionalism to the point where just about anything can sound convincing. When you combine facts with confidence, you’re ghostwriting will shine.
Being confident in your work will also help you speed the process. As a work-at-home freelancer, you’re more than likely paid for productivity. If a project is taking you too long to finish, your average income is decreased. You don’t want to hurry through the process, but second guessing yourself while writing will lead to revisions by you as well as the client.
Follow Client Directions to the Letter
Clients want their orders done in a specific way. Even if it’s not conducive to search engine optimization or they want certain words misspelled, there’s a reason. When you follow directions and give the client exactly what he or she asks for, you essentially increase the odds of the client coming back for more work. In a way, this is job security.
Since I began ghostwriting in 2012, I’ve done jobs that were completely asinine for clients. Even when I try to explain why my way is better, they still wanted the jobs done how they perceived them. If you don’t deliver the quality, it can hurt your overall ghostwriting practice. Word of mouth can be quite beneficial on the Internet. You want to give a client a reason to share your practice with others.
Don’t Overthink the Project
It can be incredibly easy to overthink a project. Most clients want easy-to-read content without an author demonstrating their command of the English language. They want simple, educational and topics that are to the point. If you spend too much time trying to polish up a piece with excessive lingo or advanced word play, it may suffer in terms of quality.
When covering a new industry, it can be relatively easy to keep adding material you think is relevant. This can be devastating to a good piece of content. It can be easy to include content that is not relevant to the topic, but is relevant to the industry. For example, writing a piece about hard drives doesn’t need to include information about monitor usage – even though both are computer related.
Focus on the topic the client wants. Don’t worry about adding other pieces of information unless it connects directly to the primary thought of the piece.
Avoid Filler
If there is one thing that clients and editors hate, it’s filler. This is content that you add that doesn’t really impact the topic. It’s material that is added simply to increase the word count. Avoiding filler can be quite difficult depending on the topic. However, you’ll need to refrain from it if you want to be an expert in the client’s eye.
I tend to add filler to my personal websites. Like, when I add small comments about personal experiences or perhaps a joke or two amidst the words. Filler and fluff is material that has no bearing on what you’re trying to convey. In fact, being repetitive may also connect as filler. Sometimes I’ll often repeat myself for the sake of driving the point home. For instance, you want to avoid filler and fluff if it’s not part of the topic at hand. See what I did there?
Be Comfortable to Be an Expert
If you want to be an expert in a new industry, you must remain comfortable. As soon as you start tensing up or stressing about the content, you’re work will suffer. As long as you’re willing to learn, it’s relatively easy to become an expert in any industry. Don’t assume that you need a proper education in order to know a specific topic. Base your information on proven facts and your client will love your work.
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