The Biggest Mistakes I Made InThe First Year Of My Ghostwriting Business
When I began ghostwriting full-time, I had no idea on how to market, convert, grow, or retain clients long-term. My background is in customer service. My comfort zone is in helping customers track their orders and avoiding shipping fees. Of course, I was completely nervous when it came time to be my own boss.
The idea of going back into the workforce crossed my mind a few dozen times. The fact that I was giving up a steady paycheck, office parties, benefits, and future opportunities to grow with the company frequently caused me to second-guess myself. Yet, my heart was committed to taking a leap of faith in discovering the next great adventure awaiting me behind the next door.
Back in 2018, I cleared out my desk at my cushy corporate office job. Within a week, I resigned from my position and decided to pursue ghostwriting full-time. Before I share my hard-learned lessons with you. Please take into consideration your finances and properly plan a strategy to leave your 9–5 job. I am a believer in living out your dreams, not sacrificing your life to do so.
Today, I earned over $10K as a professional ghostwriter since committing to ghostwriting full-time. I want to share the hard lessons I learned at the beginning of my business to help you avoid making the same mistakes.
Organizing Your Business To Serve Clients
When I first started my ghostwriting business, my primary focus was on making money. That’s it. I didn’t care much about CRM or lead magnets. All of that was a foreign language to me. I would connect with a client on social media and request a discovery call. Once the discovery call was complete, I’d anticipate a yes or no on hiring me. This was a big mistake in earning the trust of my potential client. Clients trust organizations and systems with other business professionals. Before jumping on every discovery call with a client I take the client through a pre-approval process. Why? It’s important to identify the client’s problems, concerns and wants ahead of the discovery session. Preparation is key to success.
Protect Your Business With Legal Contracts
When you’re first starting out in business, a lawyer seems like an expense you can’t afford. Luckily, I was able to connect with a few Facebook groups that offered a basic contract agreement for conducting business. However, it’s important to plan for the worst-case scenario as a ghostwriter. On occasion, people will dispute charges with their bank after signing a contract. It happens often in the freelancing community. The best investment is to seek legal advice from a lawyer before submitting a contract to a client. It will save you time, money, and lots of headaches.
Your Friends Are Not Your Clients
When you start a business, you want the people in your circle to be proud of you. That circle also includes your friends. Many of my friends respect and admire what I do as a ghostwriter. However, when I first began searching for leads or traction in my business. I tapped into my network for help. Oftentimes, you can put your friends in an uncomfortable position when it comes to asking them to pay you for your services. Unfortunately, friends and family assume that you will offer them a discount for your services. You can negotiate your services with your friends and family at a lower rate without compromising your services. What I like to do is offer a sample for review of my portfolio or refer my friends and family to a professional in my network. Always preserve your integrity and the value of your friends and family.
Never discount your services
The biggest mistake I made early on in my business is lowering my rates to secure the client. Many freelance writers will tell you that this is a big red flag for several reasons. Oftentimes, the client who wants the lowest rate possible has the most demands. As a freelancer or ghostwriter, you’ll always battle with the feast and famine cycle. That is until you develop a lead-generating system that will attract clients to your business nonstop. My golden rule for clients who are seeking a discount is to offer an alternative solution to the problem. For example, if a client is looking to get an ebook done in a short period of time, but can’t afford the budget. I offer them a video on writing a book in a short period of time or one on one consulting for a fee. This way, the client can evaluate options and choose the best solution for their budget.
Lastly, starting a business comes with a learning curve. Your learning may be in networking in public or learning how to promote your business online effectively. The bottom line is that you’re going to make mistakes along the way in starting and growing your business. Don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s important to keep a leveled head and push through the many bumps and setbacks you’ll face in your business. It’s all a part of the process of learning to grow your business and become profitable.
What questions do you have about starting a ghostwriting business?
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