My photographer hated me.
At least that’s what I thought.
12 years ago I hired a professional photographer for the first time ever. Gone were the days of the Olan Mills and JCPenny photo shoots that I’d grown up with maybe once a decade. I’d decided to embrace this whole adult thing and capture my ‘now’ with professional photos.
My ‘family’ at the time was made up of myself, my boyfriend, and our combined four dogs.
In order to make sure I was getting the most for my money, I did all kinds of researched. Checked directories, scoured through website after website, emailed and gathered all of the appropriate intel.
Once I found a photographer that fit my budget and my style, I dug in a little deeper. I clicked on every page of her portfolio (even those gorgeous newborn baby photos that I knew nothing about), dove into session pricing options including digitals and prints – becoming wildly familiar with what she offered and what she did not, and of course…
I stalked her blog!
Photo day finally came. I wore a black knit sweater, stiletto heeled knee boots, and skinny jeans. My guy (now my hunky husband) loathes having his photo taken, so he reluctantly grabbed two of the leashes and headed out to the session with me.
We went to a nearby park and then back to the house to have a snuggle session on the sofa. Before we had the opportunity to take photos sans dogs, we were both covered in dog hair and appeared to be a hot mess. Nonetheless, we persisted.
We took a few cheesy pre-engagement pose ‘love’ photos near my neighbor’s tree and the entire time I just prayed that the photographer would be able fix the dog hair that covered me head to toe.
The hour we spent with the photographer was a non-magical barking mess where I struggled to restrain four dogs and keep my guy at least partially smiling.
After the session, I expected this kind woman to run home and immediately publish some type of post on her blog that lovingly doted on my family. The words would be flowery and kind. I’d blush, smile, and then read it over and over again.
I must have hit the refresh button on her blog a thousand times over the next few days.
And nothing appeared.
No new blog posts. Nothing mentioning my name. Nothing saying how much she loved spending time in my home and with my family. No sneak peek photos because she ‘just couldn’t wait to share’. Nada. Zero. Zip.
Even worse, like a solid punch to the gut, other posts were published. Other clients were getting all of the digital attention that I anticipated. These people weren’t as cute as my family. They didn’t grace the pages of her blog like I knew our images would.
Then one day. Finally, right at the deadline stated in our contract, she published it.
A blog post. All about my family. Only our photos. And it felt….
Lame.
It mentioned the fact that I asked to include the dogs, which was unusual but something she loved. Other than that, there was no personal shout out. None of the butterflies and glitter that I had imagined in my brain a thousand times. Just very basic words that said ‘we had a photo session’ followed by a selection of photos.
I was so happy to have my images. Seriously happy. She did a good job. The images were consistent with her portfolio and represented us well.
However.
I felt like I got the short end of the stick. Like I had missed part of the experience.
I expected (for some weird reason?!) her to dote on my family. To gush over the time spent with us. I know it sounds a little crazy (especially now, a zillion years later), but I thought that her publishing beautifully written and of course, wildly flattering, words about my family would just be the icing on the cake. That it’d top off my experience and make the purchase worth every penny I spent.
Who doesn’t love a nice pat on the back every now and then, right?
I expected that a pro would just make this magically happen, but it did not.
Fast forward 15 years and I totally understand what happened, I think.
My photographer was BUSY. She was bouncing around to a zillion sessions throughout the week and by the time she got home after ours, she was ready to put down her camera and hang with her own family. I’m pretty sure that the last thing she wanted to do when she got home that night was to immediately pop her memory card into the computer and post a sneak peek on her blog after a few ‘quick’ edits.
My photographer was OVERWHELMED. She was (is) really good at her art and the business was run by her and her only. There was no team backing her up. No processes that took place when she got back to the office with dozens of little elves just waiting for her to say go. When you’re a one-man-band, business life is hard and you often have to just make sure the basics are covered in order to keep things moving on a daily basis. You are spread thin and don’t always have time to do the ‘extras’.
My photographer was likely NOT SURE WHAT TO SAY. Let’s face it, the session she did with my family was probably a little overwhelming. With four dogs involved, we didn’t have a ton of time to make a personal connection and become BFFs in the matter of an hour. As much as my pride wouldn’t have wanted to admit it back then, she probably didn’t have anything flowery and flattering to say.
Here’s the funny part…
I now spend the majority of my days gushing over photography clients as a ghostwriter.
What does being a ghostwriter mean?
I write the words that you see on blogs, websites, and brochures but get zero credit.
For photographers, I write the flowery, kind, loving, generous, doting notes that you see connected to the client session sneak peeks on their blogs. This isn’t something that is required in any photography session contract, but I can tell you from first hand experience (ah hem, story above) that a simple blog post can make clients feel special, loved, acknowledged. That it will keep them coming back and leave you with happier clients and most importantly for your business – return clients.
For others, I write blog posts that help educate their clients, grow their overall brand awareness, and boost their search engine optimization (ranking). The goals are the same for the pieces that I am a ghostwriter for. We want happier clients and return clients.
So why should you, as a business owner, find a ghostwriter?
Here are four reasons that you should find a ghostwriter for your business today:
1. You want to get stuff done.
Not you personally, but you want your business task list to shrink rather than grow. If you need help checking things like blog posts or other content writing off of your list, find a ghostwriter today. You’re not going to believe how much stress it can take off of your plate!
2. You’re spread too thin.
If you know things need to happen but you just don’t have the time (too busy?!) then you need to find a ghostwriter. What you should know is that when you find a ghostwriter, it will allow you to hand things off in a way that doesn’t require you bringing on a full time employee. Ghostwriting is typically completed on a contract or per project basis, which allows you to keep costs affordable and controlled.
3. You don’t know what to say.
If you know you need content and see the value in what it does for your brand and what it can do to help evolve your customer relationships, but just aren’t sure what to say – find a ghostwriter now. Seriously. The thing about ghostwriting is that the writer does all the work and you get all the credit. All of it. People will think that you’ve got all the right stuff in all the right places, even if you don’t. 😉
4. You know the value of excellent content.
Whether you’re focused on the client relationship benefits (we’ve talked about that, right) or just love what solid content does for your search engine optimization (SEO) and overall ranking on Google, you need content. Right? If so, you need to find a ghostwriter that fits your style and budget, and get a writing project started today!
Convinced that you need to go out and find a ghostwriter?
Let’s move on to the next question that I know you’re going to ask… how do I find a ghostwriter that knows my niche, fits my budget, and can write in a voice that represents my business well?
The answer is pretty simple here. The first thing you should do, is connect with me. Here’s a basic form that you can fill out to help us connect about your ghostwriting project. It makes the process of you finding a ghostwriter super simple and allows us to get straight to business. (Don’t worry, we will still chat and make sure our energies work well together before any $ are exchanged or formal projects are assigned.)
Okay, now that the form is complete, here are a few things you need to consider while you’re on the hunt to find the perfect ghostwriter for your project.
1. Does your project require technical expertise?
If your writing project needs a formal degree, certification, or some kind of knowledge outside of what can be gathered with a reasonable amount of research – please be up front about it. You need to find a ghostwriter that is a good match with your project requirements, not just your budget.
2. What is the purpose of your ghostwriting project?
I mentioned a few reasons above, but here are a couple more:
- Establishing a consistent online presence with your blog.
- Letting potential clients know that you are still in business and ready for their business.
- Boost your SEO and overall ranking.
- Create backlink opportunities for possible sponsorships.
- Create excellent content for any affiliate relationships you might have in place or may want to implement in the future.
- Educate your clients and potential clients.
If you don’t know the reason why you’re writing, it’s going to be a tougher pill to swallow when it comes to paying the bill. It’s easier to invest in something when you see the value in it, trust me.
3. Are you ready to find a ghostwriter?
I don’t mean ‘do you need one’ because chances are you do. I’m referring to your digital assets here. Is your website live and ready for new content? Are your social media channels prepared for sharing content and connected in a way that allows everything to work together to support your overall brand and clients?
4. Do you want your clients to love you?
It happens. I hope you’re okay with that. When you start creating content that clients will love and feel supported by, you’re going to find that your products and services will sell themselves. Ideally, your clients will start selling for you! How, though referrals. Word of mouth. Shares on social media. You get it! It’s all good stuff.
Okay, let’s cut to the chase now – you need to find a ghostwriter.
I want you to reach out to me so that we can connect and see if I’d be a good fit as a ghostwriter for your business. I’d love to write for you! To make things super easy and get the process started, I’ve already compiled a collection of writing samples for you to easily review.
Here’s the link: atterbie.com/writing
Have you already worked with me and are ready to start another project? Let’s do it! Standard blog posts are available for purchase (individually and in bulk) in the store here. If your project is outside of these parameters, email me at amy@atterbie.com and I’ll reply ASAP so we can get to writing.
I can’t wait to hear from you!
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