Clebrity Night Shot

Ghostwriting is a peculiar thing, and one that most small businesses don't realize the importance of. But if you look towards the multi-million dollar mega-corporations, you'll realize that they've not only recognized the power of a potent content cocktail, but have embraced it with open arms and pay heavy salaries for the ghostwriters that produce their money-making website and marketing copy.

However, since ghostwriting isn't something that's on the forefront of most business owner and manager's minds, it's an easy thing to overlook when vamping up business efforts in the marketing and development areas. But overlooking the words that connect your audience to your services is something that most companies can't afford to ignore - including those with tight marketing budgets.

Whoa - slow down there. What exactly is ghostwriting?

Ghostwriting is when a company hires a writer to write for their company - be it the marketing copy on the sales page of the website or the CEO's weekly blog post. The writer creates content anonymously, meaning he or she doesn't take credit or get a byline for their work, so that it seems as if it is coming directly from another source.

Ghostwriters write speeches for political figures, take care of blog posts for executives who either don't have time to write or don't have a compelling writing style, and write memoirs and books for celebrities - amongst other things.

It's just a website. I wrote a bunch of awesome papers on the merits of Tennyson's poetic works in college. Surely I can write my own copy, right?

Wrong. Writing isn't a talent that everyone is born with. It takes practice - lots and lots of practice. And lots and lots of editing. Molding words into powerful descriptions of your business and products is a key component to selling, and it's far too often a skill that's most commonly overlooked.

Even as I took a break from writing to catch up on my latest issue of Inc. Magazine, I flipped it open to a story about - you guessed it - how companies are increasingly losing their voice because of banal and generic content. Or in laymen's terms, bad writing.

This is becoming a major issue because with commerce and marketing switching to an online format, the written word is usually the sole factor that makes your business stand out from the rest - especially in search engine listings. Jason Fried at Inc. Magazine said it best when he stated "When you write like everyone else and sound like everyone else and act like everyone else, you're saying "Our products are like everyone else's too.""

I'm not trying to publish my memoirs or write a strongly persuasive speech. How would a ghostwriter help out my business?

Oh ye of little faith. Ghostwriters can provide a much needed service in almost every area of your business. A few key roles that can be performed by an experienced ghostwriter are:

• Creative website content developer
• Copywriting for products
• Executive biographies
• Funny, informative and interesting blog posts
• Social media updates (status insights on Facebook, connecting with consumers, Twitter updates)
• Writing engaging ad copy for online and print

Never underestimate the power of a few cleverly crafted sentences when trying to persuade your consumer base to buy, promote or follow your cause. Whether it's revamping the marketing copy for a website or crafting the perfect tone for a Facebook fan page update, words are an invaluable component to every business, especially in the digital age.

Don't be like the mass companies that produce mundane, generic content and think it won't affect their bottom line. Make sure your copy is succeeding in its mission - creating new customers.