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Checklist For Hiring a Ghostwriter

Ghostwriting is a unique way to get your voice out there to your customers without actually using your voice, per se. With that being said, it is important to make sure you make the right hire. Here are some tips we have learned over the years from our own ghostwriting projects.

1. Type of work: It is a great idea to specify what type of ghostwriting you are looking to do. Most ghostwriters specialize in one or more types of writing. If you are looking for someone to write blog posts, e-newsletters, or social media, you need to hire a ghostwriter who specializes in online content writing, with an emphasis on search engine optimization (SEO). The same is true if you want to hire ghostwriters to work on books, reports, technical manuals, white papers, articles, and other written content.

2. The length of time: Make sure you and your hired ghostwriter understand and agree upon the length of time it will take to complete a project. If it is a finite project, make sure to set a deadline, requirements, and expectations in the contract.

3. Budget: Be upfront about what you can afford so you can find the best possible match in a ghostwriter that fits your budget.

4. Samples and References: Of course, you should read samples of the potential hire’s work and get references. Because of the confidential nature of the ghostwriting business, you might have to sign a non-disclosure agreement before seeing the samples or talk to references.

5. Voice, Style, and Tone: It is important to find a ghostwriter you have a good working relationship with, especially regarding the style and tone of the writing. When reviewing samples from potential hires, make sure their writing style and voice match yours.

We do a lot of ghostwriting over at Global Wire Associates.  Please contact us at info@globalwireonline.org for more information.

Are Black Supremacist Groups A Thing?

Speaking of white supremacists, there was a time when the Nation of Islam was considered a black supremacist group.  The Southern Poverty Law Center still considers it a hate group.  However, in the black community, NOI is a highly respected organization, namely for its civil rights activism and its association with Malcolm X.

In 1961 Malcolm X, who was still part of NOI at the time, did a radio interview with James Baldwin to discuss the failures of integration and the racial turmoil the country was in.  The conversation sounds like it could have happened today.

Content Audits: An In-depth Look

The world "Content"

What is a content audit?

No, a content audit has nothing to do with your taxes.  Rather, it is an inventory check of the content on your website, social media, or other online platforms.

Why would I want to do a content audit?

The main purpose of having a content strategy is to make sure the information you are presenting online is consistent with your organizational messaging and brand identity.  It’ a good idea to do audits to keep your content on point.

What things should I be looking for in a content audit?

This depends largely on what the goals are behind your content strategy.  An audit can be an inventory of your whole website, or certain parts of it.  Some audits might look at the effectiveness of the video or Twitter strategies or blog posts.  There is also something called content sampling, where you randomly select content on your website to review.

How exactly do you conduct a content audit?

In the simplest fashion by using a spreadsheet, a basic audit for a website will include columns for the following: Page Title, Page URL, Keywords/SEO, Description, Date Published, and Audit Date.  There you want to go through your website and fill in the rows with the metrics you are auditing. If you use a web traffic reporting tool like Google Analytics or Hootsuite, you would need to match the traffic with the pages.

You will spend your time reviewing the conversion rates and content for your pages on the spreadsheet.  Are images easy to view and tagged correctly?  Are pages meeting the standards for web accessibility? Are blog posts written with proper grammar and embedded keywords?

Now would be a good time to correct and/or delete any content that no longer serve your purposes. Depending on how much content you are reviewing, like a website with hundreds or even thousands of pages, the process might take a while and you will need to get your co-workers or colleagues to help you.

How often should I do a content audit?

It depends on what your content strategy looks like.  Most people do it quarterly or annually to coincide with company financial reporting.  Others do it monthly or even weekly.  No matter how often you do an audit, it is always a good idea to review how your content strategy is working for you.

Race Relations in the Public Diplomacy Space

All of my UN Week commitments have been canceled this year due to COVID-19.  I have worked in media development around the world for nearly 20 years.  In light of the racial reckoning happening in America right now, I thought I would repost the article below I wrote in 2017 about race on the international stage.  You might also be interested in my exhaustive review of Richard Wright’s Color Curtain, which explores race and identity in the developing world.

Last year we commemorated the 55th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  Many people were behind organizing the historic event, including many Hollywood actors.  Following the march, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) recorded a roundtable discussion with Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Joseph Mankiewicz, James Baldwin, and moderator David Shoenbrun as they discussed the march and race relations in America.

USIA’s mandate at the time was to provide an honest assessment of American life to an international audience. The participants both criticized and praised American values.  USIA films at the time were not shown in the United States due to the Smith–Mundt Act.

“No matter how bitter I become I always believed in the potential of this country,” says James Baldwin in the film. “For the first time in our history, the nation has shown signs of dealing with this central problem.”

While the march and the roundtable, which were broadcast around the world together, were received favorably globally, many Americans criticized USIA for “putting out our dirty laundry” to the world.

So much for democracy…

But the real question here is if all these men were still alive today, would they met for such a discussion, considering Charlton Heston became a conservative later in life. And why were there no women invited to be part of this discussion?

 

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