Most writers who can’t move past an income ceiling (like $4k, $6k or $8k/month) believe their bottleneck is their writing ability.

This means they end up:

• Reading more books on writing.
• Dropping another $750 on a writing course.
• Dedicating more time to improving their craft (at the expense of learning other, non-writing skills).

Now, you have to be somewhat competent as a writer to charge for your work.

But if you think getting better and better at writing will mean people will pay you more, then I’ve got a rude awakening for you. Because to make more money as a ghostwriter is not just about improving as a writer.

It’s about all the other skills that surround the writing that make your clients feel valued, heard, and comfortable which turn you into a profitable ghostwriter.

Let’s dive into the 5 non-writing skills you need to master.

Prefer to watch rather than read? Click here to watch this as a video on YouTube.

Master these 5 non-writing skills to become a dangerously profitable writer.

• Skill #1: Free Consulting. If can’t help people for free by giving them the strategy, you will never be able to charge for your expertise. Free consulting is how you EDUCATE your way to landing paying clients, not trying to force them into buying something they don’t want. You should be able to show you understand the problems they have, the outcomes they care about, and the transformation they want to experience.
• Skill #2: Sales. So many writers resist this, but there’s no other way around it. You have to learn how to sell. Every ghostwriter I’ve coached inside PGA makes a ton of money because they learn the art of sales. This isn’t “selling out”—it’s about helping someone out with the services you provide, not “cheating” them out of money.
• Skill #3: Account Management. This is about how you interact with the client at every stage of the relationship—from sales to project completion. The art of account management boils down to doing a good job of anticipating the client's needs. You want the customer to go, "Wow, you held my hand and you were so attentive that you're the only person I want to work with, I couldn't imagine trying to find someone who is as attentive as you."
• Skill #4: Understanding different business models. Part of what allows you to charge more as a writer is figuring out the best possible business model for your ghostwriting service. Are you charging something that's higher ticket where the person has to pay in full? Or are you breaking up that payment into monthly payments? Spend time studying the business side of pricing and business models.
• Skill #5: Personal Branding. I think this is one of the most misunderstood terms in all of marketing. You shouldn’t be aiming to become known in “general.” Instead, aim to become known for a niche (or category) that you own. Personal branding is about evangelizing yourself BUT within a specific category.

Here’s the bottom line:

Not every day is going to be a writing day and not every day are you going to feel like your writing is improving.

But that's okay because all of these other skills are what allow you to get ahead of 99% of other ghostwriters out there.

The big idea here is that writing is only a piece of the puzzle. You can't just spend all day crafting the best sentences and then expect your:

• Your business to grow
• Your revenue to go up
• Your monthly earnings to become more stable and consistent
• And have people seeking you out instead of constantly grinding to find your next gig

If you want all of these things to happen and if you want all of these unfair advantages, you have to be willing to do things that the average person is not willing to do.

And the average ghostwriter is not willing to do all of these things—but a Premium Ghostwriter IS ready to do these things.

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