Executive Ghostwriting Explained
How to Choose the Right Writer for Your Leadership Team
It seems silly to begin this piece by explaining what executive ghostwriting is. Still, I’ve had a few too many run-ins with accomplished professionals who maintain the false belief that paying a ghostwriter is somehow cheating or plagiarizing. Thank you, middle-school English teachers, we’ll take it from here.
Executive ghostwriting is a collaboration between a professional writer and a company leader to create content representing the executive’s ideas about their product, industry, leadership, or business specialty. And no, as fast and easy as it is to crank out a 1500-word white paper with Chat GPT, using AI to write thought leadership does not qualify—but that’s an article for another day.
“There will be no parade for the ghostwriter.”
Executive ghostwriting is a skilled service that helps corporate leaders add personal context and market differentiation to a business’s go-to-market strategy. It enhances the value of a leadership team and brings strategic insight and visibility to the corporate vision. When executed well, with frequency, and consistently, executive ghostwriting can change the trajectory of a business for the better and help members of the leadership team strengthen their personal brand.
Creating highly visible content for the C-suite is a time-sensitive endeavor, so how do CMOs and Marketing Directors ensure they’re not wasting everyone’s time by hiring the wrong person? Below is a list of qualities to look for in an executive ghostwriter or anyone who is taking the lead on your company's content initiatives.
Humility. Make sure your ghostwriter understands the assignment. When the writing is published, there will be no byline and no credit given—unless, of course, the content is no good. Instead, the writer must be quietly satisfied knowing they’ve accurately expressed the vision of the company leaders and made them look and sound wicked smart. Ideally, the long-tail benefits of consistent thought leadership will come after some time, when fundraising is made easier, layoffs are avoided, and everyone in the company is standing a bit taller but even then, there will be no parade for the ghostwriter.
Experience. Go with a seasoned professional who can confidently translate the marketing strategy into thought leadership content with enough nuance to express both the vision of each executive and the company at large. A writer with a perspective that comes from life experience will more easily extract substantive material from your company leadership by exploring brand-new ideas about the market, challenging the status quo, or even presenting a new way of interpreting the business model. This is not a job for the summer intern.
Versatility. Get more bang for your buck by looking for a content pro with a diverse background that includes any combination of consumer editorial, news journalism, content marketing, and public relations. Bonus points if you find a ghostwriter who is happy to write short form, long form, and everything in between, including LinkedIn profiles and posts, contributed articles, white papers, case studies, eBooks, website copy, scripts for webinars and videos, blogs, press releases, and more.
The same theory applies to the subject matter. Unless you’re in the business of medicine or law, resist the temptation to limit your choices to writers who specialize in your industry. Since most content marketing is meant to broaden the audience, a content generalist can help you avoid jargon or insider references that may be alienating to someone unfamiliar with the topic. Clever B2B writers use their outsider status to uncover insights about the language and messaging that may be missed by those who are deeply immersed in the topic daily. Translation of technical concepts for the masses is an important part of the work.
Flexibility. How does your team like to collaborate? To make the most of the relationship, work with everyone’s busy schedule, and meet the needs of your go-to-market strategy asap, the executive ghostwriter needs to adjust to everyone’s working preferences. This can mean creating content from many different scenarios, here are just a few:
Conduct an interview and create a draft with the transcription.
Draft from notes made by the executive.
Edit a cold submission from a leader who likes to write themselves. This can range from a fully formed article to a manifesto-style stream of consciousness.
Write a piece with minimal contact or none at all. Add in voice and tone later.
Use a transcription from a recent presentation or webinar. Even better if the writer creates those scripts with ancillary content (including thought leadership) in mind.
Repurpose a keynote speech; same as above.
While there are just as many work styles as there are executive team members, a seasoned ghostwriter knows it is their job to make it easy and keep all projects moving forward. When asked about this, listen for: “Yes, I can do that. I work however the executives like to work.”
Emotional Intelligence. Above all, hire a writer with the emotional intelligence to know their best work will come when they’ve earned the trust of not only the leadership but the entire company. A writer who operates with generosity, curiosity, and appreciation for the role of every individual in the company learns first-hand—in team meetings, on ride-along calls, over coffee—how to build thought leadership that resonates internally and affects the esteem of the whole company.
Executive ghostwriting is a hard skill which is made infinitely better when combined with the soft skills mentioned above. A writer who knows how to problem-solve, adapt, and inspire will help company leaders articulate their vision to all stakeholders, starting with themselves.
