How Hiring a Ghostwriter Can Help Thought Leaders

Did you know that many thought leaders, CEOs, and industry titans, hire ghostwriters to help them formulate and distribute their ideas with different types of content? 

The stigma on ghostwriting is no longer as prominent in this day and age – celebrities, politicians, and business professionals choose to work with these “ghosts” to create premium quality content for whatever purpose.

Even social influencers and thought leaders can greatly benefit from the services of a ghostwriter.

One would think that the information in an autobiography or story in a novel is nothing but faux and made up if a ghost wrote it.

But that’s as inaccurate as anyone can describe it. Instead, it only means that the individual who gets credit for the book or content couldn’t write it independently.

The reason could be a lack of time or skill in writing. But it doesn’t make anyone less of an author, influencer, or thought leader.

The idea of ghostwriting is to share a person’s expertise, ideas, and story with a professional writer. In return, the “ghost” emulates a journalist’s work by asking questions, doing research, and creating a highly engaging narrative structure.

The icing on the cake is the ghostwriter’s ability to capture the person’s voice in creating the material.

Ghostwriting Beyond Books and Novels

Ghostwriting is no longer exclusively beneficial to authors. Although lengthy fiction and nonfiction books were the staple of ghostwriters in the past, their versatility allowed them to jump over to short-form writing.

Prolific writers now cater to a broader clientele, including business professionals, celebrities, media personalities, organizations, and even thought leaders.

Thought leaders are on a constant search for ways to improve their image and reputation. One of the ways to do that is by increasing online visibility.

Whether it’s an opinionated article on a news portal or a blog post on a personal website, a ghostwriter creates compelling content on behalf of a thought leader.

Driven by web traffic, the content is passed along multiple channels and platforms. This is how the ideas and knowledge of a thought leader reach the intended audience.

What Is A Thought Leader?

A thought leader is someone who is seen as an authority on a specific subject within their industry.

They make an impact with unique ideas that could change the way people think. Thought leaders usually have some sort of following, sometimes called a ‘tribe’.

You of course, probably know all the famous thought leaders, but you don’t need to have a TED Talk that has been viewed a million times to be considered a thought leader.

There are thought leaders in all industries, in all shapes and sizes. Anyone can be a thought leader if they understand the mechanics. It just takes a unique idea and a distribution method.

But Who Comes Up With The Ideas? The Ghostwriter or the Author?

The actual physical words written on the page are secondary to the idea or message behind it.

A ghostwriter can help shape and sharpen the message but it’s the author who comes up with the original idea.

The author is after all, the authority on the subject and knows way more about his or her field of expertise than the ghostwriter.

That doesn’t mean the ghostwriter can’t contribute.

Thought leadership refers to the information provided by a credible authority, essentially telling an audience what should be done or how they should think.

Thought leaders exist in all aspects of life, i.e., an expert writing a commentary on effective management strategies, a letter sent by a structural engineer to local government talking about a construction project, or an op-ed piece by a political analyst in response to an election issue.

It doesn’t matter if the author did not have to type the words of the article – a thought leader gets credit solely for the intent of the article. Without his expertise, the content ceases to exist.

How a Thought Leader Benefits from a Ghostwriter’s Expertise

Thought leaders who choose to work with ghostwriters come in two forms.

The first one is an individual who’s so busy that there’s no longer any time to spare for writing. The second type needs to impart knowledge and ideas but couldn’t do so because of the lack of writing experience or skill.

A ghostwriter offers versatility – expanding his writing abilities to address a client’s specific needs. A busy thought leader only needs to commit a couple of recorded interviews for the writer to get the information required for the content. A thought leader’s knowledge is so extensive that one interview generates enough information for a few articles.

But don’t think it’s all about putting the spoken words into written material.

Ghostwriters are given high value because of their innate skill in sorting information.  They know which ideas are compelling enough to be worthy of writing.

Discussing a subject matter is just the beginning; the ghostwriter creates an outline subject to the thought leader’s approval or revision. The outline is a precursor to the first draft; without it, the writing job won’t have a “sense of direction.”

Ghostwriters are priced for their uncanny ability to emulate their clients’ voice and working with thought leaders is no exception.

However, the first draft produced in this partnership doesn’t aim at mimicking the client’s voice. Instead, it focuses on accurately interpreting the thought leader’s ideas; only then, after the client reviews the draft and ascertains that it correctly represents his thoughts will the process move on to the next phase.

The draft is subjected to revisions; the extent of revising the content depends on the topic’s difficulty. This is where the client (thought leader) and ghostwriter go back and forth until a final version is agreed upon.

It’s the ghostwriter’s job to produce a top-notch final draft. Since thought leadership content has a higher standard of quality, a responsible writer knows what it takes to up the ante, i.e., incorporate anecdotes, case studies, and examples.

There are times when the writer strongly emphasizes the need for an improved structure. The ghostwriter’s expertise gives him the right to insist on making changes to improve the content. Thought leaders who choose to hire a freelance writer won’t get this high level of writing proficiency.

The Wrap Up

Ghostwriting for thought leadership makes sense.

It may not be as mainstream as an author-ghost relationship, but we’ve proven in this article that it works. In fact, it’s an intriguing proposition for thought leaders out there who intend to spread their ideas and influence a particular demographic.