How Do You Ghostwrite For A CEO?

Ghostwriting for CEOs is a necessary part of business, especially in the social media age. CEOs, leaders, and founders need to be in almost constant communication with stakeholders.

Many of these CEOs are building their personal brand as thought leaders, and this requires not just social media content but also articles, opinion pieces, and sometimes books.

For most leaders this is more than they can handle, along with their regular duties. And that’s where the ghostwriter for CEOs comes in.

What ghostwriting for a CEO means

In simplest form, ghostwriting for a CEO means supporting executives behind-the-scenes by creating written content in the executive’s voice. The content might take the form of speeches and presentations, articles, newsletters, social media posts, and even books.

It’s no secret that many CEOs hire ghostwriters. Most CEOs don’t have the time, or the writing skills, to do what a professional writer can do.

However, employees, stakeholders, and others who follow the CEO trust that, even if that CEO is not writing the content directly, they are the one who is responsible for the  ideas, insights, and opinions being shared.

For this and other reasons, it’s important for a ghostwriter for a CEO to have a professional plan in place, one that will help the ghostwriter replicate the CEO’s tone and messaging and achieve their goals.

What a CEO ghostwriter does

A CEO ghostwriter wears many hats. They include content creator, social media monitor, creator,  responder, and author.

Writing articles, blog posts, newsletters, speeches, and books

Some ghostwriters write CEO-bylined articles and blog posts based on the CEO’s ideas and opinions. The ghostwriter may also be called upon to compose pieces in the CEO’s voice for private-newsletter networks such as Substack and/or write speeches for the business leader.

In addition, ghostwriters co-author most CEO memoirs. These books can serve as marketing tools, demonstrations of expertise, and thought-leadership platforms.

Creating social media content

Often, a ghostwriter will be put in charge of the executive’s social media channels. A skilled ghostwriter will be well-versed in  creating content for social media. This might include company news and updates, behind-the-scenes videos, announcements, insights, and opinions.

Engaging and building community

As anyone who spends any time on social media knows, it’s not enough to post content. If a user hopes to grow their base they need to also engage with followers, colleagues, and peers. Depending on the arrangement, a CEO ghostwriter may comment on other people’s posts, reply to comments left on the CEO’s account, and share other people’s content.

Employees, customers and clients, investors and shareholders, industry peers and thought leaders, media and journalists, government officials and regulators, community and nonprofit organizations, industry associations and groups, and brand advocates and influencers are among the many stakeholders with whom a ghostwriter will engage with behind-the-scenes on behalf of the CEO or business leader.

The CEO ghostwriter’s process

The CEO ghostwriter’s process begins with researching the company, the company’s industry, and the company’s CEO. The ghostwriter will also interview the CEO for additional information and to get a feel for the CEO’s personality.

If the company has a marketing team, it will likely get involved early in the process to provide strategic input. This will give direction to the ghostwriter in terms of the CEO’s personal brand and content goals.

One ghostwriter, interviewed at forbes.com, said that his process includes figuring out how to get the information from the CEO or organization. One suggestion is setting up a Dropbox or Google Drive account to share what the CEO has said in podcasts, panels, webinars, or media appearances.

The ghostwriter will then write the content, whether it’s social media posts, newsletter content, blog posts, or whatever else aligns with the CEO’s goals. The CEO or their team will review the content and provide feedback to the ghostwriter. The ghostwriter will then revise the materials and submit again. This process is repeated until the written work receives final approval from the CEO or someone on their team.

Another one of the CEO ghostwriter’s tasks is to provide support by publishing the content. This could be on a social media channel, on the company website, on a third-party site like Medium, or any number of other platforms.

Steps for CEO ghostwriting

Ghostwriting for CEOs can be divided into five steps: getting started; developing a relationship with the CEO; capturing their voice; developing a communications strategy; and analyzing results.

1. How to get started

Whether you are familiar with the industry, CEO, and company or not, there are several things you can do to that will help you get started.

• Research the company, the CEO, and the industry. Even if you think you know this, refreshing your memory or ensuring you are up-to-date will help with the work in the future.
• Identify the CEO’s style through existing written materials. Do they often use personal anecdotes or are they  the kind of person who likes to throw around a lot of statistics? Do they like to talk about industry trends or government regulations? Knowing this will give you a better handle on the CEO’s interests.
• Explore their online presence, including LinkedIn profiles, articles, and any available speeches or interviews. This will help you get to know the CEO so that you are better prepared to mimic their style.
• Attend industry events or conferences where CEOs may be present. Immerse yourself in their world to think like a CEO.
• Review the CEO’s activity on social media platforms. Often the CEO will show another, less formal side of themselves when X-ing or Instagramming.

2. How to develop a strong relationship with the CEO

Ghostwriters should develop a strong relationship with the CEO. This is for a number of reasons, including learning to emulate their voice and also to ensure that their content aligns with the company’s messaging strategy. Here are a few tips on getting to know your new client.

• Meet with them to discuss upcoming topics. The CEO and his or her team should have some idea of what they want you to write about—new products, the CEO’s opinion on an industry topic that’s in the news, company milestones, etc.
• Be on time and dependable. This should go without saying, but as Woody Allen once said, “Ninety percent of success is just showing up.”
• Get feedback and incorporate it into your work. The CEO will know when and how you’ve gotten your content—and their voice—right (or wrong).
• Shadow the CEO. If possible, spend a day or two with the CEO. You’ll see what their job entails, what kind of boss they are, and how the company works. You may also get a glimpse of how other employees regard the CEO.

3. How to capture the CEO’s voice

To create content that will reflect that leader’s brand and personality, the ghostwriter will have to capture the CEO’s unique voice, tone, and communication style. This requires a combination of research, observation, and effective communication.

• Study past writings, speeches, interviews, and any other available materials. This will help you understand the CEO’s communication style, tone, and interests.
• Conduct interviews. Arrange a formal interview or two and have regular conversations with the CEO to observe their conversational style, preferred expressions, and personality.
• Use audio or video recordings. If available, listen to audio recordings or watch video clips of the CEO speaking for additional cues that may not be apparent in written materials or through one-on-one interactions.
• Listen for industry jargon. Every industry has its own language and jargon, and the CEO will often fall into this way of speaking. Incorporate industry-specific terms and language into your articles and posts for more authenticity.
• Identify key messaging themes. Which ideas and messages keep coming up in conversations, interviews, and social media posts? Sometimes the CEO might not even be aware of recurring themes in their communications. The ghostwriter can recognize and incorporate them into their work.
• Look for personal anecdotes and insights. Learning and sharing the CEO’s stories, insights, and experiences contributes to authenticity and can help the ghostwriter capture the CEO’s unique voice.

4. How to develop a communications strategy

As one successful ghostwriter puts it, “True growth is always behind the scenes, and ghostwriting is the foundation on which all strong content-marketing strategies are built.”

For a ghostwriter to be effective, a strategy is necessary. Often the CEO and/or their team will identify key themes, topics, and events to be covered in written materials, aligning with broader business goals. The ghostwriter may be asked to contribute to the strategy and also to help determine the best methods and practices for achieving these goals.

Let’s take the example of a thought leadership strategy. This means sharing the CEO’s expertise in ways that will establish them as an authority and build their credibility within their respective industry.

An experienced ghostwriter will know the best ways of doing this—for example, a social media campaign augmented with ghostwritten articles aimed at well-known magazines or industry journals.

The social media campaign might include posting weekly updates about a particular topic that the leader or their company is invested in, followed by engaging with their followers about the topic on social media. If the leader is heading an AI company, for example, the ghostwriter will stay current on developments in this fast-moving industry. Together, the CEO and ghostwriter can brainstorm ideas for articles, which the ghostwriter then writes, revises, and submits for publication, perhaps on a sharing platform like Medium or a business publication like Fast Company.

Ghostwriters also work with CEOs to ensure that the written content aligns with the company’s messaging to reinforce key brand messages and values.

5. How to analyze your effectiveness as a ghostwriter for CEOs

Some results of a CEO-ghostwriter collaboration are easy to quantify. Did the article get accepted into the Wall Street Journal or Forbes? If so, what kind of response did it get? Did a lot of readers leave comments and, if so, what was the consensus? Did Warren Buffett decide to invest? Is Ben Affleck in talks to play the CEO based on the book you co-authored?

Other results are more abstract. A ghostwriter for a CEO will parse social media analytics, for instance, to determine if the campaign is achieving its goals—reaching the people that the CEO wants to reach, being part of a conversation, getting the desired response.

Benefits of CEO ghostwriting

Ghostwriting for a CEO or company can offer several benefits. Here are a few.

Tactical and practical benefits

Most CEOs are far too busy running their companies to have time to do social media effectively, never mind write speeches, articles, or Substack newsletters. Outsourcing these tasks becomes a huge time-saver for the busy executive who wants to maintain a public profile, grow their personal brand, and be viewed as a thought leader.

CEO ghostwriters also take a personalized approach. They get to know the CEO and learn to mimic their voice so that the materials they produce are in the CEO’s voice and authentic.

In addition, the experienced CEO ghostwriter will have the flexibility to adapt an idea, announcement, story, video, or other content to a variety of formats. For example, if a CEO has an opinion on new government regulations for his or her industry, the ghostwriter will know how to present this opinion in a LinkedIn post, a newspaper opinion piece, and a company website blog post.

The CEO ghostwriter also offers consistent and quality content. They will ensure that all content that they produce—and even some that they don’t—reaches a certain level of professionalism and maintains a specific tone of voice across all platforms.

Strategic benefits

Hiring a ghostwriter also has strategic benefits.

The ghostwriter will work to showcase the CEO’s expertise. Through presenting the CEO’s skills and knowledge on various platforms, a portrait of the CEO as a thought leader will emerge. Both CEO and their company will gain more attention and acknowledgement from the media, colleagues and peers, stakeholders, and the general public.

The ghostwriter will also ensure that the CEO has a consistent online presence. This is an important factor in building a brand because business feeds on generating engagement.

According to a 2022 Salesforce survey, 85% of consumers conduct research before they make a purchase online, and among the most used channels for research are websites (74%) and social media (38%). Hiring a ghostwriter will ensure that the CEO’s company is top-of-mind for consumers.

Another benefit of hiring a ghostwriter is brand enhancement. Ghostwriters are able to craft compelling stories. By sharing the CEO’s personal and professional journey, successes, and challenges in narratives, the ghostwriter humanizes the CEO and their brand by connecting with audiences on a deeper level than just business.

PR/optics benefits

Reputation management is one of the most important factors in growing a personal brand. In today’s digital age, information spreads like wildfire through online channels. Through their work in the CEO’s voice, ghostwriters can monitor, shape, and maintain the leader’s positive reputation in the eyes of the public, customers, stakeholders, and the broader community.

If and when a crisis occurs, the CEO ghostwriter can address the crisis with official statements, updates, and responses to inquiries. They can also monitor and respond to the crisis on social media channels to mitigate damage.

Legalities and ethics of ghostwriting for a CEO

Ghostwriting for a CEO involves ethical considerations. In many contexts, audiences understand that a CEO receives support in crafting speeches and written materials. That said, the ideas and messaging should come from the executive and the executive should approve all content created in their voice. Discerning audiences will recognize “bad” ghostwriting when they see it — in other words, hastily written content with minimal strategic or tactical input from the CEO.

The onus is on the ghostwriter to capture the voice of the CEO and understand their values and communication style. The ghostwriter should also be committed to upholding the CEO’s integrity and reputation by aligning content with the CEO’s personal and professional values.

The responsible ghostwriter will also avoid misrepresenting the CEO’s qualifications, achievements, and capabilities.

Ghostwriting for CEOs is a particular and valued skillset. It’s not just about writing; it’s about listening, communicating, strategizing, researching, and much more.

When deciding on ghostwriting for a CEO, consider your options. One option is to hire a full-service agency with experienced ghostwriters. By hiring an agency, you are are assured of professional, qualified writers with the experience and skills necessary to effectively ghostwrite for a CEO.

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