In a shrinking world where everyone’s connected by social networks and attention spans are at an all-time low, standing out in your professional domain is trickier than ever. Even in niche fields, you’re likely one of thousands trying to win over the people who matter.
Building up a portfolio of thought leadership content is more than just a nice-to-have; it’s practically the cost of entry these days. But it’s hard to do consistently—as the graveyard of abandoned blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels out there can attest.
You see, being a thought leader isn't just about showing people that you know your stuff.
You also have to share that knowledge in ways that genuinely resonate with your audience. And with so many options to choose from, people simply aren’t going to settle for clunky prose or lacklustre delivery.
It’s no longer enough to be a subject-matter expert, or even an excellent educator. You have to be a world-class writer and speaker, too.
To that end, allow us to introduce you to the best ally a thought leader can have: a good ghostwriter.
What is a ghostwriter, and what does a ghostwriter do?
A common misconception about ghostwriting is that you’re getting someone else to do all the hard work so you can take all the credit for yourself.
That can certainly be true in some cases—many celebrity memoirs, for example. But “ghostwriting” is really a catch-all term that describes outsourcing varying levels of support for producing written content. Your writer is your behind-the-scenes collaborator, your ace in the hole. They can take on arduous research and fact-checking tasks. They can translate your expertise and perspective in a way that will resonate with your key audience. They can take your writing from a rough draft to a polished final product.
Exactly which tasks your writer will handle is a matter of your preferences, your skill set and the time you have available to invest. Some writers only want to execute on the instructions they’re given. Others are happy to help with messaging and overall communications strategy, to provide a sounding board for new ideas, or to help you schedule, promote and publish content in a way that moves you towards your goals.
Find a groove that best fits you and your ghostwriter
Work with a particular writer long enough, and you’ll find yourself developing a preferred arrangement semi-organically—a “groove,” if you will. This might look like a cycle of long-form interviews, after which you allow your writer creative license to develop the piece according to your strategic goals. Or you might prefer to draft detailed specifications up front for them to execute. This isn’t an arrangement that’s set in stone, either—maybe you’d prefer to be more hands-on for specialized projects and more hands-off for higher-level topics.
Collaborative models will also vary: some writers prefer the per-project structure of a gig economy, others like to develop ongoing retainers with their clients, and still others strive to be full-time, in-house workers
Whether you’re looking to take your first steps into thought leadership or scale up your efforts, working with a ghostwriter is a great way to amplify your capabilities…. and your output.
Time, talent, technique: how great ghostwriters bring value to the table
Writing copy—that’s writerly jargon for “persuasive written content”—is hard. Writing good copy is harder; it’s a product of expertise, experience, collaboration, diligence, and, of course, a decent amount of talent.
A talented ghostwriter brings value to the table through the following:
Saving you time
Producing a regular stream of thought-leadership content isn’t just about expertise. Most folks with the chops to create quality thought leadership have expertise in spades. Here's the problem: to be an expert in your field demands time and dedication, leaving you with little left over to put into content creation and marketing strategy. Try to do both alone, and you’ll probably find yourself cramming your research, drafting and revisions into the few spare moments you have here and there—meaning the quality of your writing will suffer. Or you’ll end up neglecting your professional commitments to get these tasks done. A ghostwriter can almost double your capacity by taking over the writing you want to do, and probably doing it more quickly to boot.
Freeing you to prioritize the parts of thought leadership (and/or content production) you enjoy and are good at
It doesn’t take long for thought leaders to realize that delegating content production to a writer makes the whole thought leadership process easier—and more enjoyable. Even leaders who love to write might not relish the frustration of outlining, the drudgery of fact-checking or the demands of editing. Nothing kills a creative project faster than losing steam midway. Leaving the “boring parts” (which writers are often ecstatic about) to a capable pair of hands is one of the best ways of making sure you stay passionate about your professional pursuits.
Centring the reader experience
There’s a danger in knowing too much: you lose sight of the forest for the trees. Often, as a domain expert building out thought leadership, you no longer know what others don’t know. Discussing fine technical details with a fellow virtuoso is exhilarating, but a novice looking to upskill is going to get lost. If you’re looking to target these newcomers with your content, you need an objective third party who can skillfully balance expertise with accessibility. Professional writers are obsessively concerned with how the target audience will interact with the final piece. Is there enough context to support the central point? Is this the right length for the goals of the piece? Is the flow clear and logical? Is the language easy to understand? Even if you are looking to target fellow experts, a writer with specialized experience in your field can help you refine your work by surfacing counterarguments to address and alternate perspectives to include. A ghostwriter will advocate for your audience and work with you to make your content project more impactful for them.
Developing a voice that’s truly yours
A lot of thought leaders find their content efforts go nowhere because, unfortunately, they don’t know how to write to sell (or convince, or entertain, or educate). Engaging speech, when detached from intonation, body language, and interactive elements, doesn’t translate into engaging writing. Too often, the go-to tone for business writing is vaguely academic—detached, inoffensive and dry, or else laden with industry jargon. At the heart of the ghostwriting craft is the ability to create a voice and tone that will reflect your identity and values without compromising your message. You only need to think about the “what”—your writer will handle the “how” so that your writing rings true to both your readers’ wants and your own mission.
How to find and engage a ghostwriter
Okay, you’re convinced: a ghostwriter is just the thing you need to reach your next professional goal. Where do you find one?
Though it is possible to find talent on gig sites like Upwork and Fiverr, it takes time and effort (you know, those things you’re short on) to identify skilled, experienced writers. This is especially true if your thought content will be highly specialized or deeply technical—in this case, we strongly recommend you look for a writer dedicated to your particular niche. A sound strategy is to ask a trusted peer for a referral to a writer they’ve enjoyed working with. You can also shop around online for the match of your content creation dreams: solopreneur writers do invest in establishing a digital presence and portfolio.
But if all that fails, there’s always the tried-and-true networking. At Community & Company, we’ve developed an extensive network of partnerships with exceptional creatives, and we back up our content creation expertise with proven go-to-market strategy and implementation support.
If you’re interested in working with an experienced partner to enhance your content marketing efforts, give us a call and let’s talk.
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