Jennifer Ibhafidon’s Post

You're about to fire your ghostwriter. You've done it before. Different writer... Same result. At what point does the pattern become the problem? That question is uncomfortable. It's supposed to be. Because the founders who ask it... are the ones who finally stop changing writers and start actually fixing the problem. Before you send that message. Before you start another search. Here are 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 questions. Answer them honestly. 1. Are you actually showing up? Ghostwriting is not a subscription you set and forget. If your writer is working from a monthly brief and two weeks of silence... the content will reflect that. Empty input. Empty output. Every time. 2. Is your feedback specific? "This doesn't sound like me" has ended more ghostwriting relationships than bad writing ever has. It tells the writer nothing. It changes nothing. And it happens again next month. "I will never use leverage as a verb. I'd lead with the failure before the lesson." That is feedback. That is something a writer can actually use. The difference between those two responses is the difference between a relationship that moves onand one that slowly dies. 3. Is this a content problem or a positioning problem? Say in one sentence what you uniquely believe and exactly who it helps. If you can't, no writer can save you. Not this one. Not the next one. Writers amplify positioning. They don't create it. That part was always your job. 4. Have you given it enough time? Ninety days feels long when you're paying monthly. In thought leadership terms, it's barely a start. Six months of consistent, specific content will outperform two years of irregular perfect posts. The founders who understand the truth stop measuring by the month. They start measuring by the body of work. Replace the writer last. After the brief. After the feedback. After the positioning. After the time. Most founders who work through these four questions arrive at the same quiet realisation. The writer was never the problem. The most expensive mistake is not hiring the wrong ghostwriter. It is what founders do. And once they see that, everything about the way they work changes. That is exactly where we end this series tomorrow. What thought leadership is and why the founders who figure it out stop chasing writers entirely.

How do you build confidence as a NEW ghostwriter? It's normal that you feel all the doubts in the entire world when you're about to begin. But let me give this to you in a simple way: you can build that confidence if you stop waiting to "feel ready." That’s where you've been stuck. You think confidence comes first, then pitching, charging properly, or taking clients seriously. But confidence usually works the other way around. It is built through action. So, here is what can help you: 1️⃣ Start before you feel ready. If you think a magical moment where you suddenly feel qualified will come, it won't. You build confidence by doing the work while feeling uncertain. 2️⃣ Create proof of skill. This means you need to write sample posts, rewrite weak content or build a small portfolio. Nothing boosts confidence faster like seeing evidence that you can actually do the job. 3️⃣ Stop comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle. Many new ghostwriters lose confidence because they compare themselves to people who have years of experience. You don't have the same access as them so focus on progress, not comparison. 4️⃣ Keep improving your craft. As a ghostwriter, you can't rest. You have to learn everyday. The more competent you become, the less shaky confidence feels. Study writing, storytelling, & how people receive it. At the end of the day, you get to build confidence by showing up, learning, & consistently doing the work. P.S. If you’re new to ghostwriting, what part are you struggling with first? Your skill, clients, or believing in yourself? (Even if you're not a ghostwriter...👀. If you're struggling with none, scream chante Hallelujah!!! in the comments)

There are ghostwriters who write for you. And there are ghostwriters who write as you. And trust me, they are not the same. And most people don’t find out the difference until they’ve already paid for the wrong one. Because a good ghostwriter will take your brief and deliver something clean. Structured. Readable. Competent. You’ll post it. It’ll do fine. And you’ll never quite be able to put your finger on why it felt a little… off. A great ghostwriter doesn’t start with the brief. They start with you. The way you pause before you make a point. The words you reach for when you’re not thinking out loud. The story you told three times in the last hour without realising it. That story? That’s the post. I’ve had clients read something I wrote and go quiet for a second. Not because it was impressive. Because it was familiar. Like hearing a recording of your own voice and thinking … wait ! That’s actually me. That moment is what I work for. Not the likes. Not the impressions. Not the engagement rate. That moment of recognition. Because anyone can put words on a page. But making someone feel seen in their own voice ? That’s not ghostwriting. That’s something else entirely. P.S: Have you ever read something and thought “I couldn’t have said it better myself” even though someone else wrote it? ♻️ Repost for every executive sitting on a story that deserves to be told.

So, what does working with a ghostwriter actually look like? When you're in the ghostwriting bubble, reading posts from fellow ghostwriters all day, it's easy to think that everyone knows what we do. But it turns out that's not the case at all. So this is what working with me looks like: It starts with a call. This usually turns into something more like a free consulation, but the aim is to work out whether we're the right fit. If we are, we move to the next stage. The interview. I hold 60-90 minute interviews with my clients once a month. These are fairly casual, recorded chats, where I'll ask you questions to help get the thoughts out of your head. Or you'll just tell me what you want to post about during the month. Everyone has a different take. You might have ideas that come up during the week, in which case you can send them over or record voice messages, and I'll adapt them into your posting schedule. The end result is a transcript that I will use to create 12-20 posts per month in your voice. Posting. Finally, you check the content to give it the go ahead or ask for edits, and it all gets scheduled in. I can do this for you. Then it all starts again the next month. So, if you're in the climate or sustainability space and you're wondering whether a ghostwriter can help, send over a DM and let's chat.

Nobody hires a ghostwriter for writing. They hire them for clarity. Because most people don’t have a content problem. They have a thinking problem. You see it immediately. Long drafts. No point. Five ideas fighting for attention. A beginner tries to fix it with better words. A real ghostwriter deletes 80% of it and finds the one line that actually matters. That’s the job. Not adding. Deciding. What stays. What goes. What’s sharp enough to stand on its own. Because good content sounds nice. Clear thinking spreads.

A ghostwriter doesn't write your book. They extract it. Here's the difference and why it matters. 👇 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. Most founders assume ghostwriting means handing a blank page to someone and saying "make something up about me." That's not how it works. 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀. Your 10, 15, 20 years of hard-earned expertise is already sitting inside you. It doesn't need to be invented. It needs to be structured. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. At DigiMasterz, we sit with founders and ask the right questions. We pull out the frameworks you use every day without realizing they're frameworks. The stories you've told in pitch rooms. The lessons from your worst failures. That's the book. 𝗔 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲. Your rhythm. Your metaphors. The way you explain a complex idea to a room full of skeptics. Not their voice. Yours. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁? A book that sounds exactly like you just better organized and more compelling than anything you'd produce alone under pressure. Readers finish it and say: "That's exactly how they think." If you've been sitting on a book idea for more than 6 months, the knowledge isn't the problem. The structure is. DM us the word AUTHOR and we'll show you how fast this process actually moves.

Most founders who reach out to me have already tried a ghostwriter. It didn't work, and they assume the issue was the writer. Sometimes it was. Usually it wasn't. A ghostwriter takes your thinking and turns it into posts. If nobody has decided what you're thinking about, who you're thinking for, and what should happen after someone reads it, there is nothing for the ghostwriter to turn into anything. You just get well-written posts about slightly different topics every week, and eventually everyone loses interest, including you. I end up having this conversation a lot. So if your content "isn't working," the first question worth asking is whether anyone ever actually designed the content to work in a specific direction. That's a different role than the one you hired for.

How much does it cost to hire a ghostwriter? The honest answer is: it depends. But hold on, I don't mean it in the usual way people say. It depends on what you're actually paying for and how much you're willing to invest. Because you're not just paying for your posts to be written, you’re paying for: ▪︎ Thinking (not just typing) ▪︎ Positioning (how you want to be seen) ▪︎ Voice development (how you sound online) ▪︎ Strategy (what you should say & what you shouldn’t) So pricing changes based on depth. Here’s the simple breakdown: 1️⃣ Low-cost ghostwriters You’re mostly paying for output. They can write but they usually don’t shape strategy or voice deeply. Good for volume but not too great for identity or positioning. I highly recommend them if you don't want to invest. 2️⃣ Mid-range ghostwriters You’re paying for writing + some thinking. They help you sound better and more consistent online. This is where most professionals sit. 3️⃣ High-level ghostwriters You’re paying for thinking, positioning, and clarity. They don’t just write what you say. They help you figure out what to say, how to say it, & what will actually move your audience This is less "content service" & more "communication strategy." So when people ask, "How much does a ghostwriter cost?" Better questions are: "What level of thinking do I need behind my content? What is the result I really want to see after the job is done?" If it's a high quality result, then you know you wouldn't be spending less. Cheap writing can give you posts but strategic ghostwriting gives you positioning. And that’s what actually builds the authority you need.

Here are 4 questions to ask a ghostwriter you are thinking about working with.  1. How do you plan to use this project in your portfolio? Ghostwriters are in the tricky situation of needing to attract clients, but sometimes not being able to take any credit for the work we do. Therefore, we often have to share portfolio pieces privately with prospects, if we can at all.  If you want your ghostwriter to remain fully anonymous, you will want to check how they share their work with prospects. (Like, is there an NDA involved?) And if you don’t want your project to be shared, it behooves you to make sure that is in your contract. Note that it could be a dealbreaker for the ghostwriter, though.  2. What interests you about this industry/fiction genre? Having experience writing about a certain industry or in a specific fiction genre can obviously be helpful, but it’s not necessary. What is necessary, in my opinion, is an interest in said industry or genre. The more interest you have in something, the easier it is to write about it. At least that’s been my experience. I’m one of those fortunate people who love learning about virtually anything. Life is so varied and learning is a gift we all have the ability to take advantage of, so why not learn about something? 3. What is your research and writing process? You want to make sure your ghostwriter’s process matches up with what you envision when working with them. Sometimes ghostwriters like to have structure and plan meetings in advance (that’s me) while others may be more open to impromptu phone calls whenever you feel inspired to chat. You’ll also want to ask what they charge for these impromptu calls/meetings. They aren’t free.  Discussing how they perform their research will also give you insights into their process. You may want to talk about the sources they use and how they cite those sources, or where they plan to get information from concerning something specific. It definitely helps to work with somebody who’s in sync with your working style. So spend a little bit of time with your prospective ghostwriter finding out how they work to assess whether it’s something that you would feel comfortable with. 4. What do you require in a ghostwriting brief? A lot of ghostwriters will have their own templates for briefs, but even if they don’t, they should be able to give you a rundown of what they prefer to see in a brief. This will act as a guide or set of instructions for the ghostwriter to follow to be able to do the best job possible on your project.  Note that this isn’t the same as an outline for the book or other project you’re writing. A brief summarizes the info you want to include while an outline gives structure to that information. Your ghostwriter will likely work with you to create an outline for your project if you don’t already have one to give them. If you have an idea for a book, email me at contact@robswystun.com. Thought leadership, business, entrepreneurialism or fiction

Here are 4 questions to ask a ghostwriter you are thinking about working with.  1. How do you plan to use this project in your portfolio? Ghostwriters are in the tricky situation of needing to attract clients, but sometimes not being able to take any credit for the work we do. Therefore, we often have to share portfolio pieces privately with prospects, if we can at all.  If you want your ghostwriter to remain fully anonymous, you will want to check how they share their work with prospects. (Like, is there an NDA involved?) And if you don’t want your project to be shared, it behooves you to make sure that is in your contract. Note that it could be a dealbreaker for the ghostwriter, though.  2. What interests you about this industry/fiction genre? Having experience writing about a certain industry or in a specific fiction genre can obviously be helpful, but it’s not necessary. What is necessary, in my opinion, is an interest in said industry or genre. The more interest you have in something, the easier it is to write about it. At least that’s been my experience. I’m one of those fortunate people who love learning about virtually anything. Life is so varied and learning is a gift we all have the ability to take advantage of, so why not learn about something? 3. What is your research and writing process? You want to make sure your ghostwriter’s process matches up with what you envision when working with them. Sometimes ghostwriters like to have structure and plan meetings in advance (that’s me) while others may be more open to impromptu phone calls whenever you feel inspired to chat. You’ll also want to ask what they charge for these impromptu calls/meetings. They aren’t free.  Discussing how they perform their research will also give you insights into their process. You may want to talk about the sources they use and how they cite those sources, or where they plan to get information from concerning something specific. It definitely helps to work with somebody who’s in sync with your working style. So spend a little bit of time with your prospective ghostwriter finding out how they work to assess whether it’s something that you would feel comfortable with. 4. What do you require in a ghostwriting brief? A lot of ghostwriters will have their own templates for briefs, but even if they don’t, they should be able to give you a rundown of what they prefer to see in a brief. This will act as a guide or set of instructions for the ghostwriter to follow to be able to do the best job possible on your project.  Note that this isn’t the same as an outline for the book or other project you’re writing. A brief summarizes the info you want to include while an outline gives structure to that information. Your ghostwriter will likely work with you to create an outline for your project if you don’t already have one to give them. If you have an idea for a book, email me at contact@robswystun.com. Thought leadership, business, entrepreneurialism or fiction