How to Collaborate with Ghostwriters

I've ghostwritten for the same climate tech CEO for 20+ months. Last week, he told me my questions had become useless. He was right. For the first 12-14 months, every weekly call produced gold. I'd ask about customer stories, product updates, market reactions — and he'd give me frameworks, contrarian takes, and insights I couldn't find anywhere else. 350+ posts later, I noticed a change. His answers started getting shorter. Fewer details. I'd ask about a new customer and he'd say "it's the same story, you can make it up.” I kept pushing. Better questions. Different angles. It didn't help. Then last week, he said it directly: "Your questions don't uncover more depth. They feel repetitive." And he was right. I’ve hit the ceiling with my question bank and was going out of my way to be ‘creative’ and uncover ‘novel’ angles. That wasn’t working. So now we're rebuilding the system: → I double down on research. Industry data, policy shifts, market examples. → I draft the angles and bring them as finished concepts instead of questions. → His role shifts from answering questions to correcting my framing. → The calls go from weekly to bi-weekly. Shorter. More focused. I'm betting his corrections and disagreements will produce better content than my questions in the last 1-2 months did. We're testing it now. I don't know if it'll work yet. But it got me thinking: The best ghostwriting relationships aren't static. The system that works at month 3 might break at month 15. If it does, it’s a signal that your content partner has absorbed enough context to operate differently. And that’s ok. — PS. If you're talking to a ghostwriter, ask them for examples of how their process has evolved when working with clients for over a year. This will give you a good idea whether they are someone who can adapt to you or if they are too rigid.

An overlooked truth about personal branding: You can outsource the work, but you can’t outsource your actual voice. And yet… this is the mistake founders make the most. They hire someone, then step back completely. You wouldn’t have someone join a Zoom call with your profile picture, speaking on your behalf 😅 After 7+ years building personal brands, here's an approach that works: 📌 The 10/80/10 Model - 10% at the start: Your voice (Calls, interviews, voice notes - capture your actual thoughts & stories) - 80% in the middle: The heavy lifting (Drafts, transcription, editing, design - all things you can outsource) - 10% at the end: Your seasoning (The unique details, examples & final touches only you can add) You need to write or record your thoughts throughout the week to have enough Source Material. That’s your role - then a team can support you. The ghostwriting industry gets this backwards. They promise to BE you instead of helping you be MORE of you. If not, it can damage your account and reputation long-term. The whole point is to share your voice online. Your personal brand is too important to fake. But it's also too important to do everything yourself. Own the beginning. Own the end. Outsource the middle. That’s how you protect your time and gain leverage.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻." That’s what I told a client a month ago and it changed everything. They came to me frustrated, overwhelmed, and honestly, a bit lost. They had a writer, 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. Content was going out. But it was lifeless. No engagement. No traffic. No spark. When I asked about their process monthly strategy syncs, voice alignment, narrative goals they just shrugged. “There are none. I just hired a writer to write stuff for me.” That’s the moment I had to say it, bluntly: “𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲. If you’re not showing up with your voice, no one else can fake it for you.” Here’s the reality most people forget about ghostwriting: 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀. We can write in your voice , but only if you give us that voice. We can reflect your brand , but only if you reveal your brand to us. We can turn your story into engaging content, but only if you share the story. That client had amazing wins launches, travels, insights , but they weren’t showing up for their own narrative. No calls. No feedback. No clarity. And then they wondered why it wasn’t working. So we reset.  We started having real conversations. They began showing up not with polished pitches,  but real human stories, raw ideas, and imperfect voice notes. Suddenly, the content started to breathe. Engagement tripled. Traffic doubled. Leads flowed in. And for the first time, their audience actually saw them. So what both sides need to understand: 👉 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁: You’re not outsourcing a task. You’re inviting a creative partner into your brand’s soul. Be involved. Give clarity. Share stories. Your ghostwriter can write for you, but not without you. 👉 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿: Don’t accept gigs where the client wants a shortcut. Push for conversations, context, and collaboration. If they want results, they need to show up too. Great content is not a solo act. It’s a co-creation. The writer amplifies the signal. The client provides the frequency. So, before you hire a ghostwriter or a content partner, Ask yourself: Are you ready to show up for your brand? 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗼-𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆.

In the last two weeks, I spent ~5 hours interviewing successful ghostwriters (whose content you've 100% seen) about their workflows and AI use. Here's what I found: 1. Info Gathering Everyone still relies on client interviews (often weekly to monthly calls, recorded) combined with reviewing existing client content like podcasts, blogs, and videos. Very few switch to async (no interviews) mostly or entirely months down the line, when they feel like they have their clients' voice and targeting locked in. 2. In-Interview Workflow Two ghostwriters I talked to type detailed notes during the call to maintain focus and capture compelling hooks. Most prioritize active listening, relying on recordings, transcripts, or AI summaries generated during/after for content extraction. 3. Drafting Some feed transcripts into AI (Claude/ChatGPT) using detailed prompts (incorporating client info) for initial drafts, followed by often significant human editing. Others use AI more for brainstorming options, outlining, or breaking writer's block with a rough first draft. Only one ghostwriter I interviewed manually listens to the recording while writing. Most DO NOT write posts without AI. One writes without AI entirely. A couple alternate between AI and manual crafting. The two main reasons cited for writing without AI: avoiding skill atrophy and maintaining authenticity. 4. Tech & Challenges Almost everyone prefers Claude to ChatGPT, and 3.5(the older, October-released version) vs. 3.7, whose writing is stiffer. The biggest complaints, in order of importance, are: hallucinations, ignoring instructions, the context limits of project knowledge bases, and having to context switch a lot from app to app. 5. The Human Element Despite AI, the most important tasks are firmly human-owned: • Strategic thinking & identifying unique angles aligned with client goals. • Capturing authentic voice & nuance (sometimes by re-listening to recordings—catching subtleties transcripts miss). • Heavy editing, fact-checking, and copyediting AI output to avoid that wooden AI-generated feel and for accuracy. In other words, humans still own strategic insight, authentic voice, and quality control. At least for now... P.S. I'll be interviewing many more ghostwriters in the coming months (not surprising, given I'm building an app to solve for all of these problems). So if there's any data I'm missed and you're curious about, let me know in the comments so I can start asking in future interviews.

90% of “LinkedIn ghostwriters” are terrible Here are 4 signs you are hiring the right one: I’ve been ghostwriting Twitter and LinkedIn content for over 3 years now Resulting in $75k added and 1.3M followers generated. My agency currently works with multiple 7-figure founders - you can trust me with exactly what you should see in a ghostwriter 1 → Interview The ghostwriter will conduct a 1-2 hour interview call or have a hyper-detailed questionnaire you will fill out This is how ghostwriters should get their info about you as a client and your business. The discussion or questionnaire should cover: - Your story - Your business or offer - Your preferred writing style - Your business processes - ICP / ICP pain points - etc This information will be crucial for crafting content that authentically represents the your voice. The ghostwriter will also request pictures, visuals, or links to relevant resources during this stage as they will increase engagement by up to double. If your ghostwriter isn't doing this… your content is going to be generic - or worse stolen. 2 → Content Creation The ghostwriter will develop content that address the pain points of the your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) while highlighting your business’s results. These posts should be designed to be high-value, aimed at driving leads directly to the your DMs or site. The content approval process should be easily accessible and streamlined. If content is given to you on a google doc… yeah not good. I use a super simple notion system that has a 1 click content review system. Your ghostwriter should have something similar You must also make sure your ghostwriter has an approval process as many will just post without getting your approval. 3 → Scheduling Beyond creating content, the ghostwriter should also handle the scheduling of each post. This ensures that all posts are published at optimal times when your audience is most active, Making content review the only thing on your plate (and responding to DMs) 4 → Lead List As the content begins to convert followers, the ghostwriter should do 1 of 2 things… 1- Have a lead list built out 2- Have a DM system for outreach A lead list built out is where your ghostwriter reviews the new followers and puts the qualified ones into a list for you to DM A DM system is where the ghostwriter sends outreach messages to qualified followers and others. The ghostwriter should qualify followers by: - Reading their bios - Analyzing their posts - Checking out their websites And those are the 4 things you MUST see in your ghostwriter (or you should fire them)

A prospect asked me last week: "What if the content doesn't sound like me?" This is fair, and we get this a lot. Your LinkedIn is your name, your face, your reputation. Handing that to a stranger feels risky. In this case, I sent him directly to the account of a client with a rather large following (yes I asked his permission). I told the prospect: "Let me know if you can tell which posts are us and which are him." He couldn't tell. Which is, in fact, the whole point. Ghostwriting isn't supposed to sound like ghostwriting. At most, it should make your friends suspicious that you've hired someone on. But that's about it. This is why we don't "invent" content from thin air and hand it to you. We EXTRACT content from you. Every engagement starts with a 60-minute interview where we dig into how you actually think. We need a thorough grasp of your opinions, your stories, and the way you explain things plainly when you're not in a business or work scenario per se. Then, we need as many assets as you can possibly hand over. Case studies, Drive links Dropbox, Canva. Anything you have with some sort of potential to be useful for content -- we get inside it. We then go LINE BY LINE through all this stuff to squeeze out every single drop of usable content ammunition. And if a post doesn't sound like something you'd say, it doesn't go out. (An incredibly slick approval process helps this tremendously -- though we don't have a lot of edits or revisions, clients still appreciate being able to glance through what we've written in an easy-to-use interface.) The best compliment I ever got from a client was "these sound the way my posts sound in my head before I go and butcher them". 🤣