Your CEO has amazing insights. In customer calls and strategy meetings, they articulate perspectives that could genuinely shift how your market thinks. But when you ask them to write a LinkedIn post or article, you get: "I don't have time" or "I'm not a writer."
So the insights stay trapped in meetings instead of reaching customers, prospects, and the market.
This is where executive ghostwriting comes in. Done well, it captures executive insights and publishes them under their name without requiring hours of their time. Done poorly, it produces bland, generic content that sounds nothing like the executive and helps no one.
After ghostwriting hundreds of articles, posts, and presentations for executives across multiple companies, I've learned that effective ghostwriting isn't about imitating someone's writing style—it's about capturing how they think and translating it into compelling content.
Here's how to do it right.
Capture the Executive's Actual Voice
The #1 ghostwriting mistake: writing in your own voice and slapping the executive's name on it.
Readers can tell. It sounds stilted, inauthentic, corporate. The executive won't approve it because it doesn't sound like them. And even if they do approve it, it lacks the authentic perspective that makes executive thought leadership valuable.
How to capture authentic voice:
Listen to how they talk, not how they write. Most executives are better speakers than writers. Record sales calls, customer meetings, internal presentations, or strategy discussions (with permission). Note:
- Phrases they use repeatedly
- How they frame problems
- Stories and examples they reference
- Their level of formality/casualness
- Contrarian positions they take
Conduct structured interviews. Book 30 minutes with the executive specifically for content. Ask open-ended questions and let them talk. Don't interrupt to clarify—just let them flow. Record it.
Sample questions:
- "What's a common misconception in our industry that you think is wrong?"
- "What's the biggest mistake you see companies making when approaching [topic]?"
- "If you were advising someone on [topic], what would you tell them?"
- "What have you learned recently that changed how you think about [topic]?"
Transcribe and edit, don't rewrite. Take the transcript of their spoken insights and edit it into written form. You're cleaning up ums and ahs and adding structure, not replacing their words with yours.
Editing spoken content into written form produces more authentic voice than trying to "write how they would write."
Develop a Content Capture System
You can't ghostwrite effectively if you're always starting from scratch. Build a system to continuously capture executive insights.
Weekly or biweekly content calls (30 minutes):
Schedule recurring time with the executive specifically for content capture. Come with 3-5 questions based on current business priorities, market trends, or content gaps.
Record the call. You leave with raw material for 2-4 pieces of content.
Meeting note mining:
Ask to join (or record, with permission) key executive meetings:
- Customer advisory board calls
- Board presentations
- Sales QBRs
- Product strategy sessions
- Industry events where they speak
Mine these for insights that can become content. Executives often articulate their clearest thinking in high-stakes business contexts, not in content-specific interviews.
Email and Slack capture:
Great executive insights often appear in internal emails or Slack messages. When you see a particularly clear explanation or strong perspective, flag it: "This would make a great LinkedIn post—can I adapt it?"
Build a running doc of captured insights organized by theme. When you need content on a topic, you have raw material ready.
Structure Content for Executive Review Efficiency
Executives won't read drafts carefully. They're too busy. Optimize for fast review and approval.
Present first drafts in simple formats:
Don't send a perfectly formatted blog post. Send a Google Doc or Notion page with:
- Proposed headline
- Key argument in 2-3 sentences
- Main section headers
- Draft content
Make it easy to comment and suggest changes inline.
Include decision points explicitly:
Instead of "here's a draft, let me know what you think," ask specific questions:
- "Does this framing match your perspective?"
- "I used your example about [X], but is [Y] a better illustration?"
- "Are you comfortable being this direct about [competitor/industry practice]?"
Specific questions get faster responses than open-ended "review this."
Default to approval unless they object:
Frame reviews as: "I'll publish this on [date] unless you have changes." This shifts from requiring active approval to allowing passive approval.
Most executives will skim, confirm it sounds reasonable, and let it proceed. Requiring active approval creates delays.
Manage the Approval Dance
Even with efficient processes, exec approvals can stall. Here's how to keep things moving.
Set clear deadlines:
"I need your feedback by Thursday EOD so we can publish Monday" is much more effective than "let me know when you get a chance."
Executives prioritize based on deadlines. Give them one.
Send reminder escalations:
- Day 1: Send draft with deadline
- Day 3: "Friendly reminder, need feedback by EOD tomorrow"
- Day 5 (deadline): "Haven't heard back—assuming you're good with this. Publishing Monday unless I hear otherwise"
This escalation pattern respects their time while keeping content moving.
Know what requires exec review vs. what doesn't:
Not everything ghostwritten for an executive needs their approval.
Requires executive approval:
- Thought leadership articles under their byline
- Conference presentations
- Media interviews or quotes
- Controversial or contrarian positions
Doesn't require executive approval:
- Social media posts (you can share draft for input but publish based on your judgment)
- Newsletter updates
- Internal communications
The more you can publish without exec review, the faster you move.
Write Different Content Types Effectively
Different formats require different ghostwriting approaches.
LinkedIn posts (150-300 words):
Structure:
- Hook: Start with a provocative statement or surprising insight
- Context: 2-3 sentences of background
- Key insight: The main point
- Implication: Why this matters
- CTA or question to drive engagement
Keep it conversational. LinkedIn posts should read like the exec is talking directly to their network, not delivering a formal presentation.
Long-form articles (1200-1800 words):
Structure:
- Compelling opening that frames the problem
- Clear thesis or argument
- 3-5 supporting sections with evidence and examples
- Practical implications or recommendations
- Strong conclusion
These require more executive time to develop the argument, but can be broken into multiple shorter LinkedIn posts for broader distribution.
Presentations (10-30 slides):
Structure:
- Clear narrative arc (problem → solution → impact)
- Minimal text per slide (headline + 2-3 bullets maximum)
- Visual data and examples
- Actionable takeaways
Work closely with exec on outline and key messages before creating slides. Iterate on content, not design.
Media quotes (1-2 sentences):
Work with exec to develop 3-5 prepared quotes on common topics (company vision, industry trends, product launches). Keep these on file so when media requests come in, you have approved quotes ready to share.
Maintain Authenticity at Scale
As you produce more ghostwritten content, maintaining authentic voice becomes harder.
Red flags that you're losing authenticity:
- Content sounds generic and could be written by anyone
- Executive starts making significant edits to every draft
- Readers comment "this doesn't sound like you"
- You're recycling the same points repeatedly without new insights
How to stay authentic:
Refresh your understanding regularly. Voice evolves. Re-interview the executive quarterly to update your understanding of their current thinking and priorities.
Vary examples and stories. Don't use the same 2-3 anecdotes in every piece. Continuously collect new examples from customer conversations, company updates, and market observations.
Push for genuine insights, not rehashed conventional wisdom. If you find yourself writing "companies need to prioritize customer experience" or other obvious statements, push harder in interviews for genuine perspectives.
Let the executive's personality come through. If they're naturally funny, let humor show. If they're data-driven, lead with data. If they're contrarian, lean into that. Authenticity comes from letting their actual personality shape the content.
Measure Ghostwriting Effectiveness
How do you know if ghostwritten content is working?
Engagement metrics:
- LinkedIn post engagement (likes, comments, shares) compared to company account posts
- Article readership and time on page
- Inbound inquiries or opportunities citing executive content
Executive satisfaction:
- How often does exec proactively share ideas for content?
- How quickly do they approve drafts (faster approval = better voice capture)
- Do they actively promote published content?
Business impact:
- Speaking opportunities generated
- Media mentions and quotes
- Sales team feedback (are prospects mentioning exec's content?)
- Talent attraction (do candidates reference thought leadership?)
If executive content performs worse than company-authored content, you're not capturing authentic voice or valuable insights.
When Ghostwriting Works vs. Doesn't Work
Ghostwriting works when:
- Executive has genuine insights and perspectives worth sharing
- Executive is willing to invest minimal time (30-60 min/month) in content capture
- There's clear business value (thought leadership, category creation, demand generation)
- You have access to capture their authentic voice
Ghostwriting doesn't work when:
- Executive has no interest in thought leadership or public presence
- You're just putting exec's name on content to make it seem more important
- Executive rewrites every draft completely (just have them write it themselves)
- Content sounds corporate and generic no matter whose name is on it
The best executive ghostwriting becomes invisible—readers assume the executive wrote it themselves because it authentically captures how they think. That's the standard to aim for.