GLOSSARY · GHOSTWRITING
Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting is writing content that is published under someone else's name with their knowledge and approval. On LinkedIn it usually means a writer producing posts, articles or newsletters for a founder, executive or specialist, drawing on interviews, notes and the person's own past writing. The named person supplies the ideas, experience and final sign-off; the ghostwriter supplies structure, drafting and consistency. The practice is long established in books and speeches. It is legitimate when the opinions are genuinely the named person's, and it becomes a problem when a writer invents experiences or positions the person does not hold.
How it works in practice
A ghostwriting engagement for LinkedIn typically runs on a weekly loop. The writer collects raw material: a recorded conversation, voice notes, a Slack channel of half-formed thoughts, old posts and talks. They draft against a voice guide so the result sounds like the person, not like the writer. The person reviews, corrects facts, adds detail only they could know, and approves. Then the content is scheduled and the writer may also help with comments and distribution. Good ghostwriting is closer to editing than to invention. The writer's skill is pulling out what the person actually thinks and shaping it so a stranger understands it in a feed.
The person's job is to show up with opinions and to read every draft before it goes out, because their name is on it. Two boundaries matter. First, do not fabricate: no invented customer stories, no statistics without a source, no positions the person has not taken. Second, be clear internally about who approves what, so a post is never published that the named person has not seen. Disclosure of ghostwriting is a judgement call, and norms vary; what is not acceptable is content that claims first-hand experience the person did not have. Done well, ghostwriting lets a busy operator publish consistently while remaining accountable for every word.
Example
A ghostwriter interviews a logistics founder for 30 minutes on Thursday, drafts three posts by Monday against the founder's voice guide, and the founder spends 20 minutes editing in specifics before approving them for the week.
Common mistake
Letting the ghostwriter publish without review. The first time a reader asks a follow-up question the founder cannot answer, or a detail turns out to be wrong, the credibility the programme was meant to build is gone.