Ghostwriting is writing produced by one person and published under someone else’s name, with the real writer uncredited. In business it usually means a founder’s blog posts, a partner’s LinkedIn articles, a speech, a book or an opinion piece for a trade publication, drafted by a professional writer from the named person’s knowledge and ideas.
How ghostwriting works
The ghostwriter’s job is to capture what the named author knows and how they sound, then turn it into finished prose faster than the author could. A typical arrangement runs like this:
- Gathering material. A recorded interview, voice notes, past talks, emails or a rough outline from the author.
- Learning the voice. The writer studies how the author speaks and writes: phrases they use, opinions they hold, words they would never say.
- Drafting. The writer produces a draft built from the author’s points and examples, not from general research alone.
- Review and sign-off. The author corrects anything that is wrong, adds detail only they could know and approves the final version.
The last step is the one that matters most. Ghostwriting is a legitimate service when the ideas and experience belong to the named author and they have read and stand behind every word. It becomes a problem when the named person has never seen the piece.
Why it matters
Most owners of UK small businesses know their subject far better than they have time to write about it. A ghostwriter turns that knowledge into regular content, which is often the only realistic way a busy solicitor, surveyor or clinic owner will publish anything at all.
For search, the value lies in the named author’s genuine experience. Google’s guidance on helpful content, summarised as E-E-A-T, stresses first-hand experience and knowledge, and an author bio linking the piece to a real, qualified person supports that. A ghostwritten article only earns that trust if the experience in it is the author’s. Generic advice with a famous name attached does not.
There is also a legal point specific to how work is commissioned in the UK. Under UK copyright law, a freelancer who writes something generally owns the copyright unless it is assigned to the client in a signed written agreement; an employee’s work normally belongs to the employer. If you pay a freelance ghostwriter, make sure the contract transfers ownership to you.
Common mistakes
- Publishing pieces the named author has not read. Readers notice when a post says things the author would not say, and clients who meet them notice faster.
- Briefing only a topic, so the writer fills the gaps with generic research and the result sounds like everyone else.
- Letting the writer invent anecdotes, client stories or figures to make the piece vivid. That is fabrication, whoever’s name is on it.
- No agreed tone of voice, so posts drift between formal and chatty from one month to the next.
- Handing the work to an AI tool and calling it ghostwriting. AI-generated content can help with a first draft, but it has no access to the author’s experience.
- Regulated professionals forgetting that they remain responsible for what is published under their name, including any sector rules on promotions.
How to act on it
If you are commissioning ghostwriting, give the writer access to you, not just a list of topics. Thirty minutes of recorded conversation per article usually produces better material than a page of notes. Share examples of writing you like and a short list of opinions you hold firmly.
Agree the process in writing: who drafts, who approves, how many rounds of changes, and who owns the finished work. Read every piece properly before it goes out, and add the detail only you could supply.
Ghostwritten articles still need a plan behind them: which topics to cover, which searches they answer and how they link to your services. That planning is what I do in content SEO and strategy work.