If you’re thinking of working with a ghostwriter to boost your personal PR, it’s essential to know what’s allowed and what isn’t.
From staying on the right side of online platforms’ rules to doing a fair job of representing your opinions, there are some risks to consider.
We’ve tried to summarise the risks as we see them in this article, but each person’s tolerance level varies. If you’ve got a specific concern that isn’t answered here, then feel free to contact us and we’ll do our best to explain.
Is it within LinkedIn and Twitter’s terms of service to have a ghostwriter?
There is nothing in the Terms of Service of LinkedIn or Twitter that says you have to be the original author of your posts. It’s important that you have permission to share content that another person has created, of course, but that comes as part of the agreement when working with a ghostwriter.
We’ve pasted some of the relevant sections from both platforms’ Terms of Service below, but feel free to inspect the full terms for LinkedIn and Twitter.
Relevant sections of LinkedIn’s TOS
You promise to only provide information and content that you have the right to share, and that your LinkedIn profile will be truthful.
3.1 Your Licence to LinkedIn
You agree that you will not:
8.2 Don’ts
Create a false identity on LinkedIn, misrepresent your identity, create a Member profile for anyone other than yourself (a real person), or use or attempt to use another’s account;
Relevant sections of Twitter’s TOS
You are responsible for your use of the Services and for any Content you provide, including compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations. You should only provide Content that you are comfortable sharing with others.
3 Content on the Services
You represent and warrant that you have, or have obtained, all rights, licenses, consents, permissions, power and/or authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein for any Content that you submit, post or display on or through the Services.
3 Content on the Services, Your Rights and Grant of Rights in the Content
For both platforms, the key takeaways are that:
- your account has to be representative of you
- you can’t set up an account pretending to be someone else
- you have to be sure you’ve got permission to post content that’s not your own.
All of which are covered if you work with CEO Ghostwriter (or any other ghostwriting service provider worth their salt).
Reputational risk is not a black and white issue
Reputational risk is about your personal preferences and concerns. For some people, the thought of others finding out they work with a ghostwriter is intolerable. For others, it’s the most natural thing in the world.
There’s no right or wrong answer here, it’s simply about personal taste and preferences. We’re always happy to explain the way we work and provide any reassurances you need, but if the idea of having somebody else write for you feels intolerably risky then, ultimately, it might be best that you don’t hire a ghostwriter.
There’s always a risk that a ghostwriter writes something you disagree with, but we have policies and processes that safeguard your reputation from damage. We won’t embroil you in controversy (unless you specifically request it!) and we won’t do anything that puts you at risk of legal action.
It all sounds a bit dramatic for social media and blog posts, but it’s important for us and many of our clients that we’re clear about the responsibilities we have — and that we take them seriously.
Are there any financial risks?
Working with a ghostwriter means paying a ghostwriter and where there’s money involved, there’ll always be some risk.
We always say that ghostwriting is a long-term investment—this isn’t an instant results business, but more of a steady growth game.
With CEO Ghostwriter, you’ll always be 100% clear on the costs involved. We will never charge you for additional services without your explicit written consent. Our working relationship is built on trust and honesty, which you will see throughout our collaboration.
The good news is that you’ll never pay money for nothing. Even if the worst happens and you don’t get the results you want, you’ll still have a bank of high quality written content to share and repurpose. In that sense, the financial risk isn’t really much of a risk.
However, if you’re watching every penny, growth is rarely a linear process. There will be months where performance drops and you pay the same fees as ever. That might feel like a financial risk, but with a long-term mindset, it’s a simple inevitability of your steady upward trajectory.
No big risks, but tolerance levels are personal
There’s always going to be a small element of risk involved if somebody else is writing for you—even with the necessary approval processes and systems in place.
But, on balance, the risks are small and easily mitigated.
A good ghostwriter will make sure that your work together aligns with the terms of service for the platforms you’re writing on, represents your thoughts and opinions accurately, and steers clear of the topics you don’t want to be attached to.
The rewards can be great and the risks are relatively minor. A ghostwriter could be exactly what you need if you’re looking to grow your influence without spending more time on writing, publishing, and promoting your writing.