The Death of the Ghostwriters as we know them.

Is Text Content for LinkedIn breathing its last breath?

The role of the ghostwriter—once LinkedIn’s silent hero, the invisible architect of influential thought leadership and impactful insights—may be undergoing a tragic decline.?

Ghostwriters and text-based content creators are on unstable ground, facing a world that increasingly craves visual and immediate gratification. As video rises, taking center stage, is there room left for the wordsmiths, or are they destined to fade from view?

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The golden age of ghostwriting for LinkedIn

For years, ghostwriters thrived on LinkedIn. Their craft, primarily unseen but at times very impactful, allowed professionals to build reputations without lifting a finger. Text and image posts, the platform’s original medium, offered a nuanced way to share in-depth analysis, convey expertise, and cultivate trust. The right words could paint a clear picture, unravel complex ideas, and foster connections that felt both personal and professional.

This "golden age" of ghostwriting was a time when long-form articles, well-crafted posts, and thoughtful commentary ruled. Ghostwriters found meaning and purpose in helping others succeed. But today’s ghostwriters face new, powerful adversaries: video and other visual content.

?The rise of video content as a new reality

Social media in general has shifted toward visual engagement, and LinkedIn as many others have followed suit. Today, video content dominates the scene, boosted by LinkedIn’s algorithm and audience’s preferences. It seems people crave bite-sized, visually appealing pieces, and videos that are better at grabbing attention quickly. For the ghostwriter who relies on words alone, this shift feels like a harsh twist in the story.

Videos are easy to consume and often more engaging than text. Unlike text-based posts that require the reader to slow down and process information, videos when created well, deliver messages in seconds, sometimes without requiring any reading at all. However, since LinkedIn plays videos silently, captions are a must and a rope for Text Creators to hold on to.

Moreover, videos add personality and authenticity to content, which resonates powerfully in a professional world increasingly focused on real, fast and relatable connections.

For ghostwriters, this change isn’t just a trend; it’s an existential challenge. Their craft—discreet, thoughtful, and text-based—now seems at odds with LinkedIn’s visual future. A post that once could capture attention with words alone now struggles against fast-paced videos, carousels, and infographics.

Adapting to the new landscape

Despite the surge of video content, ghostwriters need not face complete extinction. Ghostwriters today have options to evolve and continue offering value. Here’s how:

1. Text and video hybrids: Ghostwriters can now think beyond words alone. By collaborating with video creators, they can script video content or create accompanying copy to boost engagement. This way, their expertise shapes the message, even if it’s delivered through a different medium.
2. Enhanced visual storytelling: Ghostwriters can adapt their storytelling skills to ?carousels, infographics, and slideshows. These formats still use text but break it into visually digestible pieces, maintaining the narrative while meeting audience demands for easy consumption.
3. Personalized narratives: Even amid video’s popularity, written words remain powerful for deeply personal, reflective, and value-driven stories. Ghostwriters who excel at this kind of storytelling can help clients distinguish themselves by focusing on authentic, human-centered content.
4. Building a Broader Skill Set: Ghostwriters might benefit from adding skills in scriptwriting, basic video editing, video captioning and visual content strategy. By blending text expertise with visual elements, they can evolve their role from ghostwriter to content strategist, bridging the gap between words and visuals.

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Is it truly The End?

While the traditional role of a LinkedIn ghostwriter may be fading, the demand for impactful content isn’t going away. In fact, more than ever, professionals need to build genuine connections and share valuable insights. Words may no longer be the only way to achieve this, but they remain a vital component in forming storylines and building trust.

Ghostwriters face a moment of reckoning. Yet, they must transform their roles rather than resist change. Rather than mourning the "death" of the ghostwriter, this may be the beginning of the new age ghostwriter — one that blends the storytelling expertise of a wordsmith with the immediacy and appeal of visual media.

Embrace the evolution

For ghostwriters and content creators on LinkedIn, this is less a death and more of a metamorphosis. I ask you to reconsider traditional notions of success and to redefine your craft in a way that honors the power of storytelling, even as it embraces new formats. Video may be the rising star, but words anchor the storyline, offering depth and perspective that no quick video snippet can replace.

The ghostwriter’s role will shift in this new LinkedIn landscape, but it won’t vanish. By embracing new tools like video and AI, expanding your skill sets, and exploring hybrid formats, you can keep your art alive in a different form. This isn’t the end of the ghostwriter; it’s the beginning of your next chapter.