The Executive Byline: Why It’s Your Most Undervalued Asset
Publishing a name today is easy. Too easy, in fact.
These days, anyone can print a book or magazine with their name in it, and the internet is flooded with uncredentialed authors. As a result, a name in print, in real life or online, is usually not enough on its own to garner worthwhile prestige.
Meanwhile, landing an article in an established media outlet is harder than ever. Editors who once sifted through hundreds of hand-written pitches a day to select a handful are now likely dealing with millions thanks to AI. This also means automation tools are likely auto-rejecting nearly as many.
Fortunately, those with a track record of business success have additional options. Some established media outlets offer executives their own bylines and access to an earned audience of millions in exchange for regularly sharing their hard-learned leadership lessons. If you aren’t leveraging such opportunities to amplify your brand already, here’s why you may be missing out.
People want to hear from leaders
We know leaders can think of a lot of reasons not to publish online content. In our line of work, we hear many of them:
"I'm too busy."
"I’m not a writer."
"It’s not worth it unless it goes viral."
"We already have a marketing team."
But as Agata Kupriak writes for Medium, people are craving authenticity from brands in the face of so much inauthentic, sales-pitchy, and AI-generated content. That means hearing directly from their leaders.
As we recently reported, Edelman’s Trust and Health Special Report suggests people are losing trust in leadership. They doubt leaders, from politicians to executives, are making decisions with their best interests in mind. Without trust, leadership initiatives are less likely to succeed.
This is why leaders are embracing thought leadership. Here are the facts: the 2025 World Happiness Report found that our well-being depends on others’ benevolence, both perceived and actual acts of kindness, and benevolence has increased and remained high worldwide since 2020, but people underestimate that reality. If more people were able to receive the true benevolence of a leader’s decisions instead of making assumptions, it could improve individual well-being and reduce well-being inequality.
But first, leaders need to put that message out there where people can read it.
Thought leadership is a proven path to impact
In 2024, 73% percent of respondents in the Edelman-Linkedin B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study described a company’s thought leadership as a more trustworthy indicator of capabilities and competencies than its marketing materials and product sheets. In 2023, 50% of respondents in a Thinkers360 survey said, “thought leadership adds over 75% to the brand premium they command in the marketplace.” Ninety-seven percent of executive decision-makers surveyed by Baspar/Reputation Leaders said “thought leadership returns a moderate to high (5% - 15%) ROI.”
Why? Because people think more positively about companies when its executives produce high-quality thought leadership. Decision-makers are more likely to consider doing business with them, and more than half of executives already read it.
Thought leadership describes leaders sharing insights and expertise in reaction to their lived experiences. A website blog, a newsletter, a book; even social media posts all accumulate into a portfolio of thought leadership. Additional partnerships and borrowed audiences can amplify this impact sooner, but with consistency and enough time, regular posts across a few owned and shared digital spaces will build a growing platform.
How much time?
Without any strategic planning or additional earned media exposure, it might take months. Depending on the frequency of your content messaging, maybe years. But, in our experience, “If you build it, they will come,” as long as you keep showing up and engaging with your target audience in a way that matters to them.
An executive byline builds that audience faster
Consider your existing leadership branding efforts: an executive byline in a high-profile media outlet amplifies all of them, faster. The term “bylined” refers to an article attributed in your name and published on a trusted platform. From major names in popular culture like Forbes and Rolling Stone, to niche trade pubs, like The Fast Mode, executives can pitch themselves to these media outlets and, once approved, contribute regular bylined content onto their digital platforms.
Executives get their byline as subject matter experts in business leadership and the media outlets become a trusted resource for aspiring and emerging leaders. A win-win.
Of course, it’s not exactly as easy as it sounds. Executives have to meet certain qualifications, and their article content needs to pass the outlet’s rigorous editorial standards. In addition to being well-written, articles must share relevant insights and takeaways in a way that avoids self-promotion. Editors may request several rounds of edits before accepting a draft. They may reject some articles altogether if they fail to align with the outlet’s standards.
Still, any skilled wordsmith can help overcome those obstacles while still angling your content to fuel sales enablement, recruiting, investor confidence, media inquiries; or achieve other personal and professional goals.
Build trust, understanding, and lasting legacy
People don’t want to hear about a company from machines or its brand imagery. They form an opinion based on its people, specifically the executive decision-makers operating in a hard-to-access world of insider knowledge. When leaders walk us down their path and share their valuable lessons, we more easily connect with them on a personal level, which helps us trust and understand their decisions.
Visibility is necessary in any thought leadership strategy, and an executive byline can fast track visibility efforts to grow a bigger audience sooner. The media outlet’s authority in publishing helps solidify your authority as a subject matter expert. Placing your messages in diverse and broad-reaching outlets helps differentiate your leadership brand from competitors. Keeping your digital presence active and intentional builds that brand awareness and shapes public opinion around its most critical values.
