Ghostwriter Index badges
Six badges, each derived from the agency record at every build. Nobody applies for one and none can be bought. When a record changes, the badge follows it.
The six badges
| Badge | What earns it | Holders |
|---|---|---|
 Editor's pick | Chosen by the editor as a strong starting point for a shortlist. Editor's picks sort first on every list. | 10 agencies |
 Top agency | One of the first three agencies on the region page that name that region themselves, in the index ordering: editor's picks first, then primary focus, then published price. Serving worldwide alone earns no regional badge. There is one badge for each of the 9 regions. | 17 agencies |
 Founder-led studio | The sources name a founder who leads the work, and the published team size is under ten or not given. | 40 agencies |
 Subscription model | Sells ghostwriting as a fixed monthly subscription. | 5 agencies |
 Executive tier | Published pricing starts at $7,000 a month or more. | 1 agency |
 VC and investor specialist | Writes for venture capitalists and investors. | 2 agencies |
How badges are given
A badge is a rule run over the record, the same rule for every agency. The editor's pick is the one judgment call, and the methodology explains how the ten picks were chosen. The other five follow from facts on the record: the published price, the model, the audience the agency names, who leads the work, and the place an agency holds on its region page.
The rules run again on every build. An agency that changes its price, model or audience at the source gains or loses badges with the next update of its record.
Embedding a badge
Every profile carries the embed code for the badges that agency holds, with the link to its own profile filled in. The code is a plain image and a link; it loads no script. This is the shape of it:
The images are 160 by 60 pixels, set in Arial, and served from ghostwriterindex.com.