Influencer Inc

How I Became a Contributor to Forbes, Mashable, TechCrunch, & More

Hi, I’m your instructor Josh Steimle, and just a few short years ago, I was your typical overwhelmed entrepreneur with a big vision and seemingly no way to achieve it. My marketing agency was struggling and ironically, the investments I was making in marketing weren’t working out.

I decided to try something new. PR.

I approached my friend who ran a PR firm and asked her to help me. I told her I wanted to get the logos of big business publications on my website so I too could say “As seen in…Forbes, Mashable, TechCrunch,” and so forth.

Rather than her PR firm writing and pitching articles about me, my friend had a different idea. My friend knew I was a decent writer–I had been blogging for over 10 years (not that anyone other than my friends and family had noticed).

“Why don’t you write an article and let’s pitch that?”

So I wrote an article and my friend helped get it placed in Fast Company.

Wow. That felt good. This was my first article in anything other than small, local magazines and newspapers.

Then my friend did one better. She helped me attract the attention of an editor at Forbes.

And because my writing happened to be right where he wanted his publication to go next, I found myself, almost by accident, in a coveted spot as a Forbes contributor.

Not that I knew what to do with it. I wrote articles about startups and entrepreneurship. It was fun, but it took a lot of time and wasn’t building my business at all. Then I made a critical change.

I started writing about what I did. 

And what was I doing? I ran a marketing agency, so I started writing articles answering the questions I commonly received from potential clients. I wrote about the challenges of running an agency and working with clients. I wrote about marketing that worked, and marketing that didn’t work. I gave away secrets. Sometimes the articles I wrote helped my business. Sometimes I steered business away from my company, but at least readers knew I was being open and honest.

When I started writing like this, things exploded (in a good way).

• The articles I wrote for Forbes led to opportunities to publish in more than 20 other high-profile publications like Fortune, Time, Mashable, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur.
• I received a cash advance on a book deal with an established publisher, giving me new levels of instant credibility.
• I was invited to speak at high profile events in exotic locations around the world like Dubai, Israel, Singapore, China, Iceland, and Australia, sharing my ideas in front of audiences of thousands.
• Most tangibly, I can trace over $5M in revenue for my marketing agency directly to my writing and speaking.

Oh, and getting to hang out with Richard Branson on his island in the Caribbean? Mind blowing. Completely surreal. And it never would have happened if I hadn’t become a contributor.

A few years after I started writing for these business pubs I got a call from the former CMO of a $2B company. She wanted me to coach her on how to build her personal brand, get into Forbes, and do…well, do what I had done.

I turned her down.

I was busy running my marketing agency and writing articles. Helping other people build their personal brands was the last thing on my mind.

But then another person asked for executive coaching, then another, and more and more people started asking questions via email and social media. Regardless of whether they were experienced executives or college students I gave them whatever advice I could, until it became too much–I realized either I had to turn people away, or I had to come up with a scalable solution to help them.

I set out to make the secrets of how to become a contributor to top publications available to everyone.

The Masterclass: Customized For You

I quickly saw that writing a book or a detailed blog post wasn’t enough for many people. Sure, some people have previous experience publishing for other top-tier publications and all they need is a few answers to questions like “Who exactly should I pitch at XYZ magazine?” But for others the questions go deeper. They ask questions like:

• Will the editor look at my social media profiles? If so, what exactly should I change?
• Given my background, what should I put in my pitch?
• What should the subject line of my pitch email include?
• Twitter or email for pitching?
• Should I write for smaller publications before going for the big ones?
• If I can get mentioned in an article in the publication I’m targeting will that help me get in as a contributor?

Then there are the questions many potential contributors aren’t asking, but should, like:

• How can I build an email list to increase how attractive I am to editors since I can then bring an audience with me?
• How can I develop a relationship with an editor ahead of time, so that when I pitch it’s natural instead of awkward?
• How can networking with other contributors help me?

And especially this question–once I get in as a contributor how do I leverage the position to build my business and/or my career?

We’ve created an online course, or masterclass, that answers these questions and many more. It includes a LOT of content, but is easy to navigate to find exactly what you need. You get lifetime access to this content, which I and my team are constantly adding to. Even if you’re already a contributor there’s a lot of value here. It’s the content I wish I had when I was starting, but it’s also the content I need today, and when I find it I add it to the course material and you benefit.

The masterclass content includes video lessons, checklists, and templates, along with meaningful, hands-on assignments. You’ll use this content as it serves you–you don’t need to watch every single video or read every document (although we recommend you at least skim it all so you know what’s there).

In this masterclass we’ll teach you proven methods to get into top contributor spots. Amongst other things, you will learn:

• How to build the relationships that help you get the attention of editors and lead to writing opportunities (rather than a one-way trip to getting lumped into the “annoying pitches” category);
• How to find the right “angle” to leverage the expertise and knowledge only you have to land your articles right where you want them;
• How to become a better writer by learning to craft your pieces to meet the needs of an editor;
• The strategies for writing the perfect subject line that gets editors to open your email inquiries–and when to use them;
• Why certain articles work (or don’t), using real examples, so you can remove the mystery about what to pitch and learn to see things from an insider’s perspective;
• All the many ways media articles connect back to your bottom line, and how to leverage each one of them to drive sustainable ROI.
• How to write articles that build your personal brand and create results like paid speaking gigs, book deals, career advancement, sales and lead gen, and new business opportunities, exactly like I’ve done for myself, and all without being spammy;
• How to tackle all the processes and “nitty-gritty” details (that seem second nature to a regular, but are overwhelming to a “newbie”); and…
• The daily, weekly, and monthly habits that will enable you to generate a continuous stream of powerful brand- and influence-building content.

This learning curve isn’t easy, but the masterclass will walk you through the process step-by-step so you can see exactly how I and others did it.

Plus, every one of the assignments will provide you with material that you will use to position yourself as the kind of focused, targeted thought leader that editors are desperate to lure to their publications. Before you’re done with the first six weeks in our masterclass you’ll have:

• Your one-sentence positioning statement or “byline” that resonates and sends your message to both editors and your chosen audience;
• A long-form bio that describes your focus, shows readers why you are qualified to write about it–and is customized to lure web traffic to subscribe to your list and investigate your products or services;
• A list of business publications you know are front-and-center and relevant for your target audience. You will also identify a “short-list” of editors you’ll want to form relationships with, and the gaps you can step up and fill (along with the dud topics you otherwise would’ve thought were a good idea);
• A collection of great articles that you can refer to for inspiration on writing style and the key elements of success for you to mimic in your own writing; and
• Pitch emails you’ve tailored to your target publications…

…so you can do this all yourself, not just once, but forever, not just at Forbes but at any publication you want to get into.

This masterclass isn’t for everyone.

Let’s be clear that we cannot “guarantee” you a placement at Forbes or any other publication. Even if “selling” contributor posts were possible, and even if it were not completely unethical, we still wouldn’t do it, because it would leave you exposed to crucial skill gaps that would undermine your long-run success. Instead, we teach the powerful, fundamental strategies for creating so much value to editors (and the audiences they serve) that the thought of losing you makes them cringe.

It’s the difference between “give a man a fish” and “teach a man to fish.” In our masterclass, we focus on teaching you to fish.

If a well-placed article written and published using the methods we teach you in this masterclass brought you just one additional client, boosted the price you could charge for your goods or services by just 5%, or helped you move up a rung in this competitive job market–what would that be worth? And with the value that will come from consistently hitting your contributor goals…well, we’re aiming to make this the deal of a lifetime.

What’s more, the money is practically irrelevant because you also get a 60-day, no-risk, 100% satisfaction-or-your-money-back guarantee.

Here’s how it works: If you show us you’ve completed the course and fulfilled the assignments, and you don’t feel like you’ve gained substantial writing and publication knowledge, we will give you your money back, no questions asked.

With a money-back guarantee like this–what do you have to lose?

Does this sound like what you need? For many of you this will be the start you need to create an entirely new future for yourself. Sign up by clicking the button below.