Summary: <br> How to reach out to Josh Steimle:<br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuasteimle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/joshsteimle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a> <a href="https://www.joshsteimle.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> One blog post can be worth $3 Million.<br> Josh Steimle wrote that blog post as a contributor for Forbes. Writing for <a href="https://www.forbes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Forbes</a> took his business from near failure to 1400% growth in revenue. The founder of <a href="http://mwi.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MWI Digital Marketing Firm</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/influencer_inc">Influencer Inc</a>. joins Tom Casano on <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/podcasts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this week’s podcast</a> to discuss how to pitch a publication, how to write for Forbes, and how to become a Forbes contributor, and why you’ve got to be an editor’s exotic animal.<br> 1400% INCREASE IN REVENUE<br> Josh’s marketing agency was just on the verge of bankruptcy when he made his best business decision yet. He asked a friend in <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/pr-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PR</a> how to promote his business. She connected him with Fast Company to contribute an article. And then he asked to be connected with her own editor at Forbes.<br> The Forbes editor liked his writing and offered Josh a spot as a contributor. He wrote the same content he was putting on his blog, ranging from entrepreneurship, business and marketing.<br> Six months in, he figured out how to (ethically!) generate leads with the Forbes platform. In the next year, the leads turned to sales and revenue jumped to 1400%.<br> So, how did he do it?<br> TWO QUESTIONS<br> There are two questions everyone has to answer before they become a forbes contributor:<br> <br> * Who are you and what’s your unique focus?<br> * Who’s your audience?<br> <br> Your focus is whatever differentiates you. It’s how you provide value to people. It’s likely related to what you’re selling or your job.<br> Your audience is who buys the products or services you’re selling.<br> Josh made the mistake of not focusing when he first started writing. He wrote about anything from business matters to entrepreneurship. He didn’t deeply consider his audience. People liked it, but he got zero results.<br> “Then, I wrote a few articles about marketing. I gave tips away based on my experience,” he explains. “Once I started giving out those tips, that’s when the leads started coming in. I realized ‘Wow, I’m onto something here.’” Focus + audience = results.<br> THE THREE MILLION DOLLAR BLOG POST<br> “I can track almost three million dollars in revenue to this one post I wrote on Forbes.”<br> The article?<br> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshsteimle/2013/09/23/4-tips-for-hiring-the-right-seo-firm/#6f769cb67466" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How to hire an SEO firm. </a><br> He wrote a valuable, experienced-based article in his key focus area for his target audience. People who were Googling ‘<a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/hire-seo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hire an SEO firm</a>’ were finding his Forbes article. They liked it, they were looking for a marketing SEO firm, and they hired him.<br> “That’s the power of having a focus and knowing who you’re going after.”<br> PLAN YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY<br> Once you know who you are and who your audience is, it’s a lot easier to create content.<br> Figure out where your audience is hanging out. Are they on Forbes? LinkedIn? Twitter?<br> Based on that channel, create content in the way your audience wants to consume it. Create content that aligns with your focus. And write with your audience in mind.<br>
