Inspiration for Writing of 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery
Simon: I thought I knew a lot about LinkedIn until I read your book, 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery: The Entrepreneur, Executive, and Employee’s Guide to Optimize Your Profile, Make Meaningful Connections, and Create Compelling Content…In Just 15 Minutes a Day. The 60-day program is practical, and the time demands are very manageable on the part of the reader. What inspired you to write this book?
Josh: I was helping people out with their LinkedIn profiles and creating content for LinkedIn, and I found myself answering a lot of questions and started to answer the most common ones on LinkedIn as “daily tips.” Before I knew it, I had 60 tips and I thought, “Gee, I could turn this into a book,” and here we are!
Realizing the Value of Exercises
Simon: At the end of each chapter in 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery, you include two exercises—one labeled “Homework” and the other labeled “Extra Credit”—which spurs the reader to take actions such as adjusting their LinkedIn profile or making a LinkedIn post. How did you come up with the idea of breaking the exercises into these two categories?
Josh: It was while I was posting these tips, before I started to work on the book. I knew if people didn’t take immediate action, they probably never would, so I wanted to include a real quick assignment, something they could do right then and there, that would generate results, and help them see the value. When I began on the book, I knew I wanted to provide that same accountability and practical value there.
The Favorite Chapter
Simon: What is your favorite chapter of 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery?
Josh: One of my favorites is the list of things not to do. You might read that one and think, “This must be a joke, nobody actually does these things,” but trust me, they do.
Advice for Writing Stories of Success
Simon: You bring in examples of people who have effectively used the principles in this book to great success. What advice might you have for authors who are hoping to use stories of success to support the main messages in their book?
Josh: Collect the stories now. Many stories didn’t make it in because at the time, I thought, “Oh, that’s a cool story, I’ll have to get more details from so and so later about that,” but then I forgot, and never went back. I should have said right then, “Hey, can you say that again?” and recorded it.
Tips for Concise Writing 
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Simon: I noticed that the chapters in 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery are very concise. What helped you to keep your writing concise?
Josh: When I initially created all these as social media posts, I was limited to 1,300 characters on LinkedIn, so I had to be extremely to-the-point. I expanded far beyond that for the book, but since those posts formed the outline, it helped keep things in check from the beginning.
Crafting the Book’s Structure
Simon: How did you determine the order of the chapters in 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery? Is it okay for readers to read the chapters out of order?
Josh: The first thing I did was organize most of the chapters into three primary sections that conform to how people approach LinkedIn. First, you optimize your profile, then you connect with others, and then you create content. Within each of those sections I tried to arrange the posts in a logical order so they would build on each other.
LinkedIn Services Outside the Book
Simon: This is the most impactful LinkedIn book that I have read. Is there any support that you provide for readers outside of the book, such as courses or coaching?
Josh: Thanks! Yes, I’ve been providing various LinkedIn services for years, and anyone who’s interested can find out more at BlueMethod.io. That’s my LinkedIn agency.
The Value of Having a Team
Simon: What is the most important lesson you learned from writing 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery that you would apply to any future books or writing activities?
Josh: The value of a team. I crowdsourced proofreading and comments from over 70 other people. Without their help, this book never would have happened, or certainly wouldn’t have been near what it is. Also, my wife became my primary proofreader and editor. She probably worked on this book more than I did! A book is like starting a business, it’s hard to do alone.
Simon: You published 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery with a team of authors. Can you talk about some of the advantages and/or challenges in collaborating with several different authors?
Josh: I couldn’t have done it without them. Or maybe I could have, but I wouldn’t have, and it wouldn’t have been anywhere close to as good. Whatever mistakes are in the book you can blame on me, whatever is good you can give the credit to them. Part of the help they gave was technical, just helping make it a better, more readable book. The other part was super helpful is that I don’t know everything about LinkedIn—there’s too much to know, so they were able to fill in blanks in my knowledge as well as correct me where I was wrong about something or had outdated information.
Bestseller Marketing Tips Tweet This
Simon: 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery was published on October 11, 2021, and it already hit #1 on Amazon, and not just in niche categories, but major ones like Business & Money, Small Business Sales & Selling, Sales and Selling Management, and Internet Marketing. In addition, it became a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller in its first week out. Can you speak to some of the marketing efforts that helped your book rank so high across all those categories and make it onto those bestseller lists? What advice would you give to authors who are hoping to successfully market their book?
Josh: Success means different things for different authors. In my business, it’s valuable to be able to say I’m a WSJ and USA Today bestselling author, so I wanted to check those off. I invested in PR, I had a book launch army of volunteers, and I had a platform, but the big push came from working with a company called Authors Unite. I discounted the eBook version of 60 Days to 99 cents and then Authors Unite pushed it out to a bunch of email lists of people who have signed up to be notified about discounted books. It’s not a small investment, but it worked.
The Value of Podcasts
Simon: You have a podcast, The Published Author Podcast, which reveals the backstory to an author’s journey. What inspired you to start the podcast and when did you start it?
Josh: I launched it around the beginning of 2021 and we’re almost up to 100 episodes now. My company, Published Author, helps entrepreneurs write and publish a book they can leverage to grow their business, and I wanted to launch the podcast as a marketing tool but also so I could learn more about writing and publishing books. I get to interview bestselling authors, publishing industry experts, and marketers, and I get so much out of it. I hope listeners do as well, but I’d keep doing the podcast just for myself.
Simon: What advice to you have for authors who are considering starting a podcast?
Josh: Go for it. It’s easier and more valuable than you think. A podcast is a great tool both for gathering information for your book and promoting it after you publish it. Happy to answer questions about the process if anyone wants to reach out.
Overcoming Challenges
Simon: Did you experience any challenges in publishing 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery? What helped you get around these challenges?
Josh: Yes! Writing a book is hard work. Getting started, in this case, was easy, but once I had the raw materials, I sat on them for a long time. I dreaded the process of refining it. I’m good at starting books, not so great at finishing them. That’s where having a team helped. One other thing I should mention is that when I began to write the book, I did a crowdfunding/pre-sales campaign through a company called Publishizer. I presold over 600 books for around $26K, so that put me on the hook to deliver. I couldn’t quit or I’d have to give all the money back. Even with that pressure, it was still hard, and it was my team that pulled me through.
About Josh Steimle
Josh Steimle is the author of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller 60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery and founder of Published Author, a company that helps entrepreneurs write and publish books they can leverage to grow their businesses. He’s also a TEDx speaker and has been featured in more than 300 articles in two dozen publications including Inc., Forbes, Fast Company, TechCrunch, CNN, and Time.
