By Diane Thomas
Writing articles is one of the fastest ways to build traffic to
your website. Not only that, they are great marketing tools and
instant recognition vehicles on the Net.
One of the most overlooked parts of the article is the resource
box - and it is almost as important as the article itself.
What is a Resource Box? It"s an information box at the end of
your article. When your article is read, the reader will see your
name and website link - It's FREE advertising. Not only that but
when your article is published on other websites, your resource
box that contains your website URL will increase your link
popularity in the search engines. This is called back-end
linking.
The resource box is small (about 4-6 lines) so creating one can
be tricky. Here are the key elements your Resource Box should
contain:
1. Your Name: The first line of your resource box should be a
short sentence that gives your name and tells what you do on the
Internet. One of the perks of writing articles is that they are a
powerful tool that will brand your name and establish your
reputation as an expert.
2. Your Website URL: Listing your website URL will bring visitors
to your website - and even better, whenever your article is
published on another website with a live link, your link-
popularity with the major Search Engines will be boosted.
3. Your Newsletter Subscription Address: Getting an interested
visitor to visit your website is great, but capturing their email
address can assist in beginning the confidence/trust process.
Remember you must show the average person your message seven
times before they will buy your product. Now you have
the opportunity.
When listing your newsletter, do not use an email address.
Include the URL for your newsletter subscription address.
4. You have a couple of options here:
List Something Free - A viral eBook or report, an eCourse. By
offering a free item you'll greatly increase the chances of a
reader clicking through to your website. You also have the
opportunity for sales thru your free offering.
Sales Pitch/Call To Action - 1 to 3 sentences describing what
makes you and your product offering unique - followed by a call
to action. Make sure your product is relevant to the article.
Tips and Techniques
If your pitching an affiliate product in step 4, do not use your
affiliate link. You can use a redirect page, or better yet write
a review or pre-sell page on your site and send readers there.
Doing this will put them on your site, provide an extra
opportunity to show your "expertise" and allow you to get them
excited about the product before going to the product site.
The resource box is not a place for hype.
If your promoting a product use benefits not features.
Keep it professional. Use spell check and verify your URL's are
correct. There is nothing less professional than misspelled
words, and if your URL is wrong you have just lost a possible
sale.
Do not list every website you own in you resource box. Use only
one that is related to the topic of your article.
Do not list all of your accomplishments. Listing that your a
Doctor, Lawyer and Indian Chief sounds like hype and no one
really cares. Keep it brief and use accomplishments that are
related to the article.
Writing a resource box is almost an art form. You have a lot to
say in very little space. So put some thought into it and keep in
mind that after writing a great article, the resource box is the
reward for your gift. Use it well.
To Your Success!
©2006
About the Author
Diane Thomas is the owner of eBook Crossroads and has been
providing resources for writers and publishers for 5 years. She
publishes a monthly newsletter "The Insider"
http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/newsletter.html/ and offers a free
eCourse "Working With Private Label Rights Products". Learn what
you can do with Private Label Rights by signing up today:
http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/.
You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content, the links and the
resource box intact.
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