Article Directory :: Internet Marketing/Online Business Articles

How to Craft a Resource Box that Packs a PUNCH!

By Steve Shaw

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 15Sep2008 Word count: 781 Viewed: 750 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

How many times have you poured blood, sweat, and tears into crafting the perfect article, but neglected to put serious thought into your resource box, the little author bio that sits beneath your article?

If you're like most of us, you've thrown together a last minute resource box more times than you'd like to admit.

The truth is that you can have the best article on the planet, but if your resource box is lackluster, you won't see the results you were looking for.

Remember, your resource box is the one area where you can talk about your business and try to convince readers to click-through to your website, so make the most of that opportunity!

If you'd like to craft a really strong resource box that will get results, just follow these steps:

1) Customize your resource box to your article.

Why? Because article marketing is all about momentum.

From the time a reader sees your article title amidst a sea of other titles at an article directory, you want to start a forward momentum with that reader leading them from your title, to clicking through to your full article, to reading your article, and finally to reading your resource box and clicking through to your website.

It's almost like you're leaving a trail of breadcrumbs luring the reader along step by step, and each step in the journey is connected.

Take whatever topic you were talking about in your article and extend that topic into your resource box. If you article is about growing an organic garden, have something in your resource box that capitalizes on the reader's interest in that specific topic, such as "For 25 more tips on how to grow an organic garden, go to [link here]"

2) Use just one link.

Remember, we're not just trying to build links with article marketing--we want readers to click on those links and be drawn into our website. Most resource boxes have a maximum character limit of 400-450, so you won't have enough space to draw readers into clicking through to multiple sites.

You may think "The more links I put in my resource box, them more chances that someone will click one of them."

Actually, the opposite is true. The more options and links you provide in your resource box, the less likely it is that a reader will click any of them.

3) Give some bio info.

People have just taken the time to reader your article--they want to have some idea who was providing them with this information.

By simply putting your name in your resource box followed by a brief explanation of why you're an expert in the topic of your article, you will go a long way towards building trust with your readership.

Additionally, there are some publishers who will outright refuse to publish an article that does not contain some author bio information in the resource box. When you only provide links in your resource box, it makes it look promotional. This is a turn off to readers and publishers, so do provide a little bio info!

4) Test your link.

This sounds obvious, but believe me-- doing a typo in your own URL is a definite possibility! I've seen it happen before, so I'm always super careful to go the the Preview page and actually test out my link before I submit my articles.

5) Offer readers a reason to click through to your website.

What are you offering at your website? Do you have any free giveaways, such as a newsletter or an e-book on the same topic as your article? The stronger reason you can give a person to go to your website, the more likely that they will!

6) Tell them to click.

You can ask a reader to click in a subtle way like "For more information about such and such, go to => [link here].

Notice the little symbol before my website URL that looks like this =>. It looks like an arrow pointing at my URL, which helps convey action.

7) Don't put punctuation after your URL.

Even if your URL is at the end of a sentence, leave off the punctuation, as this can create problems on certain web sites when they automatically convert the URL into an active link.

And that's it!

Your resource box can make or break your article marketing campaign, so it's worth it to take a little extra time to craft one that packs a punch.

Remember, this is your one spot where you can talk about your business and your website, so use that opportunity to the fullest, and your extra effort will pay off!

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