If you really want your item to “SELL” then you must create the perfect RESOURCE BOX. This is the “Author Bio” found below the body of the article and is also known as your “SIG” (short for SIGnature).
These are the essential items that should be in your RESOURCE BOX:
- Your name: You’d be surprised how many people forget to put their name in the RESOURCE BOX. Your name and optional title should come first in your resource box.
- Your website address: in the form of a valid URL. Example: http://Your-Company-Name.com/
- His elevator speech: This is 1 to 3 sentences that summarize the essence of what makes you and your offering unique. Also known as your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
- Your call to action: You have warmed them up and now is the time to take them to BUY or visit your website. This is where “Request the sale”. It is better to just give (1) a specific call to action.
Here are some Optional items that you could include in your RESOURCE BOX:
- Your Ezine subscription address: While getting your interested visitor to browse your website is good, capturing their email address can help you start the trust process. If you are going to do this strategy, please include a URL for your ezine subscription address and do not use an email address for the “join” address.
- Your contact information: Like your business phone number or how to reach you for interviews or your press / media kit. Keep in mind that article marketing is a timeless strategy and you may not have the ability to easily retract what you put in your article once it reaches mainstream distribution.
- A free report: This could also be part of your call to action or your free bonus report that further enhances your credibility as an expert on the subject of your article.
- Your auto-reply email: I’m not a big fan of this strategy due to the fact that spammers will extract your auto-reply address and add it to their spam list. Perhaps this strategy was the best for the 1990s and has now run its course.
- An anchor URL related to a keyword or keyword phrase for which you want to build SEO strength. Example: If I wanted to develop search engine relevance / strength for the term “Article Writing”, I would link that term in my resource box to my website. This is an intermediate to advanced level strategy and should not be overused. Keep it simple.
What NOT to include in your RESOURCE BOX:
- A list of all the websites you own. There is no quicker way to dilute your credibility than by posting a half dozen irrelevant URLs that have nothing to do with each other. It is better to post only ONE URL related to the topic of your article.
- A list of all the accomplishments you have accomplished to date. Nobody cares. Keep your resource box short and to the point. Yes, your resource box should be profit-oriented so that the reader finds value in reading it rather than justifying their ego.
- Ads or product launches that are not relevant to the topic of your article.
- Keep the size of your resource box to be no more than 15% of the total size of your article. Too often I see resource boxes that are 50% of the total article size and this is abusive.
Conclusion of the perfect resource box:
The BODY of your item is where you “GIVE” and the RESOURCE BOX is where you can “TAKE” for the gift of your item information. The resource box is the “pay currency” you receive for gifting your item. Be sure to include your name, website address, your unique selling proposition as briefly as possible, and a simple call to action.