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About Resource Boxes

Resource boxes are the most important component in any article you write for promotion... That's why I've included this resource box swipe file.

Most people do their resource boxes completely wrong or forget to do them at all. As the former editor of Fresh-Articles.com, you'd be surprised to see how many article submissions I used to get that didn't have any kind of resource box at all.

In case you're not familiar with exactly what we're talking about here, your resource box goes right at the end of your article and provides some information about either you or your business.

This is your make or break...

You've written a great article with an attention grabbing headline, now it's time to close the deal with an offer of information, something free, or some other enticement.

What kinds of things can you offer?

A subscription to your ezine.
A free report.
More information.
A free ebook or a couple of free chapters of an ebook you have for sale.
A free trial.

You get the idea.

Okay don't panic... That's why we're creating a resource box swipe file. Here are all the *must have* resource box items:

1. Your Name. Okay, this may seem to be a little obvious, but a lot of people forget to put in either their name or the name of their business. Part of building your credibility by promoting articles is for your voice and identity to show through.

2. A Website Address. You've got to give your visitors someplace to click in order to read more about you, your business, or to grab whatever incentive you decide to offer.

3. Your 30 Second Commercial. Some people also call this an elevator speach because it's a short sentence or two that explains what you "do." You can also look at this as telling people what makes you different or unique... this is called a Unique Selling Position.

Here's an example of one of my favorite elevator speeches: "I'm Rachel Ray and I make 30 minute meals. That means that in the time it takes to watch this program I'll have made a delicious, nutritious meal."

It's simple, creates a unique selling position, and it subtly says to the T.V. watcher "What's in it for me." This is a great one for your resource box swipe file!

4. A Call to Action/Free Offer. You've got to ask them to click on your link if that's what you want them to do. It may sound silly, but if you don't actually ask them to click, a large percent of your targeted readers won't do it... it's a psychological thing. So your call to action is where you ask them to "click here" for your free offer.

Optional Items:

Your Ezine Subscription Address: This is an excellent strategy for capturing your readers and giving you the ability to contact them through your ezine... what better way to start building their trust? If you decide to use this tactic, I suggest including an URL to your subscription page instead of an email address. An email address will be harvested by spammers.

Your Contact Information: I don�t usually include a lot of contact information in my article resource boxes, but many other 'experts' include their address and phone so that they can be reached for interviews or press/media kits. A URL to your website can work just as well in my opinion.

Your email autoresponder: I'm not a big fan of including autoresponders in resource boxes, but I�ve seen others use it. In my experience, you�ll get very few hits to an autoresponder for an article unless it�s part of your free offer. In other words, someone could send an email to your autoresponder to receive a free report or ebook.

Keyword Anchor: This is a search engine strategy where you actually use your keyword as the anchor text to link to your free offer or to visit your website.

For example if your keyword phrase was "article writing software," you would use something like:

"Click on the link for more product creation information."

That was pretty lame, but you get the idea. You can only use this strategy if the directory or website you're submitting your article to allows HTML in the resource box. Many don't.

What NOT to include in your RESOURCE BOX:

A listing of every website you own. You�ll absolutely crush your credibility by including a bunch of URL�s that have nothing to do with the article. Stick with just one or two at the most.
A list of every feat you�ve ever accomplished. No one cares - remember the �what�s in it for me� thing? Your resource box should reflect benefits to your reader as well.
A bunch of personal stuff. You know the one�s I�m referring to where the author will talk about how they aspired to be a world class veterinarian since the age of two when they realized they could actually communicate with cats and their passion is creating crocheted doggy sweaters while volunteering at the animal shelter and writing cat poetry. Targeted readers don't care.
Advertisements or pitches. Many 'experts' include advertisements or pitches for particular products within their resource box. You can pull that off if your article directly relates to the product... but I tend to avoid any kind of product advertising. The idea of writing articles for promotion is to earn credibility and begin a relationship with your targeted readers, not to sell them one product one time. Including pitches for anything other than your Free Offer is short-sighted in my opinion.

A Few Other Thoughts For Your Resource Box Swipe File...

Keep your resource box small. Three to six lines is plenty of space to say what you need to say. If you make it too long, people won�t read it and it will diminish your credibility.

Develop Multiple Boxes. There's nothing saying that you can develop different resource boxes for different purposes and articles. Another good thing to note for your resource box swipe file.

For example, I have a different resource box for each website and each ezine that I promote. I also continually test which resource boxes pull in more clicks and which ones give me the most instances of my most wanted response. (more resource box swipe file fodder here.)

A most wanted response or MWR is whatever you want people to do when they click on the link. If you want them to subscribe to your ezine, then that is your MWR. An MWR can be anything from contacting you for more information to purchasing your product... it�s up to you.

Now it's time to take a look at some great examples of winning resource boxes that appear in my own swipe files...

But before you go, do you have any resource box questions? If you do, let me know and maybe we'll add it.

Best Wishes,

Arvada Yates
Editor/Owner

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