Article Marketing and the Author Resource Box
Here’s a little known fact about article marketing. Not paying attention could mean tons of wasted hours and no results. Are you ready?
The real key to article marketing is writing a well-constructed author resource box, or author biography. The content of this box is almost more important than the article itself. The author resource box is where you have to be creative, putting just enough information to encourage readers to click through to your website.
I say the author resource box is ALMOST as important as your article because if your article is bad you won’t be able to establish yourself as an authority in the field. If that’s the case no one will want to read any of your other materials. A good article sets your author resource box up for success.
So what should you include in the author resource box?
- Your name. Don’t forget your name. It really is important and it’s often forgotten. No one wants to trust a nameless adviser.
- Add your website address. Use the actual address, not just a linked keyword phrase. Use both, if you can. If not, use the standard URL.
- As you would in your sales copy, write a very brief pitch and wrap it up with a call to action. This section should be no more than 1-3 sentences long. Enough to confirm you really are an authority on the subject you wrote about while encouraging your reader to make a purchase, visit a website, or take some other action.
There are dozens of other things you can include in the author resource box, but those are the most important. You might include additional contact information or links to a free report or ebook.
There are, of course, a few things you should NOT include:
- Don’t list the URLs for every website you are affiliated with. Include only ONE link and make sure it’s related to the article.
- Avoid listing your credentials and accomplishments. The resource box is not a resume. Build a page on your website for that type of information.
- Don’t write a long resource box. If it’s more than 20% of the size of your article it’s way too long!
Article marketing is an incredibly valuable tool, but only if used correctly. Your author resource box is the only place those reading your articles will look for additional contact information. Make sure it’s readily available!
Thanks again,
Sean
Sean McPheat














