Do you write articles for the web? If not why not? How to make the most out of selling your articles?
It’s all well and good to write a great article. If you’ve done that then you are half way there. The next step is getting it published. Having your articles published on line in different places can build your credibility and increase the number of links pointing to your site – all great things. But they can actually do a lot more than that.
You can use them to legitimately help sell your products and services by creating a high quality Resource Box.
A Resource Box is the short biography you get to put at the end of your article – also known as your SIG (signature).To make your resource box really work for you, you’ll want to include the following items.
Resource Box Essentials
§ Your name: I know it sounds simple – but it has been known to be forgotten! This goes first.
§ Your Title or Job: If it’s important, let people know what you do
§ Your website address: Lots of people click through to the URL you put in your resource box, especially if they’ve liked what they read and what to learn some more about you. You need to include the whole address (http://www.yourcompany.com….etc) to make it work.
§ Your sound-bite: You will usually have two to three lines to explain what you do. This is best used to describe what makes you unique – why someone would buy from you instead of anyone else in your field.
§ Ask them to do something: Always include a call to action. The research is clear that you get the best results when you ask people to take a specific action. In my own resource box, I ask people to click through and sign up for my newsletter.
Some article publishers give you more space than others, so if you’ve got extra room, you might also like to include some bonus information to help them take the action you want. For example, mentioning that if they sign up for your newsletter they will receive a free report (or similar) often gets great results.
What Not to Do
Don’t list more than one url. People get turned off when they see a long list of sites, even more so when they are clearly not related to the content of the article. Keep it short and related to maximise your credibility.
Don’t go overboard on your business and what you do. By the time people have read to the end of the article, they are only going to be scanning for the high points. They are not likely to read a dissertation on your accomplishments!
A hard sell. Consumers are savvy these days, and most do not appreciate having things shoved down their throats. If you insist they try your fantastic new product or service because their lives won’t be the same unless they do, they are more likely to click away from your article immediately. You’ll get an even worse reaction if you try and sell something that doesn’t even relate to the article. Keep it subtle. Either entice them to your website, or get them to sign up for your newsletter first. Once they go there, you’ll have more opportunity to make your case.
Don’t make wild promises you can’t substantiate. This goes without saying, but I have seen resource boxes claiming to provide the ‘fastest’ or ‘best’, or ‘most successful’ products/services. This kind of hyped up language doesn’t come across well, particularly in a short piece like a resource box. Save it (and substantiate it!) on your website – if it’s true that is.
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