Many content authors make the mistake of not spending enough time creating an excellent author resource box after writing a great article. Instead of a strong call to action they’ll only display their credentials or place them before the call to action.
Purpose of your author resource box
The purpose of your content is to give something of value to your readers whereas the author box is the only place you can promote your website or offer. When I read a great article I often want to receive more in-depth information. This can be a link to a website, an information product or an opt-in form.
How to create an excellent author resource box
1. Call to action
The first sentence or paragraph should include your call to action. For example:
Download my free report “7 habits of Highly Effective Traffic Generation.”
This takes the visitor to a web page containing an opt-in form they need to fill out to receive the free report. I use autoresponder software to store visitor’s information in an online database for easy management. The autoresponder enables me to either send out a series of follow-up messages, a bi-weekly newsletter or a one-time follow-up response.
2. Anchor text
This refers to linked text containing your main keyword(s). If you want your your website to get quickly indexed by the search engines use anchor text in your call to action. For example if your website is about “camping gear” link that keyword phrase to your website address.
Most article directories allow only 2 self serving links therefore make one anchor text and the other your full website address. This ensures your URL will remain intake when someone copies and pastes your article into their web page, ezine or newsletter.
3. Contact information
Before purchasing a product from a website I often visit the “about” page to find out more about the author of the product. If the about page or contact information is absent I’ll move on because I like to know who I am doing business with.
Likewise I want to know a little about the author of the article so include your name and contact information below the call to action.
4. Keep it short
Keep the size of your author resource box short and to the point. It shouldn’t be more than 15% of your total content.
5. Create several author resource boxes
Avoid using the same author resource box for every article. Create several different ones by varying your calls to action, anchor text and free downloads. This will benefit both the search engines and your visitors.
Test which resource box receives the highest click through rate (most clicks) by monitoring your article statistics by logging in to administration provided by the top article directories.
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