by Christopher Knight

If you want to really make your article “SELL” then you’ve got to craft the perfect RESOURCE BOX. This is the “author bio” that is below your article body and it’s also known as your “SIG” (short for SIGnature).

Here are the essential items that should be in your RESOURCE BOX:

• Your Name: You’d be amazed at how many folks forget to include their name in the RESOURCE BOX. Your name and optional title should be the first thing in your resource box.
• Your Website Address: in valid URL form. Example: http://Your-Company-Name.com/
• Your Elevator Pitch: This is 1 to 3 sentences that encapsulates the essence of what makes you and your offering unique. Also known as your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
• Your Call To Action: You’ve got them warmed up and now it’s time to lead them to BUY from you or visit your website. This is where you “Ask For The Sale.” Best to only give (1) specific call to action.

Here are some optional items you could include in your RESOURCE BOX:

• Your Ezine Subscription Address: While getting your interested visitor to surf your website is nice, capturing their email address can help you begin the confidence/trust process. If you’re going to do this strategy, include a URL for your ezine subscription address and do not use an email address for the “join” address.
• Your Contact Information: Such as 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 an easy ability to retract what you put in your article once it hits major 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 the expert on the topic of your article.
• Your email autoresponder: I’m not a big fan of this strategy due to the fact that spammers will text-extract your autoresponder address and add it to their spam list. Perhaps this strategy was best for the 1990’s and has now run its course.
• An anchor URL that is related to one keyword or keyword phrase that you want to build SEO strength for. Example: if I wanted to build search engine relevance/strength for the term “Article Marketing,” I’d link up that term in my resource box to my website. This is an intermediate to advanced level strategy and should not be abused by over-doing it. Keep it simple.

What NOT to include in your RESOURCE BOX:

• A listing of every website you own. There is no faster way to dilute your credibility than by posting a half dozen irrelevant URLs that have nothing to do with each other. Best to only post ONE URL that is related to the topic of your article.
• A listing of every accomplishment you’ve achieved to date. No one cares. Keep your resource box brief and to the point. Yes, your resource box should be benefit oriented so that the reader finds value in reading it rather than your ego being justified.
• Advertisements or pitches for products that are not relevant to the topic of your article.
• Keep the size of your resource box so that it’s no larger than 20% of your total article size. Too often I see resource boxes that are 50% of the size of the total article and this is abusive.

Your Perfect Resource Box Conclusion:

The BODY of your article is where you “GIVE” and the RESOURCE BOX is where you get to “TAKE” for your article marketing gift of information. The resource box is the “currency of payment” you receive for giving away your article. Be sure to include your name, website address, your unique selling proposition as briefly as possible and a simple call to action.

About The Author:

Christopher M. Knight invites you to submit your best quality original articles for massive exposure to the high-traffic http://EzineArticles.com/ expert author community. When you submit your articles to EzineArticles.com, your articles will be picked up by ezine publishers who will reprint your articles with your content and links intact giving you traffic surges to help you increase your sales. To submit your article, setup a membership account today: http://EzineArticles.com/submit/

(c) Copyright - Christopher M. Knight. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Knight

and it’s quick and easy to do with the free template you’ll find at

http://www.YourFirstArticle.com

BONUS for those that do it this weekend -

send me your article and I’ll give it a look and offer any suggestions I have for making it even stronger!

Here’s to a great weekend!

Jeff Herring
Internet Article Guy

PS - After you write your article, visit

http://www.TheArticleGuyTeleSeminars.com

and register for our upcoming teleseminars.

Here are a couple of tips for writing articles when you are really busy and still get alot done:

1. Re-purposing - Let’s say you have written an article on re-purposing your articles, and then you take that same article and break it up into 2 separate blog posts, one on re-purposing your articles and one on leveraging your articles. That’s re-purposing.

2. Leveraging - This one is best explained with an example. Right now much of my focus is on the March launch of the next Article Writing and Marketing Secrets TeleCourse and the four modules of writing, submission, marketing and income. So most of my articles, teleseminars, speaking engagements, and being a guest on teleseminars will be focused on those four modules of content. That’s leveraging - being busy and focused on one thing and getting the most out of it when you use it in other places.

Both re-purposing and leveraging allows you to write more articles and continue to build your web presence even when you are busy. What you will notice happening as you are re-purposing and leveraging is that many more articles ideas come to mind.

Hmmmm, I wonder if I could turn this into an article…?

Go use this stuff!

Jeff

One of the very best reasons to participate in the LK Article Challenge and write lots of great articles is that you can quickly & easily re-purpose your articles into information products. Quickly and easily. Quickly. Easily.

On Tuesday night I am hosting a brand new free teleseminar and here is my personal invitation to every LK Article Challenge Article Writer to join me on

“Article Income Secrets - My Super Fast Create an eBook in a Day with Your Articles System”

=> Tuesday January 22, 2008

=> 5:30 pm Pacific / 8:30 pm Eastern

and Connie Ragen Green of eBookWritingandMarketingSecrets.com will be joining us during the call to help us out.

Click here to register for this free Article Guy TeleSeminar…

PS - And please accept this as my standing invitation to the LK Article Challenge Article Writers to join us on any Article Guy TeleSeminar.

And if you haven’t already done so, give a big thank you to Suzanne & Kristen for doing this challenge, it’s a mighty cool thing!

Hey, article marketers,

We’re here to help you in any way we can to write effective articles and use them to market yourself and your business.

Jeff Herring, the Internet Article Guy, is a wonderful resource for all of us.

Just look at all Jeff has to offer article marketers.

Click here.

Throughout this challenge, Jeff will post additional offers, tips, and answers to your questions about article writing and article marketing.

Thanks, Jeff!

Suzanne & Kristen
Co-hosts The Lieurance-King New Year’s Article Challenge

Still not sure what this whole Article Challenge thing is about? Check out the frequently asked questions. Feel free to add your other questions as a comment so everyone can share in the learning.  Mmm, learning…

Q: What is article marketing?
A: Article marketing is using your expertise in a particular subject to build a platform and gain attention for your business, products, and services by submitting brief original articles to free article directories. As e-zine, website, and newsletter editors read and reuse your content, you get free publicity and visibility in new audiences and markets. Each article takes only a few minutes to write, but it will keep working for you indefinitely with no extra work on your part. Think of it as a tiny, no-cost sales force singing your praises 24/7/365.

Q: Giving stuff away for free seems counterintuitive. Does this really work?
A: We’re not talking feature-length articles here, more like 300-word previews of what you can do for your potential clients. The time commitment is minimal, but the returns can be huge if you’re consistent and you provide quality content. In other words, yes, it really does work.

Q: Why should I join the LK Article Challenge?
A: The Article Challenge is geared for folks who are just getting started with article marketing or those who may have some experience but could use a boost and the motivation to keep at it. By setting a specific goal for each Challenge (usually 30 articles each time) and providing lots of personal support and encouragement, the Challenge hosts and the participants all help one another to achieve personal goals and work toward receiving the Golden PJs Award by meeting the Challenge goal. If you want to use article marketing more effectively and more consistently, the Challenge is for you.

Q: How does the Challenge work?
A: When you sign up for the Article Challenge at www.lkarticlechallenge.com, you’ll receive a free e-book called 21 Tips: A 21-Day Course in Effective Article Marketing and an invitation to join the Challenge e-mail discussion group. Participating in the group is recommended but NOT mandatory. All you have to do to participate in the Challenge is write and submit articles for article directories. Any articles submitted before 11:59 p.m. EST (GMT-5) on the last day of the Challenge count toward your Challenge total. Those meeting the goal will receive a Golden PJs graphic for their website or blog, and all participants will receive a certificate of participation.

Welcome to Day 1 of the Lieurance-King New Year’s Article Challenge.