Do you need to update your resource box on articles you submit to directories, as well as your bio/marketing blurb for your newsletters and press releases? I am still reading many bios that read like an abridged resume: a history of the writer’s education, job experiences, and hobbies. I can’t help myself from saying, "Who cares!"
First tell readers what you can do for them. What problem do you solve for them? Then tell them why you are qualified to help them. It is still and always will be a ‘what’s in it for them’ world out there. Readers first, then you get to tell them something about you.
Here’s some more advice on resource boxes from Jinger Jarret, from an article "4 Article Writing Mistakes Every Writer Makes," posted on the Ezine Articles blog:
"’I have children. Now I have grandchildren. I don’t have any pets, but one day I may just buy a couple of Rottweilers as pets because I love them.’
Are you bored yet? Although you may find these facts about your life interesting, readers don’t. When I read a resource box about a 34 year old car enthusiast who owns her own auto parts shop, I yawn and then click away.
The bottom line is: readers don’t care about the details of your life. They want to know what you have to offer, and what you offer in your resource box had better be the next logical step in your article. Your article gives readers a taste; your resource box had better contain the next course. If it doesn’t, readers will click away and you’ve lost them."
Recent Comments