Resource Box Rehab: Why You Should Always Include Your Name In Your Author Resource Box…

Photo Hello, my name is…

Imagine this: 

You've just slaved away writing an extremely eloquent, insightful, helpful article that you've proofread backwards and forwards and have polished to a high sheen.

You submit your article and eagerly await all the publishers who will see it and republish it on their websites.

Remember–this is what you want: You submit your article to publishers, and then the idea is that folks will find your article and republish your article with your resource box on many, many websites.

Everything goes as planned–your article is a hit with the publishers, and it's getting picked up right and left!

There is only one problem–you forgot to include your name in your resource box, eek!

Why is this a problem? 

Well, some of the publishers are article directories, some are website owners, some are blog publishers, some are ezine editors. Each one of these publishing channels has websites set up in a different way, but the bottom line is that no matter what, each publisher must include your author resource box along with your article. 

So, on most article directories you will see a spot that lists a separate author name–for example, take a look at the SubmitYOURArticle.com article directory, and you can see the author name listed on the upper right side. This is in addition to the resource box, which sits below the article. 

If your article gets picked up for publication by a publisher who does have his site set up to list a separate author name, then everything's peachy. 

But what if your article gets picked up by a blog or ezine or website that doesn't allow for a separate author name to be listed?

Each publisher is responsible for reprinting your resource box exactly as you entered it, but they are not required to add a separate place to show your author name. 

If you neglected to enter your name in your author resource box, your article may be floating around on some websites without an author attribution–sure, it will have the link in the resource box going back to your site, but don't you want your name to be associated with your article too?

If that wasn't enough of a reason to include your author name and a little bio info, there are some publisher's who will outright refuse to publish your article if the resource box is 100% promotional with no bio info.

Why don't all publishers print the author name separate from the resource box?

I think the reason why is because inherent in the concept of a resource box (aka author bio box) is the supposition that you will include your name there.

After all, how can you tell about the author without mentioning the author's name?

I know how this problem comes about–we run into trouble when we get link building tunnel vision!

We are doing article marketing to build links (at least that's one of the 3 big reason's why), and we know that the link goes in the resource box, but I see many, many folks just put a link, or they just put a call to action and a link and they overlook the "author" part of the author resource box. 

So, I think you know where I'm going with this–always, always include your author name in your resource box!

That way no matter what type of site picks up your article for publication you will always have your author name associated with your article.

That's the practical, technical reason why to include your author name, but having an author name in your bio box also helps build credibility with your reader, helps establish you as an expert in your niche, and goes a long way towards forming the initial stages of a personal connection with your reader.

Now, let's do a resource box makeover…

We've had a ton of great entries into our Resource Box Rehab Lab, and today we'll be profiling Lily Boynton's resource box, which had a call to action but no author bio info:

Lily's Before:

Get the latest tips and strategies to make money online with the best Internet affiliate program at: ==> http://www.best-internet-affiliate-program.com

Alright, so I click the link to go to Lily's website, and I am pleasantly surprised to find that it's chocked full of helpful information, and that she even has an About page that gives us some info about the person behind the website. 

In the same way a visitor to her website would like some "About" info, so do the folks who read your articles–this is why we have the author resource box!

In the "before" resource box, Lily only had a call to action, but I've changed things to include an author name and a little bio info.

Lily's After:

Lily Boynton is an affiliate marketer who has found the ‘magic button’ for making tons of money online. She enjoys sharing her knowledge about the internet marketing business, common pitfalls to avoid, and effective marketing strategies to help you thrive in the world of affiliate marketing. Subscribe to the Best Internet Affiliate Program newsletter and get 3 FREE e-books instantly at ==> http://www.best-internet-affiliate-program.com

So, that would be an excellent resource box for Lily to use the next time she submits an article–what do you think? 

Questions for you–Do you have any other suggestions for resource boxes for Lily? 

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