Speaker - October 2007

Minding the details that matter most
Is your bio box a snoozer or a sales machine?

The good news: the article you wrote was picked up by a boatload of Internet sites and article directories. The bad news: click-throughs were dismal, there was nary an order and the phone didn’t ring once.

Before you declare Internet article writing a debacle, look at your “bio box,” the section at the end that includes your name, title, company and contact information. Does it stimulate people to do something, or just know something about you? It’s the bio box, also called a resource box, that converts readers into prospects and buyers.

A typical bio:

About the Author: Sally Speaker is a keynote speaker, seminar leader and author. She has spoken in 26 countries on four continents. She is president of Acme Inc., City, State. You can reach Sally at (123) 456-7890 or www.weburlhere.com.

Technically, there is nothing wrong— except that it’s BORING—and you can’t bore people into buying your products or services. A bio box that makes money has three to four sentences and contains these essential elements:

1. Your name, as a hyperlink.

2. A positioning statement that describes what you do or what you’re known for.

3. Your Web site URL, with the added bonus that search engines will give you a boost when they index your URL.

4. An offer, preferably a free report or tip sheet. A “limited time” discount works well, too.

Better:

Sally Smith, president of Smith Speaking and Consulting, helps Fortune 500 companies develop leaders who are passionate about productivity. Order Sally’s new book, Passionate Productivity at www.mysite.com/passionate.

Notice how that one goes beyond mere “bio data” and gives the reader the link to buy the book. Yet many people may not buy the book or other products, (especially expensive ones) from reading your 500 to 700 word article and a bio box. That’s why it might be even better than better (as in best) to offer something free or discounted as a way of getting readers to a specific landing page on your Web site where you have your can’t-resist killer sales copy.

Best:

Best-selling author and professional speaker Sally Smith has helped more than 1 million people become passionate about their work and their results. Her book, Passionate Productivity is used in many MBA programs. Read and download the first two chapters for free at www. passionateproductivity.com/passion.

Even if it takes you as much time to craft the bio box as it did to write the article, it could be worth it. A bio box that contains all four essential elements helps you increase Web site traffic, boosts your ranking with search engines, builds your database of prospects and, ultimately, increases sales.

Dan Janal, president of PR LEADS, has helped more than 3,000 authors and speakers get the publicity they need to grow their businesses. If this were an Internet article bio box, he would offer you a free report on how to avoid making article writing mistakes, but it’s not. You can contact Janal at www.IWantMore Prospects.com or dan@prleads.com.