Ezine articles Bio - Really important? What do you think?

[Ryan700]

I just realized how important writing my bio is at EzineArticles. I get 1 out of 3 clicks through to my bio for every time someone reads my articles. With that amount of traffic I wrote it out right away. I put a little thank you note on it about the Warrior forum too if you want to see.
R. Gajsek - EzineArticles.com Expert Author Bio

[JonathanBoettcher]

Yeah - it is important. And I think a picture actually helps with clicks to it as well. If nothing else, it takes a couple of minutes to make one, and it is one more link to your site and one more way someone can find out, which is one more good thing. =)

[Bryan Zimmerman]

I think that really depends on what your writing about. I've got two or three pen names that have no bio or picture and the click through rates are almost 40%.

If your writing about something someone "needs" to solve a problem and you build up enough interest through your article that they want to click on the link at the end, they will if you have a bio or not.

[JonathanBoettcher]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

I think that really depends on what your writing about. I've got two or three pen names that have no bio or picture and the click through rates are almost 40%.

If your writing about something someone "needs" to solve a problem and you build up enough interest through your article that they want to click on the link at the end, they will if you have a bio or not.

I would agree - but have you tested clicks versus WITH a bio & pic? I'm just curious, because to me it would seem that for a few minutes of work it is worth it to provide the extra info & link.

If nothing else, it is an opportunity to repeat your offer. I don't usually go on about the author - I prefer to rehash the offer instead.

[Bryan Zimmerman]

With those accounts, they are products where people really won't care who you are. They are nothing more than a way to get an answer to a problem that will eat people up mentaly.

So I don't think they would really care who I was as the solution to their problem is one click away at the bottom of the article.

That said, you just made it impossible for me not to try it out though
because know I'll just wonder if I don't.

I'll test it out this week with another author name for the same topics and then post back in this thread about it next tuesday.

[JonathanBoettcher]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

That said, you just made it impossible for me not to try it out though
because know I'll just wonder if I don't.

I'll test it out this week with another author name for the same topics and then post back in this thread about it next tuesday.

Sweet! I do agree with you about people not really caring...

And to play devil's advocate against myself here, I can see how providing yet more information could also just get people clicking without really contributing to the desired action (purchase). People often browse around for interest's sake. Will be interesting to see whether your test yields more or less clickthroughs to your site.

[Bryan Zimmerman]

Well since you mentally forced me to do this test

we'll find out in a week.

[JonathanBoettcher]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

Well since you mentally forced me to do this test

we'll find out in a week.

Sounds like I'm bending a little bit of a rubber arm..

[Bryan Zimmerman]

Lol, I can't stand wondering "what if". And there is only one to find out.

[Ryan700]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

With those accounts, they are products where people really won't care who you are. They are nothing more than a way to get an answer to a problem that will eat people up mentaly.

So I don't think they would really care who I was as the solution to their problem is one click away at the bottom of the article.

I've only got 2 articles "live" at EZA. I got over 400 article views and over 150 profile views. Over 350 views for one of them in the last 3 weeks. I thought that was significant enough for me to get something up there in my bio along with the extra backlinks. Right now I am just writing articles that have solutions for people to help me get traffic to my blog and whatever else I am doing. This is just great practice for me for when I start to build my list. One thing I do know is, that the more "stuff" I put out there that has my links on it the better it is for me in the future.

[Bryan Zimmerman]

Alright so I lied and said I'd post back here in a week. But a week really wouldn't be much of a test so I decided to do it for almost a month.

I wrote 32 articles between two author accounts both promoting the same product. One had a bio filled out and the other one didn't. Now I said for products where people really want a solution or something is bugging the **** out of them, they just want an answer and don't really care who you are. I thought reading a bio would just take their mind off of what ever raving buying mood you had just got them into buy reading your article. Well it wasn't quite as bad as I thought but still worked out the way I thought it would.

Here's the results:

Author 1. WITH THE BIO FILLED OUT

16 articles

2675 views/1232 url Clicks
369 bio view's

41 sales


Author 2. BIO NOT FILLED OUT

16 articles

2635 views/1436 url clicks
330 bio view's (but there was nothing there to view.

52 sales.

So the one with nothing to view for the bio actually got less views (40 less than author 1) but more url clicks and 11 more sales.

So, for me anyway, the need for a bio when your promoting a product that gives someone an immediate solution to there problem isn't there.

Having a bio that takes there mind off of what they just read can actually hinder your sales. Now niches like weight loss or something like that I would put a bio in there. But for the product I promoted for this test, it's just not necessary.

And NO, I'm not giving out the product I promoted

[dejoliet31]

I am just starting out publishing articles. A friend who has published many suggested I use something like this at the end of my resource box: "For more (tips/ideas/articles) like this visit http...." This seems to have worked for him. But I am open for other suggestions.

[JonathanBoettcher]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

Alright so I lied and said I'd post back here in a week. But a week really wouldn't be much of a test so I decided to do it for almost a month.

I wrote 32 articles between two author accounts both promoting the same product. One had a bio filled out and the other one didn't. Now I said for products where people really want a solution or something is bugging the **** out of them, they just want an answer and don't really care who you are. I thought reading a bio would just take their mind off of what ever raving buying mood you had just got them into buy reading your article. Well it wasn't quite as bad as I thought but still worked out the way I thought it would.

Here's the results:

Author 1. WITH THE BIO FILLED OUT

16 articles

2675 views/1232 url Clicks
369 bio view's

41 sales


Author 2. BIO NOT FILLED OUT

16 articles

2635 views/1436 url clicks
330 bio view's (but there was nothing there to view.

52 sales.

So the one with nothing to view for the bio actually got less views (40 less than author 1) but more url clicks and 11 more sales.

So, for me anyway, the need for a bio when your promoting a product that gives someone an immediate solution to there problem isn't there.

Having a bio that takes there mind off of what they just read can actually hinder your sales. Now niches like weight loss or something like that I would put a bio in there. But for the product I promoted for this test, it's just not necessary.

And NO, I'm not giving out the product I promoted

THANKS Bryan for following through on your test & sharing the results!

I must admit that you're the first one I've ever seen to actually remember to come back and post the results they've promised to the same thread .

I bow in the presence of hard statistics, and recant my previous position .

Like you said, there are certain niches where having a bio is probably going to help, but probably the majority aren't going to matter.

[Bryan Zimmerman]

Originally Posted by JonathanBoettcher

THANKS Bryan for following through on your test & sharing the results!

I must admit that you're the first one I've ever seen to actually remember to come back and post the results they've promised to the same thread .

I bow in the presence of hard statistics, and recant my previous position .

Like you said, there are certain niches where having a bio is probably going to help, but probably the majority aren't going to matter.

LOL, If you hadn't mentaly twisted my arm a few weeks ago, I would have never done it. But because you were relentless..... Just kidding

[Azlan]

Thanks Bryan for sharing the interesting results. Very inspiring and I will look into my current situation to see what works and what does not.

Thank you again.

[JonathanBoettcher]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

LOL, If you hadn't mentaly twisted my arm a few weeks ago, I would have never done it. But because you were relentless..... Just kidding

LOL - I'll keep that in mind next time I've got a hypothesis I'd like to test

[Joe Stewart]

Originally Posted by JonathanBoettcher

And I think a picture actually helps with clicks to it as well. =)

I agree that posting a picture may help conversions in certain niches, however you'd have to only use it on 1-2 primary niches. You can't be in half a dozen niches or more and post your picture as an expert in all of them without your credibility suffering somewhat. Many people may never find out, but whenever I find a well written article in a niche topic that interests me I usually look at the other articles the author has written. I'd be scratching my head a bit if I saw articles in several niches, unless they were all tied in together. Example: Insurance, life, health, travel, etc.

Just my two cents. :-)

Joe

[JonathanBoettcher]

Originally Posted by Guitarjoe

I agree that posting a picture may help conversions in certain niches, however you'd have to only use it on 1-2 primary niches. You can't be in half a dozen niches or more and post your picture as an expert in all of them without your credibility suffering somewhat. Many people may never find out, but whenever I find a well written article in a niche topic that interests me I usually look at the other articles the author has written. I'd be scratching my head a bit if I saw articles in several niches, unless they were all tied in together. Example: Insurance, life, health, travel, etc.

Just my two cents. :-)

Joe

Yeah - for that reason I always use a unique pen name & profile for every niche I enter...