Author boxes

InTh3Moment

12 years ago

Would anyone be able to provide an example of both a text and html author box?

Thanks

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Joseph Robinson

Banned 12 years ago

I don't do HTML resource boxes. Here is the example of a text box I always show people:

"...That's when I realized that the aliens that abducted me weren't the friendly sort, and that the time had come to rise against them." (End of "article")

Fakey McPhakerson has been fighting the evil alien menace for 12 years. To learn more of his struggles, and to help The Resistance, go to [Website Here with Hyperlink]

The resource box should flow naturally from the text of your article: readers shouldn't even be able to discern that it wasn't meant to be part of the piece itself. It takes practice, and often I find myself with different resource boxes for each article instead of a one-size-fits-all box.

No one said article syndication was easy though. You gotta practice.

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1 reply

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InTh3Moment

12 years ago

Thanks Joseph.

Don't some blogs have the author box setup through php or a plugin so they will end up putting your info into that?

I agree with you about having it flow naturally in the article so it doesn't appear separate.

Thanks
2 replies

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Joseph Robinson

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by InTh3Moment

Thanks Joseph.

Don't some blogs have the author box setup through php or a plugin so they will end up putting your info into that?

I agree with you about having it flow naturally in the article so it doesn't appear separate.

I'm sure it's a possibility. It's not a situation that I have run into yet though, so I haven't had the opportunity to confront it. One of those "cross that bridge when you reach it" things, ya know?

Now, my understanding of website code is very limited, but would it really be that hard for the blog/site owner to just plug the text into the plugin/PHP code? It might never be a problem at all...

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travlinguy 12 years ago

Originally Posted by InTh3Moment

Thanks Joseph.

Don't some blogs have the author box setup through php or a plugin so they will end up putting your info into that?

Yeah, they do. In fact I'd say most do. So for those you need a half dozen different resource boxes that come as close to what Joe suggested as possible. Because unless you check out each directory to see exactly where the box shows up, you won't know where your info will be placed.
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tpw

12 years ago

Check any article on this site: 200 Most Recent Articles at: thePhantomWriters.com

You will see the HTML version of the Author Box at the end of the article.

The text version has all of the same words, but you must substitute URL's, where you would have had hyperlinks in the HTML version.

You might also want to check out this guide that deals exclusively with writing Author Boxes that get results.

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1 reply

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Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)

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Joseph Robinson

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by travlinguy

Yeah, they do. In fact I'd say most do.

Huh, you don't say. My personal experience is that resource boxes end up as text at the end of the articles. Mine get published and have the author information in the same style that Cracked does it. Check the end of this article to see what I mean:

5 Ways the Modern World Makes You Extremely Easy to Stalk

Maybe it just depends on the niche?

Thanks
1 reply

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travlinguy

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Joseph Robinson

Huh, you don't say. My personal experience is that resource boxes end up as text at the end of the articles. Mine get published and have the author information in the same style that Cracked does it. Check the end of this article to see what I mean:

5 Ways the Modern World Makes You Extremely Easy to Stalk

Maybe it just depends on the niche?

Yeah, I think the better, more popular directories are set up the way you're describing them. But once you get past the top 10 or so it gets a little weird. Back in '08 when directory marketing was still slightly viable I bought one of the more popular article submitters.

That's when I got up close and personal with literally hundreds of marginal directories where I'd have to manually submit the article. Most of them didn't have the resource box as a continuation of the article. I've dumped the software along with the whole article marketing thing, at least doing it the old way.

Thanks
1 reply

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Joseph Robinson

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by travlinguy

Yeah, I think the better, more popular directories are set up the way you're describing them. But once you get past the top 10 or so it gets a little weird. Back in '08 when directory marketing was still slightly viable I bought one of the more popular article submitters.

That's when I got up close and personal with literally hundreds of marginal directories where I'd have to manually submit the article. Most of them didn't have the resource box as a continuation of the article. I've dumped the software along with the whole article marketing thing, at least doing it the old way.

Ah OK. I was scared for second, thinking that I'd found a way to completely miss out on something

.

Thanks

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InTh3Moment

12 years ago

Okay, thanks to everyone for your replies and help.

So when submitting an article there will be two versions:

Text version - Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots <a href="http://fakewebsite.com">here.</a>

HTML version - Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots here. (The "here" would just be the link?)

Any more help to clarify this would be appreciated. Thanks.

@travlinguy - you mention having a half dozen different resource boxes. What do you mean by this, could you elaborate? Thanks again

Thanks
2 replies

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travlinguy

12 years ago

Originally Posted by InTh3Moment

Okay, thanks to everyone for your replies and help.

So when submitting an article there will be two versions:

Text version - Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots <a href="http://fakewebsite.com">here.</a>

HTML version - Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots here. (The "here" would just be the link?)

Any more help to clarify this would be appreciated. Thanks.

@travlinguy - you mention having a half dozen different resource boxes. What do you mean by this, could you elaborate? Thanks again

Yeah. Much of my writing is for the personal development market. I have some credentials in the field. Some credentials apply to certain concepts while others don't. So I created a bunch of different boxes that were more or less tailored to particular markets or niche markets. Focusing on one niche with your qualifications helps to give you more expert status with it.

Same could go for business, sports, finance, etc. I wasn't much for using pen names though I did it a few times.

Thanks

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JohnMcCabe

12 years ago

Originally Posted by InTh3Moment

Okay, thanks to everyone for your replies and help.

So when submitting an article there will be two versions:

Text version - Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots <a href="http://fakewebsite.com">here.</a>

HTML version - Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots here. (The "here" would just be the link?)

Any more help to clarify this would be appreciated. Thanks.

@travlinguy - you mention having a half dozen different resource boxes. What do you mean by this, could you elaborate? Thanks again

Text version:

Code:

Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots at http://fakewebsite.com

Most of the time, this will convert the URL to a clickable link when the page is served. For the exceptions, it gives an easy copy/paste option for the URL.

HTML version:

Code:

Fake McFakerstein writes about his cats and parrots <a href="http://fakewebsite.com">here.</a>

"here" would be the hyperlink when the page is served.

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Dr MaxIM

12 years ago

Usually it is a text with just <a> tag for your links. The only requirement I use for my resource boxes is that they should be related to my articles.

Thanks

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InTh3Moment

12 years ago

Thanks again guys.

Would you say you can get away with just submitting the html version and they can pick out the link without the html code if they want to use it?

Or is it the norm to send webmasters two different versions?

Thanks
1 reply

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JohnMcCabe

12 years ago

Originally Posted by InTh3Moment

Thanks again guys.

Would you say you can get away with just submitting the html version and they can pick out the link without the html code if they want to use it?

Or is it the norm to send webmasters two different versions?

Unless I know they have a preference, I tend to send plain text.

I do usually stash a file with the html version on my sites, and add a link they can use to download the html version to the email. The html version also has light formatting (tags for paragraphs, underlines, bold, etc.)

Thanks

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