The resource box is one of the most critical parts of your article marketing strategy.

A killer resource box will drive visitors to your site while improving your ranking, traffic and ultimately, your sales. A mediocre one will just be ignored.

You should include enough information in your resource box to catch readers’ interest, along with a strong call to action that will motivate them to follow your link to your website. No matter how great your article may be, if your resource box isn’t compelling, you won’t receive the results you could.

Here are a few tips for writing a killer resource box that delivers results:

1. Never begin your resource box with your bio. This tells the reader that they’ve reached the end of your article and can stop reading. Instead, start with a question or statement that will entice them to continue reading. For example: “Want 45 more ways to make more money from your website?”
2. Don’t include your full bio. Most people don’t care about your life story. In fact, most people will skim over it and lose interest before your call to action and link.
3. Always include at least one link, or more if allowed. Take a look at the guidelines for each directory to find out what you are allowed to include. All allow at least one link, some two or more.
4. A strong call to action is a must. Include a statement that tells readers what they will get when they click on your link and how it will benefit them. For instance, “Your step-by-step checklist for a website that gets more traffic and makes more money!”
5. Answer the burning question. When crafting your resource box, think about the one question all readers will ask (even if only subconsciously)… “What’s In It For Me?”.
6. Create an original resource box for each article that you create. If your article is about legal matters, then tailor your resource box to that industry with an appropriate offer and link. If your next article is specific to decorative window film, adjust your resource box accordingly. You can save yourself time and effort by creating a file of resource boxes so that you can copy an appropriate one without recreating it each time.

The resource box is your opportunity to tell readers what you have to offer and what they should do next. If you can show them that they have something to gain by clicking on your link, you’re almost guaranteed to increase your website traffic with the articles you write and distribute.

After you’ve written and submitted a few articles – hopefully several – it’s time to start promoting them. While it’s great that your articles are out there for people to read and republish, to get the best results, you’ll need to do some promotion. There are five main steps you should take to get the most traction from your articles:

1. Tweet about your article

Let people know when you have posted a new article in a directory by tweeting a link to your followers.  Letting them know about new information available from you is a quick and easy way to spread the word. A simple tweet should include the topic and the link, but try to stay under 120 characters so people have room to retweet your message without having it get cut off.

2. Post a link on your own blog

While you don’t want to post the entire article, you can mention it at the end of another post. For example, “Want to read more about how to train your puppy in a week or less? Check out my new article, “Tricks and Treats for Puppies,” and then link to the page.

3. Create a reprints page

Create a list of the articles you allow others to republish on an individual page within your blog or website. Link to it from the main page with a sentence that says, “Would you like to reprint my articles on your site? Click here for more information.” Then include links to your list of articles, as well as how interested parties can contact you for more information.

4. Promote them through other channels

Tell your audience about the articles you have available at every chance you get. This is why it’s great to have multiple articles out there — you can mention a different one in your newsletter, on your Facebook page, in your signature line on your emails, in forums, etc. If you’ve created targeted, useful content, people are going to want to know about it!

5. Combine and package them them

Once you’ve authored 10 or 20 articles on a similar theme, combine them and edit them into a guide, an e-book, a special report, or an e-course. Add more information, create transitions, toss in a resource or two, and you’ve got a product that you can give away or sell indefinitely.

Writing and publishing your first few articles is just the beginning of your marketing cycle. Think creatively about who would like the information you’ve written, and how you can get it to them, and you’re on your way to creating a steady stream of traffic to your site.

Anyone who has taken on the task of driving traffic to their website knows how tough it can be. You can blog all day long, churning out post after post but you’ll still face the same challenge; if people don’t know about your website they can’t link to it or send traffic your way, no matter how great your content may be.

So what can you do?

For starters, you need to keep producing fresh content for your own website because that’s what will keep people coming back once they know about it, but you should also invest some time writing quality guest posts for other sites related to yours. This is an easy way to tap into an established group of visitors while building relevant backlinks. Keep in mind though — it’s not all about you! Your guest post should be well-written, informative, useful and not overly self-promotional. Darren Rowse has a great article on How to Guest Post to Promote Your Blog that you should definitely read before getting started.

Now, on to the list:

1. Mashable – Guest writer
   Page Rank: 7
   Alexa Rank: 345
2. SmashingMagazine – Become a Author
   Page Rank: 7
   Alexa Rank: 796
3. ProBlogger – Guest post
   Page Rank: 6
   Alexa Rank: 1,999
4. Digital Inspiration – Write for DI
   Page Rank: 6
   Alexa Rank: 2,446
5. SearchEngineJournal – Seo blog guest posts
   Page Rank: 7
   Alexa Rank: 3,335
6. DailyBlogTips – Guest post
   Page Rank: 6
   Alexa Rank: 4,673
7. QuickOnlineTips – Guest blogging
   Page Rank: 6
   Alexa Rank: 6,847
8. JohnChow – Guest post
   Page Rank: 5
   Alexa Rank: 7,527
9. Techie-Buzz – Write for us
   Page Rank: 5
   Alexa Rank: 7,668
10. ShoutMeLoud – Join ShoutMeLoud
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 7,687
11. BloggingTips – Write for us
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 15,480
12. ProBlogDesign – Write for us
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 17,256
13. Blogussion – Write for us
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 17,591
14. SearchEnginePeople – Submit guest post writer
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 22,863
15. CourtneyTuttle – Write a post
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 24,593
16. MoneyMakerInfo – Looking for guest bloggers
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 26,830
17. The Web Squeeze – Write For Us
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 34,311
18. TechieBlogger – Write for Techie Blogger
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 39,873
19. Men with Pens – Guest post
    Page Rank:5
    Alexa Rank: 39,513
20. ReveNews – Write at ReveNews
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 52,009
21. Seo-Scoop – Send guest post
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 52,038
22. The Net Setter – Guest post
    Page Rank: 5
    Alexa Rank: 96,990
23. Techpp – Guest blogging
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 9,723
24. Teck.in – Guest blogging
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 19,943
25. HowToMakeMyBlog – Write for us
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 23,964
26. TricksDaddy – Submit guest post
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 28,862
27. DailySeoTip – Contribute an seo tip
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 24,669
28. SmartBloggerz – Write for us
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 35,909
29. BashBosh – Guest post
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 42,674
30. Carlocab – Write for this blog
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 56,786
31. CanIMakeBigMoneyOnline – Guest blogger
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 105,013
32. DazzlinDonna – Guest Posts

    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank 151,767

33. SearchAnyway Blog – For writers
    Page Rank: 4
    Alexa Rank: 285,569
34. CatsWhoCode Blog – Contribute post
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 11,933
35. FreelanceFolder – Write for us
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 11,997
36. Caroline Middlebrook Blog – Invitation to guest posters
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 21,978
37. FamousBloggers – Submit your article
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 23,806
38. EarnersBlog – Submit post
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 19,493
39. BlogSolute – Guest post
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 27,452
40. BlogGodown – Write for us
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 28,456
41. TechCats – Guest blogging
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 46,201
42. eBlogTip – Guest blogger
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 48,939
43. MyBlog2Day – Guest blogger
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 52,443
44. WP Blogger – Submit a Guest Post
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 65,230
45. Teenius – Guest post Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 107,253
46. DaneBlogger – Write For DaneBlogger
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 115,454
47. TechnoGati – Become guest writer
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 153,207
48. Technotip – Guest post guidelines
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 159,897
49. BetterBloggingforBloggers – Open for guest bloggers
    Page Rank: 3
    Alexa Rank: 227,196
50. Business Consulting Buzz – Write for us
    Page Rank 3
    Alexa Rank: 305,608
51. ScopeForMoney – Submit post
    Page Rank: 2
    Alexa Rank: 55,989
52. Serradinho Blog – Submit guest post
    Page Rank: 2
    Alexa Rank: 57,979
53. MillionClues – Guest blogging
    Page Rank: 2
    Alexa Rank: 97,056
54. E-MoneyMarketing – Guest bloggers wanted
    Page Rank: 2
    Alexa Rank: 200,758
55. Gdiworkathome – Write for us
    Page Rank: 2
    Alexa Rank: 289,977
56. JackNguyen – Be a guest blogger
    Page Rank: 1
    Alexa Rank: 114,995

Building a successful website takes a lot of work, and the lion’s share of that work is writing content that keeps your visitors engaged and coming back. To do that, you have to know what they’re looking for, which means you have to invest some time in keyword research. Below is a list of keyword research tools to help you find the right topics to write about, but be careful not to rely on any single tool; you should always check several sources before making any major decisions. Ok, now on to the list:

#1. AdWords Keyword Tool

This tool is based on search queries, but for some keywords, the search volume is way off. Particularly for popular, high-volume keywords. I’ll go out on a limb and speculate that comes from SEOs and website owners obsessively checking their ranking, which inflates the search volume. In any case, the AdWords Keyword Tool gives you a great starting point and some relative data to compare, along with plenty of keywords you may not have thought of.

#2. Google Wonder Wheel

The Google Wonder Wheel tool has the potential to dig up lots of semantically connected keywords, but it also has some serious drawbacks; mainly, the fact that there is no easy way to export the keywords and there is volume data. That means you have to manually retype any keywords you want to research further, and find volume info elsewhere. In my opinion though, it’s worth the effort.

#3. Wordtracker

Unlike the keyword tools provided by the search engines, the data from Wordtracker usually more accurate since the keyword data is their core business model. In the right hands, this tool can yield amazing results, and that’s why it comes highly recommended by SEO experts like Aaron Wall.

#4. Thesaurus.com

Not all keyword research has to come from SEO tools. Thesaurus.com can provide a wealth of new ideas if you’re willing to do a bit of digging, and the best part is you may stumble onto untapped keywords. The only downside is since there’s no way to export the data, you’ll have to copy and paste.

#5. Search Suggest

All of the major search engines these days offer related suggestions when you begin typing your query into the search box, and you can and should use that information in your keyword research.

#6. SEMRush

Along with search volume and related keywords, SEMRush also gives you information on trends so you can decide if a particular keyword is worth pursuing, and unlike most of the other tools, their data is compiled from a variety of sources.

When you’re trying to build exposure and drive traffic to a brand-new website, few methods are as powerful and cost-effective as article marketing, which give you the opportunity to submit your own original content along with a link back to your website. The key is to focus on quality rather than quantity though. You will get far better results by submitting your content to a few hand-selected article directories instead of just blasting it out to every one you can find. To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of the top 20 article directories online today.

• EzineArticles.com
• GoArticles.com
• ArticleDashboard.com
• SearchWarp.com
• ArticlesBase.com
• iSnare.com
• Buzzle.com
• ArticleCity.com
• IdeaMarketers.com
• ArticleAlley.com
• Amazines.com
• ArticleTrader.com
• WebWorldIndex.com
• ArticleSphere.com
• BusinessKnowHow.com
• ArticlesFactory.com
• ContentDesk.com
• ArticleCube.com
• AfroArticles.com
• ArticleBiz.com