A recommended resource page is a page on your site that provides all the sources that you use to run your website or perform your services, or that your ideal client can make use of to run their business. Depending on your niche, the tools you make use of to run your company may have nothing to do with your target market, so you’ll need to identify what works best for your specific resource listing. One or both of these lists could be valuable for affiliate marketing efforts.
The best method to develop a resource web page is to add another page to your site and call it something like “Tools I Use,” “Recommended Resources,” or call it something suitable according to what is on it.
Then, follow these tips for a great resource page:
- Group and Categorize – Make it easy for your target market to find what they’re looking for by organizing the sources into groupings and categories based upon what they need. Use words that your audience would use to search for that source. If you have a lot of items in each grouping, consider breaking out the tools, products, or services into separate resource pages.
- Provide a Brief Review – Tell your readers the pros and cons of the resource or tool. Discuss why you use it, how much time you’ve used it, and what they will find useful. The most vital aspect is what it does as well as why the reader will like utilizing it. Please do not shy away, however, from its shortcomings. Being honest with your customers will help foster a trusting relationship.
- Be Honest – When you are talking about any one of the products or solutions on your list, be transparent and sincere. If you have not used it, discuss how you recognize that it benefits them. If you have used it, describe why. Be sure to cover downsides or things you wish worked much better. The even more straightforward you are, the better.
- Link to It – Use your affiliate web link if you have one or link straight to it. Keep in mind if it’s not an associate link to ensure the link opens in a brand-new window to make sure that they can come back to your site. Sharing tools and resources that aren’t only affiliate linked shows that you’re sharing what you can to help your customer vs. just trying to make money and can develop more trust.
- If Valid, Offer Trial or Coupon – If there’s a promo you can bring to the table, mention it? Do your readers get a month free if they sign up through you?
- Keep Up to Date – I can’t tell you how many Resource pages I run across that are out of date! When you change your tools or services, update your page. Frequently updating can help you with a thorough review because if you detail why you changed, you will likely cover scenarios your customers have encountered. One way to do this and to increase engagement if done nicely is to create a separate page for each tool or resource. On the source page, supply a blurb and a link to the full article for it.
Once you have finished, go to each item and sign up for/find the affiliate link. If the provider does not have an affiliate link, that’s all right; you can still promote it.
SuperStar Tip: Contact the creator and ask if you can obtain a coupon or discount code for your audience or any other benefits. Remember to let them understand just how much website traffic you get – incentivize them to reward you for advertising them while also giving back to your tribe.
