Is list-building or passive income on your to-do list? Then add a Resources List page!

It’s pretty clear in the online world that givers get. Give value. Give free advice. Be “of service” to your audience. What you you get in return?

Why create a resources list?

• Loyal customers – people who see you as a thought-leader or go-to expert in your niche.
• Traffic to your website when people share your amazing posts and web pages (good for improving your search engine ranking, like Google).
• Grow your email list – so you can provide more useful information to your dedicated followers, and down the road, sell to them once they’ve gained your trust.
• Passive income – earn small affiliate commissions whenever people use your link to purchase a product (such as a book or piece of equipment you recommended on Amazon) or sign up for a new service (such as web hosting, or email marketing)

 

In fact, blog posts themselves are “free stuff” that gives value by offering helpful tips, tutorials, advice, solutions to your customers problems. Podcasts, webinars and YouTube videos also often fall under the free content category.

For this article, I’m referring to a specific page on your website that offers a whole bunch of value all in one place, often in exchange for people giving you their email address.

Most businesses and bloggers have figured out that everyone’s inbox is jam-packed with emails, and it takes offering an incentive to have people type in and share their precious email address with you. Gone are the days that simply stating “sign up for our newsletter” encourages people to do so.

Now it’s up to you to entice readers, and you can do one or both of these to help grow your email list.

List of Your Favourite Resources

You probably use various tools, apps, software or even books and podcasts ever day in your business. Share it!

A resources page is often one of the most popular pages (after the About Me page).

Why? 3 reasons:

1. People want a shortcut to discovering the best tools

We’re all busy. We want to save them time, without having to do the work of testing things ourselves, especially if it is something you don’t even know how to properly evaluate.

If you become a credible source of information, your readers or followers will trust you to help them find the best tools for the job in your field, or that you use to organize and run your business, or help you maintain a positive mindset and healthy body.

When I was making a living as a professional photographer, there were always questions and heated discussions about what camera gear you used (Nikon and Canon being the oft-debated gear of choice in terms of quality and technical prowess). Also discussed were what lenses, which album supplier, which print shop, which gear bag, which photo-editing software, and so on.

 

2. Resource Lists Can Lead to Passive Income

Another reason people provide a list of their “favourite” resources they use is that a resources list is an easy way to share affiliate links. Which means if someone clicks on the link to the product or service, the blogger will receive a small commission for referring readers to the new product source. Note that it doesn’t cost any more to purchase a product through an affiliate link. An example would be clicking a link to buy a recommended book or product that leads to the specific item for sale on Amazon.

Personally I don’t have a problem with that because I only recommend products that I use or have used myself, and I always include a notice when it is an affiliate link (as is legally required in the USA and some other countries). Then people can choose to use that link, or if they are interested in the product, they can look it up themselves on good ol’ Google.

Affiliate links and sponsored posts have gotten a bad reputation by bloggers and network marketers in recent years, and could spawn a whole other debate! But it is legitimate, and when disclosed properly, a valid piece of information to share with your website visitors, so I wanted to share here one of the reasons that you see resources lists on web pages.

3. Resource Lists Can Grow Your Email List

If you essentially “lock” your content, and only offer it when people give you their email, this is often referred to as a freebie, freemium, lead magnet or ethical bribe. It’s a great way to grow your email list because you are providing something of value in exchange for someone’s email address.

And you know what they say: The money is in the list!

Pair this up with a few ongoing Facebook ads directly to your lead magnet, and your list can grow very quickly.

 

{Related article: How to create a dedicated landing page for your lead magnet or “free stuff” so you can grow your email list.}

 

Sample Resources Pages

Here are 2 very different examples of how you can present and share your extensive resources list:

Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income resources list for entrepreneurs – a whole web page in 3 filtered sections, including many affiliate links, including graphics and brief descriptions. In this case, Pat doesn’t use his resources list as an opt-in (lead magnet) because it is more valuable to him to generate traffic to this page and collect affiliate income from the links of products and services he recommends. If you have a very popular blog or website with a lot of online traffic, this is worth doing.

Another option is to use your list as an optin bribe, to encourage people to give their email address. This is a great way to grow your email list and let new people visiting your blog get to know you a little better.

Graphic designer Sarah Hart’s pretty downloadable pdf of 100 Tools To Create Your Legendary Brand is a good example of a resource list used for growing an email list. Access to Sarah’s resources list is (currently) set up as an “exit popup” on her main website, as well as a graphic button in the sidebar of her blog posts. Sarah’s “start here” page is also a good way to add value when a new website visitor discovers you page. It can lead to your courses and services, your most popular blog posts, and your optin freebies.

Once you give your email address, you get an email with the downloadable pdf that lists 100 different resources on tech tools, organization, fonts, inspiration, and more. Sarah shares her own online courses and blog posts in the list (brilliant idea – helps to position her with the other recommended experts), as well as affiliate links for various resources that she has used, thereby creating a potential passive income stream.

{FYI: Sarah is currently using Leadpages (affiliate link) for her popups and for the Leadbox that opens when you click the graphic. I’ll be writing more about why Leadpages is an easy tool to quickly create landing pages, webinar/replay pages, email capture/optin boxes, and lead magnet (freebie) delivery, even if you are not a web designer. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post and video tutorial! Psst. You might want to click here and subscribe 🙂 }

Key Takeaways On Why You Should Create a Resources List On Your Website:

• Create a thorough resources list of your favourite tools, apps, software or other products and services you enjoy and share it on your website.
• If you are an affiliate, you can add your affiliate link to help earn commission as passive income when people click your links on your resource list page.
• Add a longer, more detailed description to help people make better choices. You can also link to your own reviews or tutorials about that product in your own blog or website.
• Use your resources page as a lead magnet or optin freebie to help you collect emails and grow your email list.
• Design a pretty, branded pdf for your resources list so people can download it. Creating a custom-designed resources list gives it more value than simply listing items on a resources page. (It’s easy to do in Canva!)

 

Your Turn:

Do you have a well-designed pdf that you created for your resources list on your website? Share it in the comments below.

 

 

*** This blog post is part of the #30DayContentChallenge. Want to take up of the challenge yourself, or view all 30 days of the content and tips on this blog? Click here.