A resource page is something every experienced (or newbie) blogger and website owner should build and publish at some point.
It might become your second most visited page, like the case with Pay Flynn from Smart Passive Income. Here’s how his looks like.
Let’s talk more about what such a page is exactly, why your site, brand and monthly income can benefit from it a lot, and what to include in it to make it useful (using mine as an example):
What’s a Resource Page?
That’s a page on your website dedicated to sharing the tools you’re using and/or recommending.
It’s where you can freely include your affiliate links, as these are also products and services you trust.
Some people do this quite genuinely and only list what they are happy with, what tools they need to run their website successfully, and what third-party platforms they have tried at an earlier stage in their journey. That’s also important as you’ll probably be many steps ahead than most of your readers, and to make a resources page useful, you’ll need to include tools for beginners too.
Why You Need Such a Page?
Regardless of what your niche is, you desperately need such a page.
Here are the benefits of having a resource page on your blog or website:
- You nurture your relationship with any visitor by sharing exactly what you’re using, so that they don’t need to look for it but can just try the same tool and see what it does for their life/business;
- You’re authentic – that’s yet another step to sharing all aspects of what you’re doing, which is highly appreciated these days;
- You’re seen as an expert – with such a page in a visible place on your virtual home, you show that you have experience in this and can suggest what others should be doing too to get the same results;
- It might lead to big things – every new page is an opportunity for you to be found by all types of people, and receive offers you never expected;
- More chances for traffic – such a page, when done right and with enough resources added to it, will get more shares on social media than a standard one.
- Another chance for monetization – it’s yet another place on your site to make money the smart way. Depending on what your current monetization strategy is (ads, affiliate marketing, membership, your own products), you can easily add these in the appropriate places on your resources page.
Getting Started with Your Resource Page
Create and publish it today, and you’ll be updating and optimizing it all the time.
That’s how I did it.
The LRS Resources page existed before, and there I listed one third of what you see now. It wasn’t that organized either.
Decided to finally give it a makeover just recently, so I added a ton of text, more tools, a whole new section (special offers, again following Pat’s example), clickable table of contents in the beginning (using simple html in the text editor in WordPress), formatted it better, optimized it, etc.
That’s an ongoing process, though.
It feels so good to make something old better.
So my page currently has around 2500 words of content on it. Mostly tools and a description for each.
It took some time to categorize that. But I’ve got experience mainly from my Start page, which some say is pretty well-organized.
When there’s a ton of info you want to share, the key is to make it easy to understand for the visitor. Otherwise, they just land on a page that’s overwhelming and confusing, so they might just leave.
Don’t overthink it. Just give it the name ‘Resources’ right now. That’s the only thing you need in the url anyways.
As for the official title, you’ll think of a longer and better one later on.
My current one is My Top Personal and Business Growth Resources (+ Exclusive Deals)
What Can You Include in a Resource Page
You can have one such page for every topic you cover on the blog, but let’s begin with one official summary of your toolbox.
Over time, if it performs well, you might create more for each category and include anything you can think of.
Make sure to include not just the actual tools, but also resources, which might be what you read, watch and listen to that inspire you to do the work you do or be the person you are.
That’s why I’ve shared both the exact plugins, websites, reports, apps and services I use to have and run a WordPress website, create content and podcast episodes, sell products and more.
But in the beginning it was all about the books and blogs I’ve read that left a mark in my life, and the podcasts I’ve been listening to for years. I genuinely love these and wanted to share them with others.
The resource page was also more personal growth oriented before, now it’s more about online biz and entrepreneurship. These go together for me now, so I can’t help but recommend tools for both aspiring freelancers and business owners.
Some might visit it just because they are curious about what I use in my work. Others might go there for the exclusive deals.
Read also: How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website
So, here’s a list of what I currently have on my resources page:
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- Books
- Tools for site owners
Sharing the content management system I use, the hosting company I work with and some of the most trusted plugins and the theme I use. There’s also resources for site monitoring, email marketing, SEO.
- Ecommerce
For now this section consists of only 2 platforms to build an online store with, and 2 payment gateways.
- Tools for Writers and Bloggers
This is about the content creators, as not every site owner writes it himself, or needs content in the first place.
- Tools for Podcasters
Only those having a podcast or interested in having one will click this subheading in the table of contents provided in the beginning.
- Outsourcing
Listing the places where you can hire freelancers to help you out with one project, or work with you full-time. It’s also where freelancers can find work.
- Exclusive Deals
The affiliate links are mainly here. I think it’s a practical section, and the opposite of aggressive promotion. It’s placed in the end, and only those interested in checking them out will get there. If they end up using one of the things listed, I’ll earn a small commission for the referral. Fair play.
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So that’s pretty much it. Hope you’ll consider adding a resource page today. And if you have one already, think about adding more content and sections, categorizing it better, becoming an affiliate for some of the products or services that you’re offering, and making the page look better with the right type of formatting.
Here are 2 more great resource pages for you to check out:
Problogger’s Recommended Blogging Resources and Tools
Niche Hacks: Must Have Essentials
