by Mark Bloom | Aug 16, 2016 | Agency Advice
Web Developers and Businesses Both Suffer
Content delays reflect those endless days, weeks or even months of waiting when you’ve completed website design and development, but there’s no approved content for the new site. You’ve slaved over the design, maybe going through several iterations to please your client. You’ve sweated the details to deliver a thing of beauty that’s guaranteed to make a splash.
Meanwhile, your client had no idea a new website was going to take so much time and energy. The old one only took a month to put together five years ago (although it shows, and you’ve persuaded them a new site is in his best interest). But you can’t use the content from that old site because of the changes, so the project screeches to a halt and content delays keep everything from moving forward.
Nobody Wins During a Content Delay
Content is often one of the last pieces of a website project. All that work to get to this point — all the pressure, all the deadlines — now seems like wasted effort. It seems so simple: just write down some words that describe the product or service. And yet, the client can’t seem to deliver anything, even though he’s had months to do this one little task.
Content delays are frustrating for everyone involved:
- You can’t close the project and collect your final payment until the website is live — and you can’t publish the new site without content.
- Your client can’t reap the benefits of the new website you built until it’s online — but he didn’t realize writing content for it was going to be so difficult.
So you’re stuck, your client’s stuck, and every day that passes, you both feel worse about starting the project in the first place. If this scenario sounds familiar, you’ve experienced a content delay that has sucked the energy out of a client relationship more thoroughly than even a nasty lawsuit.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are three ways to avoid content delays.
1. Get the Content First
If you could go back in time to the beginning of that website project, you might insist that your client deliver the new content before you start. So learn from your mistake and insist on it for your next project. Build it into the schedule — right at the beginning — and insist that you can’t move forward without approved content.
That’s not to say that the content won’t change at all, but at least you’ll have valid content that someone has reviewed before you put in the hours, days and weeks needed to design a website. You’ll have content that’s “good enough” for a website launch. And you’ll have content that reflects your client’s business from the inside. That’s valuable when designing for that client.
Smart website designers, in fact, prefer to design to the content, instead of trying to fit the content into a new design. In this way, form meets function, which improves the visitor experience on all levels. The website you produce, in the end, will be more effective, making you, your client and your client’s customers happier.
2. Prioritize the User Experience (UX)
You design and build websites for clients, but your clients really aren’t the people who’ll use the website. Their website has to attract and please visitors. So consider adding a UX specialist to your team. When you focus attention on the user experience of a website, the content naturally becomes part of the conversation. In the design process, therefore, content is an important deliverable, not an add-on line item.
User-centered design has been a trend in software since the days of the “helpful” Microsoft Office paperclip — “It looks like you’re trying to write a resume; do you want to use a thesaurus?” The industry has thankfully progressed well past that disaster. Now software is much more intuitive. Websites should be as well.
To avoid content delays, you must prioritize the content. If it’s important to a visitor’s website experience, it becomes important enough to devote resources to. Content delays often happen because no one thinks about the website content until the end of the project. A UX specialist would make it a priority.
3. Hire Professional Content Providers
Professional content providers like Ray Access specialize in effective content no matter what the industry, service or product. Not only can they research the topic so that they can write authoritatively about it, but they also understand how to use keywords, which in conjunction with search engine optimization helps people find the website online. Even the best site does nothing if no one can find it.
The professional writers and editors at Ray Access deliver an additional benefit to combat content delays: they are deadline-driven and deliver on time, every time. That means you’ll receive the content you need in time to keep your project on track. Your client will have the time to review — and if necessary, call for revisions of — the website content well in advance of your deadline to launch the site.
Effective content connects with the audience, providing a positive user experience. But only if you don’t have to wait weeks for it from your client. Be proactive and budget for a professional writer right from the start. Learn about the range of services Ray Access offers web developers and designers — agencies that have suffered from content delays.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | Aug 1, 2016 | Content Provider
Content Writing Examples Show Our Diversity
Ray Access isn’t a fly-by-night company. It doesn’t farm its work out to writers in other countries in an effort to save a buck. It doesn’t employ drunken college students to pump out words on a page. The writers and editors at Ray Access are professionals whose native language is English. As a result, the website content, blog posts and press releases delivered are always of the highest quality.
Producing online content is a serious business for clients. You want your website to generate leads through content marketing, and that only happens when the words are targeted to a specific audience and are strong enough to inspire action. But don’t just assume that’s the truth when you’re looking for content writing examples; do your research.
Content Writing Examples
The founders of Ray Access write most of the content the company produces and review everything to maintain the quality that’s resulted in a stellar reputation. And while that reputation means everything, you should demand content writing examples before hiring anyone. You can get an inkling of the Ray Access quality in our latest projects by visiting the Portfolio page.
But that page can’t contain the vast assortment of work that the writers of Ray Access have produced. You’d need a database to see the enormous variety of content writing examples available. And you can’t just do a Google search for “Ray Access,” since, as ghostwriters, they don’t take credit for the work. Once it’s paid for, you own it and can put your own name on it.
Website Content Writing Examples
In addition to the websites listed on the Portfolio page, Ray Access has a long history of proven success. Websites must connect with their audiences, generate trust and convert visitors into customers. It’s a tall order. To see how well Ray Access achieves these goals, check out the diverse website pages below. In each case, Ray Access provided only the content, not the design or development of the site:
Blog Writing Samples
Blog posts need to attract attention. The job of every blog post is to draw visitors to your website. The goal of every blog post is to go viral. Of course, that doesn’t happen all the time, but the Ray Access philosophy includes: answering questions for visitors, building website content over time and delivering engaging stories that highlight your business.
Besides the 10 content writing examples listed on the Portfolio page, listed below are links to many more that show the diversity and effectiveness of Ray Access blog writers and editors. You don’t have to read them all. Pick one that interests you and then pick another you don’t think would interest you. You’ll find you enjoy reading each one (and likely learn something new):
It’s this diversity — being able to write on a variety of topics with authority and panache — that’s the trademark of Ray Access. It’s what sets these writers and editors apart from other content providers. They can write about any industry and any topic for any audience, as long as they can find reliable sources for research.
That’s the value you get by hiring a former reporter and a former technical editor. Little runs across the desk of Ray Access that doesn’t perk their collective interest. So while you may think your industry isn’t “sexy,” great writers and editors can make your story sing in harmony to a really sexy tune. To find out how Ray Access can help you market your company, contact us today.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | Jul 19, 2016 | Blog Writing
Professional Bloggers Talk Writing Process
Potential clients, friends and curious business owners regularly ask the writers at Ray Access: “How can you ghost-write blog posts for someone else when you don’t know anything about their business?” They usually want to know how we’re able to capture the voice of another person or company and how we can write so authoritatively about it. It’s a good question, and one we answer earnestly.
While the whole ghost writing issue is certainly an interesting topic, this article deals with the writing process and how it applies to writing for others. At Ray Access, we follow a strict three-part procedure:
- Research
- Write
- Edit
The Writing Process of Ray Access Bloggers
This process is valid for many forms of writing, but here we’re applying it specifically for writing business blog posts for other businesses. It doesn’t matter who the client is or what the business does. Ray Access writers use the same process for everyone.
That doesn’t mean the end result is the same. It means the process is the same. We put the same amount of energy and enthusiasm into every blog post that Ray Access delivers. If you’re curious about how it might work for you, send us an email. Or try the process for yourself. These are the steps Ray Access takes for every business blog post:
Step 1: Research
First came the idea, and the idea was good. Ray Access generally plans its clients’ blog topics in advance. Brainstorming ideas, doing keyword research and reviewing hot topics and news items yields a slew of industry-related blog topics. We ask our clients to approve the best of the bunch, and they often select the ones that best fit their strategic goals.
The writing process then continues with online research. When people ask us how we can write about medical, plumbing or financial services, the answer is always, “through careful research.” Ray Access writers can write about any subject they can research. For example, medical websites like the Mayo Clinic or the National Institutes of Health offer a treasury of reliable information, making medical research readily available.
Regardless of the subject matter, however, research has to be done properly. Any Wiki is liable to contain inaccurate data. User-informed websites lack authority. Even other blogs may be wrong. At Ray Access, we insist on the facts. If we’re not sure, we crosscheck information. While our clients review the work our writers deliver, we aim to get it right the first time.
Step 2: Write
Yes, everyone who works at Ray Access is a good writer, a true professional with training and experience in various forms of writing. It’s not just about words, sentences, paragraphs and sections, though. It’s about flow, meaning, delivery, language and tone. Rhetorical writing is the art of effectively persuading a readership through words. It’s imparting information in a way that not only effectively communicates, but also influences action.
The writing process is at the heart of Ray Access’ business. We’re essentially content providers and content marketers. We deliver value to our clients because we’re able to connect with their audiences. Online writing has been called a science and an art, so when Ray Access writes for an online audience, we use keywords properly. Because it matters.
The online audience has shorter attention spans, but hungrier appetites. When they want to know something, they want to know it now and they prefer to get all the information they need in one place. Ray Access writers satisfy that hunger.
Step 3: Edit
No blog post is complete without a careful edit. Another set of experienced eyes catches any typos, grammatical mistakes, misspelled names and missing words. But the skilled editors at Ray Access also improve the article with incisive changes, such as:
- Tightening up the copy
- Choosing more powerful words
- Eliminating the passive voice
- Crafting stronger openings and endings
- Inserting calls-to-action
The editing step doesn’t involve mere proofreading. Sometimes, whole paragraphs get moved around. Other times, whole sections are replaced. As any writer will tell you, “Good writing is rewriting.” Editing is a vital part of the process. Ray Access has understood this from the very start. It’s the difference between what’s on websites and what’s on effective websites. It’s part of the Ray Access advantage.
You can either use this writing process yourself or contact the writers and editors at Ray Access to get the most effective and most engaging content for your blog. And we’ll even ghost write it for you.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | Jun 28, 2016 | Editing
Do Small Business Owners Have So Little to Do?
Many small business owners are good writers, which is a good thing. When you’re small, you have to do everything yourself. So you write your own content for your website, and if you have the time and energy, you can write your own blog posts. You do it because you have to.
At Ray Access, we understand. We were in the same boat when we started — and we’re professional writers! Fortunately, we did a good job, and our company started to grow. For us, maintaining a weekly blog isn’t a big deal as long as it we keep it a priority. But we’re writers and editors here at Ray Access; website content is what we do.
Small Business Owners Think Business First
When you first start out, you have so many things to do that you barely have time to do any marketing, never mind writing blogs every week. But you do what you have to do and you force yourself to write your own content. You do it because you know it’s important. But unlike the principals behind Ray Access, writing isn’t your best skill. Building the business is your main — and only — focus.
And that’s the point. Writing your own content isn’t what gets you fired up in the morning or keeps you up well past midnight. And once your business starts to do well, you should be tending the store, not writing blog posts. You know that.
Yes, it’s your business, and you know it best. But business blogging isn’t autobiographical; it’s business writing. It just has to be good enough to be valuable to your readers. It only has to be effective at drawing visitors to your website. That’s the job of business blogs. That’s the value a professional agency like Ray Access brings to the table.
Spend Time to Write Your Own Content
If you write your own content, you may spend an afternoon on a 500-word blog post. You want it to be right; you want it to be good. You fret over each word, each sentence, and each paragraph. But maybe it’s like pulling teeth — the process just seems to go on and on.
Professional writers like those at Ray Access can write and edit a better blog post in less than half the time it takes you. Writing is what we do. It’s our passion and we’re good at it. If you hire us to write your content, not only don’t you have to spend the time to write your own content, but you can use that time saved to make more money running your business more effectively. It’s a win-win.
Online Writing Takes Expertise
Anyone can write a letter, but online writing is an art and a science. Even good writers often don’t get the nuances of online writing. Besides using keywords correctly, online writers have to accomplish a lot in a little space:
- Connect with the readers — generate trust by speaking to them, not at them
- Establish authority — state your credentials and experience to be believable
- Communicate your unique value proposition — explain what makes your company different
- Convert visitors into customers — contribute to the company’s bottom line
Can you do all that by writing your own content? If so, go for it. You’re the best person qualified to write your company’s online content, as long as you have the time and the energy to do it. But if you can afford even $150 a month, you can get high-quality blog posts twice a month that will drive traffic to your website.
The Often Overlooked Step
Even if you write your own content, you need to have someone else look it over before you publish. It’s no coincidence that publishing houses employ editors, even for big-name authors. Every professional writer knows that a good editor not only helps you avoid careless mistakes, but also actually makes the writing better — more concise, more on-target and more effective.
A professional editor isn’t an optional step; it’s required if you want your content to look professional. Here’s a good example of the value of editing. It takes a rambling thought and laser-focuses it:
BEFORE: “Buildings are filled with mechanical systems which eventually need maintenance, repair, or replacement. Modernizing your plumbing system can prevent future breakdowns as well as add a level of convenience and comfort to your home or business.”
AFTER: “Old buildings contain old plumbing. Upgrading the plumbing not only prevents costly breakdowns in the future, but also saves you money on maintenance, repair and replacement.”
Learn more about the editing services available from Ray Access.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | Jun 13, 2016 | Small Business Advice
Keeping Up When Everything Keeps Changing
WordCamp Asheville Lessons and Takeaways
WordCamp is a weekend conference held in different cities around the globe. All the conferences focus on educating people how to use WordPress — an open-source foundation for building websites. At the same time, each one is organically produced by local people. WordCamp Asheville took place last weekend (June 4–5, 2016), and 2016 WordCamp lessons came in many forms.
A still from the video from Mark’s presentation at WordCamp Asheville in 2015. Watch the video.
Mark spoke at the conference with a well-received presentation titled “You’ve Written Your Blog; Now What?” But the conference provided many opportunities to learn beyond the scheduled sessions. There were networking events, corridor conversations and a “Happiness Bar,” in which WordPress experts of all stripes made themselves available for one-on-one assistance.
WordCamp for Writers?
At Ray Access, we’re writers, not website developers. And while we built our website, rayaccess.com, with WordPress, we had a little help from our friends. In fact, our website is still in a process of evolution. But all websites are never really done. Even now, there are tweaks and content added almost every week.
Because the sessions formed four tracks, including one for all users and another for business people, we didn’t need to be a developer to get valuable tips and advice at the conference. The 2016 WordCamp lessons included:
- How to connect your WordPress website to social media
- How to integrate email marketing into your website
- Where to go for your keyword research
- How to use analytics
- Why Facebook is the gorilla in the room when you talk about social media
- How to drive traffic to your WordPress website
- How Google ranks your website
Particularly Valuable 2016 WordCamp Lessons
If you want to know what we, the writers at Ray Access, consider the most important thing we learned at WordCamp Asheville, then you’re about to be rewarded for reading this far. It doesn’t matter if you use WordPress or not; if you have a website and you blog, this information will help you.
Here’s the most effective way to blog. It’s not the easiest or the most efficient, but if you really want to drive traffic to your website, then you must follow this five-step process. It’s so cool, w’ll probably write more about it in the future. In the meantime, though, here is a trade secret.
5 Steps to Blog Effectively
These steps come from Leah Quintal of JB Media Group:
- Brainstorm your topic. Discover the questions that people — and your potential customers — are asking and address those topics.
- Do your keyword research. Find the keyword phrases that get high volume but have low competition.
- Find out if others have filled that niche. Use the chosen keyword in a Google search.
- Write your content. Finally! Don’t write your blog post until you do steps 1–3.
- Promote your blog post. You’re not done until you’ve put your words where your audience can find them.
Information from these 2016 WordCamp lessons will change the way we blog in the future. We hope they’ll help you too.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | May 31, 2016 | Content Provider
And When to Hire a Professional Agency for It
Let’s face it, large companies have their own in-house writing teams, most likely as part of their marketing departments. So these corporate businesses almost always create their own content in-house. That leaves:
- Small businesses (including start-ups and solopreneurs) and
- Mid-sized businesses who may or may not have a writer on staff
So the decision to hire a professional agency often comes down to need and timing. But there’s more to writing online content than that. The goal of this article is to educate business owners on the demands of online content — what that content has to do — so you can better determine when you can write it yourself or whether you need to call in a pro.
Writing Blog Posts for Your Business
Why do businesses blog? No matter what your business, potential customers are going to have questions about it. Blogs work over time to build brand awareness, educate your customers and drive traffic to your website. The most successful business blogs are published consistently — week after week, every other week or at the very least once a month. The best blog posts are engaging, informative and entertaining.
If you have writers in-house who can deliver consistently good quality blog posts, then use those writers and give them free rein to experiment with topics and keywords. If you don’t have a writer you can trust (or any writers), that’s the time to hire a professional agency. Creating blog posts, which are usually 500–1,000 words in length, takes talent, but these writing projects don’t cost that much. So, as soon as you can comfortably afford even $150 a month (for biweekly posts), hire a professional agency like Ray Access.
Writing Business Website Content
Now that every business (and nearly every individual!) has a website, yours has to find a way to stand out. Unless you have absolutely no competition — for example, you’re the only plumber in town or you’ve invented the best mousetrap — you need exceptional content on your website. Unlike a blog, your website has to:
- Connect with your target audience
- Identify who your target audience is
- Generate trust in your business
- Establish your authority in your field
- Convert visitors into customers
This is a tall order for any writer. You can write your website content yourself or hand the task to an in-house writer whose background is English papers, technical documents or marketing fluff, but the results may not accomplish the bullet points above. And accomplishing all five is what you need. Anything less means lost revenue.
Hire a Professional Agency
Website content is arguably the most important piece of your website. It drives home your message. It explains your business. It sells your products or services. Unless you’re a bare-bones start-up, budget for website content like you budget for website development. If you spend $5000 for a website, do not think that $500 worth of content will make your website an effective lead generation tool.
Ray Access has expert writers and editors who can deliver website content that produces leads and converts visitors. Ray Access has many success stories from customers. In fact, one of our clients recently wrote: “Every time I get a call from a client who says, ‘I found you on the Web,’ I like you guys more and more.” That’s the reason you should hire a professional agency to write your website content.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | May 16, 2016 | Blog Writing
Hit for Batting Average or Swing for the Fences?
When you’re blogging for your business, you often have several goals in mind:
- You want your blog posts to attract visitors, especially new visitors, to your website.
- You want every one of your carefully crafted articles to go viral, bringing your company fame and fortune.
- You want your blog to have a consistency that reinforces your brand identity.
So what’s most important? Or do you need all three for successful business blogging? The experienced writers at Ray Access can answer these questions, but to make it more understandable, especially to those of you who appreciate the nuances of the sport of baseball, the explanations below come in the form of an analogy using the National Pastime. Everyone, even those who don’t like sports at all, should understand the key concepts by the end of this article.
Goal #1: Attract Visitors
Attracting visitors to your website is akin to bringing fans to the ballpark. If your team doesn’t bring in paying fans, your team may fold or be forced to move out of town. Either way, it’s bad for business.
The more fans you can entice to come to the park — through promotions, advertising or producing an exceptional product (i.e., a winning team) — the more successful your business. So attracting visitors (especially new visitors who’ve never seen your team) is actually the Number One job of business blogging. If your blog doesn’t do that, you might as well pack up and go home.
Goal #2: Go Viral
Having a blog post go viral is like hitting a homerun. It’s a big success, the best possible outcome from business blogging. Going viral means your blog post has been seen by thousands or hundreds of thousands of potential customers. It’s been shared on social media and garnered many comments. A viral blog post is like showing your company’s commercial during a telecast of the World Series.
But to accomplish viral business blogging, you need training and luck. It’s more difficult than it is to hit a homerun. And experts have stated that hitting a round baseball with a cylindrical bat is the most difficult thing to do in any sport. Hitting a homerun, then, is even more complicated. Yet somehow, it happens.
If you really put in the effort for every one of your posts in your business blogging efforts, you may get lucky and have some of your posts go viral, but that kind of effort takes time. You have to:
- Find the most attractive, most topical, most desirable and least competitive keywords (i.e., get your head in the game)
- Write a blog post that captures the imagination of your target market (i.e., refine your art through batting practice)
- Promote the blog post to the right audience at the right time for maximum visibility (i.e., make sure the media’s watching when you swing)
- Hope that the day you publish your masterpiece isn’t a big news day and your blog post gets swallowed in a sea of indifference (i.e., pray the game doesn’t get rained out)
Despite your best efforts, luck is always a factor. All you can do is put your best on display. The rest is up to the public — or at least the sliver of the public that forms your target market.
Goal #3: Blog Consistently
When you’re business blogging, being consistent week after week is similar to hitting for a high batting average. A hitter with a .300+ average gets on base more often than a slugger trying to hit homeruns every time up. That makes him “a tough out,” meaning he always finds a way to get the job done and so more often comes through in the clutch.
In business blogging, that kind of consistency has value. It shows you’re dedicated, professional and committed. When you post a new blog every week, you may hit homeruns rarely, if ever. But people get talking about you. Maybe they even look forward to your next blog post to appear.
Like hitting for a high batting average, business blogging takes focused and consistent work. You need time to come up with your topics. You need skill and practice to write week after week. And it matters that you write well. Producing garbage isn’t valuable to anyone. You can’t be up at the plate hacking at pitches like a golfer. You need a clean, level swing and a good batting eye.
Which Approach Scores More Runs?
Homeruns are dramatic. They can take your breath away, especially when they come at opportune moments. But if you swing for the fences every time you step to the plate, you may strike out more often than connecting. Dave Kingman is the perfect example of this all-or-nothing approach. Kingman hit 442 career homeruns, averaging 37 per season, which would put him in the top five most seasons. And yet Dave Kingman is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Hitting for a high average is also a beautiful sight — lacing line drives to the outfield wall, blooping base hits just over the infield’s reach and occasionally blasting a pitch into the seats. Most batting champions these days are not homerun hitters. 
Tony Gwynn is the perfect example of this consistent approach. He averaged a .338 batting average over 20 years, easily good enough to be in the top five most seasons. Tony Gwynn is in the Hall of Fame.
So in the end, when you take on the project of business blogging, you’ll score more runs by being a consistent hitter than by swinging for the fences. If you try for a homerun all the time, you may not publish often enough to make a difference. And your odds for an article going viral actually increase the more often you blog. So follow the example set by the writers at Ray Access: blog weekly, promote your work, and connect with your audience.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | May 3, 2016 | Asheville
A Small Hotbed of Creative Entrepreneurs
Although we can write for any business in the English-speaking world, Ray Access is located, physically, in Asheville, NC. Why is that important? In some respects, it’s not important at all — everyone has to live somewhere. In that light, Asheville is just another spot on the map.
But it’s not. Asheville is a vibrant mountain city of about 80,000 (350,000 if you count the surrounding metro area). It’s not only where Ray Access is located; it’s the place that gave birth to Ray Access. Asheville, NC, is gaining a reputation as a hotbed of creative entrepreneurs. The city has turned a great place to visit (for the Appalachian Trail, the Biltmore Estate and the Blue Ridge Parkway, to name a few highlights) into a great place to live.
Artistic Roots
Back before the population and business boom, rents were inexpensive here — especially in the warehouses down by the river. Artists moved in and transformed the area into the River Arts District. Today, artists of all sorts call Asheville home. The artistic bent has the city leaning decidedly toward “offbeat,” so Asheville has truly become a creative mecca.
Painters, potters, furniture makers, glass blowers and sculptors feel inspired in Asheville. Videographers, writers, storytellers, dancers, actors, musicians and instrument makers have moved here to set up a shop… or a stage. If you know an art form, chances are you’ll find it in Asheville, NC. It’s a place that combines respect for its cultural past with a willingness to adopt new things.
Small Business Incubator
Asheville used to support only three industries:
- Hospitality, thanks to tourism
- Construction, thanks to people moving here
- Health care, thanks to several large hospitals
While those three industries still employ a lot of people, the city today is home to a dynamic small business culture. In fact, 96 percent of businesses here have fewer than 50 employees. The Small Business Administration, University of North Carolina in Asheville and Asheville-Buncombe Community Technical College offer support for small business owners. Mountain Bizworks, a micro-lender, backs small business loans and sponsors educational workshops.
The city boasts dozens of networking meet-ups, a burgeoning tech scene, more craft breweries than you can visit in one weekend, and very popular One Million Cups (1MC) chapter. In fact, Ray Access presented at 1MC in Columbia, SC, which is not only the capital of South Carolina, but it’s also home to a large small business community. And yet, Asheville’s 1MC meetings routinely attract more than twice as many entrepreneurs.
It Rubs Off
The point is that Asheville, NC, offers a supportive environment for small businesses. You can’t attend a networking event without meeting 12 entrepreneurs. The city loves new businesses. Even the local Chamber of Commerce recognizes the importance of small businesses in the community.
In the end, all that support rubs off on every business that opens its doors here. The general population shops at locally owned stores. Restaurants buy locally grown meat and vegetables. Businesses buy from local suppliers. It’s a cycle that keeps small businesses in the black.
Ray Access is proud of its Asheville, NC, home. And now you know why working here helps us make a difference in the local community (by hiring and buying local) and in the global community (by producing effective and creative content for any business that wants the best). Contact Ray Access today to discover what makes us special. Ask about Asheville and receive a five percent discount on your first month of blog posts!
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | Apr 15, 2016 | Blog Writing
Your Blog Posts Keep Your Website Relevant
Here at Ray Access, we specialize in writing website content and blog posts for businesses. We’re professional writers and experts at creating online content that works. Together, the principal writers at Ray Access have decades of writing experience and over ten years of online writing experience. But this article isn’t about why you should hire us; it’s about why you should listen to us.
She’s listening to us; you should too.
A website is only as good as the visibility it provides you (how easy it is to find) and as valuable as the leads it generates (how much it contributes to your bottom line). Consider your company’s website and ask yourself:
- Is it visible? Does it show up on searches?
- Does it draw traffic? Does it attract new visitors?
- Are the right people finding it? Do potential customers come to your website?
- Does it generate leads? Are you getting phone calls and emails from people who found you online?
If you answered “Yes” to these questions, keep doing what you’re doing; it’s working. Otherwise, start making plans to revise your website content or your website content will make you irrelevant.
Every Business Needs a Website
You may laugh at that. Of course every business needs a website! But the Internet is still a relatively recent development. While every business is now online, not every business sees the value in being online. They’re there because that’s what everyone tells them. “Ok, already. We have a website.” But that’s the wrong way to approach your online presence.
Going online isn’t a necessary evil; it’s an opportunity to grow your company potentially beyond your neighborhood or city. It’s a new way to find new customers. Your business needs to have an online presence not because everyone else is going online, but because it makes good business sense. A good website not only pays for itself, but it generates income.
The Role of Your Blog
So how does your blog fit into your website content? A continually updated blog does many good things. For example, a blog:
- Adds valuable content to your website
- Helps your business connect with your customers and potential customers
- Establishes your expertise in your field
- Answers questions people have about your industry
- Allows you to explore topics the rest of your website content doesn’t address
- Attracts more people to your website
- Connects new keywords to your website, making it relevant to a wider audience
- Injects some personality into your website, whether that’s fun, poignant or sophisticated
No Hard Sell
One purpose specifically not listed above is “Sells your product or service.” A blog is not a sales tool; it’s a marketing tool. Its purpose is similar to social media’s:
- To build brand awareness and community
- To educate and inform
- To entertain and engage
If you can accomplish all three of these points, your business will be top-of-mind when someone’s ready to buy. And that’s important for two reasons:
- Not every visitor to your website is ready to buy at that moment.
- People do business with companies they like and trust.
Use your website content to generate revenue long-term. Use your website to convert visitors. But use your blog to build a community. When your audience (or fans or followers) views your website as the Go-To place for information about your industry, they’ll be more likely to buy from you than from your competitors. Find out more about Ray Access’ blog writing services.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
