4 Reasons to Hire Professional Blog Writers

by Mark Bloom | Dec 6, 2016 | Blog Writing

A Pro Frees You Up to Do What You Do Best

Hiring independent, third-party blog writers may sound like more effort than it’s worth, at least at first glance. You have to find qualified writers. You have to test them out. You have manage them. Who wants all that responsibility?

Then you remember struggling with your blog. Finding topics to write about that other people might be interested in. Spending the hours it takes to actually write the darn thing, even when you know what you want to say. And your articles never come out as well as you want them to.

Hire professional bloggers

All that time and effort serves to remind you why you’d at least consider hiring out the writing. So let’s list both the reasons for and benefits of hiring professional blog writers for your company website:

Reason #1: Blog Writers Are Professionals

If you hire a third-party to write your blog posts, you’re hiring a professional writer, someone who makes his (or her) livelihood by writing. This has several significant advantages:

Professional writers hit deadlines, so your blog will never be late again.
Professional blog writers know how to write well — they do it for a living, after all — so your blog posts will always be easy to read.
Professional writers know how to connect with your audience.

Reason #2: Blog Writers Can Do It All for You

When you hire third-party professionals to write your blog posts, they can do it all. They present you with topics for approval. Because they’re not as close to your company as you are, they can come up with interesting topics about your business that you might not have considered.

Professional writers know how to do the time-intensive research to write about your industry. They don’t use Wikipedia or similar websites, but go to authoritative website sources for the information they need. And good professionals also have their work edited before they deliver it. Some third-party professional writers (like those at Ray Access) can manage the whole process for you, including publishing the blog posts on your website!

Reason #3: Blog Writers Free Up Your Time

If you don’t have to write blog posts for your website, you can spend your time more constructively:

Satisfying your customers
Managing your staff
Improving your systems
Making more money

You’re happier and more productive when you do the things you love to do. So if blog writing isn’t one of those things, leave it to an expert while you get to do the things you’re best at doing. In the end, you’ll save time and headaches by hiring out tasks like blog writing — just as you may do for your bookkeeping and marketing.

Reason #4: Professional Blog Writers Do It Better

If you’re not a writer, the process of writing blog posts takes you longer and the end result may not be as powerful as you’d hoped. Professional writers take pride in their work. They make it as good as it can be. They struggle over their words to make them sing.

The resulting blog posts are powerfully effective pieces of content. These articles successfully market your business. They help your customer base by answering questions and building trust. Blogging works to attract visitors to your website. Attract more visitors with a professionally written blog. Because that’s what professional blog writers do.

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.

Working Through the Holidays

by Elle Ray | Nov 29, 2016 | Small Business Advice

It’s Not Optional for Small Business Owners

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it’s time to gear up for the rest of the year-end holidays. The December calendar fills up quickly with parties, family gatherings, shopping trips and charity drives. The kids will be home, your home will be chaotic and your friends who work for someone else will be planning holiday trips to warmer temperatures.

But if you’re like most small business owners, you not only make the bacon, you also wrap it up, sell it, cook it and clean up afterwards. It goes without saying that you’ll be working through the holidays.

Working through the holidays? You bet.

Making Choices

This is a great time of year for reflection. And one consideration that’s tantamount if you’re going to get through another year working through the holidays is to remember that you chose this life. If you wanted to clock out at five, take three- and four-day weekends on a regular basis and get paid while on your holiday cruise, then you would’ve stayed working for someone else who maybe gave you those perks.

But you didn’t. You chose to be the boss. When life gets difficult and you’re tired, remember who’s in charge. Whenever you’d rather not be working through the holidays and you think “everyone else” is having fun, that’s when it’s time to remember that this is your choice. (And believe that you’re not alone; “everyone else” isn’t exactly gallivanting from party to party.)

It’s All About Attitude

In addition to taking responsibility for the predicament you find yourself in this December, a different perspective can help you get your fill of ho-ho, merry-merry, happy-happy wishes. Consider:

You must be doing pretty well if you have so much work that you have to keep working through the holidays.
The parties and the celebrating you do in the future are going to be just that much sweeter because you made a success of your business.
You’re the type of person who understands that sacrifice is required for success.
Others can have the madness, the traffic and the drunkards this year; you get a pass.
You’ll stay positive and pay it forward to everyone you meet this month, because you’re a successful business owner with an attitude of gratitude for your work, your talents, your clients, your staff and your source.

And little tricks don’t hurt either. After all, even the most positive, enlightened among us has a bad day once in a while. Even the most successful go-to guru has a bout of the poor-me’s occasionally. To help you get through the downsides of working through the holidays, here are a few tangible tips:

Focus on what’s in front of you. If you’re stuck in front of your computer writing or managing spreadsheets, get through each day by maintaining your focus on the task at hand. If you’re glad-handing new clients, don’t think about tomorrow or next week and what others may be doing. Stay committed to your business.
Stay hydrated, take time to exercise and eat well. When you’re physically run down, it’s even more difficult to maintain a positive attitude, especially when self-pity knocks.
Prepare for the busy end-of-year obligations that every small business owner faces and get some of it out of the way early whenever you can so that you might have time for a cup of cocoa near the fire and maybe a few hours to open gifts with the family.
Take little mini-breaks to call your adult kids or your parents. Pack a lunch with Christmas cookies and turkey sandwiches. Drink hot cider or cocoa to bring the season’s treats to you.
Make plans for a big holiday trip next year. Or plan to take off during a slow time for your business, perhaps in the summer or during the bleak days of February. Give yourself something short-term to look forward to that will propel you through any misgivings you have about working through the holidays.

Happy Holidays from your friends at Ray Access!

How Content Can Save Your Business

by Mark Bloom | Nov 22, 2016 | Content Provider

Protect Your Business Name & Your Reputation

If you’re a savvy business owner, you know the value of content marketing. Fresh, original content on your website — delivered consistently — can:

Catch the attention of search engines
Engage your customers
Bring traffic to your website
Deliver potential customers to your door

protect your business name

But while it’s true that content can help you grow your business, consider for a moment how it actually can save your business. The answer lies in the power of the written word. And the written word can protect your business name by sharing the best that your business can offer.

Online and Offline Marketing

Marketing on the Internet is inherently different than marketing in the “real” world. Out there, the saying that “any publicity, even bad publicity, is good for your business.” Any publicity in the real world is like free advertising, and even bad publicity can bring in new customers — people who want to see for themselves if the story was true or those who always side with the underdog.

But online, bad publicity is bad publicity. If someone leaves a bad review on any number of social media sites or review sites — like Google My Business or Yelp — it’s there for everyone to see. Fortunately, you still can protect your business name from that kind of publicity.

Content Saves the Day

Customer reviews definitely make a difference to your online reputation. A bad review can actually drive potential customers away. So you have to take steps to protect your company name online. There are two strategies for dealing with negative reviews. Both involve content.

The first strategy to protect your business name is through engagement. If someone writes a negative review, the worst thing you can do is ignore it. Engage the writer. Even if they’re wrong, offer to make it right. For the price of a free meal or a replacement widget, you can get an amazing public relations win. You don’t always have to offer something for free, but you should always respond to a bad review with genuine concern.

The second strategy is to bury the bad review with positive reviews. If your company is in the habit of encouraging reviews from your customers, you’ll get many more positive reviews than negative ones, assuming your business provides goods or services people want. You know you have satisfied customers; get them to write how they feel. The new positive reviews will push the bad review so far down the list that hardly anyone will see it.

Protect Your Business Name

Content isn’t just a one-way street in terms of communication. While it’s important to get your message out there and provide the kind of information your potential customers are looking for, don’t overlook the fact that your customers want to talk to you as well. Engage your customers — and potential customers — with quality content.

Having an online presence means being vigilant. The Internet is forcing businesses to expand their ideas of what customer relations mean. In today’s world, “your call is very important to us” rings hollow and false. Instead, use online content through blogs, blurbs and posts to engage your customer base, educate the public, seek feedback on how you’re doing, and yes, protect your business name.

If you can’t do it yourself, you can find reputable businesses to help you. Ray Access can provide the online content to protect your business name, but it’s not specifically a reputation management firm.

Writing Tips: Write Like You Talk

by Elle Ray | Nov 14, 2016 | Writing

13 Writing Tips from a Professional Blog Writer

A funny thing happened on the way to keyboard. I became a completely different person.

writing tips - write like you talk

“Who wrote that?” asked my editor. “I did,” I told him, quite proud of the words I’d conjured up — the lengthy sentences that I’m sure were grammatically correct and written in the tone of a scholar that I’d adopted. I believed that I had successfully integrated all the writing tips I’ve ever heard over a lifetime of training into that short article.

But at that time, I wasn’t writing for a group of academics; I was writing for the general public. I had a story to tell, and I wanted regular people to read what I’d written. I had important information to impart to people who would surely marvel at my talent for literary composition.

Boy, was I wrong.

Where’s the Beef?

The lessons I learned from that editor still ring loud and true today. And really, they’re more powerful today than ever. Never before had a few short writing tips hit the mark more clearly. I was humbled, yet resilient. As my editor told me: I had to remember the basics of writing and the reasons for it.

Writing is a form of communication, after all. And if you don’t get your message across — if it gets bogged down in some crazy notion that to be respected as a writer you have to become someone else — then you’ve wasted your time putting the words to paper and wasted your readers’ precious time, too. And through it all, you still have a message to send.

Don’t Get Lost in the Cracks

Whether you’re writing a blog for your company website, an email to a potential client, an article or a book, the best way to get your message across is to write like you talk. The way you talk is the way people listen. Take this example:

“The strange mix of euphoria and revulsion he felt, strategically shielded from the world by the impenetrable tint of his sunglasses, protected his delicate sensibilities and sad longings from the intimate goings-on that surrounded him on a daily basis as he wandered from one desolate, deserted place to another in search of affection and meaning.”

Versus this example:

“He wore dark glasses as he roamed the streets because he didn’t want anyone to see his emotions.”

While the first example might be suitable for a long novel, it can’t be used anywhere else. The actual meaning gets lost when you try to sound intellectual. In most forms of writing, you have to get to the point. And the point isn’t whether you’re smart or talented; it’s whether you can be understood.

Get to the Point

To help with your next project, consider the following writing tips. They’ll not only make writing a little easier, they’ll ultimately help you get your message across, succinctly and to the point:

Relax, you can fix the errors later
Say what you mean
Read — a lot
Read with a critical eye
Use as few words as possible to make your point
Keep sentences short
Avoid industry jargon
Eliminate useless words that sneak in (such as can, will and generally)
Rely on punctuation to control the flow
Write first, then edit
Ask for criticism
Read your writing out loud before you publish
And don’t listen to all the writing tips you hear; just write from your heart

And of course, when all else fails and you just can’t seem to get the hang of easily knocking out your company newsletter in a decent amount of time without taking up your whole day, contact the professional writers at Ray Access. It’s not just what we do; it’s all we do.

Does Your Website Trick or Treat?

by Mark Bloom | Oct 31, 2016 | Website Content

Build Trust with Your Website Content Honestly

This Halloween, more children are going to be treated than tricked. Those costumed kids may shout, “Trick or treat!” from your front stoop, but you know there’s no trick, just plenty of treats. Candy. That’s what the holiday is all about.

Use Halloween to build trust with your website

In the virtual world of the Internet, people still want that kind of innocent simplicity. They expect it, just like the kids on your stoop expect candy. If you’re looking for information on how to make your own chocolate, for example, you don’t have the time or patience to sit through a commercial, you want the darn recipe. And yet many businesses still deliver ads instead of information. That’s a trick.

Treat, Don’t Trick

When your business builds trust through its website by delivering on a promise, visitors appreciate and remember that. It’s a simple thing to be honest with your online content, and it’s something Ray Access prides itself on. If your website has a page explaining how to make chocolate, visitors expect to see a simple recipe or even better, a video. If you can manage to present the information clearly, in a way that’s easily scannable, you’ve won some converts.

If, however, your website lapses into hyperbole or outright lying just to draw a crowd, it may enjoy an early surge of popularity, but eventually it has to fail. Don’t trick your visitors. While you may attract a small stream of new visitors, no one will ever return — kind of like the creepy house that gives out that hard candy from the 1940s. No one ever goes back for seconds.

Build Trust with Your Website

Your website is more than your online storefront; it’s the face of your company. You can use it to build a community loyal to you, or you can fill your pages with ads. Consider which site brings visitors back. When you build trust with your website, you connect with your visitors in an emotional way. A positive way. When you use your website to sell everything you can, you also spark an emotional reaction. A negative one.

Build trust with your website content, and you’ll get to sell your products or services because people do business with people and companies they genuinely like. And you get people to like you by being honest with them. Treat your website visitors; don’t trick them.

Click-Bait

“Click-bait” has become the new irresistible Internet advertising scheme. And it seems to be everywhere. Click-bait is the headline that piques your interest enough to click on it. When you land on a click-bait page, however, you’re treated to a multi-page advertising engine that provides just enough enticing content — on average about 10 percent of the total page — to keep you clicking.

In other words, click-bait is a vehicle for ensnaring people browsing the Internet. But click-bait articles rarely deliver on the promises of their original headlines. Instead, it’s just a way to show you more ads.

Be a Halloween Favorite

If you don’t build trust with your website, you may be succumbing to click-bait mentality. Don’t be that guy, that girl or that company that gives out crappy candy on Halloween. Invest in candy people actually want, and they’ll come back.

It’s the exact same philosophy with your website. Don’t use click-bait headlines to draw in visitors. Deliver clear, consistent, honest information on your website. Visitors appreciate it; they’ll remember you because of it. When they need your product or service, they’ll return. And then, instead of asking for candy, they’ll be asking for your business.

Dudes with ‘Tudes

by Elle Ray | Oct 25, 2016 | Communication

How to Avoid Creating an Email with Attitude

Don't send email with attitude

Many people believe the best way to convey a strong or sensitive message in a non-threatening manner is through writing — in an email, a text, a social media post or (God forbid) a written letter. Sending a message in writing may seem to be somehow less personal, less threatening and maybe even less dangerous. Maybe you think you can avoid a scene or avoid an unwanted response like tears or threats.

The fact is that your attitude shows in everything you touch, whether it’s through your tone of voice, in your body language or via the written word. Text messages and email with attitude rank among the greatest offenders these days. Still, these old words stand today:

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
― Winston S. Churchill

Be Careful What You Wish For

Imagine for a moment that you need a client to submit some guidance on a project with a firm deadline, but that client is procrastinating and keeps putting you off. You need him to respond or you’re going to miss your deadline. (Of course, this never would happen in real life, right? Things like content delays are fiction.)

You’ve sent several nice requests through email and had a very pleasant phone conversation during which the client agreed with you while reiterating his need for you to meet his deadline. And then — deafening silence. You wish you didn’t have to go through this. You make a mental note not to work with this difficult client again, but you’re still stuck.

So you decide to write another email, this time a little stronger, expressing your need. You say what’s on your mind in such a way that you infer he’s sabotaging the project and making your life a living hell. He responds rather quickly this time by firing you and taking his business elsewhere. You never came right out and accused him of anything, but your tone was very clear.

Words Matter

The words you use matter. As professional writers for our clients, the team at Ray Access is especially sensitive to the impression that tone takes in a written piece of work. Our writers and editors have been on the receiving end of those messages and lost our share of goodwill through a poorly worded email with attitude. But we’ve learned from those mistakes.

Remember, when you send emails and texts, the person who receives your message can’t see your body language. A slightly titled head, raised eyebrows and conciliatory half-smile go a very long way when you have to deliver unpleasant news. But you’re a blank slate when sending an email. Also, it’s really hard to hear your own voice when you’re upset or angry. The words come pouring out when you’re emotional. You don’t often consider how they’ll appear on the other end.

Tone It Down

Tone is difficult to convey in writing. Ideally, you’d have a partner who’s willing to be honest with you (like we fortunately do at Ray Access) to whom you can send an email with attitude before sending it off to its intended target.

“Wow, that’s not really necessary to say,” a true friend or partner may tell you when you’re about ready to blow it up. “Why don’t you phrase it like this…” These pearls of wisdom can save your skin. A few other quick tips to avoid sending an email with attitude that can ruin an otherwise good relationship include:

Consider your source. If you’re sending a message to someone you know is very sensitive, tone down your words even more and pepper your message with soft-pedaling positivity.
Ask for clarification from someone before sending an accusatory or harmful note. You actually may be the one who has misunderstood a message.
Keep it short. You’re less likely to offend in an email with attitude when you keep the word count to a minimum — just stick to the facts.
Pick up the phone instead. When all else fails, go old school and try a face-to-face meeting. You may be surprised how sharing a meal or even a cup of coffee can set the stage for mutual understanding and respect — just when you thought all was lost.

Protect Your Eyes from the Computer

by Mark Bloom | Oct 17, 2016 | Office

Your Electronic Screens Can Hurt Your Vision

protect your eyes from the computer

The good news is that computers, televisions and other electronic devices aren’t as bad for your eyes as they once were. That’s because cathode ray tubes emitted a low level of X-ray radiation while the new LCD screens give off none. So there used to be an element of truth behind the admonition: “Don’t sit too close to the TV or you’ll go blind!”

A cathode ray tube once provided the only type of screen you could watch outside of a movie theater. Electronic devices today are much more sophisticated… and eye-friendly. But that doesn’t mean constantly checking your cellphone or spending hours in front of a computer screen is good for your eyes.

The Real Threat to Eyesight

Today, people are spending more and more time using technology. In fact, one report found that Americans spend 11 of 18 waking hours a day with some kind of electronic device, including television (as of 2014, see the chart below). To protect your eyes from the computer and other devices, you have to guard against eyestrain.

Find more statistics at Statista

Too much uninterrupted screen time can actually cause a condition called computer vision syndrome or digital eye strain. The symptoms of this medically recognized condition include:

Headache
Tired eyes
Blurry vision
Light sensitivity
Neck pain
Dry eyes
Contact lens irritation
Inability to focus

Working on a computer, reading on a tablet and messaging on a smart phone all take their toll on your eyes. It’s not the same as reading a book because electronic screens emit light. Long term, continued and unprotected screen time, especially up close, can lead to age-related macular degeneration, a condition that can cause blindness if left untreated.

How to Protect Your Eyes from the Computer

The principals of Ray Access are certainly no Luddites when it comes to technology, but it still makes sense to protect your eyes from the computer. Fortunately, there are several products and techniques to help you do exactly that. Follow these tips:

Think ergonomically. If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen, set it up so that the top of the screen is even with your eye level. You should never sit so that you’re looking up at the screen. Also, your computer screen should be two to three feet from your eyes.
Set the lighting. Make sure there’s no glare being reflected on your screen. Glare adds to eyestrain. Eliminate fluorescent lighting if possible and keep the light level slightly below the light level of your screen, whether it’s a computer, tablet or cellphone.
Consider filters. Either a specific blue light filter or special computer eyeglasses can protect your eyes from the computer. If you suffer from eyestrain, consider this an investment in the health of your eyes.
Limit your time in front of a screen. The 20-20-20 rule applies here. The idea is that every 20 minutes, focus your eyes away from the screen for 20 seconds at an object that’s about 20 feet away. Even 20 seconds gives your eyes a needed break.
Get proper eye care. If you look at electronic screens all the time, make sure you schedule regular vision tests with your optometrist or ophthalmologist.

And that’s how you can protect your eyes from the computer, tablet, phone and any other electronic device. It’s the best way to keep your eyes healthy.

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

by Elle Ray | Oct 11, 2016 | Blog Writing

How to Tell if Online Claims Are True or Not

Every day, we hear about scams and outrageous online claims. At the same time, we count on the Internet and its vast network of content suppliers to keep us up-to-date on trends and news affecting our families, communities and businesses. Many people rely on the credibility of a blog to make important life decisions.

don't believe all online claims

We’ve always amazed at some of the stuff people fall for. But we question our own gullibility every day. If you believe the horrendous online claims of parents whose children were permanently damaged by vaccines, why don’t you give blog credibility to the likes of third-world country posts that show kids with no teeth who’ve never been exposed to fluoride?

Do Your Homework

As a company that prides itself on accuracy, Ray Access finds this is an especially pertinent question. To find our way through the maze of information and online claims, we take extra precautions to use only reliable sources. For example, to write about a medical issue, Ray Access writers are not allowed to use WebMD as a source. Wikipedia and YouTube are never allowed as credible sources. These sites have zero blog credibility because they are open-source and anyone can add content to them. Others, like WebMD, hire out cheap writing labor to fill their pages.

We might find an interesting tidbit on a site that’s notorious for spreading rumors that aren’t always backed up by science or history or true experts in the field. We may want to believe that little gem of information, but we cannot take the chance that it could be fraudulent. Yet just as easily, it could be the nugget we needed to provide an interesting twist to a blog or a valuable example for a new webpage we’re writing.

The only way we’d use a piece of information from an unreliable source is if we double-checked it against a truly practical, qualified website with substantial blog credibility. For example, let’s say we find a YouTube piece about the latest green material used in the building of popular, trending tiny houses. Before we could include that information in our real estate client’s blog, we’d check it out with a university or government website. We have to be sure it’s accurate before we use it.

writing process at work

One Extra Click

Often, all it takes is one extra click on another website to verify online claims. The more you research and write, the more you understand the blog credibility factor and how it works. If, for example, you read a blog on Business Insider, you can pretty much bet that it’s going to be true. On the other hand, a blog on MedicineNet about a new diabetes drug may need some double-checking because that site is run by WebMD, a site that is not inherently trustworthy.

Discover who owns a website by scrolling to the bottom of the site’s homepage. MedicineNet sure sounds like a good source (and many of its blogs may be very true), but because of its origins, it needs to be verified with one more click to somewhere like the National Institutes of Health or the Cleveland Clinic. Even a medical doctor’s site might be able to give you that extra validation you want (and we require).

Consider the Source for Blog Credibility

The bottom line is that not all online claims are true, but you know that. It’s those questionable sources that really can get you into trouble. Figure that government sites are under pretty strict rules about what they can and cannot print, as are journalists at credible news organizations who always must double-source their stories.

A few more tips to help you decide whether to trust a source include:

Check out the author. When a blog has an author, you’re one step closer to true blog credibility because that person is willing to stake her reputation on it. One click to find out more about the author should seal the deal.
Consider the date of the post. If a blog post doesn’t have a date, exit and find something else. You really need a date to even know whether you should follow up on the information that may or may not still be relevant today.
Look at the domain. It used to be that .org was a pretty good sign that you had yourself some blog credibility, but not anymore. Any nonprofit can claim a .org designation and push their propaganda through it. Instead, look for .edu or .gov for your secondary click. Beware, however, that students often get use of their schools’ .edu domain. Never, for example, use term papers as sources.
Review the website’s design. It can give you clues about how relevant and trustworthy a site is. If it’s garbled, difficult to read and full of weird graphics, its content probably is too.
And follow this grammarian’s rule of thumb: Everyone makes mistakes; that’s the very definition of being human. But too many grammatical and/or spelling errors on a webpage should send up a big red flag.

Ray Access provides authoritative and engaging blog writing services if you want to be sure you’re getting the real deal and not getting taken for a ride.

How to Tap into the Digital Economy

by Mark Bloom | Oct 3, 2016 | Small Business Advice

tap into the digital economy

The Longer You Wait, The More Difficult It’ll Be

As of 2016, nearly 3.5 billion people, about 40 percent of the world’s population, are connected to the Internet in some way. In the United States, about 87 percent of the country’s men, women and children go online. Of that 13 percent who don’t use the Internet:

Over half (57 percent) are age 50 or older.
About a third never earned a high school diploma.
And almost a quarter earn less than $30K a year.

So unless your primary target market focuses on poor, uneducated retirees, your business needs to have an active (or better, interactive) online presence. Your business needs to be growing its Internet marketing activities year after year, because it’s the digital economy that’s expanding. By 2020, there may be as many as 20 billion Internet-connected devices (and only 7.5 billion people) in the world.

It Starts with a Website

Most businesses — including startups and nonprofits — now have a website. But that’s only the beginning if you want to really engage your customer base. If all your website does is list your business name, store hours, and contact information, you have a yellow pages entry, not a website. If you’ve paid someone to build your website but have never received a call or email from a potential customer who found you online, your website isn’t doing you any good.

A website is more than a 24/7 storefront in the digital economy. Your site can do so much more; all it needs is some attention. The principals at Ray Access have always maintained that “if you’re ignoring your website, your website’s ignoring you.” To tap into the digital economy of the future, you need to start now to lay the groundwork.

the devices of the digital economy

The Digital Economy Is Waiting for You

Not every business needs to be engaging social media. If your customers use it, then you need to engage them there, if for no other reason than to keep your company’s name in front of their eyes. (In fact, engaging social media is worthy of a whole series of future blog posts.) But every business can benefit from an active website.

To sell your products or services, your business needs a website that accomplishes a number of goals:

Attracts potential customers — not just “eyeballs,” but the right “eyeballs”
Answers questions about your business and your industry
Presents your business as a leader in your field with a distinct advantage
Establishes trust — because you do what you say you’re going to
Helps people like you — not in the Facebook sense, but in a real-world way
Persuades visitors to contact you

Let Ray Access Get Your Business on Track

You may think this is a tall order, but this is exactly what Ray Access provides its clients. Website content is the vehicle that helps you reach your business goals. A business blog provides your company an outlet to educate your audience and provide answers that people are searching for.

In the new digital economy, no one is going to beat a path to your door, even if you have the world’s best mousetrap. You need to engage the Internet to participate. You need an active website and a vibrant blog. You need Ray Access.

Buy Local

by Elle Ray | Sep 25, 2016 | Small Business Advice

Is It a Buzzword or Just Good Business Practice?

Call it a trend, if you will. Wherever you live, you’ve likely heard the phrase. “Buy local” is the mantra of the day as we near the end of 2016. You hear it bandied about from boardrooms to back rooms. But do companies that spout the mantra on a daily basis really practice what they preach?

buy local to build the local economy

And though you may espouse the principles, are you willing to sometimes pay a little more for the honor of buying local? Do local vendors get extra points when you put out a Request for Proposals (RFPs)? And how well do you search your local area in support of local vendors?

These questions, and many more like them, represent an interesting exploration for business owners of small and large companies alike. Each question demands an honest answer if you want to join the buy local movement. Keep in mind another common mantra that has ruled the world for centuries: “What goes around comes around.” If you expect to be given consideration for being local, then you must take even greater pains to buy local.

Why Bother

First of all, buying local means that more money stays in the local economy, so more resources are spread around to local businesses — very likely, yours too. Local employment benefits when you choose to buy a locally produced product or service instead of buying a cheaper version online or from a big box store.

If you love your town and cherish your way of life, the only way to sustain that environment is to support local business. The influx of major retailers, for example, is what led to the many downtown ghost towns that dot the country today. And finally, when down times hit, as surely they will, your town and your business are more likely to withstand a recessive economy if the biggest portion of your resources circulates locally.

Hold Them Accountable

While individuals often make substantial sacrifices to support local businesses, the buy local movement also should embrace a cadre of monitors to call out those companies who espouse the practice, but don’t put it into effect behind closed doors.

Questions to ask your boss, your local Chamber of Commerce and your city leaders:

Who did your most recent marketing plan/survey/business analysis?
How many employees have you hired outside of the local area?
Who writes your website content?
Where is your advertising/payroll/recruiting firm located?
Where do you take clients for lunch?
Who created your signs/graphics/logo?

The questions could go on and on; the point is that if you don’t hold your employers, professional business organizations and municipal leaders accountable, they can just continue with the front-end image-making nonsense that they spew to get attention for being “good corporate citizens.” And all the while, they can carry out their business-as-usual RFPs that give local vendors no chance to compete.

Give Them Accolades

At the same time, if you ask your professional colleagues those same questions and you get positive, truly common-sense answers that show how they buy local whenever possible, give them loud kudos. As an advocate for the local economy, it behooves you to call out the hypocrites and congratulate the true visionaries who practice what they preach.

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