Gobble Gobble!

by Elle Ray | Nov 26, 2014 | Blog Writing

Is That the Turkey or Your Mother-in-Law?

That’s the question we’ve always wanted to ask. That sound — gobble, gobble — could be what turkeys mutter as they voice their displeasure. Or it could be what people (not just your mother-in-law) sound like at the Thanksgiving Day table. Or it could be both. Both, we could argue, represent this holiday.

happy Thanksgiving from Ray Access

Perhaps the bigger question is how that ties into the business of business blogging, since that is one of the things we do at Ray Access. It’s not such a stretch when you take the time to consider it. We cover a wide range of topics on this blog, from writing tips to ergonomic office furniture to small business tips to fashion advice (of all things). We can write about Thanksgiving if we want to.

Tying Your Blogs into Current Events

The point is that it sometimes the subject of your blog post doesn’t matter. You want to be able to reach out on your blog to attract a wide variety of readers. Readers who come to your blog are visitors to your website. If your blog is working properly, you are attracting the right audience. For Ray Access, our audience is anyone with a business or a message. So we cast a wide net.

You can do the same. Write about current events, holidays, or popular subjects. Use keywords that people are currently searching for. You may attract new readers and new visitors to your website. Once they arrive, they may decide to take a look around your website, especially if they fit your target demographic.

How to Write Current Event Blog Posts

what does Thanksgiving corn have to do with writing? The trick to tying your blog posts to current events is to find the angle that connects your business to the event or holiday. It’s not that difficult to do. For example, in this blog post, we’re discussing writing techniques for blog posts, but tying it to the Thanksgiving holiday. Reread that last sentence. Taken out of context, it seems like a stretch, and yet this post hits the mark.

Anyone looking for Thanksgiving tips, the sound a turkey makes or complaints about mothers-in-law may find our little blog post and gain some insight about writing. If they are also a business owner and find themselves in need of writing help, they’ll likely remember us.

At least, that’s our evil plan.

You Can Do It Too

All you need is to set aside some time — an hour, several minutes, whatever you can squeeze into your schedule — and brainstorm a few ideas about how to connect your business to current events. It can be a direct tie, as when we wrote a blog post for a gastroenterologist client about the illnesses on cruise ships in the news. Or it could be more abstract, like tying a business-writing business to the Thanksgiving holiday.

If you get stuck, call in the pros at Ray Access. We do this for a living. We can help you attract a wider audience while gradually raising your page rank. Content marketing works, but only if you keep at it. Don’t let complacency drop your page rank; let us help.

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.

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

by Mark Bloom | Aug 1, 2014 | Writing

When You’re Stuck for the Right Words

Everyone goes through periods when the words just won’t come. You sit and stare at the page or the screen, and you can’t imagine what comes next, whether you’re working on a novel, a blog post or a letter to your brother in Raleigh.

when you have writer's block, what do you do?

Writer’s block. When it hits, it stops all your creative juices. You feel like a second-grader on the day of the spelling bee. You begin to wonder if you bit off more than you could chew by volunteering to write the invitation to your Labor Day party.

There’s Hope, Even for You

We are professional writers and editors here at Ray Access. We can’t afford to get stopped by writer’s block. Literally, we can’t afford it.

So we’ve developed a few simple tricks and tips to jump-start our creative juices when we need them right now. We’d like to share them with you, so you don’t fall victim to this productivity-stopper. Fear not; there is hope for you, not matter what your level of writing or the scope of your writing project.

Step 1: Acknowledge & Recover

Writer’s block happens; it’s not anything you did. Repeat this to yourself: “Writer’s block happens; it’s not my fault.” Accept it. You aren’t suffering writer’s block because you’re a crappy writer or because all your good ideas have dried up. Writer’s block happens to every writer at one time or another.

Once you can accept that, you can begin to recover from the initial shock of helplessness. And that’s what writer’s block feels like: helplessness, the inability to do work or be productive.

Step 2: Shake It Off

when you're stuck, go for a walk When you’re stuck, the best thing to do is to do something to clear your mind. Put aside your pen, stylus or keyboard. Get up from wherever you’re sitting. If you’re suffering from writer’s block, it’s definitely time for a break. Get a cup of coffee or tea. Stretch your muscles, take a walk, meditate, or go for a drive or bike ride. A change of scenery definitely helps recharge your batteries.

Another trick is to remember how good a writer you really are. It’s empowering to review your older work, even if it’s just past letters you wrote. If you wrote that, you can write anything. Trust yourself.

Step 3: Try Something Different

Allow yourself to look at your project from different perspectives or different angles — including from above and below. You might have missed something. When all else fails, put it aside and work on something else, like a timed writing exercise. Here are some tips:

Write for ten minutes about your favorite color, food or person. Here are the only rules:

Write freehand, pen on paper, for the best results.
Keep your hand moving.
Don’t cross out.
Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar.
Lose control. The whole idea is to let go.
Don’t think. Don’t plan. Don’t get logical.
Go for the jugular. Dive into absurdity and write. Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure.

Step 4: Look for Good Advice

Erica Jong, author of Fear of Flying and other books, believed that “all writing problems are psychological problems. Blocks usually stem from the fear of being judged. If you imagine the world listening, you’ll never write a line.”

For writer and poet Charles Bukowski, “Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all…”

Author Lili St. Crow summed up the feeling: “You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of [her].”

With that thought in mind, make your deal: “OK, Muse, you take care of the quality; I’ll take care of the quantity.” Then it’s just a matter of getting your butt back in the chair to write again. It works for us.

To Write or Not to Write

by Elle Ray | Jun 10, 2014 | Writing

How to Write Effectively in the 21st Century

Today’s Shakespeares look harder at page rankings and reader conversion numbers than at what’s actually on the page. But those days are fast coming to a close. Search engines have been tweaked to recognize the keyword-stuffed, quick-hit advert-articles that have plagued the Web for years. Now they are seeking — nay, demanding — that you put consistent, meaningful quality content on your website or just go home.

keep writing ... longer articles

The Long or Short of It

The average visitor to a website leaves within 10 to 20 seconds — but that assumes there is obviously nothing of value on the page. Research now shows that if you can capture the attention of readers within those first important seconds, you can keep them there for much longer. And the longer the visit, the more likely you’ll make a sale.

The days of needing to keep blogs, Web pages and articles short to hold readers’ attention are gone. Born again is the prospect of enticing readers to continue reading, to find value in your writing and to stay — and even scroll — to finish your piece. According to researchers at Microsoft, the length of your copy is not as important as the first few lines of copy you offer. So whether you write 250 words or 2,500 words, if you don’t capture readers’ attention in the first couple lines, they’re out of there. Click.

Search Engines Like Quality

Now, attracting readers in the first place is another story. The top 10 listings on Google for a sample keyword search each had more than 2,000 words on their landing pages. The sites aren’t ranked high just because they have a lot of copy; they receive the top spots because they have a lot of rich copy — words that convey a useful message, a message that readers want to read and can’t stop reading. Websites that provide more of what readers want are getting the most respect from search engines.

The adage that’s been working its way through the Web-marketing world the last few years is: “Copy is king.” It seems now that copy is king, queen, jack and the entire court.

Readers Like Quality

Readers prefer rich copy, too. They are more willing to re-post blogs with longer, useful content than shorter, unappealing copy. Quick Sprout analyzed 327 blog posts and found that posts with more than 1,500 words received 22.6 percent more likes on Facebook and 68.1 percent more tweets than shorter articles.

One phenomena linked to these findings is that people are searching for more complex terms than ever before, using up to eight words in a search — which by the way is called a “long tail.” With more copy, you increase the odds that you’ll fit those searches. When they find you, the odds also increase that readers will convert to customers too.

So when asked whether it’s better to write more or less, the answer today is: “More is better!” Richer is better and more is better. But when you’ve got to have it all done right, more rich content is something that we at Ray Access can do too.

Ray Access Today

We’ve bought into the traditional rap that blogs need to be fewer than 500 words to be effective. But we’re retuning our concepts to align with the Google monster that rules so much of what occurs on the Web. Expect to see longer blogs from us occasionally. It’s still time-consuming, and we’ll have to charge more for longer blogs, but with the right combination of length and quality, we expect to get better results, just as you will.

We can’t just throw up some nonsense blog or give you just a quick peek at a really hot new trend. We’ve got to give you reasons and research, reality and really rich rewards if we expect you to stay. And if we expect you to convert and call us, we better give you something worth your while. Let us know. Did we?

Writing for Your Audience

by Mark Bloom | Jun 4, 2014 | Writing

Choosing the Right Tone and Language

ask us if you have a question about writing

Targeting your website — or any communication from your company to your customers — is a matter of building a relationship. To make that connection, you have to use language that’s familiar to those you’re trying to reach. For example, it may be all right to use slang when you’re writing to attract teenagers, but not when your audience is composed of CEOs.

The language and style you employ in your writing should be geared to the audience — the customers — you want to attract. Speak their language, and you stand a better chance of connecting with them. If you build a relationship with your target demographic, whatever it is, you’ll stand a better chance of selling your products or services to them.

How Ray Access Does It

When we take on new clients, we always pose the same set of questions. One of them includes who their customers are: the general public, doctor’s offices, or women aged 35–55. Your target audience defines how we will write both your website and your blog posts.

We like to meet our clients in person, to get a feel for who they are and to listen to them when they speak. When we start writing for them, we set aside time for the client to approve the style and language, as well as the content, of our initial draft. We expect some back-and-forth of the copy until our client approves.

One time, a client removed all the contractions we’d put into the copy. Another client changed specific words. It’s exactly the kind of feedback we want at this stage. Once we know our client’s preferences, in addition to the target audience, we know we can deliver content that will appeal to both our client and the intended audience.

How You Can Do It

creating your own content takes time If you want to create your own content — for your website, your blog, or your brochure — you must know who you want to read what you write. Who is your audience? Who will buy your products or services? Write to them in a friendly, engaging way.

Whether you need to be formal or casual depends on both your personality and your audience. Study your competitor’s websites. See what type of language they use. Are they doing a good job connecting to their audience? How can you be different enough to stand out? These simple questions can point you in the right direction.

When You Can’t Do It

If you get stuck, or if you don’t know where to start despite the advice in this article, contact Ray Access for help. We are pros when it comes to writing your website, your blog posts, your brochure or whatever you need. We’ve written hundreds of blog posts for a diverse set of clients. We’ve written websites as small as six pages and as large as over a hundred pages. Since we are a partnership, we write and edit everything that we send to you, so you can be sure it’s clean copy free of errors.

Let us be your voice to your customers!

3 Simple Things to Do to Become a Better Writer

by Elle Ray | Mar 23, 2014 | Writing

Anyone Can Benefit from These Tips, Even You!

Here at Ray Access, we are professional writers. We became writers the old-fashioned way: we worked at it by writing and rewriting. You can too. Here are three simple things you can do to improve your writing skills.

1. Read

read what you want to write

That’s right: reading helps your writing. Ideally, we suggest that you read the types of things you want to write. If you want to write science fiction, load your shopping cart with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark. If you want to write for the newspaper, read — not scan, but really read — everything from the local rag to the New York Times. And of course, if you want to blog, read other blogs. Like this one!

Here’s how it works: when you read, your mind takes in the words on the page, the ideas behind those words, and the way the words are strung together. Before you can write like a genius, you have to know what a genius writes like.

It’s also important to read a variety of authors, so when you begin to write, you don’t subconsciously copy the tone and cadence of the one you like the best. A little of that likely will happen anyway, but your influences gradually fade as your own voice becomes stronger.

2. Write

Write every day Like any skill, writing requires practice to improve. If you wanted to become a better baseball pitcher, you’d have to practice throwing. To become a better carpenter, you spend years refining your skills and knowledge. Writing is no different.

Now you’ve probably heard that writing is an “art,” meaning it’s something only artists can do. At a certain level, that’s true, but very few people reach that level. For the rest of us, writing is a craft, like knitting or driving. The more you do it — when you have the intention of improving; when you do it consciously — the better you’ll get at it.

The best advice for becoming a better writer is to write. Practice every day. It doesn’t matter what you write about or how good that writing is. Just keep writing. Keep a journal. Your writing will improve the more you do it.

3. Solicit Constructive Criticism

seek objective criticism When you feel you’re ready to share your writing, find a person or a group who promise to be brutally honest. Sharing your writing with your mother or your best friend might be nice for them, but it usually will not improve your writing. You need an objective, impartial reader.

Writers need feedback. Writers need to have their work read. It’s the primary reason Mark left the lucrative field of technical writing: no one reads technical manuals except other technical writers. Mark needed a broader audience. You will too when you suddenly find yourself writing.

So continue to read, write every day, and seek outside feedback. These are three things you can do, in order, to become a better writer. Writing a blog post will no longer feel like climbing Mount Everest. Composing a letter or email will no longer take all day. And maybe someday you can join the ranks of professional writers, just like Linda and Mark of Ray Access.

Who Needs a Blog?

by Mark Bloom | Mar 17, 2014 | Small Business Advice

How to Decide If Your Business Needs a Blog

We could say everyone needs a blog, but it’s not exactly true. Not everyone needs a blog. Blogs are only valuable if they fulfill a specific purpose.

Searching for good quality content on a blog

If you don’t plan to use your website for anything more than a contact page, then you shouldn’t spend any time or effort on a fancy site, expensive videos or informative blogs. Give customers your address, phone number and hours of operation and be done with it.

When a Blog Matters…

But if you plan to do any marketing at all, if you want to tap into the power of social media, if you expect customers to visit your site regularly for updates and new offerings or if you want to encourage your existing clients to send their friends to your site, then you need to have a blog. And it has to be good, sharing quality content that actually helps them.

Blogs also give you a chance to put fresh content on your site, which helps give it a higher page rank on organic search results. (Sorry to get technical: “organic” means your website appears after a search on your industry or specialty.) Blogs provide the perfect segue to social media platforms. They give you a positive presence among the barrage of ads and promotions people don’t want on their Facebook pages or in their email boxes.

Websites, in case you’ve been unaware how things have changed, have replaced the Yellow Pages for all intents and purposes. When coming to your page, visitors often look for a blog; it’s often where they expect to find the information they need about your business. So you need a blog, and the content in it has to be “share-worthy.”

What’s in a Blog…

Your customers want you to keep them updated. They want to hear from you, the expert, about the latest trends, the most recent news and the best tips and tricks. And it’s your job to give them exactly that. Educate your customer base, and they’ll remember you when they’re ready to buy.

Use your blog to tell stories about your industry. Inform your customers about new ways to use your products or services. Tie your business into current events.

Sure, you can use a blog as a personal journal. Just keep it off your business site if you plan to use the platform to rant or rave about politics, religion and celebrities (unless that’s your business). Personal blogs should be clearly labeled as such and have no connection to your business.

So, Who Needs a Blog?

He's found good quality content on your blog Do you plan to use electronic marketing as part of your strategic plan for the coming year? If so, then you need a blog. It’s that simple.

Who writes blogs? You can do it yourself if you have the time and inclination. If you only one or the other, contact us at Ray Access. We provide quality blog content that will keep your customers coming back for more. It’s what we do for a living.

If you like writing your blog, but you’ve hit a wall about what to write about, we can supply you with a list of blog topics that will keep your blog fresh. Finally, one more note: if you have a blog, keep it updated. Nothing turns off a visitor to your site than a blog without fresh content.

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