We Specialize… in Quality

by Mark Bloom | Sep 18, 2013 | Content Provider

Why Ray Access Doesn’t Write for One Niche

Linda and Mark at Ray Access claim to be able to write about any topic they can research. And it’s true. They’ve written about plastic surgery, retail furniture, medical issues, construction, website development, and a whole range of other topics. Yet the prevailing “wisdom” in the industry is to specialize. Why?

writing work

Specialization Creates Experts

In today’s world, people gravitate toward experts. Experts speak the truth, they get paid lots of money for their intimate knowledge of their chosen field, and businesses and the media seek them out for advice. What’s not to like about specialization?

First, it limits your market and your audience. If your specialization is computers, you may occasionally write a piece that appeals to a wider audience, but most of the time, you’re writing for geeks. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. If your specialization is construction, you’re going to be writing for businesses in that field. Period.

While it’s easier to brand your services as a writer if you specialize, you also limit your marketing reach. An expert only matters when someone needs an expert in that field. Most days, they don’t.

Generalization Creates Opportunity

Since we can write on virtually any topic, we can write for virtually any client. Are you a dentist? We can create a terrific, engaging blog for you. Are you a landscaper? We can provide dynamic website text that’s SEO-friendly and written for the common man (or woman).

Being generalists means we specialize in a new field with every new assignment we take. We can still relate to the general population, so we don’t get bogged down in jargon. We get to learn and write about lots of different topics, and that suits us fine.

So regardless what your business is, it’s in good hands when you hire us to write about it. We offer a free estimate.

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.

Words Matter

by Elle Ray | Aug 28, 2013 | Editing

Make Your Words Count with Correct Grammar

When all you have is a funny video and a few lines of text in a Facebook post, those words better be correct. When you’re looking at a 140-character tweet, one misplaced modifier could ruin your message.

Grammar is not dead. In fact, the need to know and use proper grammar is more important than ever because you have less time and fewer opportunities to do it right. Marketers abbreviate words because they believe that the attention span of consumers has been reduced to that of a gnat. So the words you use — and how you use them — are vitally important. Take this simple example:

Let’s eat grandma.
Let’s eat, grandma.

Do you want to send out your latest ad to bring in customers to eat grandma? I think not. Then there’s the popular example: “A woman without her man is nothing.” Punctuation and grammar make all the difference when you write:

A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman, without her, man is nothing.

Grammar Lessons Pay Off

Photo by Valentina Degiorgis

We love the thousands of examples out there that cross our desks every day. We collect them. Here’s one of our favorites: “The average American consumes more than 400 Africans.” Apparently, we are a very hungry nation.

Improper grammar also makes you look incompetent. iFixit owner Kyle Wiens says: “Grammar signifies more than just a person’s ability to remember high school English. I’ve found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing — like stocking shelves or labeling parts.” And he won’t hire anyone with bad grammar.

If you can’t remember your high school English lessons, please let someone else read your words before you publish them, especially if you are paying for the privilege. Websites, Facebook updates, LinkedIn pages, Twitter feeds and all your print advertising must be correct if you are to be taken seriously.

Put simply: proper spelling, punctuation and grammar increase your credibility. Bad writing doesn’t.

So regardless whether you know the difference between “it’s” and “its,” or you are just too busy to care, give Ray Access a chance to proof your words before you post. We’re not merely writers — we edit and proofread too.

Writing vs. Good Writing

by Elle Ray | Jul 26, 2013 | Writing

The Problem with Creating Effective Writing

Anyone with a fourth-grade education thinks he can be a writer.

Writers aren’t like athletes, who have visible physical attributes that define their profession. We’re not like scientists who have a wall full of diplomas. We look like ordinary people, so it’s easy for an untrained and unproven writer to blend in.

If any literate person with a pencil and a notepad can sit down and write something, then what’s the value of a professional? It’s not our spelling or grammar. It’s our skill at rhetorical writing. It’s our imaginative use of words. It’s our ability to get to the heart of a message and verbalize it. It’s our uncanny knack for saying the right thing at the right time.

Do you want good writing or better writing?

What Good Writing Does

Good writing, therefore, isn’t just spell-checked writing. Good writing serves a purpose. It answers questions, makes the complex understandable, and fills a need.

For example, let’s say you have a website to sell cars. If your home page shows photos of the cars you sell and lists the technical specifications, it has some value. You know potential customers can come to your site, do their research, and decide if one of your cars is right for them.

But if your home page instead highlighted the cars’ best features and told stories about what makes your cars so great, you may get those potential customers to invest time and emotion into your products. You may be able to persuade those website visitors that not only are your cars great, but your company or dealership is the best place to buy them.

Why Good Writing Matters

We’re advocates of good writing not just because we’re writers. We want to see the world a better place, and good writing — good communication — helps move it in that direction. The art of writing is the art of storytelling. The art of rhetorical writing is the art of shaping a story to a target audience.

the trait of good writing You have a story to tell. You have a product or service to sell. The two merge in the message. Your website, your blog and your communications should all reflect your core story in understandable ways. Your business writing should reach out and attract, entice and tantalize. Good writing can accomplish this.

Not Tricks, But Techniques

Good writing can combine business and pleasure. In other words, if you’re blogging about your catering business, you can write about the new royal boy named George and tie it into your business, whether through a special, a new item, or just a pondering about what the parents eat. It’s a technique that can potentially find a wider audience than people looking for caterers. And it works.

Another technique is to explore your business. There is more to catering, for example, than meets the eye, especially if the eye belongs to your customers. They don’t know what goes into making those delicious cakes and pies show up on time and piping hot. That’s what your blog can do; that’s what a blog is for: educating your customers. And if you can entertain them along the way, you’ll make friends and loyal fans.

This is what we do at Ray Access: we help you make fans. We help you reach out to potential customers with good writing techniques and stories that explain your advantage and uniqueness. Anyone can pick up a pencil, but not everyone can manage good writing. That’s why there are pros like us.

Writing Tips

by Elle Ray | Jun 19, 2013 | Writing

How to Master the Art of the Article Opening

Two of the most common openings we see for blogs, newsletters and marketing blurbs are:

“Well, here it is summer again and the kids are calling to come out and play, but we’ve got work to do…”

And

“I can’t believe it’s summer again and time for my next newsletter…”

writing on a laptop

Beginning an article is one of the most difficult aspects for unprofessional writers. Once they get started, however, the words seem to flow a little more seamlessly, and they can get to the point. Unfortunately, by then, many if not most of their likely readers (except for friends and relatives) have moved on to something … anything … better.

When Linda started on her first newspaper gig, her editor almost always cut the first line of her submissions. That first line tended to be mundane and uninformed (like the sentences above) or were filled with words she’d fallen in love with. (Don’t worry; she’s learned her lesson.)

Putting words on paper is one way to start a writing project — a task many people we know dread as much as public speaking. So take a page from Linda’s editor and start writing however you can, but then cut the first sentence or two. You’ll probably find the meat of your topic by the third sentence.

Write the Way You Talk

The next tip is to quit trying to impress your readers with your three- and four-syllable words, unless they’re college professors, medical doctors, or simple politicians. Do you normally talk that way? Probably not. Write like you talk and you’ll find the process so much easier. And your audience will find your writing so much easier to read.

You can get your message across without torturing your readers. If you have important information to impart, the last thing you should do is write really, really long sentences that cause readers to stop and ponder your meaning. Write crisp, clear sentences. Help your readers understand, especially if you’re writing an online article.

In the long run, through many trials and errors, even after overcoming my fear of not being good enough and trying to get it right the first time, trying to make it perfect and then even when I try, it seems I don’t get anywhere quickly, then I begin to feel like I can write a sentence that makes sense, especially when the words just don’t seem to come very easily and I understand how writers feel when they are blocked and can’t write anything. That’s hard.”

Ugh. Even though you may find this kind of run-on sentence in a daily newspaper or so-called professional magazine — don’t do it yourself. It may be counter-intuitive, but it’s much more difficult to make information clear and concise than to run on forever. Bite-size information is more palatable. Just like a good meal, you don’t swallow the whole thing in one gulp. You take your time and savor each bite. Let your writing be that way. Your readers will appreciate your brevity.

We Are Writing Pros

For professionals like us here at Ray Access, writing is an art, a skill and a talent. It’s our passion. We sit down at the keyboard and don’t stop until we’ve produced a great article anyone can read and understand. The writing task that you might agonize over, we long for. The words that you struggle to put down on paper, we can twirl and twist and type out with flair.

Our best writing tip? Either brush up on those dormant writing skills so you can compose straight, clean prose … or let us help you get it right. Words matter, whether you’re writing an online blog or marketing brochure. Don’t lose your audience before the final period.