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 | Dec 24, 2014 | Announcement
We Came, We Saw, We Wrote It All Down
Ray Access & friends at the start of 2013
Looking back on what Ray Access was doing in December 2013 is like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. We were still writing on paper, using pen and ink. We sent each other messages by Pony Express, especially when the cans-on-a-string hardware malfunctioned. And everything was in black-and-white. At least it was easier to pick out our clothes — everything matched!
OK, we’re exaggerating. But Ray Access did come of age this past year. Here are some of our highlights:
The Early Months
When 2014 started, Ray Access was primarily a freelance operation. We had few regular clients and no idea where our next meal would come from. We lived on the streets, writing on the backs of worn envelopes. But we did great work, and our few clients loved us.
Then came our big break in February when we gave a presentation for a group of business people through the Vibrant Asheville Business networking group. We followed that with an encore for a joint meeting of the Fletcher Area Business Association and the Mills River Business Association. Suddenly, clients started calling.
A Growth Explosion
In March, Ray Access rewrote a number of websites, including those of our current blog clients Asheville Cabins of Willow Winds and Hendersonville Tents. We started the company to write blog posts for businesses, but realized that website content was just as important (and just as in demand) as blogs. It was then that we started to hit our stride.
We gained quite a few new clients during this early growth explosion, such as the Southeastern Spine Institute and the Wired Mouse. It felt like being in the driver’s seat for the first time, ready to go, but not moving, and then noticing the parking brake’s still set. Naturally, we released it while pressing the accelerator to the floor. And varoom! Off we went.
Moving and Shaking
In May, we joined the Fletcher Area Business Association. We gained more visibility and more clients, like the amazing Bubbleland Imagination Company. In July, Linda and Mark signed a formal partnership agreement after consulting with SCORE. By then, Ray Access had existed for about two years. In August, we joined the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. We had arrived. We were a real presence. People were getting to know us.
In October, we started writing for an online magazine called Simply Appalachian, which officially launch in January 2015. Serving seven states in Central Appalachia, we write feature articles on sports and adventures, flora and fauna, and people and places of interest. Look for our work on the pre-release version of the website.
Expertise and Exceptional Service
As we continue to grow, we pride ourselves on our personal and professional service. We love that we can do what we love while serving a growing number of businesses. One client has even called us “genius” for the work we did. But we haven’t let it go to our heads. We don’t have time for that.
In 2015, we’re going to maintain the momentum, both in Asheville and in outside markets. Regardless of our future growth, however, we promise to maintain the highest level of customer service and support to all our clients. If you were a client, thank you for your business during 2014. We remain — gratefully — at your service. If you are not yet a client, learn how we can help you attract more business.
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 Elle Ray | Dec 17, 2014 | Announcement
It Was a Very Good Year for Very Good Reasons
I have a whole heap of gratitude for 2014 and all the opportunities afforded to me. While the U.S. economy continues to improve, I think I’ve been granted a little piece of the burgeoning pie. Our business is not where I want it to be yet — but it certainly is going in the right direction.
Ray Access Is Thriving
First and foremost, I am grateful for a superior partner. We’ve heard so many horror stories of partnerships gone terribly wrong that I am especially honored to have in Mark Bloom a steady, reliable partner who motivates me when I need it and offers up his shoulder when I need it to cry on. He’s also a fantastic editor and great writer — Mark puts the humor in our pages that is especially difficult to write.
I love that I get to meet so many cool people through our business. Sure, we’re an online company, but behind ever website and blog is a person trying to send a message. I’m grateful for the opportunities we get to play a small role in the growth of so many wonderful companies and the people who run them.
Shared Through Classrooms
I’m a typical Ashevillian who cobbles a number of jobs together to meet my financial goals. And it’s so cool that I get to practice the skills at which I excel. As an adjunct teacher at AB Tech, I’m grateful for the students who enter my classes. I can share my experience, strength and hope with them as they look for ways to improve their lives.
Whether I’m in the women’s prison teaching students how to manage money or on campus giving students an inside look at how we create content at Ray Access, I get to talk about those things I’ve learned and hope the information makes a difference. Why learn lessons, after all, if you don’t have an outlet for sharing them?
Selling Success
Through Ray Access, Mark and I make numerous pitches to sell our services, though they usually sell themselves. This process taps into another of my strengths — the ability to sell something I love. While writing and research is my first love, I also get to practice this skill every so often working at Rug and Home, an Asheville icon in the retail industry.
The owners like my style and I love their products. We make a really good fit and I am grateful for the open door they provide me to work when I have extra time. The rugs and furniture are so tempting, though, that I have to be careful to make more than I spend there.
The Homefront
Finally, I’m grateful for my husband Gary, who stays out of my way when I’m busy writing in my office and who supports my dreams. He’s my biggest cheerleader, something most important in a life partner. Our extended families can try our souls sometimes (although our two grandkids are exceptional). But in the end, no matter what happens among friends, co-workers, the community and the world, we feel safe at home with each other.
Thank you, everyone who touched our lives this past year. Oh no, I’m getting ready to tear up now — not a common sight. But, yes, my work and my home are so very special that they are worth the water works. So let it flow! Happy holidays to everyone!
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 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.
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?
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 Elle Ray | May 13, 2014 | Small Business Advice
We All Resist Doing What We Know We Should
We know we should exercise more, eat less, get more sleep, relax more often, play with the kids and take more vacations. As small business owners, we know we should clean our tools, make more cold calls, update our marketing brochure and write a weekly blog. But too often we just don’t do what we “should” do.
Procrastination, that devil of idleness, can lead to a whole host of issues. Never mind the weight gain and lost business opportunities. Forget the bags under your eyes and the slipping of your website ranking. Those are just the consequences. How about all that guilt and the negative messages we send ourselves about how we’re failing? Face it, no good comes of procrastinating on doing things that are good for us.
And yet at the same time, no good comes from the “shoulds.” Here are our tips for overcoming the dreaded “shoulds:”
Stop Talking
Stop the endless chatter about what you have to do and follow the old Nike saying: “just do it.” Too often, says author and sociologist Martha Beck, we kid ourselves into thinking we are making progress when all we’re really doing is adding more verbiage to our stories and our “shoulds.” We discuss, plan and talk about the issues in meeting after meeting, but we end up with the same results at the end of the day: nothing done and going home with more remorse to keep us tossing through the night.
Get Real
It takes a lot of courage to face the truth. Whether you’re afraid of failing, not sure how to move forward or just plain not interested in those things hanging out on your “should” plate, there’s a reason that you’re not getting the important stuff done. Instead of trying to force results, take a step back and figure out what is standing in your way and work on removing that obstacle. Take a class, delegate, accept the status quo or change directions. Get counseling if necessary, if that’s what it takes to get real. Do something to drop the sack of rocks in your “should” bag, and you’ll sleep like a baby.
Find Help
Business owners in general believe they are strong, confident and capable. Without those characteristics, they’d be working in a cubicle collecting a safe paycheck every week. But oftentimes, it’s those very same independent streaks that keep them stuck and full of “shoulds.”
It’s the really strong, confident leader who admits to not having all the answers. It’s the smart entrepreneur who asks for help. Join a support group, hire extra help or just read a helpful blog. Chances are that someone else has felt the same way as you do and carried similar fears and doubts to bed each night. The odds are pretty good that someone else has found solutions they are willing to share. All you have to do is ask.
Like us.
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 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
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
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
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.
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.
