The Difference Between Morning and Night People

by Elle Ray | Aug 28, 2014 | Small Business Advice

Why the Distinction Matters in Your Business

not a morning person

Are you a lark or a night owl? Do you get your best work done before noon or after five? Whichever answer you give, you may not have much say in the matter and may in fact become more productive and happy with your work if you just go ahead and honor your circadian rhythm.

There’s no reason to disrespect co-workers and business partners who happen to land on the opposite side of the spectrum. There’s new evidence that much of our energy preferences actually are programmed in our genes, creating actual physical differences in brain structure between morning and night people.

Add Lifestyle to the Mix

Studies by German scientists in 2013 found that people who stayed up late and slept in later than their counterparts had less white, fatty tissue in their brains. The white matter is associated with communication and links certain nerve cells together. Reduced white matter also is associated with depression and anxiety.

When you follow your genetic desire to stay up late and sleep in late, you often find yourself at odds with the rest of the working world, which then exacerbates the alienation that often leads to depression. You may find yourself sleep-deprived on a regular basis as you try to maintain a “normal” schedule to fit in with society’s expectations. Night owls also have a tendency to eat, drink and smoke more than naturally early risers.

Good News for Night Owls

night owls struggle during the day But this kind of lifestyle also has its upsides. The chronically jet-lagged set also tends to be much more productive and energetic than their counterparts who get to bed early and rise with the sun. You usually have more stamina during your waking hours and end up getting more done. It’s very often the night owls in a business who drive the ultimate success of a company.

Night owls also tend to be more analytical, making it easier for them to see the big picture and figure the ways and means to achieve objectives. Their reasoning skills often are far superior to the early risers. The trick is to balance and fine-tune those extra advantages so they don’t get lost in the mood swings more common among night owls.

Nurture Over Nature

Just as the discussion rages on about nature over nurture when it comes to child-rearing, the conversation also is relevant to business people struggling with the natural biological pull of an internal alarm clock. To avoid the mood swings, anxiety and depression commonly associated with people who work best at night, you can regulate your sleep habits consciously.

Night owls hoping to make those early breakfast meetings and avoid all-nighters can rely on mechanical alarm clocks set on a regular basis. Avoid alcohol before going to bed and artificial light when it’s dark outside to make it easier to stick to a regular sleep cycle. When you control your sleep patterns, you won’t experience the manic highs you may enjoy in the middle of the night, but you will be much more even-tempered and easy-going like your early bird friends and co-workers.

For night owls, it’s a trade-off. For early birds, it’s a blessing. Which time of the day do you work best?

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.

The Best Blog Topics

by Mark Bloom | Aug 23, 2014 | Blog Writing

Because You Want Your Blog to Be Read

People sharing your blog post

Undoubtedly, the best blog topics are those that get read. And read a lot. These blog posts:

Get passed around
Generate a buzz
Keep visitors on your site longer
Get readers to look through your website
Turn readers into customers
Are great reads
Result in high search engine visibility

Finding Readers

So the big question is: “How do you create those kinds of bust-out blog posts week after week?” That’s what we at Ray Access aim to do, and we know that it isn’t always easy. But there is a method to the madness. By following our own advice, we have seen the results. You can too. Try these tips to turn your blog into a must-read for your clients and potential customers:

Tap into the news of the day. If, for example, you are a doctor who treats mental illness, write about depression in the week following a celebrity death due to the disease. The celebrity’s name will get you noticed in search queries. If you teach dance, focus a blog post on the big dancing shows on television when they go into their final competitions. Financial bloggers, tap into current events about the Federal Reserve or big Wall Street happenings. Be nimble and ready to post shortly after the news happens.

Create great titles. The title of a blog post is like the front window at Macy’s. If it’s not compelling and inviting, it won’t draw in shoppers. Good titles also help search engines seeking relevant data to post. Great titles aren’t long, but convey what’s in the article clearly. Beware of humorous or ambiguous titles that may be misleading or misunderstood. Be catchy, but be clear.

Give your readers something to take away. Pay your readers for completing the article. This is one of the reasons that “tips” and “how-to” blog posts are so popular. Readers expect answers and leave a well-written article with those answers, smarter and wiser.

Review popular events, movies, products within your industry. Find the connection between the entertainment and your products or services. Make the comparison apply to your intended audience.

Make recommendations for other services and products, as well as for those that you sell. When you make a recommendation, follow it with a solid argument that goes beyond the typical marketing-speak. Quote users and experts to back up your suggestions.

Get seasonal. Readers look for relevant articles about Christmas, summer vacations, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving topics. Find a topic within your area of expertise that relates to the season and add it to your blog when the time is right.

Shout out to other companies or people. No man is an island, and you don’t work in a vacuum. Mention others who have made significant contributions to your industry or to the business community you’re trying to reach. If a business organization you belong to recently made a significant contribution to a local charity, use your blog to give them accolades of appreciation. (Let them know when you post, and maybe they’ll put a link on their website back to your blog!)

Finally, write for blog readers. Make it engaging and easy to read. Let your readers know right from the start what they can expect if they keep reading. And then give it to them. If you promise tips, give them tips; if you’re writing a “how-to,” make sure it’s complete. And if you come to the end of your idea rope, contact us — we love to brainstorm titles and do it as well as we write the articles.

How to Work a Networking Room

by Elle Ray | Aug 5, 2014 | Small Business Advice

Networking Advice for Business Owners

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Networking is one of the most powerful means at your disposal to market and grow your small company. Yet so many business people fear the crowded rooms. But be assured that not everyone sipping wine and trading business cards is comfortable. Like you, many had to swallow their fears, take a deep breath and dive forward to press the flesh. The alternative, they know, is sitting in silence in a dark corner as all their hard work slowly comes to naught.

The bottom line is that it’s not about who you know, but who knows you. To earn a reputation in your field and in your market, you have to be visible. People have to know your name and be able to put a face to it. Business people drop names as part of their normal, everyday pitch, and they only drop names of experts they’ve met in person or heard a great deal about. To be that person and get that referral, you’ve got to hit the networking circuit in your area and within your industry.

Succeed at Networking

helping one another: the goal of networking To help you make the most out of those after-hour mixers, breakfast pow-wows and open house handshakes, we’ve put together a list of tips. Try them — and tell others where you heard about them — because the writers and editors at Ray Access know the power of networking:

Compliment people. Remember that business men and women are just people. Who doesn’t appreciate a compliment about a pair of shoes, a jacket, tie or handbag? A compliment is a great way to start a conversation — and perhaps a new relationship.
Approach loners. You can find them standing in the corner or nursing a drink at the bar. Loners sometimes can feel less threatening than approaching a pack of pristine suits who are standing in a circle laughing at an in-joke. Instead, commiserate with the fellow loner about how much you deplore these events to find common ground.
Ask questions. As former journalists, we always resort to the time-honored trick of getting people to talk about themselves as a way to open up a conversation. Even inane questions like: “What do you do?” or “How about them Red Sox?” can serve as an opener leading to and interesting (and profitable) conversation. You never know.
Move around. One mistake networking newbies often make is to stick with one group of people they’ve become comfortable with. Once you make a quick connection, trade cards and leave an impression, move along. The purpose of networking is to talk to as many people as possible in the time allotted. Get busy!
Go alone. Business people who move in packs don’t take the chance to break away and meet someone new. A networking event is not the place to socialize with people you already know, even if it’s nice to acknowledge each other. The primary goal is to see and be seen by all the people you don’t know.
Leave the sale for later. Pushy business people who only talk about themselves often end up alone. Salespeople who try to sell their services to everyone they meet tend to earn negative reputations. In fact, if you rarely talk about yourself, you’ll be remembered because you listened. Wouldn’t you rather be remembered positively and not with a knowing eye roll?

So don’t fear. You too have what it takes to get out there and develop new relationships. All it takes is a deep breath and a stack of business cards.

5 Tips to a Better Sitting Posture

by Mark Bloom | Jul 26, 2014 | Office

Improve Your Posture: Advice for Your Office

keep your back straight when sitting

Here at Ray Access, we are writers and editors who work long hours at our computers. Don’t get us wrong: we love what we do. But we’ve also learned a few things along the way to help us avoid back injury, unnatural curvature of the spine and other deformities as a result of spending untold hours at a keyboard.

So we present five ways to improve your posture and strengthen your back:

1. Buy a Good Chair

The best thing you can do for your back is to sit in a good quality desk chair, one that supports your lower back properly, has a height adjustment to keep your feet flat on the floor and is padded enough to be comfortable. These chairs aren’t inexpensive, we know, but we heartily endorse the investment. What you save in pain and suffering — and doctor’s bills — will make the chair seem like the bargain it is.

2. Don’t Be a Potato

Couch potatoes don’t move once they settle in. If you want to protect your spine and back muscles, you have to stay active. Shift your position every half hour or so. Lean back for a bit. Lean forward for a spell. It’s all about keeping your blood from pooling in the same spot for hours. Even if you’re sitting, you can still be active.

3. Save Your Neck

A stiff neck is an occupational hazard for computer jockeys like us. But we know how to beat it: neck stretches. Your neck moves in 360 degrees; use them. Pull your chin to your chest and hold it there. Raise your chin to the ceiling and hold it. Try to touch your shoulder with your ear, one side at a time. Do these stretches several times a day.

4. Be Aware of Your Posture

This one seems self-evident, but it’s easy to forget how you’re sitting when you’re in the midst of a project. But you can train yourself to remember. The first thing to do is find the correct posture. Don’t slouch; keep your shoulders back. When seated, your knees should be just above your hips. Your arms should fall to the keyboard without having to reach. Be comfortable. Once you know how it feels to sit right, you’ll realize it when you float out of alignment.

5. Rise to the Occasion

If you know you have a long day at the desk ahead of you, plan to get up and walk around, even if it’s just around the office, every hour. Five minutes will do, while you’re thinking. Two minutes an hour is still better than feeling chained to your computer. That little bit of movement will keep you pain-free for years.

Linda and Mark are both past age 50. Both have been doing this work for (dare we say it?) over two decades. Both of us, however, are still active. We can both garden or swing a golf club in a pinch. You can do it too. Start today, and your back will thank you for the rest of your life.

If you have any of your own posture tips, send them our way.

How to Diversify Your Blog Portfolio

by Elle Ray | Jul 21, 2014 | Blog Writing

Ideas for Your Blog Can Come from Anywhere

By now, most investors know that you get the biggest bang — and lessen the overall risk — by investing your money in diversified funds. The old adage of “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is true in many arenas, including the blogosphere.

fill your space with ideas

The more authoritative your articles, the better, of course, but the more people you can reach, the better your chance of becoming recognized as the go-to expert in your field. To that end, we at Ray Access are taking our own advice and beginning to diversify our blog topics.

Writers Write

We are first and foremost writers. And we tout our uniqueness by also wearing editors’ hats with every post, blog, webpage and press release we create. As professional writers, we believe that no writing should ever be published that isn’t first read by another set of eyes, preferably a professional editor with a keen sense of tone, voice, grammar, style and sass.

Because that’s our strength, we’ve been devoting our informational blogs to the art and science of writing online — and getting your writing read by the right people. At least up to this point. As we continue to share our expertise through this blog, we now will begin diversifying to bring you articles and insights we believe important and interesting to all business people, including bloggers.

Mix It Up

mix it up to get your creative juices flowing In addition to writing about writing for the web, with topics like “why you need an image on your blog” and “what plagiarism does to your page rankings,” we’ll mix it up with articles about networking, health, decorating and fashion. With this new mix, we hope to give you interesting and informative topics to share with your friends and colleagues, to post on your own social sites and to raise your awareness.

You’re going to see us more frequently online too, as we deliver the fresh, insightful thoughts that are making us famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective). Our goal is to make the Ray Access blog a must-read for anyone who ever writes a post, reads a webpage or trolls the Internet for fun or profit — in a nutshell, nearly everyone.

Off the Path

OK, we admit that we’re being a tad shameless with this new direction that we’re taking our blog. But we want to increase our own visibility, too. The more informative, unique and important our blogs are, the more traffic we’re going to generate. We want our website to increase its online presence as our business grows. And it is growing.

We tell our clients that the more they post, the more they will increase traffic to their site. We want to lead by example. So don’t be surprised if you start reading articles related to a season, holiday or special event. Asheville, North Carolina, constantly presents us with interesting twists of the news. Maybe we’ll cover those too. We might even pop in an opinion or two. At the same time, you can expect more information about the art of writing for the web and all that it entails.

What’s Your Unique Value Proposition?

by Mark Bloom | Jun 20, 2014 | Small Business Advice

Why Your Customers Do Business with You

determine your unique value proposition

Every business faces competition. In America, competition is a given. It’s part of the invisible hand that moves markets. You likely don’t appreciate it, however, while your business is trying to make inroads into your competitors’ market share.

But competition is healthy. It can bring out the best in all of us, even if we lose the race, since the best lessons come not from victory but from defeat. And you can quote me on that.

What Do You Offer?

To get more business, you must have a strategy or plan or advantage over your rivals. Whatever it is — a superior product, 24/7/365 personalized customer service or simply that you have the best location — it is your unique value proposition. This is what sets you apart from your peers. It’s why you deserve a bigger share of the marketplace.

If you don’t have a unique value proposition, then you are no different from the shop down the street or the next service listed in the phone book. Without a unique value proposition, there’s no reason for potential customers to choose your business over another. So rethink your business plan and make sure you have a specific answer to that age-old question: Why should I buy from you?

How to Use Your Unique Value Proposition

considering your prospects You’ve done all the work and figured out your unique value proposition. You now know what sets your business apart. You have figured out why your business is so much better than your competition. So why doesn’t the world beat a path to your door? What’s holding you back?

The most obvious problem is that no one else knows what your unique value proposition is! Have you told anyone besides your spouse, your mom, and your employees? That’s right, you have to communicate your value to your target market, the very people who make the decisions to buy your products or services.

If you advertise, make sure your unique value proposition is front and center, clear and simple. Your potential customers want to know. You don’t have to persuade them to buy from you; you simply have to tell them why it’s in their best interest.

Ray Access Can Help

Ray Access is a content marketing firm. We provide content for your website, turning your site from a passive brochure into a attractive announcement. Your website should draw an audience and then turn those visitors into customers. That’s the purpose of a website. That’s the value of an effective website.

And that’s where Ray Access can help. We’ll turn your website into a marketing engine. We’ll expose your unique value proposition on every page. With words and pictures, we’ll give your visitors a reason to buy from you.

The Ray Access Value Proposition

you get two for one So what’s our unique value proposition? You get two for the price of one. Ray Access is an everyday, all-the-time, true-blue BOGO. Buy one, get one free. There are other good writers out there and some pretty talented editors too. But when you hire Ray Access, you get both — every time.

No piece of writing leaves our hands until both Mark Bloom and Linda Ray have touched it. We each read and edit every blog, press release and web page. We bring years of professional journalism, book editing, magazine publishing, technical writing and research expertise to every job.

Contact us to discover how we can help you. You’ll quickly understand that Ray Access is more than a writing service. We provide content that will help your business grow.

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