by Elle Ray | Jul 11, 2016 | Content Marketing
Only Hire Content Writers Who Deliver Quality
Content for the sake of content is no longer enough. Ad blocking on desktop computers, laptops and mobile devices is rising every year like a great solid state cement wall around the cloud that is the Internet. According to Priori Data and Pagefair, an analytics company, more than 419 million people block ads on their smartphones now. And that’s up about 90 percent for the period between January 2015 and January 2016.
All that blocking software is posing a really serious threat when you’re talking about one-fifth of the world’s 1.9 billion smartphone users. In 2016, about a quarter of laptop and desktop users employ ad blockers in the U.S., totaling about 70 million people. And that’s going up too. Content strictly for marketing purposes is now hollow and transparent, and people aren’t buying it any longer. They are, however, buying the ad blockers to keep obvious ads off their screens.
Enter Quality
For website and blog writers, SEO consultants, web designers and marketing pros, that’s a huge challenge. Found a keyword you really love that puts you high up on a Google search? Your customers have an app to block that. Pushing your weekly blogs through social channels? They’ve got their choice of content blockers for that. Think you hire content writers to sway the masses with quick wit and common words that trump the day? Yep, your target audience has got big bad comb-over blocking apps for that.
And don’t forget: all the while the Internet is being flooded with new ad-blocking apps for every possible device, search engines continue to mature and become more discerning. It’s a double-whammy. So what can you do? Actually, there’s only one way around it and that’s through it.
Search Engines Demands Quality
You’ve got to hire content writers who can overcome these growing Internet user habits by creating something we in the content creation biz call: “interest” or “buzz.” Let’s face it, you just can’t get around good content creation that draws you in with its sly character assassinations and good, old-fashioned stories. Stories work in marketing because people like stories.
Good content creation requires imagination, creativity, a nose for the news and a pulse that resonates with readers. When you hire content writers today, you’ve got to love their words, fall for their phrases and relish each and every syllable as if it were a life force. Stories live. Stories breathe life into stale marketing campaigns.
Internet surfers aren’t going to hold still for writing that doesn’t inspire flat-out love and infatuation. Content that tries to pull readers in with keywords that have no relevance will fail. Poor writing that’s hardly decipherable will fall flat.
Hire Content Writers Who Deliver Quality
If your content isn’t good enough to pass the search engine filters and can’t quite get around the ad blockers, it’s definitely not good enough for the masses. If it’s not effective content, it’s not worth anyone’s time.
Break it all down to plain English, which is another enviable virtue that you get when you hire content writers who prize quality. For your customers to spend any time with your content, it must be:
- Unique
- Excellent
- Interesting
- Free of errors
- Valuable — maybe the most important quality
Writing to Connect
Write to your readers like they’re real people. Because they are. Tell your content writers to stop writing to some sentient algorithm. Stop trying so darn hard to write content that ranks. Just give the people what they want — entertainment, information and quality writing they aren’t embarrassed to share or let anyone know they’re reading.
It’s time to push unique content creation to the next level. If you stick with the tricks your SEO guy tries to sell you, you can bet your marketing team a week’s salary that there’s gonna be an app to block it — sooner rather than later. Instead, embrace the evolving techniques and industry-standard practices that are leaning heavily toward customer engagement. In other words: interest them, and they’ll take an interest in you.
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 | Nov 17, 2014 | Website Content
Your Website Should Be Increasing Your Sales
Now that every business has a website, the competition for attention has become fierce. You’ve likely invested time and money (and sometimes a lot of both) into developing your website. Now you want to know if it measures up.
It’s easy to count the sales that come directly from your website, but it’s more difficult to know if your site is aiding those sales or hindering more sales. Unless you’re willing to pay big bucks to an SEO firm to track traffic and conversions — which is a good idea if you can afford it — there used to be few alternatives. Until now.
Website Assessments Provide Perspective
Ray Access has begun offering a new service called “website assessments.” What that means is that we bring our expertise about effective website content, our knowledge about seamless website navigation and our wisdom of a website’s purpose to bear on your site. We pour through your site, page by page, to develop a report that analyzes just how effective your website is to a first-time visitor.
We’ve done many of these website assessments. Every one of the assessments was received with gratitude and accolades. One of our clients, Kudzu Branding, had this to say: “Thank you for your great feedback and comments on our website. I found them extremely useful. We are having a team meeting on Monday to discuss how we can implement some of your ideas.”
How It Works
We look for language issues, like whether the content needs editing to more concisely hit your message. That’s a given, since we’re writers practiced in the art of developing website content. But we do more than that.
We look at a lot of websites. Every day, we are either writing website content or doing research for the blogs we write. As a result, we understand what websites are supposed to do and how they should ideally function. For example, your website should not be a sales pitch. Yes, you want to announce your company online. Yes, you want to claim your competitive advantage. Yes, you want visitors to choose your business. But if you hammer the sales pitch over and over, you will drive business away.
Your website should answer questions and help people. Your website should build trust and start a relationship. Anything less is a wasted opportunity.
For your website assessment, we will review your site, page by page, looking for what works and what can be improved. We will write it all down in a report and deliver it to you. All for one low price, based on the size of your website. What you do with the report is up to you. Often, we can help with an edit or a rewrite, but you’re under no obligation to hire us. A website assessment is a standalone service that we’re happy to provide.
It’s Time for Your Website Assessment
No one uses the Yellow Pages anymore; everyone is online and on the go. Search engines keep changing their formulas. A website design has about a five-year lifespan. Past its freshness date, it begins to look staid and dated. So before you begin a project to update your site, call us for a website assessment.
We can tell you where specifically your site needs improving. We can tell you what a first-time visitor sees when he arrives at your website. And we can advise you on ways to keep that visitor from leaving. The metrics show that the longer a visitor stays on your site, the better the chance that he will become a customer.
And that’s exactly what your website should do: build relationships to the point that visitors want to do business with you. And that’s exactly what a website assessment from Ray Access can help your website accomplish. Schedule your website assessment today.
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 | Oct 12, 2014 | Writing
No One Is Better Qualified Than You to Write It
It’s easy to let a professional writer like Linda or Mark interview you so we can write your bio. It’s a valid way to fill in the “About” page on your website. But if you want to write your own bio, you need to keep a few things in mind.
A professional bio is not a resume. It serves a different purpose. For example, you can use your bio for the following:
- For posting on your LinkedIn profile
- For self-promotion in a brochure
- For speaking engagements
- For networking
- For a book cover or guest blog
- For media outlets at the end of a press release
- For board applications
- And yes, for job hunting
Do It Yourself
While you certainly can hire a professional writer, we’d like to share a few tips so that you can write your bio yourself. Remember that your bio is you on paper. It should present your achievements in the best possible light and help you open doors.
Write your bio in plain language that not only is easy to read, but also sounds like you. If you’re not in academia, for example, don’t make it sound like a droll professor wrote it. If you’re a musician, don’t make it sound like an accountant — although an accountant may want to spiff up his bio with a few musical references.
6 Tips for Tight Bio Writing
- Write in the third person
Your professional bio should sound as if someone else is writing about you, even if you are the author. Introduce yourself right at the beginning with an opening line that spells it out: “Mark Bloom is a man of few words, few spoken words that is, because he’s a professional writer and words are his medium.”
- Use a conversational tone
Even though your bio should sound professional, use a conversational tone. Readers should get the feeling that you’re talking to them. Read your writing out loud to check your tone. Refrain from slang and industry jargon unless your bio will be read only by your peers.
- Rely on a backwards timeline
Don’t rewrite your bio every time one is needed, so start with your current job or position and your most recent achievements. While you want to include historical information, such as your education and previous accomplishments, write in much the same order as you would a resume.
- Get personal
A professional bio should show off your personality. If you have a great sense of humor, for example, add a joke or pun to highlight your bent. If you’re an earth mother, use new age words to describe your characteristics and history. Include information about your hobbies, your place of origin and your family. Either sprinkle these facts throughout the bio or present them in a bullet format at the end.
- Boost your bio with stats and quotes
Give your bio a boost with statistics about the number of sales you closed or the time it took to turn a profit in your last venture. Include quotes from important people in your industry or from former clients. (Ask their permission first.) These are items any professional writer would include; when you write your bio, you are the reporter.
- Prepare a set of bios
A professional bio should be one page — about 400 to 500 words. This version goes on your website, in your professional portfolio and to other interested parties. We recommend creating a mini-bio and a micro-version to use with guest blogs and social media posts. Think of the little bios as your 30-second elevator pitch. Pull the most interesting and concise information from your original bio to create the mini-versions.
Look at yourself objectively when you write your bio. Make it interesting and compelling — a good read. Write a professional bio that you would want to read. Keep it current and polished. Review your bio every year or two just to make sure it’s still relevant.
For more information on writing your bio, refer to 10 Things to Include in Your Bio. If you just can’t get started, contact Ray Access. We’ll make you look like the star that you are with a professional bio that sings success. Finally, don’t forget to update you bio every once in a while, both to keep your website fresh and to alert your potential clients of your latest achievements!
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 | Aug 23, 2014 | Blog Writing
Because You Want Your Blog to Be Read
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.
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 Mark Bloom | Apr 15, 2014 | Website Content
Content Marketing Effectively Converts Leads
Here in Asheville, North Carolina, we talk about content marketing a lot. Content marketing is, in essence, turning your website into a marketing engine by supplying useful information that attracts an audience. It works, and we have documented proof. We’ve also written about quality content before.
But it’s more than that. In case you’ve missed it, the Internet is replacing the Yellow Pages as the primary way consumers are looking for your products or services. It’s a sign of the times, just like other things that have disappeared, like rotary telephones, landlines and typewriters. So if you are ignoring your website, as our motto says, your website is ignoring you. That’s not a smart business decision.
So whether you hire us or not, we urge you to adopt content marketing strategies. But even if you are doing everything you can to put content marketing to work on your business website, the next question is: Will just doing this simple thing actually convert the visitors you attract to your website into paying customers?
Content Marketing Is User-Centric
The answer, of course, is yes. Content marketing, if properly done, can persuade your website visitors to become clients. Content marketing employs a user-centric approach, to use a term from the 1990s. “User-centric” means that you design your website with your visitors in mind. Make their experience everything they could hope for, and they’ll reward you with their business.
You must make your website easy to navigate. Make your content easy to understand. Answer your visitors’ obvious questions and provide your contact information on every page. Provide helpful tips and advice about your industry, products or services. To sum up: make your website valuable to your community of users. “User-centric.”
When Your Customers Have Landed
Even if you do all this and your website is attracting a lot of traffic, you still must sell your company’s products or services. Knowing where and when and how to do this is a science, but it’s not rocket science. One tip is to construct effective “landing pages.”
A landing page is where visitors interested in a specific topic, product or service arrive on your website through a search engine or internal link. Landing pages must answer the questions about specific topics and effectively explain how your company can solve the associated problems. It’s not a pushy sales page. It’s not an advertisement. It’s a question-and-answer session, where your company has the best answer.
Content Marketing Has a Positive ROI
A landing page can be a blog post or a website page. It doesn’t matter, as long as it satisfies the above criteria. In fact, this very blog post can act as both an informative article and a landing page, since it targets businesses that need to learn about converting website visitors or creating better content on their websites — since Ray Access can do this for you, at a reasonable cost and with a proven return on investment (ROI).
Get a free estimate. We also offer a website analysis service that can provide an objective assessment of your website.
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.
