Darla Ferrara

Darla is a full-time freelance writer published internationally, an award-winning author, and a professional graphic artist. She also works full-time as a freelance editor and content strategist. Over the last decade, she has ghostwritten memoirs for a successful entrepreneur and created byline pieces for mainstream publications like USAToday and the New York Times. 


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Blog: The Artistic Slice of Me
Art: Art Portfolio


Books and Novellas by Darla Ferrara


Living With the Gray Tones
Everyone Loves a Sunny Pug
Stories From My Mother's Basement
The Artifact
Sassafrass Chronicles




WriterAccess •

Top Habits, Skills, and Practices of Our Best Freelancer Writers

Successful freelance writers have to master many skills. These include: • Writing in a way that is easy for readers to understand on their phones or computers • Appealing to both readers and search engines at the same time With experience, freelance writers develop habits and practices to hone their skills and consistently delight clients. I asked some of my fellow WriterAccess freelancers to share their writing habits, skills, and practices – and I learned a lot from their responses! There ar
The Mighty Blog •

4 Reasons Why Fad Diets Don’t Work — The Mighty Blog

Each year brings with it one or more fabulous fad diets that are supposed to be the answer to all your weight loss concerns, but do they work? The truth is, if that’s what you are asking, it’s the wrong question. Successful weight loss isn’t just about dropping those extra pounds. It’s about maintaining weight loss long-term. Do fad diets put you on that path to weight management success after age 50? The Cleveland Clinic describes fad diets as plans that promote fast weight loss but don’t con
SuperFat - Amazing Snacks! •

Best Keto Workout Snacks (Pre and Post Workout)

Post-workout nutrition is critical to a healthy you. Without it, your body doesn't have the tools necessary to repair itself. Effective workout recovery relies on you eating the right foods at the right time, though. If you are rocking the keto plan, what is the strategy for post-workout nutrition? For full list of pre workout snack and meal options, click here. It’s a complicated question because there is a misconception that the ketogenic diet can impair proper workout recovery. Carbohydrates
WriterAccess •

Your Content Marketing Team: What Should It Look Like in 2020

“Our marketing departments are too dated to keep us competitive over the next decade.” Say it isn’t so, Joe! And yet, it’s a realization that any company that makes content marketing a priority understands all too well. Let’s face it, content marketing is a strategic part of business, but it’s also one of the most fluid. From year to year marketing trends change and it’s up to you to implement those changes. So, ask yourself, “Are you going to have the same old same old again next year?” The
WriterAccess •

Understanding AR vs. VR and Content Strategizing for Both

If you are stuck in the pre-altered reality marketing world like me, you might still be trying to figure out what the difference is between AR and VR and if it even matters. Interactive marketing isn’t new but it is improved through computer vision and advanced technology. I say we jump into this next generation of marketing trends together and defining AR and VR seems like a good place to start. The Franklin Institute defines augmented reality (AR) as a way to combine digital augmentation with
WriterAccess •

Writing Faux Pas You Don't Want to Make in 2019

2019 is about creating relationships that last and common writing snafus hurt your credibility both as a writer and a brand. Grammar applies to all writing whether you are penning the great American novel or crafting an informative blog to support a brand — that never changes. Unfortunately, the fast-paced world of content marketing makes errors easy to miss. Once you get past all the naughty grammar issues, you can focus on evolving your content writing skills based on the current trends. Yes,
WriterAccess •

It's 2019: What Should Your Social Media Marketing Look Like?

In 2019, you have a decision to make – are you going to sit in the social media sidelines and watch the influencers take control for another year or are you going to evolve enough to become one of those influencers? Of course, if you are doing 2019 the same way you did 2018, change will not come your way. It’s your year, so what are you going to do about it? What should your social media marketing look like in 2019? If you are still asking yourself why social media marketing matters, you need
WriterAccess •

Your Guide To The Omaha Writing Scene

Omaha, Nebraska is on the cusp of becoming one of the great cities in the U.S. It is home to the Gallup Organization, Berkshire Hathaway and it’s founder Warren Buffet along with four Fortune 500 companies and five Fortune 5000 businesses. Omaha is growing as an artistic culture, as well, and offers writers lots of opportunity for growth. Glassdoor states that writers living in Omaha, Nebraska can earn on average 45,275 dollars a year and copywriters around 49,750 dollars. Content marketing man
WriterAccess •

Successful Humor Marketing Strategies

“Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.” Will Rogers It’s safe to say that a successful humor marketing strategy is one part brilliant creativity, one part innovation and one part dumb luck. Most campaigns that work do so because they apply the Will Rogers concept to their marketing design. They take advantage of a humorous part of life that everyone can relate to as it happens to someone else. Humor marketing is a tricky business, though. Many brands try to pull it
WriterAccess •

That's Not Funny...Or is It: Edgy vs Controversial Marketing Humor

Let’s face it; sarcasm creates a connection. It’s the reason that comedians like George Carlin and Robin Williams were masters of comedy. That rancor was how they grabbed people’s attention and kept it. Every once in a while, though, sarcasm takes a surprising turn. The marketers and writers of this campaign thought this was hilarious, no doubt – the rest of the world not so much, though. It’s a chance you take when you introduce humor into your content. This ad for Kayak Stairlift took a litt
WriterAccess •

Why You Should Work on Your Brand Before You Crank Out Content

Brand marketing is strictly for consumer goods companies, right? It is true that B2B’s rely heavily on their direct sales force and word of mouth strategies, but ignoring the brand is like trying to sell vacuum cleaners door to door again. Even the vacuum cleaner companies who made their bones that way know better. You do see the wisdom of creating a company blog, though, so that’s a step in the right digital age direction. Just stop for a minute and think about all those potential leads and ne
WriterAccess •

About Time to Break Resolutions Again: What Content Marketing Looks Like for 2019

Fall is here and the holidays are right around the corner. Soon, all the marketing boys and girls will be checking their numbers to see if they’ve been naughty or nice and before you know it — resolutions. There will be the one or two that you break every year. You know this is the year you’ll start that video series finally. YouTube is calling your brand name in 2019, for sure. Maybe your resolution go-to is something simpler like keeping up with social media posts for more than just the first
WriterAccess •

Puns in Marketing: The Good, The Bad and The Pugly

Are puns a good choice for a marketer looking for an edge? It depends on who you ask. Some self-proclaimed experts say never use puns — too risky. Others might tell you that a good pun is the best kind of creative wordplay for marketing. Maybe a case could be made for either point of view — so let’s try to make one. The problem with using a pun online, in print media or as a tagline to develop a brand is that once you do it, you can’t undo it. A bad pun is a potentially pun-ishing experience. F
WriterAccess •

What Content Marketers Can Learn From Comedic Playwrights

If you accept the premise that all the marketing world is a stage, then it shouldn’t be much of a leap for you to see the role humor and innovation plays in it. Even classic playwrights like William Shakespeare understood that dramatic irony was what kept his audiences coming back again and again. By combining drama and humor, he was able to tell stories that were tragic yet laugh out loud funny at the same time. The comedic playwright has a rare talent, but, then, so does the content marketer.
WriterAccess •

Jumping the Shark: Making FinTech Funny

Is it possible to take a seemingly stogie industry like financial technology (fintech) and find a way to add some humor to it? The answer is it depends on who is writing your content. An effective writer can find a way to add a touch of fun to just about anything as long as it’s appropriate. Fintech, so, what are we talking about here? The stereotypical nerd living in his or her mother’s basement mining bitcoin? The one thing that anyone doing marketing for the financial technology industry sho
WriterAccess •

Getting Funny, B2B Style

Humor is serious business. Wait, maybe it’s business is seriously humorous? I forget which is right but free thinking and smart marketing professionals know both can be true. It’s way past time for B2B to shed its stoic coat and celebrate the humor in life because if it ain’t funny, it ain’t interesting, even in the world of business. A good sense of humor is said to be the most powerful aphrodisiac in the world, so why wouldn’t you use it to romance your clientele? Humor personalizes a relatio
WriterAccess •

Rebel With a Cause: How to Market Your Brand Like a Delinquent Teen

“You’ve gotta do something. Don’t you?” – Buzz Gunderson Rebel Without a Cause If you are not familiar with the movie Rebel Without a Cause, it’s about three teens looking to find a unique way to make sense out of life. It’s a concept people in marketing understand all too well. Whether you work at a Fortune 500 company or run your own small business, the goal is the same — build up the brand while engaging the audience. You can follow the crowd and focus your campaigns on traditional and so
WriterAccess •

Fake Marketing: It's a Bunch of (Brilliant) BS

Fake is the new fabulous in marketing. Consider, if you will, a herd of goats coming up on a shiny new car. What do they see? What appears to be another herd of smart, handsome goats blocking the road. Goats are not the kind to turn tail and run, so hooves go flying. Of course, the badass goats refusing to move in this story are not really goats, but reflections brought to life by an overzealous car wash. Farmer’s Market Insurance claims this is a real story, but who thinks it happened exactly
Hello Motherhood •

Signs of Blindness in Newborns

A newborn's eyes are not fully developed, according to Lawrence M. Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D. at the University of Illinois Medical Center. The elements of the eyes develop in utero, but the nerve and internal structures continue to grow over the first two years of life. This means a newborn will not have sharp vision, making it difficult to determine if your child has a problem that will lead to blindness. There are some key indicators, however. Although a baby's eyes are only 75 percent developed
WriterAccess •

Content Marketing for Health Brands: Take it to the Next Level

Marketing is a critical business asset, whether you sell taffy, paint houses, or provide medical care. It tells your brand’s story, engages customers, and builds reputations. That’s all pretty clear cut – unless your business is saving lives, then it gets a little murky. Healthcare content marketing is a tactic used to promote health and wellness services. When done right, it engages patients and healthcare consumers in a way that builds their trust. Health professionals don’t always see what
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