Something urgent to discuss? Pick up the phone!
When was the last time you actually called someone rather than send an email or a text message? I was out with a friend recently and we got to talking about how people seldom pick up the phone and call each other any more. Even when it would be easier and faster to...
Social media can be magic
Writer Susan Crossman of Crossman Communications went from not having to work hard to needing to drive serious business to her door. With focus, training and active participation in social media, she can now be choosy about clients. She spends about an hour each...
Steve Jobs touched my life; yours too?
In an early job, I worked in a sea of PCs, but got special dispensation to get a Mac because I worked in the Communications department. The IT guy seemed as excited about it as I was. A Mac IIsi (shown here) helped me launch Get It Write in 1991. Today, I use a...
Stop and say thanks
When was the last time you received a hand-written note, in the mail? It’s not that you aren’t getting in touch with or hearing from other people. You send and receive dozens, maybe hundreds of emails every day. You read newspapers and magazines and listen...
Best. Spam. Ever.
Thank goodness, Akismet keeps blog spam at bay. But every once in a while, I look through the spam holding pen to check out the most recent catches. I have to say, those spammers are getting quite creative, even if their grammar, excessive use of exclamation marks and...
What are you waiting for? Get blogging!
Pay no attention to the periodic claims that blogging is on its deathbed or that Twitter has taken over. As blogger, podcaster and storyteller Donna Papacosta said in a talk to IABC/Toronto, blogging is an excellent way to get known and get remembered. Blogs used to...
Outreach doesn’t have to be pushy
Freelancers and independent communicators often agonize over following up with prospective clients. We don’t want to bother people. We worry that we’ll be seen as pushy. This might not be a good time. We’re calling too often. We’ve sent too...
10 tips to network like a pro
(Updated January 2021) Whether you run your own independent business or work in a corporate setting, you need to get out and network. Like having a profile on LinkedIn (as I’ve suggested), networking gives you another way of building your connections. And in the...