If you’re reading this blog you don’t need a lecture on how social media has extended the reach of ordinary businesspeople. But you might wonder if blogging, Twittering and Linking In are smart investments. I did too, at first. This whole social media frenzy seemed a little Hollywood for me and, frankly, why open up to strangers about my world’s trivialities? But what I missed initially was the difference between social media as a way to play and social media as a marketing tool. As businessp

The previous post in this series looked at the importance of clearly understanding the purpose of the document you’re writing. That analysis keeps your research, writing and editing focused and succinct. If you missed that piece, and would like to review it before moving forward, you’ll find Step One of Writing with Impact here. Step two along the way to creating a doc that rocks, is to clearly understand...

The climb up the side of the hill in West Sussex was bathed in conversation, sunshine and all the delight of rediscovering a favored corner of a world I feared I’d left behind years ago. Gentle spring breezes played with hope and two of my children ran ahead on the footpath to scamper over stiles, chase stray cats and examine tracks in the mud that might have been made by a fox. Birds twittered, crocuses bloomed and at my side the girl who turned me into a mother chatted with the girl who knew m

A previous Crossman’s Crash Course lesson set out my five basic organizational steps for writing with clarity and I was amazed at the response the piece received. It really underscored for me how important clear communication is to people and it emphasized the fact that I’m obviously not the only one beating the drum for clarity in writing.