Author Nicholas Sparks Scores Big on Valentine's Day

In recent years, no romance author has scored as many hits as Nicholas Sparks. The author of many hugely popular books, several of which have been made into hi“must see” movies for romantic movie fans, Nicholas Sparks’ marketing team had the author all teed up, and ready to swing for a major public relations win on Valentine’s Day.

Just before the big day of hearts, and chocolate, Sparks’ team announced the release of a DVD collection of his seven biggest romantic adaptations, Safe Haven,The Lucky One, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember,Message in a Bottle, and The Notebook.

To support the release, Sparks engaged the media, which was already ramping up for Valentine’s Day, and looking for love themed content.

Three reasons why Sparks’ promotion paid off:

He was prepared: Holidays come at the same time every year, and, every time, they offer an opportunity for someone to connect with their established audience. For Sparks, no day is better for this than Valentine’s Day. His movies, and books are like Date Night candy; stories of love conquering all. So, they put them all together, in a neat little package, for people who just can’t pick their favorite one. And ALL OF THIS was put in place months ago.

He stayed topical: In his interviews, and other media appearances, Sparks, promoted the movies and books, but not heavily. He let the interviewer lead him into those topics, which kept on message, without being overbearing.

He brought welcomed content: Not only were the movies welcome content, but the discussion ABOUT the content, from the ultimate insider, was very welcome to fans. They appreciated the curtain being pulled back as the creator of their favorite movies talked shop. The opportunity allowed Sparks to repeatedly discuss memorable scenes, which, in turn, promoted the movies even more.

With these three action steps, Sparks was able to connect with his core audience in a meaningful way. While you might not be a bestselling novelist, you can apply these tips to achieve marketing success.

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading NY PR Agency.

What To Do To Grow Your Business

Any business one may be in, they can encounter “quick rich” solutions to common problems and challenges all businesspeople face. Namely, what to do next. Whether you are basking in a success, reeling from a failure, or wandering around in the doldrums of mediocrity, there is one question on the mind of EVERY business professional: “Where do I go from here?”

Next steps are not the clichés seen in movies, or popular webinars. They are not the trite, and vague “solutions” offered in self-help books, or Business For Dummies cartoons. The reality is, knowing when and how to take those all important “next steps”, and in which direction to take them, can be discovered, and measured based on information you already have access to.

Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W Public Relations in New York, understands well the dynamic quandary of Next Steps. Here, he offers three definitive, and definable Next Steps that EVERY business professional can take knowing he or she is moving in the right direction.

#1 - Examine and quantify your current data: There is magic, and wisdom in what you already know, and in the numbers you already have. Those numbers can offer you concrete answers to questions you may not even know to ask. What you do with that information will determine the success of your next step, but crunching those numbers will at least show you which direction to take.

#2 - Examine and quantify current marketing opportunities: What are the closest possible, or better said, probable business applications to what you are doing now? Are there any needs you could be meeting that you are not? Any core competencies that you could be offering, but do not promote? Where is the market headed, and what is it asking for … and what, of those wants and needs, fits within your skill set, or immediate potential offerings?

#3 - Examine and quantify potential market wants or needs: This step is all about looking for what isn’t there. What is missing that people will want, or need next? More than a question of creativity, this is an examination of trends, and an extrapolation of where those trends might offer an opportunity for innovation or deviations, whether small or large.

Taken together, each of these steps presents simple, and definitive market data that can clear the fog of indecision brought about by the innumerable opportunities that surround entrepreneurs, and business professionals every day. Yes, there is plenty out there to see, and pursue. But it’s time to stop grasping at everything that moves into your line of sight.

So whether you work for Vemma or work for yourself, take a step back, crunch your own numbers, see what’s immediately available to you, and search for something someone hasn’t thought of yet.

The Path To Success Differs: Henry Swieca to Russell Simmons To Vemma

Successful people know that there is no easy path to success. There’s always something else to tackle and it is often a very daunting task.  Some quotes on what it takes to be successful:

• “If you work harder than everyone else, success can’t hide from you. You will find it. And you will enjoy it.” Chad Howse 
•  “There is no substitute for passion, hard work and dedication.” Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5WPR 
•  "The most difficult aspect of being a CEO is you driving your day, and not letting the day drive you. By looking through tasks each morning and resolving to allocate the time to concentrate on the CEO priorities, the actions only the CEO can take to move the company forward, you can keep your eye on moving the company forward.” Bob Compton
•  "With the exception of one or two days a year, I work out every single day. Fitting a workout into the work day reduces stress, keeps you healthy, and is great for getting “alone time” to work out business and personal problems.” Mike Cassidy
• “Having been a Division I college athlete, I can say that being a CEO is significantly more strenuous... There's an expectation that you always have to be positive, energetic, and decisive, which drains every ounce of your energy.” Marc Barros
• "Maintaining a steady reservoir of energy -- physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually -- requires refueling it intermittently." Tony Schwartz
• "Meditation has given me centeredness and creativity. It's also given me peace and health." Ray Dalio 
• “At Vemma every day we strive to do more --- and that takes dedication, focus and more.”
• "Stress-reduction and mindfulness don't just make us happier and healthier, they're a proven competitive advantage for any business that wants one.” Arianna Huffington
• “For me, my number one productivity practice is to set priorities at the beginning of the day, before I get lost in the chaos that goes on around me. When I sit down at my desk, I set priorities.” Tony Stubblebine
• “What I was depriving myself from was time in the day where there was no pressure and no expectations. For the same reasons that I felt most creative on Saturday mornings and on planes, 4 a.m. has become a place of productive peace. That feeling is why I love what I do. I don't need a vacation. I don't need to step away. I just need a couple hours a day before anyone else is up.” Paul Dejoe
• “I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That's how I came up with a solution. So I don't mind failure. I've always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they've had. The child who tries strange things and experience lots of failures to get there is probably more creative.” Sir James Dyson
• “Take Chances, Be Honest and work damn hard.” Henry Swieca

What is your favorite quote on success?

Vemma Changing Lives

Eighteen months ago, Presidential Stu Massengill of Danville, California, came home from college with several boxes of Vemma and a plan to turn his casual Vemma business into a full-time career. Stu gave his mom a box of Bod•ē Burn and asked her to try out the product and tell him what she thought of it. When she ended up loving it, she signed up with Vemma.

 

“We did it as a way to help our son,” says Stu’s mother Jane Massengill “We figured if we made anything with the business, it would be an unexpected bonus. Needless to say, our success now is way beyond what we’d anticipated.” “I love how this lifestyle lets you travel to places all across the world and change lives while doing it,” says Stu, who is looking forward to visiting Vemma team members in Europe next month. “I first heard about Vemma from my friend Bas Bunge, a foreign exchange student from Norway. Vemma was more like a hobby for the first few months. But then something happened. I got a text message from someone saying, ‘Thanks for changing my life!’ It hit me that I could help people through Vemma — help them create a life without a boss or the demanding schedules that usually go along with success.”*

 

It was around that same time that the school year ended and Stu headed back to his parents’ house in Danville for a few months. He sat down with his mom and explained the business, giving her a box of Bod•ē Burn to try out. “My parents always taught me to follow your passion,” Stu says. “So I guess that’s why they supported me. My dad was really skeptical about the products at first. But by now, they both enjoy the products and my mom builds the business with me. It’s been great.”

 The Parents’ Perspective

“Kevin and I are the least likely candidates to approach about the Vemma business,” says Jane. She is a successful life coach with a booming private practice and Stu’s father Kevin Massengill is a physician at Kaiser Medical Center. Both have achieved remarkable success in their careers and weren’t looking for anything else to take up their valuable time. “When Stu came home all excited about Vemma, we decided to support him, if only for the personal growth we saw it could give him,” Jane says. She started taking Bod•ē Burn and loved how much energy she felt. She ordered more, eventually losing 7 stubborn pounds on the Bod•ē program.** After that, her husband decided to try it too. “Since Kevin started on the products, he’s lost some weight and it’s been interesting to see how conscious he’s become of the way nutrition impacts your health.”**

Several months after Jane and Kevin started taking the products, Jed Buenaluz stopped by their house and Jane got talking with him. “It was the personal development aspect of the business that caught my attention" says Jane. "Jed told me, ‘This is what you’ve done professionally for years, helping people find their inner strength and overcome their personal gremlins.’ The idea of working a business with my son and using my professional life coaching skills to help build leaders finally got me hooked.” Jane and Stu now put on events together regularly, which has helped boost Stu to Presidential within 16 months and Jane to Platinum.* “When a young person joins our team, Stu trains them, and when an ‘older’ person joins, I train them,” says Jane. “It works out really well.”

Tips from Vemma Hotshot Stu Massengill

·         Stay plugged in. Ninety percent of success is showing up. Go to events and listen to phone calls. I basically just hung out for the first two months as I learned the business.

·         Find someone who has what you want and learn from them.

·         We’re not selling energy drinks, we’re building leaders.

·         I always knew there was something inside me that was really great. With Vemma, I found what I could do and how I could change lives.

·         Never stop going after what you want out of life.

·         Get a plan. When I got serious about Vemma, I sat down with two of my best friends and we mapped out a plan of how to make the business work. We’d do at least one event a day, sometimes three or four.

Ruth Lichtenstein's Newspaper calls on Mayor de Blasio to Open Up on Murdered Menachem Stark

Read this article fromv HaModia, someone who supports the New York mayor, but has challenged him on the murder of hareidi Jewish man Menachem Stark.

It Begins...

Mr. Mayor, the Silence is Deafening

Nobody likes disturbing a mayor during the “sheva brachos” of his inauguration. But a dastardly deed has been committed in the city, and residents await the traditional reassurance that comes with a personal mayoral statement.

However, ever since the abduction and brutal murder of Reb Menachem Stark, Hy”d, Thursday night that shattered the Orthodox community — and all decent New Yorkers — Mayor Bill de Blasio’s voice has been missing from the uproar. (Read More)

Tuesday, January 7, 2014 | ו' שבט תשע"ד

Ruth Lichtenstein is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of HaModia

Michael Lichtenstein to Pamela Anderson, Fareed Zakaria To Ami Mesika: Immigrant Success Stories

From real-estate moguls to entertainers, America is lined with amazing success stories. As the New Year of 2014 approaches, wanted to share some of my favorite quotes as it comes to entrepreneur success stories:

·                     “Immigrant families generally come to America with many strengths, including healthy, intact families, strong work ethic and aspirations, and for many, a cohesive community of fellow immigrants from the same country of origin.” Princeton.edu

·                     “As in the past, so it may be in the future – Americans will always look to a fresh wave of immigrants who are leaner, tougher, younger and more willing to sacrifice their bodies to do the work that we can’t or won’t do.” NYTimes.com

·                     “There is simply no substitute for hard work.” Michael Lichtenstein

·                     "Here in the United States, we do a lot of talking. Foreign people talk less. They just do. Results is what pays the bills." Ola Ayeni

·                     "America has succeeded not because of the ingenuity of its government programs but because of the vigor of its society. It has thrived because it has kept itself open to the world – to goods and services, to ideas and inventions, and, above all to peoples and cultures." Fareed Zakaria

·                     “Immigrants don’t come to this country to do what they love; they come here to make money.” QuickSprout.com

·                     “Hard work never harmed anyone – working hard is good for the soul.” Ami Mesika

·                     “Grit and determination to get ahead are often what drive [immigrants] as they strive to take advantage of better economic opportunities in America.” Nancy Foner

·                     "I'm an immigrant myself. It was a tough road to come to America and work." Pamela Anderson

·                     “I'm very inspired by him-it was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.” Zinedine Zidane

·                     “Of course, everyone in the New World is an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants, and immigrants have built America and continue to do so. Legal or illegal, they are almost universally good people who work to better their lot and that of their children.” Mark Helprin