Frank Pierson: The Multi Talented Motion Picture Greats

By Laura Elizabeth

“The danger of censorship in America is not from government, not from the religious right or the self righteous left but from we the artists ourselves. Self censorship by artists who simply give up because if we can’t see a way to get our story sold and out into the theaters what is the point of trying. Because we know there is no way to get past the gates of commerce. I see this happening and it is our greatest danger.” Frank R. Pierson.

This is a scary realization to a writer when you think about beginning to write you work the whole thing through from beginning to end in your head and on paper including being recognized for your work by the American Film Academy and the New York Times.

To listen to a lecture given by Frank you learn to understand the whole concept of being an author. The cold hard truth, the facts, one by one explained with the accuracy of his near immortal standing in the writing and film industry.
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How to Network for Professional Success

By Kristin Marquet

Before I started working in the fashion and public relations’ industries, I felt uncomfortable in social situations, was petrified of meeting and talking to new people, and hated public speaking for many reasons but shyness topped the list. Yet, once I learned effective networking skills, my network of fashion and media contacts exploded.

Networking can be scary especially if you feel uncomfortable in social situations. However, effective networking skills are essential to meeting other individuals, generating good contacts, and building solid and relationships.

When you have a solid network you can rely on, connecting with potential clients, partners, and employees becomes much easier because you don’t have to wait for an awkward introduction. Additionally, the more individuals that view you and your business positively, the more leverage you will have.

Follow these tips to build a strong network:

1. Sincerity is a must. Most business people can smell phoniness from a mile away.

2. Determine your goals and objectives. Before attending any networking event – conference, luncheon, holiday party or any other business or social event, make sure it is for the right reason. Some events are for making contacts, while others are for learning a certain trade or industry. If you are a make up artist, I don’t think you would attend the American Bar Association Mid Winter Conference for Surety and Fidelity.

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Have You Created Your 2010 Marketing Calendar?

A Marketing calendar you say? How do you know you’ve got one? Regardless of what you plan to do in life, it’s wise to set an “easy-to-follow” course or set of goals. In particular, doing so is important from a Marketing perspective. By creating a Marketing calendar, in which you can monitor your Marketing activities on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis, you are actually describing how you plan to work on your business over a 12-month period. Typically, the 12 months encompass the calendar year.

As a vital tool in your Marketing tool bag, a Marketing calendar silently encourages you to approach and to reach your goal in a structured and well-thought-out manner. You’re able to effectively coordinate your Marketing efforts. It assists you as you establish a budget and you’ll find your focus becomes clearer and more consistent. Simply, you are better able to see its value in your Marketing program. Without a doubt, when you plan your Marketing activities for the New Year, a Marketing calendar should be at the top of your activities list.

What’s so special about a Marketing calendar?

Surreptitiously, or working “in the background,” your Marketing calendar will monitor your efforts and results; you’ll see first-hand, in real time, just what’s working and what’s not working. You’ll have a “silent hand” tapping you on the shoulder to “keep you on the straight and narrow;” you’ll quickly know whether you need to change direction.

All in all, the calendar helps track regularly actionable occurring activities, like writing and submitting articles to online directories, and when it’s time to create blog posts, how often you ought to participate in social networking activities, and whether it’s time to post videos, etc.
The Silent Helper

Your Marketing calendar is your “silent helper;” you’ll know exactly what day or month you ought to:

· Begin doing a specific Marketing tactic
· See each step you need to take to implement a specific strategy
· Identify gaps in your Marketing schedule throughout the year

There are many things you can add to your Marketing calendar/plan; some of which are:

· Article submissions
· Blogging dates
· Social networking
· Pay-per-click schedule
· Video Marketing
· On and offline networking
· Media release distribution dates
· Product development/sales
· Virtual joint venture activities
· Setup and monitor an affiliate program
· Implement a referral program
· Major and minor events
· Holiday promotions

Okay, so you’ve got it that you need a Marketing calendar…but how will you know it’s working:

Actually, there is no specific rule or “barometer” to use and know whether you have sufficiently set up your Marketing plan to the best possible advantage. As each step you take will be germane to you and what you hope to achieve with your business. Creating a Marketing calendar is just one part of that process. Which, ideally, includes numerous measures to help you define your goals, and what you plan to do to help you reach those goals! In addition, the Marketing calendar is a handy record to help you measure and assess your progress on a regular basis.

Administrative Tasks

Your “work” is not particularly over just because your Marketing calendar is in place and you’ve been using it for a while. You’ll still need to handle several administrative tasks associated with having a Marketing calendar. Things like spending some time studying the number of visits to your Web site, the number of sign-ups for your ezine, how many people came to your teleseminars, etc.

You’ll also want to regularly review your Web site and your Marketing materials to make sure they continue to be relevant and specifically add value to what you plan to accomplish. Such as, staying current with industry trends and the competition, etc. In addition, you’ll work to assure that with all your checking and rechecking everything continues to be on track. All the checks and balances enable you to know soon enough whether any adjustments need to be made in your processes.

As time goes on, by being aware of your stats and the results, you’ll know soon enough what is working, whether you need to make adjustments, or work harder on, and where, if at all, you need to stop spending your time because it has ceased to be of benefit for you.

Bottom line?

Using a Marketing calendar is an easy way to plan and to implement your Marketing strategies for the coming year. You’ll also be able to schedule a number of Marketing events in a timely manner and easily track costs and your progress. If you’ve not yet created your Marketing calendar, there’s still time. If not, what steps will you take now, then and later to begin?

About the Author
Business Marketing Expert, Sharon Williams, uses the power of internet marketing to create opportunities and increase the online personas of busy and often overwhelmed executives and entrepreneurs who want more publicity, prospects and profit. Now she is revealing her top secret marketing strategies so you can boost your website traffic, get more leads and create multiple, profitable streams of income. Go to http://www.The24HourSecretary.com/blog and let Sharon help fuel your passion and make profits!

Get Organized in 2010 with Effective Planning

Are you where you want to be in your life professionally? Are you happy with your career path? Are you making what you thought you would be making? Are you happy with your current salary? Have you accomplished everything you wanted to date?

We all have dreams and goals of obtaining something, whether it is finding true love, starting our dream business or finding our dream job, or attaining financial freedom. However, when times get difficult and we get overwhelmed, we have a tendency to lose focus on what those dreams and goals are because they become somewhat elusive.

When things get difficult, we may feel overwhelmed or apathetic, the goal setting and goal achievement process may become mundane and in turn, we may get derailed, and feel hopeless. However, when planning with flexibility, the goal attaining process becomes easier and more realistic.

Learn how to stay on track in 2010:

Passion and desire for success - We need to have passion and desire to stay on track when goal planning. We have to commit to whatever we are trying to accomplish.

See success – We must see ourselves achieving the goal, even if we were not successful the first time. How many business people really become successful on their first venture? How many times have we found true love with the first person we dated? How many times does the average self-made millionaire fail before making it big -approximately three or more times? Keeping a positive attitude and optimistic outlook with realistic expectations will never lead to disappointment.

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PR Basics: How to Draft a Media Pitch

Want to know how you can draft a Media Pitch that Actually Lands Your Business Ink in Newspapers and Magazines as well as TV and Radio Airtime?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a seasoned PR professional working with clients, an executive at a Fortune 500 Company or an entrepreneur working on a start up company, you’ll need to know how to pitch the media correctly if you want to generate publicity with booking interviews, writing bylined articles and getting write ups about your business. However, with the invention of the Internet, PR spamming has given PR a bad name.

With all the bad pitches and PR spamming, it is time to teach you how to pitch the media the right way. By pitching the media correctly, you will see your name in ink in no time.
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Expressing Gratitude

December is a great time to express gratitude to everyone you have done business with during the past year. The purpose and primary reason networking is so important in growing our businesses in the wonderful relationships we build. Let’s not take those relationships for granted and instead let people know how important they are to us and to our continued success in our business.

We all know it takes 90% more money, time and effort to find new customers and referral partners than it does to take care of our existing ones. So let’s set aside some time to make sure each person who has contributed to our business knows how special they are to us. Everyone likes to not only be appreciated, but also to be acknowledged for their loyalty.
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From North Dakota To Siberia: Fifth Generation Farmer Creates Jobs

Stephanie Stober praises the benefits of flax seed. She’s a fifth generation grower on the family farm, and knows the average person can mix flax seeds to salads, soups, cereal, juices. or baked goods for a nutritous meal, or snack. “Flaxseeds are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids, magnesium, potassium, and fiber,” she said.

Not short on motivation, Stober finds her work rewarding. In these uncertain economic times, her business is able to provide jobs in her small community. “We are able to employ people who normally would have to drive 30, or more miles to find work, since the local grocery store closed. Creating jobs is a great assest, ” she said.

Stober has a history of being community-minded. “I had the opportunity to travel to Siberia to help educate farmers on different ideas for income in 1992,” she said.
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Planning Your Marketing Strategy Quickly and Effectively

It doesn’t matter whether you work for a large Fortune 500 company or own a small Mom and Pop grocery store, devising a sound marketing strategy is going to help meet monthly and annual goals and objectives smoothly and effectively. It doesn’t have to cost a million dollars and you don’t have to have an MBA from Harvard Business School either.

The keys to developing a strong marketing strategy include proper market segmentation, competitive analysis, product/service definition, and various marketing efforts from advertising, social media, Internet marketing, public relations, events and tradeshows, direct mail and networking.
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