The Story Behind The Sizzle

Hi!  I'm Stephanie Nivinskus, Copywriter and the CEO of SizzleForce Marketing, a strategic copywriting agency in San Diego.
And I'd like to share a little story with you.

Family legend claims my great grandfather, “Pappy,” wrote one of the most famous slogans used by Planters Peanuts in the 1920’s.  He owned a cigar and candy store known as “the finest snooker parlor in Kern County.” Rumor has it, a salesman for the peanut company visited his store once upon a time and Pappy casually suggested a new slogan to him. Next thing he knew, the slogan appeared on peanut tins everywhere. My family has been bragging about it ever since. I have no idea if this story is true or false, but I’ve been told my “wordsmith gene” comes from Pappy. 

I’ve been writing stories on a near daily basis since my 11th birthday, when I received my very first diary as a gift.  I still have it. The most entertaining entries are from the days when, with all of my pre-teen hormones raging, I documented the rules I would never impart on my someday adolescent children. #NeverSayNever

After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Diego State University, I landed my first job working in the advertising department of San Diego’s wildly popular entertainment newspaper. A couple of years later, I was the proud resident of my first office in corporate America at The San Diego Union-Tribune. When “dot com” became a thing, I was hired by Cox Communications to bring their new internet property to life. And that I did. It was eventually acquired by another media property and is still going strong today—almost 20 years later.

Since 1995, I’ve been writing copy professionally. I’ve worked on copywriting campaigns for the NFL, Quicksilver and Starbucks, along with hundreds of other companies. Regardless of size, each and every one of them shares the same goals: to clarify their marketing message, captivate their audience and gain a competitive edge so they can sell more stuff!

SizzleForce Marketing was born in 2009.  Eager to give more small companies a big voice in the marketplace, I built this company with my then 7, 5 and 2 year-old children by my side.

Today, SizzleForce Marketing is a very carefully curated team of strategic copywriters that specialize in writing direct response marketing content for coaches and consultants along with leadership development and e-learning companies.

We’ve had the privilege of writing for countless clients including:

> Darren Hardy (Success Magazine)

> Mike Koenigs (You Everywhere Now)

> Susan Briggs & Robin Bennett (The Dog Gurus)

> Candace D'Agnolo (Pet Boss Nation)

> Karen & Neil Gwartzmann (Private Label University)

In addition, I’ve written for Forbes and Entrepreneur. My book, "Absolutely Unforgettable: The Entrepreneur's Guide To Creating A Heart-Centered Brand That Stands Out In A Noisy World" made it on the bestseller list in the United States, Canada and Australia. It also made it on the "hot and trending" list in the United Kingdom, which still makes me giggle. In fact, whenever my now teenagers question how cool I am, I remind them the internet says I'm "hot and trending" in the UK. So there. #GoMom 

We'd love to have the opportunity to earn your strategic copywriting business so we can show the world how cool you are. Let’s have a conversation if you'd like to learn more about how we can help you articulate your marketing messages with consistency, clarity and confidence.