During a survey period of November 4 – Nov 29th, 2010 (26 days) it became apparent that no one was waiting for “CyberMonday” to advertise OR shop.

Key takeaways for this survey period were:

·     Search advertising budgets up 31% in 2010 over 2009 and online shoppers are more responsive to paid advertising.  Clicks were up 55% and conversions were up 13.5% over 2009 statistics.

·     Online sales transactions up 83% year-over-year (YOY).  Competition for retailers peaks on Cyber Monday!

·     60% overall increase in online sales revenue YOY.  Consumers are buying more often with smaller basket sizes. Overall sales conversions rose 83% in 2010 but the average order value dropped about 8%.

What does this mean for EVERY business?  New Rules….

1.  Plan Ahead

2.  Approach Online Advertising with Confidence!

3.  Focus on relevance – consumers want the perfect deal, from the perfect seller.

Source:  Aaron Goldman, MediaPost 12/01/10

This great infographic will help you define where on the spectrum your friendships are, and help you grow them to the next level.

(Click image for a larger -easier to read view)

Thanks to Mike Auaraz:  http://www.mikearauz.com/images/spectrum_friendship.jpg

Do you use Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, or the endless list of Google services for your business?

How many of them are “free”?

Now, define “free” for me.

For YEARS I have been telling my clients, friends, family…even strangers who start up conversations with me about the Internet [while I am wolfing down a Panera Fuji Apple Salad and doing my online College classwork] that there is NOTHING FREE on the Internet.

Immediately, they disagree and come back with an entire list of free services, as I did above.  Sometimes I smile and continue to eat and work…other times I explain what they give up for those “freebies”….and sometimes – if they are REALLY interested – I tell them the true cost of those freebies (data centers, datalines, staff, legal review, coders, testers, etc).

Anything you get for FREE has a price.  The price tag for the services that I listed above is YOU.  You are the price tag.  YOU are their target for behavioral marketing, search, and other services those listed businesses actually sell.

I believe we have all gotten far too used to the “freebies” on the web, we have all become “comfortably numb” (thanks Pink Floyd) to their real cost, and then when someone takes away your “assumed right” to privacy, you scream.

It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee – either pay for a similar service where you have the right to your privacy, or assume YOU are the price for free use of their service.  Those, really, are your choices.

Really hard.

If you have been to a seminar on Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Blogging, or anything else that is made to look SIMPLE to do…and 48 hours later you still have not done it….

then you just may have

“Magellan Ship Syndrome”.

What is that?

It’s when seeing is not believing.

Magellan explored many islands without opposition.  The theory is that the natives did not attack Magellan as one would have expected them to do upon the arrival of  his big ships with a bunch of strange looking creatures on them.

Why?  The natives did not know what they were looking at – they had absolutely no point of reference.  In fact, they were so taken by what they saw, they laid down their spears and brought their canoes ashore. Watching the big ship with huge billowing sales was so far from any experience they had previously had, that they were in awe, welcoming Magellan and his crew, and treating them like Gods.

Lucky for Magellan he got out of town before the Natives were able to discern what he was really doing, and what would follow!

I’m Just SAYIN! that is why there are College Degrees for this stuff!

Quoted Source:  Stephen Simon, Producer