With Christmas just around the corner, etailers are getting on high gear to ensure that shoppers go to them for their Christmas shopping. The research group eMarketer predicts that e-commerce will hit $26.2 billion for the last quarter of 2005, and etailers will be fighting to get a bigger share of that huge pie. If you are selling online, part of the marketing strategies used to get more shoppers to come to your site is search engine marketing. Direct Magazine has an excellent article on the best SEM strategies that an etailer can adopt for the holiday season, as follows:

Pets are big business nowadays. American pet owners are spending more on their pets today, lavishing them with costumes, frozen treats, toys and a myriad of other products. In fact, the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) estimates that Americans’ spending on pets will be about $14.5 billion in 2005 for food alone. Even home-based businesses are cashing in on the trend. Operating their business from their basement, Mark & Lorraine Moore of FlightQuarters.com earn millions in sales from their bird diaper (yes, bird diapers!) business. Another entrepreneur I recently featured at WomenHomeBusiness.com is Becky Marshall, who is seeking to

In my experience as an entrepreneur and business owner, I sometimes get overwhelmed with the many tasks that I need to do. That even if I work continuously 24/7, there are still a million and one things that needs to be completed. Little do I know, that I have already spent 30 minutes or so dwelling on my “panic mode” – not doing anything, just worrying about everything. It’s counterproductive, I know, but sometimes I just can’t help it. This is one area that I really need to work on to improve my productivity. One of the best advice I’ve

What if you lose everything you have right now? What will you do, and how will you rise up from your fall? This is the basic premise of a forthcoming book entitled “The Daily Six – Six Simple Steps to Find the Perfect Balance Between Prosperity and Purpose” by John Chappelear (published by Penguin/Putnam and available beginning 11/03/2005). John was a highly successful CEO but lost everything he had — money, power, prestige, even his family. He lost everything. It was then that he realized that there’s something more to life than the pursuit of what he thought was important.

Last week, I was a seminar speaker at a women’s forum held at Edison, New Jersey. I gave a one-hour talk on how to turn your passion into a profit-generating venture to a predominantly women audience. Having taken the time out of the speaking loop after the birth of my second son this year, I felt I needed to brush up on my presentation techniques. And what a great coincidence: our partner Time Warner Books sent us several boxes of books they published this September, one of which is “Presentation S.O.S.: From Perspiration to Persuasion in 9 Easy Steps” by

If you are in the process of deciding whether entrepreneurship is the best path for you, one book you must read is “Before Your Quit Your Job: 10 Real Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know about Building a Multi-Million Dollar Business” by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. Part of the highly-popular Rich Dad’s series, the book is a practical and honest look at the process of starting a business and how to turn a business into a success. The book is almost a first-hand account of the experiences of the authors in starting a business. Robert Kiyosaki is a well-known

Most marketing experts will tell you that you need select a niche or a target audience. That you can’t just market to “whoever is paying attention” and be successful. Why is that? Think about it this way: if you are having a conversation with a total stranger, how do you know what to talk about? Unless you are able to find some common ground, the conversation will probably be short-lived. Because neither of you have an understanding of the other, you must find a way to make a connection to involve each other into the conversation. The same holds true

Business 2.0 magazine’s new issue focuses on the hottest new trends that are deemed to “shape the future of your business.” The author speculates on how it will be to do business in 2008, and here’s what he came up with: 1. Shrinking pool of skilled workers in the US mean that you may work harder in retaining your management and creative people (relevant if you have employees)2. Tap into consumer passion by looking for your most engaged customers and provide the tools to channel their creativity3. In this networked age, business gets a “nervous system” where you can enjoy

If you are publishing on the Web, especially if you have loads of original content, it can be very frustrating and downright damaging to have your content ripped off and used on another website without your content. Your copyrights are violated, your brand is diluted, and you may even be slapped with duplicate penalty by the search engines, among other things. All your hard work used by someone else for their benefit – without your content. Scripts that prevent copying and pasting do not work. Scripts that prevent right clicking do not work. I know I am sounding redundant, but