Online jewelry sales in the U.S. market hit $2.45 billion in 2006, an increase of 20 percent from 2005, according to data from IDEX Online Research. Online sales comprised 3.9 percent of all jewelry sales of $63.0 billion in 2006.

The conventional wisdom at the start of e-commerce was that online sales of jewelry would never be a major factor. Online shoppers now buy a wide range of merchandise online besides books and CDs. They also spend more per purchase.

Content is critical for lead nurturing. Whether it is a case study, new research on some aspect of your industry, a how-to guide, or a whitepaper, content is what makes your lead nurturing programs work – and lead nurturing is what helps marketing drive more revenue to sales.

The web designer wants you to just trust him, and not to listen to the sales department. The sales department is sure that the Geek who runs the back end is a communist. The website is invisible because someone thought a no-cache tag would be a cute way to avoid outdated content, and none of the pages are cached.

RainToday.com’s recent report "What’s Working In Lead Generation" got me thinking about the relationship of thought leadership to branding and lead nurturing.

In B2B marketing, all three serve the same purpose: to establish your company as a trusted adviser, so when a prospect is ready to buy, he or she will think of you and will want to speak with your sales reps.

A great podcast can be an effective tool to generate buzz about a new product or service your company is offering, or can even be a way to simply heighten your online presence and popularity throughout your particular niche.

Ask most executives and marketers what sales people need and they will say, “more leads.” Your sales people don

Patrick Keane, the head of advertising sales strategy at Google has called it quits. Now he will become executive VP and chief marketing officer at CBS Interactive. Keane served at Google for more than four years. Before joining Google, Keane was a VP and senior analyst at Jupiter Research.

A press release reports:

If there were any doubt before (and there wasn’t really), Google has every intention of busting in on the television ad market. A couple of job postings on Google’s website confirm that intent while shedding some light on why networks are so jittery about this media revolution.

When you consider that Google’s net income in 2006 was well over $3 billion, it becomes apparent that individual customers don’t matter much to the company’s overall business. Google may be trying to change that, however: yesterday and today, it’s holding a special sales meeting with “nearly 200 federal contractors, engineers and uniformed military members.”

US e-commerce sales were not only healthy for the fourth quarter of 2006 but were at their highest levels in four years according to the US Census Bureau. On an unadjusted basis, sales reached $33.9 billion, up around a third from the third quarter of 2006.

For the fourth quarter of 2006 e-commerce estimate increased 25.0 percent from the previous year while total retail sales increased 4.0 percent in the same period. E-commerce in Q4 2006 comprised 3.3 percent of total sales.

Fry, Inc, a ecommerce design, development and managed services provider, has announced that the Web site design and re-launch of ShoeMall.com increased sales for the online retailer by 44 percent in 2006.

A couple of days ago I came across this article – NBC Turns ‘Fresh Eyes’ to Its Ad Sales (subscription required). It talked about Michael Pilot joining NBC from GE to manage Ad sales without any prior media experience. Michael was hired in part it seems because he has been "focused on using statistical analysis of potential customers to figure out which are the best prospects". The article went on to say

Usually when we talk about Google and personnel, it’s to report that the company has hired yet another big name, and it’s more than likely a major defection from a rival company.

Increasing conversion rate can be a daunting task that requires a delicate touch and some expertise, not to mention some trial and error. Don’t be afraid to fail at it – just remember to keep trying until you succeed.

I have been a published author for over seven years now and if there is one thing I can’t stand about the industry its waiting!

With the complexity of today’s business solutions and their far-reaching affects, more often than not senior level executives are actively involved in the process of assessing the issues and their options.

With Valentine’s Day two weeks away small business owners are anticipating sales online to be stronger than they are offline. A new survey from Constant Contact titled “2nd annual Small Business Valentine’s Day Outlook” finds that 55 percent of small business owners anticipated strong sales in 2006 but in 2007, only 37 percent feel the same this year.

What do you do when faced with a potential customer who is relentlessly insisting on a discount?

Brick-and-mortar commerce has a powerful ally in the Internet, as many people research a potential purchase online first before heading to a local business to buy.

Digital music sales in 2006 doubled over the previous year. As did the number of songs made available online. Record labels have become somewhat more comfortable as they continue to try and find the right combination of distribution models along with digital music products.

Online browsing and research will increase offline retail sales by 12 percent over the next five years according to JupiterResearch. In their new report, “U.S. Online Retail Forecast, 2006-2011″ growth of offline sales will reach 40 percent of total U.S. retail sales.