Cyber Monday sales increased 15% year over year. The increase, which is credited to overwhelming deals and free shipping offers, brought in roughly $846 million dollars for online retailers on Monday. How did you do?

If you have an online business, but did not see an increase in sales it may be time to evaluate the five levels that a consumer goes through when it comes to online buying.

Creating a successful online sales process can be accomplished by making sure that you represent and court your visitor through the five levels of the sales process on your site.

Good morning and welcome to Cyber Monday! While I can't report on sales today I can share with you recent results from Black Friday.

It was reported by ShopperTrack on Saturday that preliminary sales for Black Friday totaled $10.6 billion. Despite the economic news we've all been bombarded with estimated sales were up 3% from last year. That's great news!

Why the rise in sales despite economy? ShopperTrack speculates that it is the deep discounts that drove consumers shopping.

How did you do on Black Friday?

If you did not fare well on Friday, it may be time to evaluate your customer relationships and start getting in touch with those clients and customers that you haven't seen in a while. Learn how you can increase your sales by 50% without increasing your marketing budget by nurturing, retaining, and maintaining your customer relationships with your existing customer base; especially during this holiday season.

Would you like to increase your sales in 2009? Of course you would. Now is a great time to begin reviewing what your company is doing when it comes to marketing and sales. Let's start with selling via email. Is your email marketing working? If not, take a few moments to review the Seven Pitfalls of Using Email to Sell by guest author Ari Galper and find out what you could be doing wrong.

This week I found myself working on a promotional campaign for a new client. I was reminded of all the questions that I receive regarding promotions and marketing especially in during these economic times.

It's true we often feel as if our jobs are on the line if a campaign does not prove to be successful. We are often depended on for the increase in sales and consumer attention. That's a lot of pressure to carry. I'd like to see if I can help in easing that pressure.

We know that marketing is a lot of trial and error, but the truth is there are things you can do to increase the success of your promotional campaign. I've outlined them for you in seven easy steps. I have found that when I follow these steps I have confidence in knowing that I have done my due diligence in creating a campaign that will prove to be successful. Give these seven steps in creating a successful promotional campaign a try and I think you will find the same to be true for you.