There are many things that go into a marketing campaign and it's important to make sure you have done your due diligence to ensure the campaign's success.

That due diligence includes identifying your target, conducting market research, and determining the best way to reach your target. In today's world planning a productive and successful promotional campaign is crucial, especially with the cut in marketing dollars that many of us are experiencing.

Success comes from the following components:

• Identifying Your Target
• Market Research
• Marketing Message Development
• Pricing Strategy

If you have all of these things in order you've increased the odds of your campaign's success. You can follow this marketing campaign checklist to ensure you haven't missed anything.

I started in the online world nearly 13 years ago.  I will tell you that back then businesses viewed online marketing and ecommerce as an option, not a necessity.  That's changing and it's changing at a rapid pace.

Businesses that were early adopters of the online marketplace reaped the benefits, but now they are seeing many of their competitors sneak up behind them and sometimes even stealing a part of the market share that they have built over the years.  These businesses can't be surprised after all their competitors have started to realize the value in ecommerce with 94% of people shopping online.

Consider these statistics provided by Internet Retailer regarding online shopping during the holidays this year.

• 72% of consumers said that they would shop online for holiday gifts.
• 40% of them said they'd spend between $100 and $300 online at e-retailers.
• Online sales during the holiday season 2010 was up 15% from last year.

How did you do? If you've found yourself behind the game and slipping in traction I'm here to help.  I want to show you how to revisit and revamp your e-marketing plan in a way that is effective and fool proof.  There are five steps that you can start working on today.  You must follow these steps in order, because it's the only way that it makes financial sense.  Learn the five steps you can take to revamp your e-marketing plan.  You'll be glad you did, it's not too late to start preparing for next year.

I'm not psychic nor do I have a crystal ball, but I've made some marketing predictions I think you will not only find interesting, but you'll want to be aware of. I've been in marketing for the past decade and boy, have we seen some changes. We've gone from having our toe dipped into the interactive world while holding onto our traditional means of marketing with a death grip. I'm happy to say that is starting to change at a rapid pace.

We are getting braver when it comes to marketing. I don't know if that's because we realize that the traditional means of marketing are not as effective or that we have just started to find more of our customers online and via mobile marketing. Truth is, the reason doesn't matter - it's happening.

I've made my predictions of the marketing methods that are phasing out as well as the marketing methods that I believe will continue to grow and soar in the next year. You are welcome to hold my feet to the fire on this one; I'm that confident in my projections.

How will your business do in the upcoming year? I think that all depends on how you market and the relationships that you create and cultivate. It's time to pull those marketing dollars back that aren't working for you and begin to invest them in ways that will give you more of a return. If you are ready, what are you waiting for? I give you my Marketing Predictions for 2011 - out with the old and in with the new.

Your Turn: What are your marketing predictions for the upcoming  year? What do you see staying and what do you see going away?

The buzz today is Net Neutrality. If you've spent any time online today more than likely you've been exposed to a high volume of discussions regarding Net Neutrality and rules that were passed by the FCC.

Do you know what they are talking about?

You should, it could affect you. Today, in a vote that was split between party lines, the FCC approved a list of Net Neutrality regulations. These rules are creating controversy, conversation as well as confusion. The nuts and bolts of Net Neutrality is the ability and empowerment for internet providers to better manage bandwidth by charging more to those users who use more and less for those who do not. The goal of Net Neutrality has been to ensure that the internet stays democratic and uncontrolled by the telecom giants that want to become its gatekeepers

Basically the FCC rules that were voted on today create two classes of internet access, one for fixed-line providers and the other for wireless internet providers. You obviously have two sides here, one that belongs to the FCC and the other that consists of internet service providers and their allies in Congress. The argument is that Net Neutrality allows internet providers to regulate cost based on usage and some believe that this just gives too much control. There are also some arguments that state it's a violation to free speech, that it will hinder the advancement of the internet and will lead to a system where only the privileged will have access.

The rules have not yet been released, but you can view and download 5 pages of key excerpts from the Report and Order from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

I'm not sure that I believe all of the speculation, but of course one of the questions I have is how will this affect consumers and in return impact online marketing? I'd love to hear your thoughts. If we are charged, based on use will online usage begin to decline? Do you think we will see a change?