Are Google Holiday Ads a Christmas Gift

May 28, 2009 at 1:02 am · Filed under holiday

Back during Halloween, Google wheeled out some holiday-themed ads. If you didn’t see them, they looked pretty cool. They had a little pumpkin in the top right-hand corner and the black-bordered ads had pictures of ghosts and witches in the background.

They were made available to all publishers, not just the big ones, and there was a lot of talk about them on the blogs at the time.

The first thing that struck me about these designs was that they’d ruin all the hard work I’ve put into blending my ads into my site. I don’t use black borders, so putting an ad unit on the site with a thick black border is going to make those units leap off the page. It’s going to be pretty clear that they were put on the site by someone other than me. That means the ad units won’t come with the recommendation from the publisher that they get when they have the same design as the site.

Having said that, I have to admit that they were eye-catching. Of course, that’s not always a good thing. Make your ads too eye-catching and you’ll run into the sort of ad-blindness that has killed banners. But these ads were made eye-catching by unique pictures that were fun to look at. They were different to anything visitors will have seen before so they wouldn’t have minded too much being distracted from what they were reading on the site.

There’s certainly a good chance that people who wouldn’t have noticed the ads will have looked at them and clicked.

Or rather, I think there’s a good chance but I don’t know that for sure because I haven’t seen the results from people who used those ads. In fact, I’m not even sure how easily a publisher would be able to follow the stats from ads like that. Traditionally, the number of visitors to websites falls during holidays so a comparison would have to be made with the same date in a previous year. But the Internet grows and changes so quickly that year-on-year comparisons are fairly meaningless.

In my opinion, those ads are just too darned attractive to ignore. With Christmas coming, if Google do this again, I think the best bet will be to theme your site with pictures of Santa Claus and candy sticks — effectively blending the site into the ad. That’s pretty unusual but then Christmas is a special time of year!

Joel Comm is The Internet Revenue Expert. Online for over 20 years, Joel teaches people how to make money in the digital age. The recognized authority on Google AdSense, Joel teaches how to multiply your AdSense income at The AdSense Code. To ask Joel Comm a question about making money online, visit http://www.AskJoelComm.com Joel invites you to download a free copy of The Internet Money Tree at http://www.internetmoneytree.net

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How to Have a Successful Holiday Season

May 27, 2009 at 4:02 am · Filed under holiday

A Successful Holiday Season is it Within Your Reach?

The holiday season is, for all intense purposes, upon us. It’s no surprise, happens to fall in our laps about the same time every single year. According to the television commercials, newspapers, magazines and education facilities from pre-school on up this is supposed to be a very loving, joyful time. On the flip side, the American Psychiatric Association warns us about the high rate of depression and suicide. It’s amazing how all the events that take place from Halloween until New Year’s Day can take its toll on even the most laid back of people.

Many people say they have a way of navigating successfully through the get-togethers, dinners, gift exchanges and their typical workloads. There is a talent to being able to maintain a sense of sanity during what can be some of the most financially and emotionally exhausting period of the year. After sending out requests (or pleas) to different message boards on several women’s magazines, I decided to share some of the member’s best advice. Hopefully, they are as helpful to anyone reading as they are to the 30 kind responders!

On the subject of gift giving:

Responses about actual gifts or gift certificates were split right down the middle. Half felt gift certificates made the giver seem impersonal and uncaring. Half felt the certificate, check or old-fashioned green saved everyone from hurt feelings as well as awful gifts. One respondent put it best: “I do both. If I know that someone wants something special, and it’s within my budget, I buy it. If I have no idea then old-fashioned cash always fits, it’s the perfect color and no one can ever have too much”

On the subject of Family:

Here was quite a hotbed of opinions. Those who saw their families year-round, felt that “getting away” was their idea of the perfect holiday season. Some felt as long as the visit was 2-3 days and, like leftovers, were thrown out afterwards, anything could be lived through. Some wanted to host their out of town members as long as possible to give their children a sense of family. Many commented on the commercialism of the whole season and had decided somewhere along the way to cut back on everything from hosting, visiting, cooking, cleaning and gift exchanges and enjoy only the original meaning of the season. Several respondents, whose children were at the tween stage, said they had become extremely upset over the kids “right of entitlement” to “clean everyone’s wallet” with gifts and were now celebrating the holidays by signing up for stints at homeless shelters.

On the subject of Work:

Depending on the profession of the respondents, many stated that because the holidays many of their clients, customers and vendors saw a huge dip in interest in their given field, they decided to shut down and take the week between Christmas and New Year’s off. As well as the day after Thanksgiving, stating that many of them intended to take full advantage of what has been dubbed “Black Friday” to go shopping. Many of the respondents worked in the home design/improvement arenas-they added that if a remodel or redecorating project hadn’t been completed by Thanksgiving, most clients wouldn’t consider doing anything until after the first of the year. Of course, the two nurses and one doctor stated they found themselves putting in extra hours and more time away from their families to take care of all the medical issues that always seemed to double during the last quarter of the year.

Having a successful holiday season is well within everyone’s reach-however what makes this time of the year special is very subjective. What works like the proverbial charm for one person’s clan will be considered a bomb for another group. The trait that seemed to be most important was that everyone have a little more tolerance and patience for one another’s idiosyncrasies and enjoy whatever events happen to occur.

Carine Nadel decided long ago that holidays were stressful enough without deliberately making herself crazy by doing too much. She now spends her time the way that’s works best for herself and her family. To read more of Carine’s point of view log onto: http://www.Carine-whatscooking.blogspot.com or http://www.fabulously40.com

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10 Tips for More Meaningful Holidays

May 26, 2009 at 4:01 pm · Filed under holiday

No matter how many lists you make, cards you send, gifts you buy, or packages you wrap, there will be things you intended to do this holiday season that won’t get done. If you do manage to get everything done, but you’re too tired to enjoy the season, everyone suffers.

Consider these tips to minimize your stress and maximize the meaning this holiday season:

1. Tamper with tradition. Dragging yourself through “we’ve always done it” rituals when they’ve lost their meaning, and you’ve lost your energy, does not contribute to holiday joy.

2. Begin the season by making a list - but don’t stop there. Pick out the most important item, the second, and on down the list. Remember, a creative mind always has more ideas than the body can accomplish!

3. Use your calendar - not just for appointments with other people, but with yourself as well. If you plan to send cards, estimate how much time it will take to write and address them, and block out that time on your calendar.

4. Ask your family what’s important. Prepared foods instead of home-cooked means more time for sharing new sports equipment and relaxing with friends.

5. Avoid perfectionism in gift-giving. It’s the thought that counts. Choose one or two gifts that can be used for several people. A relaxed parent or hostess is a greater gift than anything money can buy.

6. Focus your energy. If your family isn’t as excited as you are about decorating the whole house, invest your efforts on what means the most to you.

7. If the holidays bring pain because of death, divorce, or family far away, be gentle with yourself. Recognize that grief is a healthy and that next year will be better, even if you can’t believe it today. Concentrate on making other people’s holiday more joyful.

8. Take time out from total togetherness. Let your child call a friend and take a nap. Give your siblings the car keys and a map. The idea is for everyone to enjoy the occasion.

9. Be clear about expectations. If you never tell your family what you want them to do, it’s unfair to expect them to know.

10. Look over your list, leave off what you can live without, and enjoy the real reason for the season.

© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com

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