Some times it takes a bump or two on that street to get us back on keel. I know that's what happened to me a while back. Sales started to slide and I couldn't see why.

Then I sat down and went through memory book. I tried to figure out what I was doing wrong. I thought of this possibility and that possibility.

Then it came to me. It wasn't what I was doing wrong -- It was what I wasn't doing at all!

I thought back to when I was starting out, what did I do? It all started coming back to me. I wasn't promoting. I was just drifting.

The main thing I realized I had let fall by way side was sizzle. How did I used to make it sizzle? Several ways - let's look at a few:

1. Use 2 for 1 deal. If a customer bought one item they could pick another item at same or lower price at no charge.

2. Give a 15% discount on orders of $100 or more.

3. Group products so they could pick any one of them for $5.

4. Run holiday specials. Everything on web site 50% off on certain holidays.

5. If it was a high ticket offer, I'd let customers use a payment plan - pay for it in three easy payments.

Here are some merchandising techniques you'll find in bricks-and- mortars stores and their counterparts on Web:

1. New products. In stores, these often smack you in eye when you first walk in. On Web, popular sites feature new products in a prominent spot on home page.

2. Seasonal items. My local supermarket places these at ends of aisles and in a special interior aisle set aside for barbecue supplies in summer, Halloween candy in fall and rock salt in winter. On Web, they often are featured on home page but not centrally, getting less of a spotlight than new products.

3. Combinations of items. In department stores, you'll often see signs saying, "Buy three for only $25." Amazon.com is currently promoting book titles in this way, bundling two related titles together for an appealing discount, making sales of those items jump.