Sweltering heat. Suffocating heat. Hot breezes that do little to cool you down. Fans running wild... and I'm not talking two-legged ones!

That's the story all over the country, it seems. Some areas are red-hot, some are just heating up. Here in the Northeast, we're experiencing our share of 90 degrees and up. I mentioned to Tom yesterday morning when we braved the weather to walk the dog that NO ONE had better complain about this summer to me. Heat or no heat, it's been one of the best summers ever!

The heat has me thinking, though. About marketing online - in July and August. While we're all sweating through this heatwave - jumping into cool pools or running off to the lake - time is marching on, moving us to that wonderfully cool and refreshing season known as Holiday-time. The term "Christmas" has actually become somewhat generic for holiday-time. We use it to represent that time of the year when snow settles on our lawns, when kids can barely contain their excitement for the coming celebrations. But, I prefer to use the term Holiday, to encompass all religious faiths and family celebrations.

I am not the first marketer to mention it - or, maybe I am - but - it's time, folks. It's time to start looking at your holiday marketing plans. Especially if you're marketing to women - online or off. The ladies are already eying catalogs and websites and sales, to get their heads around shopping for the November, December, January holidays. They prefer to do as much as possible NOW - in order to enjoy the celebrations as they happen. Understand, however, that even those women who shop ahead (and more and more are doing so), make impulse purchases all through the season. By starting your holiday shopping campaigns now, you'll be able to better judge what's selling well and what's not. And, tweak your message, if need be.

Here are 5 Cool Tips on how to grab the attention of these women - and get them to buy your stuff...

1. Use humor. Be creative with your message. Since there is a certain resistence to actually admitting one is shopping for holiday events that aren't coming for another four months, using humor can soften the realization. The best use of humor, to my mind, is how Staples gets 'back-to-school' in front of people. I still love their "It's the most wonderful time of the year" spot, where the tune is a Christmas melody, but the focus is back-to-school shopping.

2. Use a familiar focus - get the ladies where they live. It's common knowledge that women LOVE shoes, and chocolate, and pretty lingerie. Yes, ALL women - even the ones who won't admit it. Compare or contrast your product or service to those things we of the gentler sex are enamoured of. For instance, if you sell financial services - show a woman preparing a bubble bath while gently stroking her new silk bathrobe - and add the tagline, "Soft and silky moments come with a price. Are you financially secure enough to let time slip away?"

3. Use babies. Babies rock! As do kittens and puppies. Build a campaign around the antics of these delightful creatures - showing them frolicking about in red and green bows. Give them a voice. Women can't resist talking babies or cats or dogs.

4. Be helpful. Offer good advice on staying ahead of the shopping craze. KNOW your audience and provide useful tips and tricks to keep us balanced as the holiday rush grows. Offer free PDF downloads of your tips and tricks, including lists we can use to check off what needs doing, or what's finally done. Then, offer these women (the ones who download your PDF), a gift if they shop at your site.

5. Give to a favorite charity. Show us you care. We'll shop - early and often - if you tell us 10% of all purchases made before "this date" will be donated to our favorite charity. If you can't do that because too many women and too many charities will break your database software, give us a choice. At least three charities to choose from. Use literacy, health, and care-giving as guidelines. This makes it so easy for us to give - that we'll share your promotion with all of our friends.

As Jane, my erstwhile alter-ego, used to say, "What's not to like about that?"