Why is it that live chat icons always feature pretty girls with a headset?    Why not have a good looking guy with a headset?

Is the strategy that men will want to talk to a pretty girl?  And women may be more comfortable talking to another woman than a man?   I don’t know.   But a recent study might provide some answers.

Robert Dooley at Future Lab has a great post A Pretty Woman Beats a Good Loan Deal.  He looks at …

Maria Reitan  and I had a great conversation on her radio show Purse Strings.    She wanted to know about how you can better understand your target demographics.  Maria asked some great questions about marketing to women, how women use the Internet, and the burning question on everyone’s minds - why I spend all my holidays in the bathroom.

Give it a listen.

Guy Kawasaki recently blogged about an article that attempts to explain how women work.

There are some interesting tidbits including why women may be more stressed than men, how Barbie has affected women’s eating disorders, and some cool brain differences.

I wrote about some of these differences in The Soccer Mom Myth.  Differences between men and women DO exist.   It’s ok to say so.   But what’s even more important is to understand how those differences affect our buying decisions and which marketing messages we respond to.

Go take a look and share your thoughts with me.

Is there a difference in the way men and women use search?   Is there a way to better meet the needs of women in your search strategy and campaigns?

These are some of the questions I discussed with Gord Hotchkiss, President and CEO of Enquiro Research.

More and more studies are showing there are differences in how men and women use websites.   Is there a difference in how they use search as well?   Let’s find out.

Take a listen.

Click here to listen to Holly’s interview with Gord Hotchki…

Would you like to join me at a marketing to women event here in New York City?

About.com and Brandweek are presenting a roundtable and cocktail party Thursday, July 17, starting at 3pm. You can join me as part of the exclusive in-person audience for “Online She Trusts… or Does She? “- an expert roundtable discussing women’s interactions in the virtual world - where they go and what and who they believe, what they respond to, and what they steer clear of.

Featured speakers:

Mary Lou Quinlan - Founder/CEO Just Ask a Woman

Ritu Trivedi - Managing Partner and Media Director, Mindshare …

Social media is exploding. Everyone’s talking about the huge advertising potential. I see companies and marketers getting positively giddy:

“Think of it! Millions and millions of people we can hyper target with relevant messages and offers, contextual targeting, behavioral targeting - THINK OF THE VIRAL OPPORTUNITIES!”

Um, you’ve got a little bit of spittle there at the corner of your mouth…there, yeah, you wiped it off.

Yes, the potential is huge. But some companies have been disappointed with the results in their early efforts. They have some great ideas, but …

In test after test, it seems “Free Shipping” is still a great incentive for online shoppers. I know I’m a sucker for free shipping. It just feels like, well, like I’m getting real value in the transaction when the company is going to eat the shipping costs.

Call me mean, but I like that thought.

I’ve long held a theory that women are more sensitive to shipping costs than men. I have no proof of this theory. It’s mostly anecdotal. When I talk to women about …

There’s been a big stir recently over allegations that Dove’s “Real Beauty” models were airbrushed. There have been a few different stories floating around, so let’s clear a few things up.

Here’s what Dove has to say:
The “real women” ad referenced in recent media coverage was created and produced entirely by Ogilvy, the Dove brand’s advertising agency, from start to finish and the women’s bodies were not digitally altered.

Pascal Dangin worked with photographer Annie Leibovitz (Ogilvy has never employed Mr. Dangin on the Dove Campaign …

Have you ever noticed that if you really want good information about a product, you’re much more likely to find that information in a product review than in the product description itself?

Why aren’t product descriptions more helpful?

Here’s one thought: Men and women may care about different things. Product descriptions may not be speaking to both genders’ needs. In product reviews, men talk about what they care about, and women talk about what they care about. This may be one reason why reviews help increase conversion.

Here’s …

I wish someone would do a take-off of Shania’ Twain’s “I Feel Like a Woman” and change it to “I Don’t Feel Like a Woman.”

I visit a lot of the “women’s sites” on the Web, and I almost always feel out of place. The subject matter doesn’t excite me. The headlines don’t speak to me. It all feels the same…

• Celebrity gossip
• Diets and recipes
• Love/romance tips
• Fashion news/shopping tips
• Wellness/health issues

Sorry, but none of those are particularly high on my radar. I guess …