Weird phenomenon

A little more than a month ago, my internet presence was quite prominent. I was active on the Zazzle forums, updated this blog regularly, constantly added new products to my store, and tweeted like mad. Being sick for a month obviously changed that. I'd lost the rhythm I had found.

The thing is, the most that my persistent advertising got me was an increase in view counts, not sales. It wasn't till a few weeks after I dropped off the grid did I finally break the dry spell with some sales.

I know that advertising is important, but it can be discouraging when you don't see its immediate effects. Have any of you shop owners experienced something similar? What do you say is the most effective method of advertising?