C’mon you’ve heard it before (with infomercial voice-over in your head?) “You too can build a business on the Internet, work from home, and watch the cash roll-in!” Sorry. Not true. Building a business online takes a lot of work and commitment. Don’t trust anyone that tells you differently. But if you’re serious about bringing your business online (or starting one) then…

It all starts with your website.

Having a professional looking website is as essential as a listing in the Yellow Pages used to be (yes, used to be). I mean your new Internet prospects need a place to find you right? And nothing says, “Open for business!” like an engaging and friendly website. The good news: creating a website is well within reach of even the smallest upstarts (we have one!)

But I don’t know anything about building my own website!

No worries. Thanks to some of the great website builders out there, it’s now easy to create a professional website with just a few clicks of the mouse. And you don’t need a degree in computer science either! Check out Yola, Moogo, and SnapPages to see what we mean. They offer a wide range of templates, tutorials, pictures, and graphics to get you started quickly. Did I mention that they’re free to use? Yes, free.

Most website builders will also help you get set up with your own domain name (e.g. www.yourbizname.com), which you can add to your business cards, letterhead, and other marketing materials. Pretty cool, huh?

As you build your website, keep in mind that most business-oriented websites have the following pages:

• Home Page: This is the first page most of your visitors will see, so don’t be coy – provide all the key information here. Your logo, business name, phone number, address, and business hours are the most important things. Bottom line: make it easy for them to contact you!

• Products or Services: This could be products you sell, services you offer, your menu, or your class schedule (you get the idea). Be sure to include pricing (unless your prices change frequently) and a few attractive, high quality photos to remind customers why they like your stuff the best!

• Contact Us: Make it easy for people to get in touch with you for questions, to make an appointment, or share a story. Provide multiple ways to contact you – email address, phone number, and a simple web form they can fill out.  If you’re into social media, invite prospects to follow you on Twitter or “Like” you on Facebook.

• About Us:  Is your business family owned and operated? Do you specialize in organic products or local suppliers? Offer a money back guarantee? Tell your story in your own words – it builds trust with your prospects, and, after all, people buy from people they like!

• Testimonials: Already have customers? Then ask them for testimonials for your website. Remember: nothing convinces prospects more than happy customers. You can’t afford NOT to start asking your customers to share their experiences. Use comment cards, email, or better yet, your Contact Us form!

Here’s our complete list of the Best Free and Affordable Website Builders from our blog: Best Online Advertising Stuff. You’ll do well using any of the website providers on this list… so take your time and find one that works best for you.

That’s it. You’re ready to jump in and start building your very own website. Remember, there’s no better way to get started than… getting started!

Let us know once your website is up. We’ll want to check it out too!

One of our favorite places to visit this time of year is Los Angeles. Why? Because it’s got that perfect combination of beaches, movies stars, and Disneyland (for the kids of course!)

L.A. is also one of the biggest metropolitan markets in the country… with almost 18 million consumers ready to spend on your products and services.

Wondering how best to reach them with your online marketing message? Then check out our list of the 21 best websites for advertising to L.A. consumers.

For example, this “best of” list features websites for major print and television news outlets including the Los Angeles Times and KTTV Fox 11, sites geared towards specific regions or neighborhoods, such as Yo! Venice, Daily Breeze and Blogdowntown, along with lifestyle and event sites including LAist, Green LA Girl, and LA Moms Blog.

The complete list of the Best Websites for Advertising to L.A. Consumers can be found on our Leadtail blog – Best Online Advertising Stuff.

Have a great L.A. website that you’d like to nominate for next time? Just let us know…

We’ll see you at the beach this summer!

Last Thursday was the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day… and we’re still feeling green about the environment! If you are too then you’ll be interested in the list we put together of the 40 best websites for advertising to green consumers.

This “best of” list includes lots of eco-friendly websites to consider for your advertising dollars (all marketing budgets welcome!)

For example, websites dedicated to keeping everyone informed about environmental issues such as Mother Nature Network, Grist, and WebEcoist; those geared towards providing ideas and tips for living a sustainable lifestyle including TreeHugger, Worldchanging, and The Sustainability Ninja; along with sites offering a sense of community for people who want to make a difference, such as Care2 and Green Options.

The complete list of the Best Websites for Advertising to Green Consumers can be found on our Leadtail blog – Best Online Advertising Stuff.

Keep in mind that for many people, “going green” is a way of life, not a single act or purchase. Invest the time to craft the right message for this progressive audience, and you’ll be taking your “sustainable” sales growth all the way to the bank (in your hybrid car, of course)!

Know of a great green site that didn’t make our list? Share it in the comments!

Site maps are sexy. Yes they are. Maybe not to you and me… but the search engines sure like them and that’s all that matters. Of course, your website visitors will appreciate them too. But (as usual) we’re getting ahead of ourselves…

What is a site map and why do you care?

Just like the name implies, it’s a map of your website. Or said another way, it’s a web page that contains direct links to every page of your website and:

• Makes it easy for search engines to find (index) all your pages while providing powerful clues as to the type of content on your website. This means it’s more likely that your website will show up in the right search results!

• Helps visitors see the breadth of information on your site and makes navigation easier by giving them another way to find what they’re looking for.

• Shows a bird’s eye view of things which helps when you’re planning to add new pages and sections to your website.

Are you ready to create your very own site map?

If you have a fairly simple website (say, 50 pages or less) then just create a web page and add your links in a clear and organized bullet point format. Start with your main sections (e.g., Products, Support, About Us) and then add the links underneath that correspond to those sections.

Your website more complicated than that?

Then use one of the free or affordable site map tools such as: Free Sitemap Generator, Sitemapper, AllWebMenus, and XML Sitemaps.com. Besides quickly generating a regular site map, these tools can also create an XML site map (learn more) to submit to search engines. This will come in handy if your website is new or if you’ve recently made a bunch of changes and need to tell the search engines.

When done right, your site map will look like a table of contents or maybe like Yahoo! Directory with each topic having its relevant links under it.

Now just add a “Site Map” link to your website navigation so that it shows up on every page of your site. That way the search engines and your website visitors can always find it.

It’s time to create your site map… but don’t take too long. The search engines are waiting!

Think Twitter is just some silly Internet fad with no real impact on your business? Think again! With an estimated 75 million people  sending over 1.5 billion messages (or “tweets”) a month, Twitter is an increasingly important way to connect with your customers and prospects – one you can’t afford to ignore!

First things first – what IS Twitter, anyway?

You’ve probably heard Twitter described something like this:

“Twitter is a social network where users connect with each other by “following” 140 character messages from people or companies they find interesting.”

Ok… but what does that mean?!?

Well, you can think of Twitter like a mini press release service where you send out headlines to people who are interested in hearing from you. Adding a new item to your menu? Running a special deal for this weekend only? Launching a new website? Twitter helps you get the word out quickly, and makes it easy for your followers to keep passing it along to more and more people.

Great – how do I get started?

1. Create your account – head over to twitter.com to sign up.  Choose a name that will make it easy for people to find you, like your business or brand name. Be sure to add a few details to your bio, and use an eye catching picture for your profile – a unique picture will help customers pick your tweets out of the flock!
2. Set up some searches – your name, business name, products, website, and competitors are all excellent starting points. When you’ve set up a useful search, you can easily save it, add it to your RSS reader or use one of the tools mentioned below to have the results delivered via email.
3. Start following – your existing customers, prospects, and partners (you can even import contacts from your email address book to make finding them super easy!) You’ll also want to follow experts and peers in your industry, and check out who follows them, as they could also be interested in hearing from you (more on that shortly).
4. Get a feel for it – how often do people tweet? Which tweets get your attention? How do you fit enticing messages into the 140-character limit? Experiment until you find a pattern that suits your style and generates the results you’re looking for.
5. Jump in – you can ask and answer questions, or request feedback on your website, products, or services. You’ll also want to share information that helps build your credibility and establishes you as a voice worth listening to (and following!) – like links to relevant articles, helpful tips, or special deals exclusively for your followers.
6. Begin building your own following – invite people to follow you on Twitter by adding a link to your Twitter profile on your website and in your email signature. By far the most effective way to gain followers is by interacting with other people and following the ones that interest you. Often, when you follow someone, they will follow you back – give it a try!

Tweeter beware – Twitter can be addictive!

Once you tap into this rushing river of tweets, it can be hard to pull yourself away!  Fortunately, you don’t have to hang out on Twitter all day, or even read every message – there are plenty of free tools available to help you stay on top of things while you’re busy running your business!

Google Alerts now include results from Twitter. If you already have Google Alerts set up for some of your key terms, you may have noticed a few tweets popping up.

TweetBeep and TweetAlarm are like Google Alerts, only focused on Twitter. They will find tweets that match your search criteria and deliver them straight to your email inbox – either right away, hourly, or in a daily digest.

While not free, you might also consider picking up a copy of The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein. It’s a quick read, and a handy guide covering the basics all the way up to advanced tips and tools for using Twitter to grow your business.

Lastly, if you’re considering marketing your business on one of the Twitter advertising services that have sprung up in the last 18 months or so, be sure to check out our list of the 15 best Twitter advertising services for you to consider (so far!)

Best of all, there is no wrong way to tweet – so go ahead, get started!

Let us know about your successes and any questions you have in the comments section. You can also follow me and ask me questions on Twitter (of course!)

(Editor’s note: many thanks to Karri Carlson for this guest post)