We’ve all been there. We spend countless hours coming up with a concept, a product or service, and finally get our website up and operational. And then what? We wait. And wait. And wait for sales to start coming in.

Perhaps you’re just starting out or going through a dry spell. But no matter what stage of the game you’re in, if your website isn’t selling, your business can’t survive.

So what can you do? How do you know what the problem is and how to fix it? Let me offer a few ideas and suggestions:

Problem: Your home page copy doesn’t give enough of the story. Copy that is too short or confusing will send people clicking away. People want to know right away what you’re selling, how it benefits them, and how much it costs.

Solution: Try selling the product right on the home page, with short descriptions of each product or service. This allows visitors to find the order button easily. Then, you can offer links to more info for each product for those who want to know more.

Problem: Your site is promoted entirely with pay-per-click. Unfortunately, this method just doesn’t work that well for most sites. Nobody quite knows why, but theories range from 3rd world computer sweat shops hired to click on your link, to software that lets competitors automatically click your link all day. Whatever the case, it’s not unusual to get 1,000 pay-per-click visitors and never make a sale.

Solution: Search engine optimization. If you have a hard time doing this on your own, it might be worth it to hire someone to do it for you. Make sure your keywords are on target and that your site is registered with the major search engines.

Problem: Your only promotion has been a press release. A release is usually a good idea, but it needs to be combined with other forms of advertising. Articles, classified ads, email announcements, and even direct mail are great options for advertising your site.

Solution: Find some ezines that are read by your target audience. Then, place some classified and solo ads in those publications (and make sure your release goes there, too. Many whose websites have done very well will swear by this method. Ask a few people you admire which ezines they have had success with, and try some of those.

Problem: Your site is too wordy or too complicated. Believe it or not, too much copy on your site can be just as bad as not enough. How much you need depends on what you’re selling, how much explanation is necessary, and what the price is. Sites that simply talk to much or speak in terms common people don’t understand are bound to fail.

Solution: Go through your site copy and get rid of unnecessary clutter. Delete redundant paragraphs and cut out the fluff. It might be wise to give brief descriptions of what you’re selling on one page, then offer links to more detailed info on another page. Don’t try to show off your vocabulary. Explain your product or service on your site in the same way you’d explain it to someone who walked into your store in person.

If people can find your site but it still isn’t selling, it’s likely that you have at least one of these problems. Once these issues are corrected, chances are your site will become the selling tool you designed it to be. 

What is the key to a successful business? Some say it’s profit. Others think it’s longevity. No matter what your answer is, neith er is possible without this most basic of ingredients — customers.

Customers are the backbone of any business. They are the reason businesses succeed and the reason they start in the first place. It’s easy to see why we need them. What’s not so easy is getting them. In order to gain new customers, small business owners have to consider fresher ways of reaching potential customers. Online networking and blogging are innovative ways to garner new business. Small business owners also shouldn’t abandon the time-tested classics, like direct mail or public relations. The following seven tools are a blend of the old and the new, and if applied to your startup or small business marketing efforts, should help in building your customer base.

1. Network With Other Small Business Owners Online Making connections with other small business owners is a great way to build your customer base. The most efficient way to ma ke those connections is through online social networking sites like PartnerUp. By utilizing our “Ask a Question” feature on the bottom of the My PartnerUp page or participating in the PartnerUp forums, you can initiate relationships with business owners who may someday be in need of services that you provide. If you’ve built a strong relationship and have introduced your products and services, these new connections are likely to seek you out when they need you.

2. Blog About Your Business Everybody’s doing it. Or at least they should be. Blogging is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways for small businesses to get their name out there. Blogging software is also relatively easy to use. Small business owners don’t have the time to learn HTML or the money to hire a Web developer, so blogging is a more efficient way for them to create a Web presence. By sharing your knowledge of a given subject matter and providing helpful tip s and useful content on your blog, you’re going to quickly attract the interest of potential customers.

3. Sell Through Your Web site A great way to gain new customers is to use your Web site to sell your products or services. It sounds like common sense, but many businesses don’t. And those that do don’t always do it effectively. Make sure that your Web site is easy for customers to search for, that what your business does is clear immediately upon entering your web site, and that it is easy for customers to purchase your products and services. It must be user-friendly and have a clean and easy-to-read layout. If it does, you can watch your sales grow. If it doesn’t, you may as well provide customers with a link to your competitor’s Web sites as it won’t be hard for them to find your competitors on Google.

4. Advertise Online Online advertising provides you with targeting options that are unsurpassed by any other form of advertising. Because you can target your ads by demographics, geographic locations or keywords, your ads are more likely to reach the people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service. Online advertising is also more affordable and easy to track.It’s flat out cheaper to post ads on the Web than in print form. You also get to track which ads are actually bringing in new customers, which allows you to focus on what’s working and stop what isn’t. Advtise.com the leading pay per click company is offering all the right tools to succeed that. 

5. Use Public Relations to Your Advantage Don’t ever underestimate the power of positive buzz. If you can find a way to get people talking about you, positively that is, you’re well on your way to garnering new customers. And public relations is a great way to do it. Sometimes financial constraints can make it difficult for small businesses to actively pursue the media. So if you can afford to work with a public relations firm, do it. But i f you’re like most small business owners who can’t, then you need to find a way to do some of the work yourself. At the very least, reach out to journalists and explain who you are and what you do. If something new and exciting happens, don’t be afraid to write up a brief press release and send it their way. Be sure that the information you’re giving them is newsworthy, though. If you bother them every time you reach some new goal, you’ll most likely be blacklisted.

6. Send Direct Mail Direct mail is a classic form of marketing, and a classic never dies. When Internet marketing came, however, many people turned their backs on direct mail as an outdated way of reaching out to new customers. But seasoned veterans in the marketing industry still hail it as a highly effective medium, as long as it’s done right. Before sending out your mailings, make sure you have a good list, one that is likely to include many potential customers. You’l l also want to prompt your mail recipients to take action by giving them offers that are hard to refuse or telling them what’s in it for them, not just listing off your features.

7. Buy and Use Sales Leads Purchasing lists of sales leads is a great way to make sure that you’re effectively targeting your marketing efforts. With your list in hand, you can now prime your potential customers with a piece of direct mail. Once you’ve done that, follow up with some cold calling. Though cold calling is not the most glamorous tool for growing your customer base, it is certainly an inexpensive and highly effective way to reach out to would-be customers. After you’ve cold called your list, send out another piece of direct mail. This allows you to remain engaged with the customer, while not feeling intrusive about calling them again.

Individually, each of these tools is a great way to acquire customers. But this isn’t a pi ck-and-choose operation. Feel free to integrate them into a larger marketing campaign. The more attempts you make to reach out to potential customers, the better. But remember, these are just the tools that are going to draw customers to you. Once you get a customer on the hook, so to speak, it’s up to you to earn their business.