Janet wrote (in regards to Web sites):
definitely not a case of “if you build it, they will come.”
She is absolutely correct, and that is one of my favorite
sayings about Web sites. I build Web sites on the side, in
addition to jewelry and my regular job, and my own Web site. As a
side note, I’m not accepting new clients… 
Let me babble, if I may:
Promoting your Web site is critical to its success. My own site
is a gallery concept that I have not been promoting heavily, due
to limited artist participation (on which I am going to start
focusing). Other sites I have built for clients are being hit an
amazing number of times for what would seem limited markets
(either regional or specialized).
There are a lot of services out there who will take your money
to promote your site and register you with search engines. Maybe
a good value, maybe not. Depends on their level of effectiveness
(do your research) and how valuable your time is.
Everything one of these services will do for you, you can do for
yourself. It can take several hours to a couple days of work to
really start creating a “presence” for a Web site. Then you start
doing the other “real world” activities, like leveraging your Web
site with your other sales and marketing efforts, press releases
to targeted media, etc.
Its an ongoing effort. Fine tuning, marketing and promoting your
site is critical if you want people you don’t know to actually
visit your site. Directing people you do know to your Web site
(and repeatedly reminding them about it) will also help put it to
work for you.
Get your own domain name. It’s really cheap, and makes your site
easily accessible. For hosting, I recommend HiWay -
http://www.hway.com. I’m not affiliated in any way… all my
clients are there, and I just have moved my own account there
last year. Hosting starting at $25/mo., and $50/mo. (level 2
account) includes a free (install it yourself) shopping cart
program and secure (SSL) serve usage. Check out my site for a
real-world demo.
I recommend Microsoft FrontPage for authoring - I am affiliated
here, as a Microsoft employee - but it really makes Web authoring
as easy as desktop publishing. Of course, there are other tools,
as well.
Feel free to email me offline if you have questions that aren’t
really Orchid worthy.
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com