If you build it they will come may work for baseball stadiums but marketing your home-based business takes a lot more than hope and prayer. To create and grow a network of potential customers, think about the market niche you fill and target the people who may best benefit. But target well, since not all methods are created the same. Approach marketing the way you did starting your business – one step at a time and one day at a time. Before you know it, your message machine will be full and you’ll have more e-mails to return than time in a day.

Step 1: Set Up a Web Site

If you do nothing else, make sure you have an online presence. When was the last time you went to a telephone book or newspaper to find someone to do something that you needed done? You go online, and so will potential customers. If available, get the Web address that corresponds with your business name. If that name is taken, pick an address that closely matches your business name or that your business name suggests. You can use your name in your address, if you think it will help. If you don’t know your html from your flash player, think about paying someone to set up your site. You can also buy pre-made sites that walk you through customizing it for your business. Boost the benefits of your online presence by putting your contact information on every page and making getting in touch with you easy, like through a contact me form.

Step 2: Advertise

You’ve built it and now you’ve got to tell people that you did. Research how business similar to you make sure people know about their services. Don’t advertise in magazines if most of your customers will likely find you through an online search engine. Make your advertisements compelling and easy to read. As in your Web site, make sure you include contact information. Target trade publications that cater to people in your profession or who may need the services you provide, and don’t forget large-scale advertisement opportunities like billboards, if they will work for you.

Step 3: Join Business Associations

You may want to pay membership fees to join associations set up for people in your profession. Joining not only makes information about you and your business available but may also give you insight into how similar professionals market their business. Nothing better than taking advantage of work and research someone else has done. If you can’t find an appropriate business association, look into joining your local Chamber of Commerce, which is geared toward helping businesses small and large find clients and customers.

Step 4: Network

Set up a social media presence and make information about you and your business available, including Facebook and Twitter; let your friends know that you’ve started a business because even if they don’t need your services they may know someone who does; and include information about your business in your yearly holiday letter, if you have one. No contact is too small when marketing your business.

William Henderson is a Boston-based writer who has been contributing to local and national newspapers and magazines for nearly 20 years. Pure Slush is publishing Henderson’s first book in 2013.