Do you want to start promoting your local business online? Learn how to give your business a professional look online and impress potential customers or clients.
1. Get a Professional Business Email
People will want to contact your business by email and you may also need to contact someone by email. You can provide an email address you got for free from Google, Yahoo, Outlook, or another email provider but a better option is to get a profes sional business email that reflects your business brand and enhance your credibility.
A professional business email is common and expected for a business to have. |
What is the difference between a Free and Professional Business Email?
The main difference you will notice between a free and custom business email is what goes before and after the @ symbol. Most importantly, a custom email address is easier to read and helps promote your business brand.
With a free email address, what comes before the @ symbol is your choice of words, letters, and numbers but what comes after the @ symbol is the name of the email provider such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook.
With a custom email address, you can customize what goes before and after the @ symbol. Usually, what goes before can be your name, initials, or a generic word such as:
contact
info
support
help
After the @ symbol your domain name will show.
For example, let's consider a fictitious local window cleaning business in Los Angeles, California called Clear Windows, owned by David Smith. David can create a free email or a professional email for his business.
Which do you think looks more professional and is easier to read?
​Free Email Address | Custom Email Address |
clearwindows1985@gmail.com​ | ​contact@clearwindows.com |
​info@clearwindows.com | |
​clearwindowslosangeles@gmail.com | ​support@clearwindows.com |
Where can I get a professional business email?
To get a professional business email address consider Google Workspace. Don't forget to use one of the following promotional codes if you select the Business Starter Plan or Business Standard Plan.
​Use one of these promotional codes to get a 10% discount for your first year! |
​For the Business Starter Plan use: C7RVRWDD4P6KQWQ |
For the Business Standard Plan use: E6N6PVA9RT7UALF |
2. Create a Professional Website
Any local business that wants to attract more people online needs a website that looks professional and modern.
There are several options for you to get a website that looks amazing and affordable. |
The Reason you Need a Website
According to Google:
"70% of consumers agree that they expect all businesses, including small businesses, to have a website."
This means that most people will expect to find a website for your local business.
Creating a Website Yourself
You have two choices for creating a professional website. You can design it yourself using a website builder or hire a web designer. With either choice, you can get a great-looking website for your business.
By using a website builder you can create a simple yet professional-looking website with just basic computer skills. No experience in coding is needed! You simply choose your favorite website template and customize it by adding your logo, photos, images, and written content.
Hire a Professional
Where can I create a website?
There are many places online where you can create a website yourself or hire experts. Here is a list of the many website builders you can use:
Bluehost
Duda
GoDaddy
Ionos
Jimbo
Site123
Strikingly
Squarespace
Webflow
Webnode
Weebly
Wix
WordPress
Zyro
Do-It-Yourself Website Builder |
Create a professional website yourself using Web.com, which offers many well-designed templates and an easy-to-use editor to customize your favorite template. |
Hire a Professional |
If you prefer to have a professional design your website, consider using Ionos which offer a complete web design service and offers different plans. |
3. Get a Professional Logo
As people are searching online for businesses like yours, you want them to easily identify your business by its logo. However, you want a logo that looks professional and getting one can be easily done by using the best online platforms for logo design.
A logo helps people remember and recognize your business. |
What are the types of logos?
First, you should first know about the different logo styles that are popular. The most popular logo styles that you can choose from include:
Modern
Minimalist
Mascot
Emblem
Signature
Vintage
Handrawn
Watercolor
Geometric
It's recommended and expected that a business includes a logo on its website and online profiles. |
Where can I get a professional logo?
There are three ways for you to get a professionally-designed logo.
Use a Logo Generator |
​​If you like the do-it-yourself approach, then try out a logo generator. A logo generator will create a logo using templates. These types of logos are not designed directly by a logo designer but rather are computer-generated that you can customize. |
Try it out and design a logo yourself using DesignEvo.
​Hire a Logo Designer |
​If you want a unique and original logo design, hire a designer. A logo designer can create a logo based on your ideas or give you ideas for potential designs. You can find designers specializing in a specific logo style or a business industry. |
Find and work with a top-rated logo designer on Fiverr.
Start a Logo Design Contest |
If you don't have a clear design idea for your logo and want to explore different design concepts, consider starting a design contest. You can get many inspirational and creative ideas from many talented designers. |
Start a logo design contest with 99designs.
4. Include Professional Images
Your online profiles and website need images to make them look more interesting and attractive.
It's important not to use images and photos you find on a search result on Google since doing this can be illegal. The best option is to get images and photos on websites that give you the right to use them for commercial purposes. There are free and paid options.
Free Images | Paid Images |
Upslash | ​Adobe Stock |
Pexels | Shutterstock |
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