Did you forget to send a holiday card to your clients?

Don’t worry!

With Mighty Mail, you can create a holiday Email in just a few easy steps. The zip file below is packed with web-ready holiday graphics to make a great holiday card. Download the file and then login to your Mighty Mail account. Think of it as our gift to you! Don’t forget to personalize your Email and included a note to your clients.

With Mighty Mail, you can create an email holiday card in just a few easy steps. Just download the zip file below that is packed with web-ready images for a great holiday card. Then, login to your Mighty Mail account and use one of the holiday graphics. You can personalize your email and included a note to your client.

Problem Solved!

Don’t have a Mighty Mail Account? Contact us and we will get you started with two FREE email templates branded for your business.

Mighty Mail Holiday E-card Art

Now that your new Mighty Site has launched, it’s time to start thinking about marketing your business online. Your website is only one part of the Mighty Site package. This is where Mighty Mail comes into play.  With the Mighty Site package, you are provided with two custom-branded email templates. Here is a quick step-by-step guide to help you get started. And if you need a visual tutorial, we have also create a few videos to help you along the way.

5 Easy Steps to Get Started:

1. Login.
To login, from your browser go to mightymail.gorillawebstudio.com. Use your username and password on your Client Login form to log into your account.

2. Create a Campaign.

From the overview tab, simply click the “create a new campaign” button on the far right.

You have been set up with two custom branded templates to choose from:  “Simple Announcement” and “Simple Newsletter.” An “announcement” is a simple format for light content with a few images. The “newsletter” format has a sidebar with a table of contents for Email campaigns that require more content, images, and links.

3. Add Content.
To add content, click on the gray ‘edit’ tab and select a pre-formatted text box from the dropdown bar. You can choose from a text only format or text that includes an image gallery. After you have all your content in place, you can preview your Email campaign by clicking the green ‘preview’ tab in the upper right corner.

4. Manage Subscribers.
Each campaign begins with creating a new, or selecting a mailing list of recipients. You can create as many different lists as you need for your business. Simply upload your .CSV (a comma-separated values list) from your address book. You can open .CSV files in most spreadsheet applications, such as Microsoft Excel, edit the list, and then upload to your Mighty Mail account. More about .CSV files and how to create them.

New signups from your website are automatically routed into your Mighty Mail account.  Other metrics such as unsubscribes or bounces are also managed internally. For example, every Email you send includes a single-click ” unsubscribe link, and our preference center feature allows your subscribers to manage their own subscription.

5. Schedule Your Campaign.

Watch the Video.
We created two videos on how to get started. These may help if this is a new process for you and your business, or if you need help adding content, links, and images. You can find them on our YouTube channel. Here are the links:
Digital Marketing: Creating an Email Campaign
Digital Marketing: Adding More Content and Sending Your Campaign

1. Reboot (power down & turn back on) your phone. See if this clears any issues.
2. Check your email push settings. Reset them if necessary. Make sure you have the correct inbound and outbound mail server information. For accessing mail via Google you will need your inbound server (receiving mail) set to imap.gmail.com and your outbound server (sending mail) to smtp.gmail.com. iPhone OS4.x doesn’t require the user to set their server, but it helps to take this extra step.
3. Check and/or reset your email password. To reset your password you will need to log into GoogleApps and go to your Account Settings page. Changing your password is found here under personal settings. From this page you can reset your password for your email account.
4. According to Google if you’re receiving SSL-related errors, such as ‘Cannot Connect Using SSL’ when accessing Gmail via IMAP, check that your iPhone settings are correct.  SSL: SSL (secure socket layer) is a way of changing data (such as your username and password) into code as it travels across the Internet so that the data will be secure and private.
5. If your settings are right, you may be connecting through a wi-fi network that contains a firewall.  Please try connecting to IMAP1 through a connection other than wi-fi to see if this resolves the issue. You can try disabling the wi-fi network (just be sure to remember to turn it back on) and refreshing via the cell phone.  If the problem continues, Google suggests following up with your internet  service provider (ISP) or with your wireless network’s support team.
6. Another troubleshooting suggestion is that you change your email password to something shorter and/or less complicated. This is only for testing. Once you have your email working again, for security purposes you will need to reset your password again to the following standard: no fewer than 8 characters, a combination of special characters (&,%,# and so on), and a combination of upper and lowercase letters recommended.

To configure an Android device for GoogleApps go here.

For other specific clients, go here for a full list.

The Right Tool for the Right Job. Would you substitute glue with bubble gum?  Use a fork to eat soup?  As wild as these analogies seem, think of Facebook as a tool in your web marketing quiver. Consider the purpose of the job before choosing the appropriate tool.  Facebook is a social service, using informal conversation, quick posts and fan base interactions as the means of engagement.  It’s the watercooler banter to your business environment. A website is your shop face, or business HQ.  There you fully and cleanly establish your brand, organize your contact information, list hours of operation; provide a restaurant menu, show your e-commerce product, post your artist portfolio, supply your “about me”, or upload your resume.  If the job is about getting search results and finding one-stop content, a website is the most direct and succinct means of establishing your web presence.

Search Engine Optimization and organic search results. Bottom line is a business domain (ie., http://yourbusinessdomain.com) will rank better in organic searches than a Facebook page. Over 90% of users search on line before they make a purchasing decision, and your best shot to show up in those results is with a business website.

The future is unknown. Remember MySpace? AOL? Both were major players at one point but quickly lost market share when users left these platforms for greener pastures. Sure, today Facebook is a “go to” resource but there is no guarantee that this will be the story 6 months or a year from now. Even now there seems to be evidence that users are growing tired of Facebook and moving elsewhere.

You have control, NOT Facebook. Time and time again Facebook has pulled the rug out from under users and business owners costing them untold amounts of money and wasted time. Remember, Facebook is in business for themselves, and when they decide changes suit their goals, you may be left holding the bag. With your own site you have the autonomy to control your own business message and presentation, which is critical.

Facebook is big, BUT GOOGLE IS BIGGER! We all marvel how Facebook has grown and dominates the social media marketplace, but the fact remains: Facebook is still number 2 and Google is STILL NUMBER ONE! This is important because with all the hype around Facebook more users still use Google to find and research businesses then they do with Facebook.

Success online is determined by building broad, expansive reach. As a business you don’t want to limit yourself to just one venue on the web. An effective online marketing strategy incorporates a number of different outlets to maximize its reach. This could include the following: your business website; Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and other social media; Four Square, Gowalla, and other geo-location services; Yelp!, Merchants Circle, and other business directory services; Google Places; Email Marketing; and even Pay Per Click ad placements.

There is no doubt Facebook is now an important tool in any small business overall web strategy, but there are some things Facebook does well and some others it doesn’t. So don’t  put all your eggs into the Facebook basket because your business will ultimately suffer from it.

Gorilla Web Studio is pleased to announce the launch of Mighty Sites. Mighty Sites offers a full range of small business marketing “must haves” to help small businesses not just get on the web, but to… CONQUER THE WEB!

Mighty Sites makes building your online presence easy, affordable, and hassle free for small business owners. No more D.I.Y. nightmares or cookie cutter templates; each and every Mighty Site is custom designed and coded by our team to fit your business and your business objectives. In today’s competitive marketplace small business owners need a trusted partner to help them with the tools it takes to market their business online; Gorilla Web Studio aims to be that trusted provider with insights and approaches that give our clients a leg up on the competition.

CONQUER THE WEB

Mighty Sites is not just another website but a feature rich set of marketing tools ready to be deployed.

Mighty Sites Features:

• Custom designed and coded Wordpress site.
• Three levels to choose from. Upgrade at anytime!
• All your critical business information upfront and easy to find for users.
• Multi-media ready.
• Publish, edit, and manage your website. No more waiting for your webmaster to make simple changes.
• Inbound feeds and outbound links to all your social media.
• Business email set up.
• SEO optimized.
• Google Places, Yahoo, and Bing listings.
• Email marketing set-up including 2 free branded email templates.
• A full range of available add-ons.
• Updates provided to keep your hosting and CMS application healthy.

ABOUT GORILLA WEB STUDIO

Gorilla Web Studio is a full service website and web development firm located in Lincoln, Vermont. We pride ourselves in building lasting client relationships so that no matter what the size of your project, our team has the expertize to guide you through the process—inception to launch. We specialize in content driven websites using Wordpress, Drupal, Expression Engine, and custom web applications with CodeIgniter.

Get Started and Set-up Your Business Page in 6 Easy Steps

1. Set up your business page. To create a business page, you will have to be logged into Facebook through your personal account. Use this link and fill in the form titled “Official Page,” to create your business page. Once you click “Create . . . ” you will be taken to your brand new business page.



2. Become Your Own Fan.Yes, become your own fan! It’s perfectly legal in most states and just because you created the page doesn’t mean you “Like” it too, so click the “Like” button and be one “Like” closer to the magic number of 25 “Likes.”
3. Add your business information. Next, add your business information. There are two places for you to add information about your business. One is on the main page in the left sidebar under “info”. Just click on the box and you can edit right on the page. A couple of notes: there is a character limit in this box, so keep it to the point. Also, make sure to add a link to your regular website or any other social media your business is on. To make the link clickable, be sure to add “http://” or “http://www.” If you just add “yourdomain”.com, users will not be able to visit by clicking on the link.Once you have added your sidebar info, click the info tab at the top of your business page. Then click the “Edit Information” link to display the editable business information for your page. Remember, any boxes you leave blank will not be displayed. Use the “Detailed Information” to add even more. Remember to save any changes before you leave this page.



4. Add a custom image or graphic. Once you have your information added to your business page you will want to add a custom graphic or image. A great eye-catching graphic is a sure-fire way to have users “Like” your page. If possible, add information such as other social media URLs or a tag line to your graphic. For instance, you could have a graphic that says, “Got a Question? Ask me here” and have an arrow pointing to your status update box. This makes you the expert. Be creative, be original, be novel, and score the “Like!” *Note, Facebook limits your graphics width to 200px wide by about 600px long with a total file size of 4mb.



5. Post content. Now you’re ready to start posting content. Use the status update box (“What’s on your mind?”) to add information to your page. You can add text updates, links, events, pictures, or videos to your posts by using the icons at the bottom of the status update box. Click the “Share” button to post to your page. Before you start promoting your page make sure to have a few interesting posts that will entice users to “Like” your page.



6. Add users. (see image #3 above) Start adding users by clicking the “Suggest to a Friend” link under your custom image. Choose any of your friends from your personal network and invite them to “Like” your page. After you have at least 25 “Likes”, create a custom URL for your business page. The default URL for your business page assigned by Facebook is not user-friendly, but after you have 25 “Likes” you can set a new, more user friendly URL like “facebook.com/”yourbusinessname”. To create a custom URL for your business page, use this link.

Now you’re ready to go. Remember to regularly post content to your page that users will find beneficial and useful. This can include tips, advice, event announcements, videos, pictures, promos, and so on. Be sure to add your URL for your Facebook business page to all your real and virtual media and you will be on your way to leveraging this valuable business tool.

Creating and maintaining an account couldn’t be easier, even for the most technologically challenged user. In a matter of minutes, you can have your account online and start building your network.

Why Should You Join Facebook?

Facebook can be an invaluable tool, both personally and professionally and just about everyone you know, or have known, is on Facebook. Facebook allows you to re-connect with friends and colleagues that you may have lost contact with, not because you wanted to, but because of proximity and is a remedy for our generational wander-lust. It’s also, a great way  to thwart the scoldings from family about not attending the yearly reunion, sending enough pictures, and calling often enough.

If your motivated by more practical reasoning, realize, Facebook is quickly becoming the best place for professionals and businesses to network and advertise. Although, it originally started as a way for college friends to stay connected and has been largely a personal network, more and more professionals and businesses are using Facebook to enhance their networking and client lead building. In turn, Facebook has been more than happy to help professionals and businesses connect on their platform by developing a number of unique features and applications.

Some facts about the reach of Facebook

• 500 million users worldwide
• 2nd most popular website in the world next to Google*
• Rumor has it, Facebook now serves more video than YouTube.
• Facebook revenues hit $800 million in 2009.

*With recent changes to the Facebook application and it’s tight integration of users “Likes” both inside the application and across the web, Facebook maybe poised to overtake Google, not only for search functionality also, for direct and very targeted ad marketing.

How Facebook Works

Click on the image below for our illustrated guide to the anatomy of a Facebook page.

Facebook is a closed network. Your connections are comprised of “friends”, interests, groups, and pages. All of your connections must be chosen by you and in the case of your “friends” both you and your friend must confirm your connection before you can join each others network. It’s important to realize that only people can create Facebook profiles, as stated within the Terms of Service. Do not create a profile for your business or group. You must create a “page” or group for a business within your personal account.

On Facebook, every user has a profile page and is that users default landing page. Your profile is located under the profile link and can be accessed from the upper right hand navigation menu on the Facebook application. In a users profile you can see a users “wall”, biographical information, photos, videos, and in some cases, boxes created by user installed applications. Your profile is “You” central, it is the place were any user goes when they search or wants more information about you. You can limit the information other users both inside and outside your network can see by changing your privacy settings. Privacy settings are accessible under “Account” in the upper right hand navigation menu. By default, and Facebook has taken a lot of heat on this one, your profile information is mostly public.

For some basic tips about the information you share on Facebook and privacy settings check out this article by Consumer Reports.

In addition, to your profile every user has a “Home” page which features your “News Feed”. You can access your “Home” from the upper right hand navigation menu. Your news feed is a listing of posts created by all your connections, this includes, friends, pages, and groups. By default, your news feed is displayed according to Facebook defined relevancy. Relevancy is in part determined by quality of post and number of interactions, frequency that a user posts, relationship, and locality. You can also view your news feed by “Most Recent” by clicking the link “Most Recent” immediately above the news feed. Your home page also includes a number of other useful controls and links to help you better manage your Facebook experience.

Get Started in 4 Easy Steps

1. Create a Facebook account here. All you need is a valid email account.
2. Check your email and click on confirmation link to access your account. If you don’t see your Facebook confirmation email in your inbox make sure to check your junk mail.
3. Log in and customize your profile. Make sure that as soon as you create your account you start to customize your profile. One of the first things you can do is add a profile picture to your account. Don’t be one of those users that forever has the default gray icon for their Facebook profile picture. One reason to add a picture is to help people who may know you, find you. In a sea a John Smith’s, sometimes, a profile picture is all you need to find the John Smith your looking for so make sure you add a picture to your account straight away. The next thing you need to do is complete your profile information. Your profile information is critical in helping you build your connections and being found by other users. Facebook will makes suggestions of friends and also, allow you to search other users based on locality, educational, and occupational histories.
4. Add Connections. Facebook helps you connect with past and current friends, college and high school classmates, family, neighbors, and business associates. Use the “Account” link in the upper right hand navigation menu and choose “Edit Friends” to go to the “Find Friends” page. This page has a number of tools to help you build your network including the ability to upload a email contact list, suggestions based on your profile information, searches for former classmates based on your educational profile, and even contacts that maybe in your IM service such as AOL or the like.

After, you have added a few connections now you can make your first post . . .

Hello World! You now are part of the largest social networking platform on the planet, CONGRATULATIONS! WELCOME to 2010 !

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• 8 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog- ShoutMeLoud.com

How Social Media Saved Lake Arrowhead When City Ad Budgets Ran Dry | Social Media Examiner.

Picturesque Lake Arrowhead, just 90 miles east of Los Angeles, has long been a peaceful refuge for celebrities, film executives and families. More than 120 movie studios have filmed here and the area hosts several big-draw events every year. Read it …

Standards Help Ensure Accessibility

The W3c standards work to try ensure a uniform and consistent user experience regardless of your browser, connection speed, screen size, user physical limitations, and so on. Just like businesses that are required to provide access to clients, customers, and guests regardless of physical limitations, the day would come when web sites would HAVE TO guarantee they provided access to users with certain limitations too.

Class Action Lawsuit Against Target

What I thought was a future concern, is now squarely here today, as reported by the LA Times on October 3rd, 2007:

Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount store chain, lost a bid Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the company’s website wasn’t accessible to the blind.
U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in San Francisco rejected Target’s request to dismiss the case. She also certified the case as a class action, ruling that all legally blind people in the U.S. who have been denied access to services at Target stores because of deficiencies in the company’s website can join the suit. Read Full Article

It is rare for a clients to ask, “What will (insert name of your favorite web design company here) do to ensure users with physical limitations can access our site?” But can you afford to ignore this issue? If so, for how much longer? The case against Target has gotten the go ahead to go to court and if the plaintiffs win expect more to follow.

What Will This Mean for You?

At the very least, it may entail a costly redesign of your current web site. So why not ask these questions now? At some point, as more of the world jumps on the web this issue will come to the forefront. So doesn’t it make good business sense to be ahead of the curve? I know for my business it does! Are we (GWS) completely there yet? . . . No and neither is the W3c. But, the W3c has drafted guidelines called the Web Accessibility Intiative (WAI). For Gorilla Web Studio this means, validating our sites xhtml 1.0 “strict”, working to make our coding of web sites as light and flexible as possible, and keeping abreast on current recommendations regarding accessibility guidelines.
The Bottom Line

Why should your company worry about web standards? Here’s 5 reasons why:

1. Maintenance and adding additional content is much easier. Faster/less manitanence = less $, when your site uses CSS and xhtml, rather than table based layout.
2. You ensure the greatest number of users can and will access your content. More users = more $$.
3. Standards based design works to minimize code and file sizes which allows your site to load faster. Better user experience = more $$$.
4. Search engines can read clean well structured mark up better, ensuring higher search engine rankings and relevance. More traffic = more $$$$.
5. Standards are the best bet that your current site will be compatible with future web technology. Re-designs = BIG $$$$$.

And who knows, a standards complaint site may save you from future litigation!