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STOP SOPA!
The internet we know and love is at risk. Help save it.
Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could profoundly affect the future of the internet. It’s called the Stop Online Piracy Act.
The fact is that this legislation as written won’t stop piracy. But it would pose a serious threat to social media and user generated content sites (like YouTube) across the...
Wise Stamp Email Signatures
Here’s a handy tool for adding social media icons to your Email signatures if you use Gmail, Yahoo!Mail, WindowsLive Mail or AOL . You can add inspirational quotes, your most recent blog post as well as your social media profile links for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, YouTube.com and many more! The app is free and can be downloaded on the following browsers: Safari, Chrome and Firefox. ...
Website Check Up Time
Aloha & Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for your continued interest in Emagine’s Small Business Marketing Blog.
This is a great time of year, with resolutions fresh in mind to review your website and online marketing to make sure it is up to date. If you don’t make it a habit to visit your website frequently, now is the time to have a look at it for outdated information,...
Oodle
I just learned about another Free classified listing site called Oodle. Out to reinvent online classifieds, Oodle provides consumers with a friendly local marketplace to buy, sell and trade. Oodle Pro, launched earlier this year, enables local property managers, real estate agents and car dealers to join the conversation by adding their identity and reputation on Facebook and Twitter to...
Using Video to Showcase Your Business
On the recommendation of my friend Debra, I started playing with an online video creation site called Animoto.com recently. In addition to creating low-budget videos to help my clients promote their vacation properties, I also used it to celebrate my daughter’s 16th birthday. Its super easy to use, drag and drop and you can create a video from images, video footage or a combination of...
The Perils of Cheap Hosting
It seems like everywhere you look there are ads for cheap website hosting plans. While they look enticing, (you could save a hundred bucks a year) on further investigation these cheap hosting plans turns out not to be the best deal.
Here’s an article about the perils of cheap hosting from my friend and associate, Terrell Sanders at MainstreetOpen, my favorite vendor for dedicated...
Lae Nani Directory
Featured Website Project:
My latest project is a directory site featuring the privately managed condos at Lae Nani, a peaceful beachfront resort condominium property in Kapaa. Designed to make it easier on vacationers to find the nicest, top-rated, privately managed Lae Nani vacation rentals, the site features details and images for each unit, stunning photography of the property and...
Quick Response Codes
What is a QR Code?
Have you been wondering what those funny black and white square codes are that are popping up everywhere? They are called Quick Response codes, or QR Codes for short. They are a type of matrix bar code that contains encoded information – that when scanned with a smart phone can instantly and automatically send a text message or email or direct you to a page on the web...
6 Reasons to Use WordPress for Your Website
Here’s an article about WordPress, from my friends over at MainStreetOpen.com. WordPress is the open source content management system that I currently use to build websites. If you are considering a website refurbishment (good to do every few years), you should consider WordPress! MainStreetOpen.com explains why here…
Six Reasons Your Website Should be Based on...
Kauai Banyan Inn
Featured Website Project:
My most recent project was for John & Lorna Hoff of Kauai Banyan Inn in Lawai. Lorna contacted me in a panic because her existing webmaster had left her in a lurch, with her site down for extended periods of time and with not being able to make the necessary updates to the information. She’s been in business for years, since 2002 and she needed someone...
ConstructionHawaii.com
My latest project was for Scott Doty of ConstructionHawaii.com. Scott contacted me about 6 months ago when his website host had “lost” his site. I was able to find an archived copy of his missing site on Archive.org and restore at least some of the content temporarily to his domain. Since then we have created an entirely new website featuring recent projects, floor plans and...
Article Marketing Without Littering the Web
Today’s article is from guest author, James Wilson of Wireless Internet written as a follow up to the article I wrote recently called Article Marketing = Web Littering. Take it away James….
There’s a lot of confusion behind article marketing. In March of 2011, Michelle wrote a post on article marketing, criticizing the practice of obtaining hundreds of low...
Google Sync
If you’re a Gmail user and you have an iPhone (or other mobile device) you’ll love Google Sync for keeping your email, contacts and calendars updated between your computer and your iPhone. I like knowing that no matter where I add a new contact or calendar item that it will update across all my devices in my Google account.
Check out this link for a short video on how it...
Mark’s Place Kauai
Featured Web Project: Mark’s Place Kauai is a plate lunch take out establishment known for its local favorites, creative daily specials and delicious desserts. A subsidiary of Contemporary Flavors Catering, Mark’s Place is run by Mark and Wendy Oyama and their staff of dedicated employees. Their eating establishment is praised and adored by locals and visitors alike for its...
Accessible & Organized Bookmarks
Here’s an Update to an old post on bookmarks:
Foxmarks is now called Xmarks and is a great way to keep track of your bookmarks across multiple computers, browsers and mobile devices now too. I just recently upgraded to Xmarks Premium (for $12/year) and now I can access my bookmarks from my iPhone, which is super useful!
Here’s the Original Post:
A few months ago I was...
Kai Kanani Sailing Charters
Featured Web Project: Kai Kanani Sailing Charters is located on Maui, in Kihei departing daily for Molokini snorkeling, whale watching and sunset tours from Makena Beach fronting the Makena Beach & Golf Resort. This is the 2nd website remodel for Kai Kanani that I have been involved with and working with Roger Gildersleeve is always a pleasure! While the previous website had been very...
WordPress Updates
WordPress is a popular open source platform for building websites and blogs that I use frequently for my clients. When properly configured and updated, the software is secure, easy to use, fast and search engine friendly. WordPress achieves its reputation by providing frequent updates and support for third-party plugins. It is important to have your WordPress website reviewed by a...
Brand Your Twitter Profile
Want to customize your Twitter profile with your business branding/logo or custom image? It’s not that difficult to do, here’s how….
Create a Custom Twitter Profile Background:
Create an image that is approximately 2000 pixels wide by 1700 pixels tall, making sure to keep your Logo/text content confined to the upper left hand corner and along the left side.
Your custom...
More Ways to Use Twitter
Have you ever been interested in knowing what is being said about your brand, business, industry or a certain topic on Twitter? Here are some tools that you can use to stay informed of the latest “tweets” about things that interest you and that could give you helpful insight in how to use Twitter for your small business marketing.
Twitter Alerts
Use TweetBeep or Twilert to set up...
How to Read Your Google Analytics Reports
If you have a website built by Emagine, you have Google Analytics, a website statistics program already installed. Google Analytics is a free program that can be set up on any website or blog to track how many visitors come to your site, how they found your site, which keywords they used and which pages are the most popular. Google Analytics can even track revenue and it’s sources if...
SEO Website Reviews
Is your website performing at its optimum? Do you think it should be generating more traffic, leads and business but just don’t know what to do to improve it? Put my 12 years of experience in building websites and performing Search Engine Optimization to work for you with an affordable Website Review & Report.
Your Website Review & Report will include:
- A complete...
Add Your TripAdvisor Reviews to Facebook
If your business or property is listed on TripAdvisor.com you can now share your reviews and ratings on your Facebook Business page.
Here are the instructions on how to do it.
To begin, you need to create a new tab on your property’s page in which to embed the widget or badge. This is called a static iFrame. Here’s how to do it:
1) Go to your TripAdvisor Owners Center and pick the widget...
Access Your Computer Files From Anywhere
As a follow up to a post I did awhile back, I’m giving DropBox a test drive as I want to be able to have access to all my important files on both my desktop, my laptop and my new iPhone. A friend of mine who already uses DropBox sent me an invitation and an extra 500 MB of space for free on top of the 2 GB of space you get with a free account.
It’s pretty simple actually, you just...
Becky Supon, Realtor
Featured Project:
My latest web project was for Becky Supon of Pacific Ocean Properties in Poipu. Becky came to me with a clear example and description of the features that were important to her for her blog re-design (I love it when my clients have a clear picture of what they want!!!). And Becky wasn’t afraid to learn new things (she’s pretty tech savvy to begin with) so with a...
Facebook LikeBox
If you have a Facebook business page you can leverage your social media involvement by adding a Facebook LikeBox to your website and/or blog.
The Like Box is a social plugin that enables Facebook Page owners to attract and gain Likes from their own website. The Like Box enables users to:
- See how many users already like this Page, and which of their friends like it too
- Read recent posts from...
Paradise Beauty Salon & Spa
Featured Project:
My latest web project was for Liz Fletcher of Paradise Beauty Salon & Spa in Kapaa Town. Liz’s existing website wasn’t performing in the search engines and did not capture the extent or essence of the wide range of beauty treatments that are offered at her salon.
Website Features:
Website/Blog Built on an Open Source Platform (WordPress)
Customize existing...
Tech Humor
This is India. Where your call gets routed to when you call in with a technical problem with your...
Article Marketing = Web Littering???
It’s a common tactic used by “slimy” SEO companies, maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of their spiel? They’ll promise you, for a low monthly fee, to get your site ranked better by writing articles about your industry with back links to your website. Sounds fair enough, until you start reading the articles and realize that people working for less than...
Best Free Email Subscriber List Software
So my new favorite email marketing software is MailChimp.com. If you are still using Outlook or your own website/server to do regular email blasts its time to make the switch to a 3rd party software. I think MailChimp is one of the best options out there and here’s why….
1) It’s Free. Yep. If you have less than 2000 subscribers, and send less than 12,000 emails a month,...
Emagine Makes “List”…
I just learned that the Emagine Internet Marketing Blog has made DIYSEO’s Definitive List of the Best Small Business Marketing Blogs. Check out their full list of the best and brightest bloggers in small business marketing.
Here’s what they had to say about the Emagine Web Marketing blog:
Emagine Web Marketing
This blog from a Hawaii-based Internet marketing firm covers the basics...
Domain-Based Email with Gmail
If you have a website (www.mywebsite.com) it’s a good idea to use your domain-based email account (me@mywebsite.com) because 1) its more professional than using a free email address and 2) it helps to brand and bring awareness to your business/organizations’ domain address. If you use an email account like me@gmail.com or me@yahoo.com you receive no benefit of your email...
Restaurant Marketing
My new friend Debra was telling me about www.OpenTable.com where you can make dinner reservations for restaurants online. I thought, wow, what a neat idea and immediately thought of some of my favorite Kauai restaurants. So I checked it out and here’s the current list of Kauai restaurants that are using this reservation service. There’s a bunch missing, so here’s a...
Black Hat SEO
Here’s a great article from the New York Times, on The Dirty Little Secrets of Search.
Its a great case study on why using unethical link building practices and “Black Hat” SEO consultants can land your website in hot water with Gooogle!
Hopefully Google will continue to clean up its organic search engine results, booting out the “bad guys” who have top rankings as...
Poipu Beach Condo
Featured Project:
My latest web project was for Tom & Patricia Biehn of www.PoipuBeachCondo.com. Their existing website promoting four luxury ocean front vacation rental condos at Poipu Shores on Kauai’s sunny south side was built many years ago and was in dire need of a fresh look, updated photography, updated copy and a user-friendly navigational system.
Website Features:
Created...
Are You Indispensable?
Last year I read the book “Linchpin” by best selling author and marketing guru, Seth Godin. I’ve been meaning to tell you about it for awhile, as it’s definitely worth reading. You’ll find it especially inspiring and interesting if your secure employment has been turned on its head and you’re wondering what you should do next. This book explains what is...
Add Video to Your Marketing Strategy
2010 was a tough year for Hawaii’s travel industry. Savvy business owners know that during slow times is the perfect opportunity to review what has been working (and not) and to tackle some of the projects that have been pushed to the back burner during the busier times.
...
Not-So-Favorable Reviews
It’s every business owners’ worst nightmare, a past guest or customer says something less than positive about your business or product online where potential customers can see it. It can be hard to receive this kind of feedback but there truly is benefit from this candid client input....
Hau`oli Makahiki Hou
Happy New Year to all of my subscribers, clients, friends and allies! The latter part of 2010 had me a bit overwhelmed and I wasn’t able to keep up with my blogging and sharing information in the way I generally like to. So sorry for being out of touch! But it’s a new year and I’m feeling inspired. I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and were able to have some down time...
Jean & Abbott Properties
Featured Project:
I am pleased to announce the unveiling of the new and improved Jean & Abbott Properties website. A collaboration of many and months in the making, the new website is visually stunning thanks to our talented designer Sunni and to some amazing photography (Mahalo Mike Coots!). It’s not all about the “beauty” though, it’s also about the...
Save 20% on a BOTW Directory Listing
For the month of October, Best of the Web directory (BOTW.org), the internet’s oldest and most trusted directory, is extending a 20% discount on new listings. Sign up for a lifetime directory listing for your website and/or blog to gain added online exposure and search engine ranking benefits with this popular web directory.
Be sure to use the Promo Code: SAVE20 to get your 20%...
Promoting Kaua`i Grown Products
Last night I attended the Kauai Grown – Chamber Business After Hours event held at the Kukui`ula Shopping Center in Poipu. If you aren’t familiar, Kauai Grown is a branded marketing program for promoting locally grown agricultural products and to recognize the farmers, ranchers, retailers and restaurants that bring these products to the consumer.
If your small business is...
Turning Off Conversation View in Gmail
I love Gmail, but I gotta say I hate (I know - it’s a strong word) but I really do – Conversation View. Conversation View is the linking together of all emails within a string/conversation. Since switching to Gmail last year, I’ve misplaced or inadvertently deleted email messages that I needed because of the linking structure inherent with “Conversation View”...
Singing the Praises of Pandora
Sometimes I’m really slow to try new things, not usually, but sometimes. For some reason getting around to checking out Pandora took me almost 10 years – embarrassing I know. I remember a co-worker at the Electric company I worked for back in 1999 telling me about Pandora, and how great it was. And many others along the way have sung Pandora’s praises yet, even though...
DropBox.com – Sync Everything…
I just heard about Dropbox and checked out their website briefly. Anyone else heard of it or used it? I currently use Windows Live Sync to keep important files and folders synced between my desktop and laptop but Dropbox looks like it might be another good option as well. Here’s an article I found by Lee Matthews comparing the two products....
Thinking About Paid Search?
Let’s face it, times are tough and small businesses are finding it harder than ever to keep the flow of cash coming in. The visitor industry on Kauai has taken a serious hit in the last few years with the numbers of visitors to the islands dropping and the spending levels of those visitors receding as well. The visitor-related markets are fiercely competitive with everyone doing their...
eWaste Recycling on Kauai
Kauai eWaste Recycling at KCC
October 27 – 30, 2010
Just wanted to help spread the word that there will be another eWaste Recycling Collection coming up on October 27 – 30, 2010 at Kauai Community College. Do yourself and our planet a favor by reducing your home and office clutter by recycling your old and used electronics (and man do we have alot of them!). Thankfully these...
Are You on Facebook?
Most people either love it or hate it…. I was a bit skeptical about its value when I first joined a year or so ago but I’ve come to appreciate it as a tool of connecting with old friends (and new), sharing information and building business pages for my clients. If you haven’t created a business page on Facebook yet, I have a few blog articles already written on the topic...
Hawaiian Style Cooking
Featured Web Project:
I recently built a new website for Rhonda Lizama, the author and designer of a Hawaiian cookbook called Hawaiian Style Cooking. The website features professional photography (provided by Kicka Witte) of Rhonda and her family doing what they love, cooking “ono” (delicious) Hawaiian food for her large “ohana” (family). I was fortunate to be...
Writing Tools: Visual Thesaurus
Here’s a neat tool for you writer’s and students heading back to school, a visual thesaurus. With this nifty tool you’ll never be at a loss for the right word to use, plus the Visual Thesaurus will help you build a better vocabulary and master word usage. There’s a free trial and online subscriptions start as low as $2.95 per month. Check it out!
Visual...
Gmail Signature Positioning Fix
As you may have read, I switched over to Gmail a few months ago. And while I’ve come to prefer Gmail over Outlook as my email software, there was one thing that was really annoying me. The signature that I had created for my outgoing emails kept getting placed allllll the way at the bottom of the email string when replying or forwarding a message. So I did some searching online and...
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Michelle Harrington