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Want world class creatives at your fingertips? Of course you do!

Rocketspark’s CEO and co-founder Grant Johnson says that when the opportunity arose to purchase The Freelance Village, he was drawn to how well both businesses aligned. And ultimately, he saw the potential to enhance what each organisation was currently offering as a service.  “We have many customers who not only need a beautifully functioning website, but also content and imagery to go with it, and perhaps ongoing marketing support. “So with The Freelance Village’s curate...

Top money tips for freelancers

Money, as awkward as it can be to talk about, is part of business and an important part, at that! In this edition of Reel Talk with Jason Tiller, Rocketspark Head of Partnerships, we cover how you can be smart when it comes to charging people, how you can keep hold of your retainer clients and whether you are charging enough for your business....

Varntige, normalising doing good

For one day out of every year a local Waikato business closes its normal doors in order to open themselves up to community work. When Chantelle Good started Varntige six years ago, it was with the simplest of missions: to help business owners be happier and less stressed while running their growing businesses. Chantelle said she didn’t get into business just because she wanted to make money.  “Having a business and a team, for me, is about providing a good service and being able to give...

Fancy a wine? Jump online!

Grasshopper Rock is one of the southernmost made Pinot Noirs in the world. The vineyard was planted back in 2003, but the idea came two years before. Rocketspark customer, Grasshopper Rock, has been with us for seven years, our inhouse storyteller, Kyra Piccione, recently caught up with the online savvy wine makers to learn about their business journey and their journey with Rocketspark over the years. In 2001 five families from around New Zealand, who knew each other from farming backgrounds or...

Human Digital Supports Mathematics Education Non-Profit

Ben van Rooy, founder and director of Human Digital, enjoys giving back to the community. Human Digital is an experience design agency that helps organisations grow by attracting, converting, and retaining customers. In late 2020 Human Digital, a Rocketspark design partner, took on Mathematics for a Lifetime Charitable Trust as a pro-bono client.  “We’ve worked with Rocketspark for a few years now and we find the simple user interface and great customer support perfect for clients who w...

Giving back is personal

Kath Boyd, founder of OMG Solutions, website and digital marketing specialist enjoys giving back to the community, especially young people who need a hand, all because of her own journey. “I came across The Acorn Project two years ago when Rocketspark put a voucher in our Christmas cards. The voucher was for us to choose a not-for-profit organisation and give them a free website for life, cost on Rocketspark.” Kath put it out to all her clients and the people she knew in the community to nom...

The website building, time giving, non-designer

Kathy Speirs has been a Rocketspark Design Partner since 2018. Although, she wouldn’t call herself a designer. Kathy joined as a partner because she was building so many websites for community groups that she needed access to the programmes our partners who design professionally have.  She has now developed four websites for not-for-profit organisations in her small village, Kuaotunu, a community she’s only been part of for six years.  “Not only do I do the design, to the best of...

Metro Marketing inspired to give from within

Metro Marketing has always held corporate social responsibility close to its heart with their Director Michelle Crook constantly inspiring her team to have an impact in their communities, and beyond.   Nikita Williams, General Manager and Senior Designer at Metro Marketing said marketing and design were rarely a high priority for not-for-profit organisations and events, so they tried to help out where they could with charity rates and pro bono services for clients including: Breast Can...

Giving has a ripple effect

When a local community group was in need of a new website up in Northland, local Rocketspark Design Partner Natalie White, Creative Director of Magic Fingers Graphics, knew they would be worthy recipients of Rocketspark’s gift-it-forward initiative. In April this year Rocketspark gifted each of its Design Partners, Magic Fingers Graphics included, a lifetime Rocketspark website subscription to give away for free to a deserving not-for-profit organisation. Learn more about the Rocketspark Gift-...

Learning, to give

A passion for learning, and the mutual benefit it brings, is the drive behind Les Huett’s community work. Empower Business & Accounting Solutions NZ Ltd (EBAS) team member Les Huett has developed various community sites in the past on a number of different platforms. These have included an amateur orchestra with a private area where orchestra members access their scores and a site for blind and partially sighted people that had an innovative navigation system that used voice prompts to guide p...

How to manage your clients' expectations

Making sure your clients are happy can boost your business. In this edition of Reel Talk with Jason Tiller, Rocketspark Head of Partnerships, we cover how to make sure your clients are on the same page as you right from the start, what you can do if they start to drift off course and how to let them go if you’ve met a wave too big to get over....

Mental health and Creativity

Not everyone is going to like what you create, but that shouldn’t stop you. In this edition of Reel Talk, we have a special guest, local creative Sara-Jane Austen, founder of Designerbloom Graphic Design. Sara-Jane talks about how you can take care of your mental health when you have to deal with negative feedback about your creative work. And, she looks at how you can manage creative blocks....

Coffee and community

It started with the need for a coffee and a place to work. It turned into a partnership that benefits the whole community. One of our newest design partners, The Renew Room, is made up of three amazing women, Claire Rawnsley, Beka Sutherland and Jayde McLean. Beka and Claire co-own the business, Beka is a graphic designer and Claire is a marketing wizz. They started the venture at the beginning of August, 2020.  We recently caught up with Claire to see how the team was getting on since join...

Giving, a beautiful thing for local Rocketspark Design Partner

When things get quiet around the Varntige office in Te Awamutu, the virtual assistant team doesn’t just sit around, they find someone to help. In April this year Rocketspark gifted each of its Design Partners, Varntige included, a lifetime Rocketspark website subscription to give away for free to a deserving not-for-profit organisation. Learn more about the Rocketspark Gift-it-forward initiative here. Varntige found a very well deserving candidate and went the extra mile making all of their de...

Where to find inspiration

Sometimes it can be hard to get inspired, writer's block or design fatigue can come at unexpected times. In this edition of Reel Talk with Jason Tiller, Rocketspark Head of Partnerships, we cover where you can find inspiration, and then, where you can find it, if you can’t find it in the first suggested places....

From grief stems life

A cemetery beautification project that grew out of one woman’s grief has spread seeds around the world.   Our in-house storyteller Kyra Piccione recently sat down with Rocketspark Design Partner, Tonia Hill, founder of Greenhouse Creative, to talk about a website project close to her heart; Flowers from Felix. Flowers from Felix is a giant community flower garden situated in Purewa Cemetery, the garden started with Miriama Tomms. “Miriama is a videographer and friend and we had bee...

How to rank in Google for multiple town locations

In a Formula One Grand Prix, there are 20 different drivers all competing for a podium top three finish. There is only one spot on the podium for first, one spot for second, and one spot for third. Just like with a Grand Prix, the top spot in Google search results gets a lot more attention than second and third and the podium finishers get much more attention than those further down the rankings....

Design partner creates business saving website

In the Mix, a bakery that started out selling at a local Auckland market, had one of the most fortuitous experiences with their website launching just days before the New Zealand lockdown of 2020.  Rocketspark Design Partner Tonia Reid, founder of Greenhouse Creative was a finalist in five different categories at Launch 2021, she ended up taking out Partner of the Year. One of the categories she was up for was Best Client Impact for the work she’d done with In the Mix. As a baking busines...

The benefits of creating a website strategy

Is your website design strategy a little light? Or do you need some fresh strategic insights?  You already know the value websites can provide and how, but maybe you’re having trouble knowing where to start with planning a really high impact website beyond just laying out content and pictures so it looks nice. With the help of one of our top design partners, and our own Rocketspark experts, let’s dive past the skin deep beautiful websites into the high impact substance that makes for an...

Rocketspark helps launch UK retailer

The UK’s first lockdown saw the creation of a bunch of online businesses. One of these was Moo-Coco, a fashion, accessories and homeware online retailer.  Founded in Hertfordshire, Moo-Coco aims to help customers make a true style statement. Co-founder, Chloe Taylor, said after putting a lot of thought into opening and starting a business her family took the leap and went for it at a time when they were home with each other more than normal. Chloe’s dad played a huge role in the beginni...

Branding key for Riverside Escapes

Trading the city for the far north was the best move Maggie Dalziel and Brooke Noonan could have made. The second best, for their business, was reaching out to Rocketspark Design Partner Natalie White, who gave them a new brand identity. Natalie (Nat), Creative Director at Magic fingers Graphics, worked with the couple on their business website for Riverside Escapes and was nominated for three different awards in relation to that work at the Rocketspark 2021 Launch Partner Awards. She won two of...

We’re in the market of marketing

A big part of Rocketspark is our story and how we tell it. That story is part of everything we do. We use it to give our customers the best experience possible when they’re on our website, social media platforms or using our products. One of the main drivers behind crafting that experience, and keeping it relevant, is the marketing team.  This team is made up of artistic designers, communication specialists, storytellers, analytical masterminds, partnership creators and product developers...

Australian web designer helps her community

Jill Vella, founder of Terramirra Press, says her love for the environment and connection push her to help her local community. Jill has helped two community groups of the last year by designing them websites for free and says she has another two currently underway. She was also a finalist in Rocketspark Community Good Award category at its annual awards earlier this year. The first volunteer based organisation that Jill helped was Nerrena/Tarwin Landcare, where she has been the secretary for qu...

The importance of connections

As much as it is about what you know, who you know can play a major part in a freelancer's business. In this edition of Reel Talk with Jason Tiller, Rocketspark Head of Partnerships, we cover what kind of connections you might need and why. How you make those connections and how you keep them....

The 10 most common web design mistakes to avoid

If you’re new to web design or are struggling to get your websites looking exceptional, while functioning well, there are some fundamental basic tweaks you can make for a better result. Read on to discover 10 common web design mistakes, and ways you can avoid them.  A great website is not only about having all the bells and whistles, it's knowing how to strategically and aesthetically place your content. A website needs to have really clear call-to-action prompts, that guide the visitor a...