Granville Island Works Magazine
7th August
We have been working hard this spring and summer with the Granville Island Business and Community Association (GIBCA) to create another edition of the popular Granville Island Works newspaper, only this time, we did it in a newly designed magazine format. We have included more businesses in the surrounding neighbourhoods and had fantastic participation. The ZenHouse team did the full production, design, copy-editing, much of the photography and fundraising for this great community initiative. The magazine is now available on Granville Island and in surrounding neighbourhoods at select locations, coffee shops, etc.
Having worked night and day for weeks to meet our print deadline, we did a little field trip out to Surrey with Peter Braune from New Leaf Editions to visit the printers for the first proof. Their newly renovated facilities were funky and state-of-the-art, and we were greeted by …
About Alyssa Burtt
Alyssa Burtt is Creative Director and Co-Founder of ZenHouse Media. She loves designing for web and usability and helping small business owners find practical strategies for success. An avid iPhone photographer, snowboarder and visual artist, she loves supporting local community and the arts.
The View From the Mountain
27th April
The sun shines, the rain falls. I’m in the mountains, breathing fresh air. With views of trees and snow, a raven flies by. Sometimes, high on the mountain is the right place to get your best work done.
Every prompt to the creative process comes from clearly defining what it is you want to produce, then letting it go, allowing the artistic side of brain room to maneuver. By taking a break from the purely linear approach to creativity, intuitive intelligence can often bring new insight, a Eureka moment, or just a simple solution borne of a fresh point of view.
Technology is the great enabler of this process. Armed with a laptop and a 3G wireless connection, Skype, cloud software, e-mail and Google Docs, entrepreneurs and creative types can flex their spatial hemispheres by getting “the heck out of dodge”, all …
About Alyssa Burtt
Alyssa Burtt is Creative Director and Co-Founder of ZenHouse Media. She loves designing for web and usability and helping small business owners find practical strategies for success. An avid iPhone photographer, snowboarder and visual artist, she loves supporting local community and the arts.
8 Steps for Creating an Effective Content Marketing Strategy
13th April
As a small business owner, freelancer, artist or entrepreneur, you can now (more than ever!) reach and influence your audience directly through content, just by updating a simple blog, uploading some photos or shooting some video (even just with a smart phone). The opportunity to connect and spread your message directly to your audience is huge and can help you drive traffic and sales (even on a small business budget), often much more effectively than an expensive newspaper advert or direct mail campaign. Thinking about getting started, but not sure where to begin? Go as in-depth as you like, or keep it simple. Follow these 8 steps for best results:
1) Define your Goals
Is your overall marketing goal to…
• Increase sales? (online vs. physical location?)
• Increase brand awareness?
• Educate prospects on what you do?
• Attract new customers?
2) Define your Audience
…and get …
About Alyssa Burtt
Alyssa Burtt is Creative Director and Co-Founder of ZenHouse Media. She loves designing for web and usability and helping small business owners find practical strategies for success. An avid iPhone photographer, snowboarder and visual artist, she loves supporting local community and the arts.
10 Things You Should Know About Pinterest
6th April
1. What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is s social photo sharing, or social bookmarking website. Users create pinboards to plan weddings, decorate homes, collect visual inspirations and organize favorite recipes, amongst others. Users can also browse pinboards created by other people.
2. Who is using it?
82% — 97% women aged 25-34, depending on the source you read. Did you know that women are actually the top 85% consumers of EVERYTHING?
3. How many people are using Pinterest?
Pinterest grew from 40,000 users to 3.2 million users in one year from Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2011. This rate of growth is faster than Facebook and Twitter experienced in their formative years. For some major brands, Pinterest is now driving more traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace COMBINED!
4. How much time are users spending?
American users of Pinterest spend an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes on …
About Shireen Nabatian
As Operations Manager at ZenHouse Media since 2008, Shireen handles project management, copy writing, account management and public relations for ZenHouse Media. Shireen’s work experience also includes tour guiding in the Rockies, property management and market research. Shireen is trilingual in English, French and Spanish and speaks a smattering of Farsi.
Lessons in the Power of Social Media from Two Nations Under Threat of War
30th March
NOWRUZ MOBARAK (Happy Persian New Year)!! Nowruz, literally translated means ‘new day’ so in the spirit of a new day, the harbinger of spring, today we’re offering a fun and inspiring read on the power of social media.
With the controversial KONY 2012 campaign receiving millions of views within a matter of days, Arab Spring revolutions organized via Facebook and Twitter, and the Occupy Wall Street movement gathering traction through major cities around the World, the world is waking up to the power of social media to inspire social change, spread ideas and connect people and cultures. Just this month, a new campaign has attracted international attention for bridging the communication gap between the people of two nations under threat of war: Israel and Iran.
Just before Nowruz (Persian New Year), an Israeli graphic designer named Ronny Edry launched a colourful poster …
About Shireen Nabatian
As Operations Manager at ZenHouse Media since 2008, Shireen handles project management, copy writing, account management and public relations for ZenHouse Media. Shireen’s work experience also includes tour guiding in the Rockies, property management and market research. Shireen is trilingual in English, French and Spanish and speaks a smattering of Farsi.
