Jo Mills

I started writing a (short-lived, admittedly) daily newspaper when I was seven, a content creator before that was even a thing. While the stint in journalism was fleeting, the love of writing and story telling has endured. After working for 15 years in the wine world in a communications heavy role, I decided to move into freelance writing in 2022 and help my clients with their story-telling, their brand identities and their customer engagement with effective and clear communications.

While we hear that AI is taking over every aspect of business, I’m in no doubt that the human touch and personal relations remain vital to developing authentic and enduring customer engagement. Whether it’s EDMs, web content, social media strategies and posts or creating and executing a communications plan, I communicate a brand’s voice efficiently and clearly (helping find that voice along the way if needs be) and thrive on seeing the results.

I love working with smaller organisations where there are stories to be told and with engaging people behind and within them. I have worked as the Publicist for the arts and music festivals driving sales and raising the profile of these arts festivals through press releases, media engagement and web and newsletter content. I have written web stories for Regional Tourism Offices, drawing visitors into the world of the Upper Clutha and Southern Lakes regions and I work with a zero-waste enterprise, engaging with businesses and individuals through the communications arm to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions as the region looks to a carbon zero 2030.

From small to vast: there I go! I have worked as bid writer, editor and proofreader for a number of EU tenders. Delving in the minutiae of EU bureaucracy was a very different kettle of fish but one which I greatly enjoyed. Keeping text tight, polished and very much to the rules is a fantastic exercise in restraint while the proofreading element requires the keenest of eyes with a fast delivery, two demands that don’t always go hand in hand and which kept me on my toes.

I turn around content ahead of schedule for finance based clients overseas, providing on-point content for the in-house and external comms. It took me a while to be the anonymous wordsmith but it suits me well.

I write communications and marketing plans for businesses that simply don’t have the time to do this - we’ve all been there. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to get them on the right track, at other times, it’s been a longer process but we got there in the end and they’re going from strength to strength. I spend time with small businesses tightening up their web content and maximising their customer engagement and ensure their message is clear, concise and SEO friendly. I had to do it solo for a decade and a half, so it’s lovely to make things easier for others in the same situation.