All comments for Jo Duxbury

All comments for Jo Duxbury

Jo Duxbury has been providing a platform for marketers to find over 4500 industry freelancers since she launched her company, Freelancentral, in early 2006. January 2010 saw her launch Peppermint Source, which offers a full outsourced marketing strategy and management service to companies that don't have the time, skills or staff to handle their marketing themselves. Follow @JoDuxbury on Twitter.
All | Articles | Comments | Profile
Disturbing- Are direct marketers better than marketers?
Is nobody else a bit disturbed by that final paragraph? I wonder why not having debt means you're out of the mainstream economy? Does 'bring back into the mainstream economy' mean 'saddle them with debt like the rest of the masses'?!

Anyone heard of the National Credit Act? Posted on 31 Jul 2010 17:00
Fantastic article- Get the most out of your freelance copywriter/editor
Tiffany, you've got this spot on :-)

Many clients don't see the value of getting their copy professionally written or edited, but it truly is a skill and can add so much to your communications. There's no point spending thousands on beautiful design or a great web site, only to undermine your credibility with text that's peppered with spelling and grammar mistakes, or copy that's clunky and difficult to digest. Getting an outsider - a professional writer/editor - to review your copy may also help you spot the little gems in your offering that you perhaps can't see as you're too close to your business.

At the very least, clients should hire a professional copy editor to 'sanity check' and proofread their copy. The Facebook group 'I judge you when you use poor grammar' is nearly half a million members strong... that's pretty telling :-) Posted on 5 Mar 2010 12:05
Crowdsourcing = spec work - avoid!- Global ad contest to promote Brand SA
Will each contributor be paid for his/her submission? No? Then this is spec work and should not be condoned.

Funny how it's OK to ask creatives to spend hours on a submission with only a teeny chance of possibly getting some payment for it... can't see that happening with accountants, plumbers, doctors, personal trainers, etc.

Yet another instance of creatives being exploited. For more about why spec work is bad for creatives and our industry, visit http://www.no-spec.com Posted on 1 Mar 2010 11:32
Shoot 'em- Ten hidden gems for improving your business writing in 2010
Great article, Tiffany. I particularly like your suggestion about the bullet points - they make for much easier reading and in this age of short attention spans and busy schedules, you have a better chance of getting your point(s) across if they're bulleted, rather than buried in prose.

If my clients are being wordy, I challenge myself to rewrite their copy in half the number of words. Usually it's entirely possible to do so without losing any meaning. 'Keep it short and simple' is a good motto - again, short attention spans demand it. Sometimes more than 140 characters feels verbose... :-)

And of course, I agree that outsourcing is a GREAT idea! We've got tons of freelancers over at www.freelancentral.co.za and have also just launched a full service outsourcing division - www.peppermintsource.com. Posted on 25 Jan 2010 12:44
Freelancing in SA- Any Tips On Freelancing?
Firstly, it's not for sissies and it's not just about writing, design, photography or whatever your skill/talent is. Once you go freelance, you become a business owner - you have to really put yourself out there in terms of sales, marketing, managing your finances, customer service, etc. etc.

I started www.freelancentral.co.za about four years ago - as a freelancer myself, I saw a need for someone to help SA freelancers in their careers - go and check out the site for some useful content (and a great platform to promote yourself on - OK, perhaps I'm a little biased!).

I highly recommend you do your homework about what freelancing is all about before you take the plunge (even part-time or after hours). FreelanceSwitch.com and FreelanceFolder.com both have produced excellent ebooks about how to get going or get ahead in freelancing (there are links to them from Freelancentral.co.za). Read, learn, absorb and then go for it! What you put into your freelancing career, you will get out of it. There is a lot of work out there - yes, even now - it just takes a little more competition, creativity and professionalism to secure it.

Good luck! Posted on 4 Nov 2009 16:18
Happy 'birthday', SAFREA!- Freelance media group SAFREA 10 years old
Congratulations on 10 years supporting SA's freelancers and on the great work that you do. Here's to many more :-) Posted on 22 Jun 2009 15:40
We're human after all- Do you really want me to know that about you?
@Steven I agree 100% - after all, people buy *people*, not CVs and lists of qualifications. If you're going to be spending time with someone in a business environment, you want to know you'll get along with them. I'm all for portraying a 'rounded' person - just cautioning which interests you choose to mention (drinking until you fall over... not so much). Posted on 12 Mar 2009 16:43
Thanks for the comments...- Do you really want me to know that about you?
@Emphasis If your Facebook profile is publicly visible, anyone can see it, including prospective employees, and they will form an impression based on it. Unless you restrict who can see it; then you don't have to worry!

@Zonke Sure, qualifications and experience are important, but a personal fit with company culture is too. A candidate may look great on paper and in an interview but if dodgy material shows up about them online it can cost them the job.

@Arthur Agreed, 'hyperconnecteds' are in the minority in SA. But all you need is your recruitment agent, prospective client/boss or hot date to be one of them... :-) Having a good online reputation (or 'Google CV') can get you noticed, as you say, for the right or wrong reasons.

@Myphotographer I second that :-)

@Sam Wilson Bacon and banana smoothie? Ugh, I think I'd rather not know about that! I love link-sharing on Twitter and have discovered some great new sites that way. Personally, I'm not interested in meaningless chatter, although I do like that Twitter provides me with online 'colleagues' and the social element can be fun. Again, I just make sure I say nice things or use direct messages. Posted on 12 Mar 2009 16:19

Subscribe

Receive free email newsletter

Make us your homepageAdd us to your favoritesRSS feedGet biz on your phone

Invite

Tell a friend about us