Yo Reader, Around covid time, when the virus was strong but our emotions were weak, when we weren't allowed outside except to exercise, when we were expected to wear masks even while showering, when shaking hands would send you straight to jail, when people were making sourdough or other shit like that.... Facebook groups were kinda killer. Yeah I said it. We couldn't socialise anywhere else, so those groups (especially industry specific ones) became a place to get that social hit we were all...
12 days ago • 4 min read
Heya Reader, "Yeah this is a nice car, but honestly my Camry is the best" This was back in 2013 or so. I'd just bought myself a shiny new VW Golf R as a reward for being so damn handsome and talented and humble. If you're not familiar with the car, it's absolutely fast AF, has pretty sick options, and isn't too attention grabby. And just right for me. I took it home and parked in the driveway like normal, only to have my neighbour Anthony pop by to check it out. For perspective, at the time...
19 days ago • 3 min read
Goooood day Reader, I like to think I've got a whole bunch of smart people reading this newsletter. Since they're smart, I don't really "dumb things down" as much as people online SAY I'm meant to. After all, you're subscribed for knowledge, not brain rot. You want to sell your services better, and get more clients. Stand out. And that means you keep trying to learn and improve. Well, I've found something really useful for smart people that want to improve their writing. We write a lot If...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Seriously Reader, It might surprise you to know (well.. maybe it won't haha) that most cold pitches sent my way get a very firm no thank you, even if it's something I could actually use. I don't say no thanks JUST cause I'm an arsehole. I tell them no thanks cause all these pitches are done so badly (and I get so many of them). And it's not like I'm secretive about what people should do instead. Any time someone asks me, I tell them exactly what I'd say in that position. I've re-written...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Yo Reader, 4 times last week I asked someone: "what do you do that's different or better than your competition?" And 4 times last week someone couldn't answer 😅 And I get it, cause it's fucking hard. I mean, unless you're delulu AF, you don't actually believe you're different or better than literally everyone. But "everyone" isn't your competition. Your competition are usually a much smaller circle. Maybe they're the other peeps in your area that do what you do. Or the same ones that target...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Yo Reader, "Fake it til you make it" The excuse used by many fake-designer-clothes-wearing wannabes, as they lie about how successful they are on LinkedIn. In debt to their eyeballs (and beyond), just so they can drive a car that's classed as "budget luxury" and take selfies at fancy looking destinations. They're the people that fool us when we're early into our careers, but we spot from miles away once we know what we're doing. But... we see them seemingly winning over and over, while we're...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Heyyyyy Reader, You know what a hero banner is, right? If not, it's usually the first thing you see when you land on a site. Usually has a headline, maybe some extra text, a button or two, maybe an image. Some fancy ones might throw some extra crap in there too like logos or stats or whatever. But that heading is usually the first thing you see. And, almost always, that heading is shit (gasp!) The hero's job The hero banner has a few jobs. The most obvious is letting visitors know they're in...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hidey ho Reader, I'm running a workshop for The Content Club this week about building a website that makes you money. I love doing stuff like this, cause the process of turning a lot of "instinctive" experience into a clear framework or process forces me to go deeper into my own understanding of WHY I do stuff and what drives my decision making. Something I've been harping on about for years is how there's only really 3 kinds of marketing websites. This concept is based off something my...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, It was February 2025 and I had just launched a new website. After having been told a month earlier that the agency that had been sending me $150k a year worth of work was being sold, I'd realised that I'd been neglecting my own site.... ...badly. I worked frantically for a month to come up with a really cool design, tweak the copy, try make my portfolio look... reasonably recent. Overall, it was pretty great! Made me look like a proper agency. So I launched it and waited eagerly...
2 months ago • 4 min read