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Thoughts & Musings

Ideas on branding, marketing, AI, and running a small business without losing your mind.


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Why Sports Fans Stay Loyal Even When Their Team Sucks
Marketing16 April 2026

Why Sports Fans Stay Loyal Even When Their Team Sucks

Sports teams create insane loyalty despite terrible seasons. Brands can steal their playbook.

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Strategy

Why Most Small Business Websites Are Solving the Wrong Problem

Most small business owners obsess over how their website looks. The ones who grow obsess over what it does.

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Marketing

The Worst Sales Promotion in History: How Hoover Destroyed a Beloved Brand

In 1992, Hoover offered free flights to America with every vacuum purchase. It cost them $72 million and the company itself.

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Everything you actually need to get your business online in 2026. No fluff, no u...
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Business

OK Fine, Do It Yourself: The Honest Guide to Building Your Online Presence

Everything you actually need to get your business online in 2026. No fluff, no upsell, just the honest setup guide.

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Opinion

Most People Are Dumb F***s... Wait, What?!

Gary Vee, Elena Cardone, Adam Hudson, and the speaker who called 5,000 people dumb. The honest review.

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Business

You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

Sir Richard Branson, Lisa Messenger, and Michael Crossland. Here's what they taught us at the Inspire and Succeed Conference.

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Simple answer: yes. Because your customers are there and the algorithm rewards o...
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Marketing

Is Social Media Necessary for My Business?

Simple answer: yes. Because your customers are there and the algorithm rewards one thing above all else.

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Design

Don't Lose Them at 404: How to Turn Errors into Engagement

A custom 404 page is one of the most underrated tools in your digital arsenal. Here's why it matters.

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Marketing

Perceived Value and the Art of Sales

National Achievers Congress Auckland, Part 1. Success is a commodity. Here's an honest look at how it gets sold.

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AI Chatbots Are Transforming Business: What's Changed and What's Coming
AI Tools

AI Chatbots Are Transforming Business: What's Changed and What's Coming

We wrote about business chatbots years ago. The landscape has changed completely. Here's the 2026 update.

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We taught ourselves everything from the internet, made every expensive mistake, ...
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PlainBlack

Why Hire Us? The Honest Answer.

We taught ourselves everything from the internet, made every expensive mistake, and charge what things are actually worth.

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What Progressive Metal Legends TOOL Can Teach You About Marketing
Marketing

What Progressive Metal Legends TOOL Can Teach You About Marketing

No radio play. A 13-year gap between albums. TOOL breaks every rule in the marketing playbook and sells out stadiums anyway.

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PlainBlack

Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve

Sometimes you meet a client who ticks every box. Passionate about their craft, kind beyond belief. This is one of those stories.

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Airlines could double ticket velocity and eliminate empty seats with one simple ...
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Business

Why Airlines Leave Billions on the Table (And How to Fix It)

Airlines could double ticket velocity and eliminate empty seats with one simple change: transferable tickets.

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Marketing

Fear Sells... Until It Doesn't: Why Scaring Your Audience is a Lazy Strategy

Fear-based marketing gets clicks. It won't earn loyalty. Here's why scaring your audience costs you trust.

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Design

The Font Fiasco: How a Bad Typeface Can Destroy Your Logo

Your font choice is doing more work than you think. Why typography is one of the most overlooked decisions in brand design.

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Marketing

The Human Touch: Why the Best Marketing Agencies Still Put People First

AI can optimise a campaign. It can't build a relationship. Here's why the agencies winning long-term never forgot who they're talking to.

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Business

Paywalled and Forgotten: How Newspapers Lost the Online War

When the internet arrived, newspapers chose gatekeeping over generosity. Here's what every business can learn before AI forces the same choice.

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Most ideas aren't that special. What matters is execution. But NDAs and MCAs sti...
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Business

Your Idea's Probably Not That Special — But Here's Why an NDA Still Matters

Most ideas aren't that special. What matters is execution. But NDAs and MCAs still serve a real purpose.

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In 2020, while the world panicked, we gave away free websites to small businesse...
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PlainBlack

What We Did During COVID, and Why It Still Shapes How We Work

In 2020, while the world panicked, we gave away free websites to small businesses. Here's what that taught us.

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Opinion

Ian Has Gone Off the Deep End. But Could This Actually Work?

Lower the retirement age to 55. Give every Australian over 30 a universal basic income. The arguments against it are weaker than you'd think.

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Strategy

Why Small Business Websites Fail (And What This Gets Wrong)

A breakdown of what the Medium article on website failures gets right and dead wrong. The real problem is simpler.

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Why We're All Convinced Red vs Blue Politics Is Real
Opinion

Why We're All Convinced Red vs Blue Politics Is Real

The political divide feels undeniable. But what if it's a psychological trick? We break down the biology, media, and identity forces.

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