It’s 2025. You can stop wasting time on newsletters, webinars, funnels, secret circles, storytelling, and Google. Happy New Year 2024 was weird. Seriously, 2024 was a troubling year on a lot of fronts. However, on a more positive note, some of the upheaval has relieved you of the burden of worrying about many popular marketing […]
Thoughts
The Grinch figures out Christmas
It came without ribbons!It came without tags!It came without packages, boxes or bags! Merry Christmas How could it be so? And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,stood puzzling and puzzling: How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags!It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled […]
Questionable marketing stuff
Do I really need personas, storytelling, mood boards, journey mapping, or brand archetypes? Nope. Just say no When searching for a web designer, you’ll likely encounter a baffling array of packages, plans, processes, and magic products. These “special” services are easy to spot — their titles typically feature buzzwords like blueprint, playbook, workshop, or roadmap. […]
AI adoption slows to a crawl
Has AI adoption slowed? Yes. To a crawl. Use of AI among U.S. workers stalls Despite ongoing enthusiasm from tech-happy management, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by U.S. workers has slowed to a crawl. The latest Slack Workforce Index reveals that AI adoption rates among American employees have effectively stalled over the past three […]
The truth about ads for free websites
If you’re a good enough web designer to charge for your work, then why would you run ads to give away websites for free? You wouldn’t. Are free websites really free? Unlikely. Any web designer or marketing agency that’s paying for ads to give away free websites is probably working some sort of angle that’s […]
What is generative engine optimization?
What the hell is GEO? Don’t ask. GEO is the new SEO. GEO stands for generative engine optimization. It’s the shiny new thing that the search engine optimization (SEO) industry will be trying to sell you in 2025. What does it do? GEO claims to optimize website content for generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, […]
Messaging versus design
Is messaging more important than design? Wrong question. Beware of amateurs. If your web designer claims that messaging is more important than design, they’re either confused or inexperienced. How so? Design isn’t just about how something looks. As Steve Jobs put it: “Design is how it works.” When it comes to websites, that includes architecture, […]
Soul-infused website design
“What is soul-infused website design?” Hmm. We were stumped. We’ll admit it — we had no idea what this was. As dedicated professionals, we try to stay informed about the latest web design breakthroughs, but we clearly missed this one. So, we asked ChatGPT. Here’s what she came up with: “Rather than focusing purely on […]
Designers versus artists
“What’s the difference between a designer and an artist?” Purpose. First off, we’re designers, not artists. Design isn’t self-expression, it’s thoughtful discipline. Designers make things that solve problems within a set of constraints. Sure, we get “creative” when we build stuff, but unlike artists, we work to solve real problems — not to present our […]
Talking to algorithms
Do you really want an algorithm talking to your customers? Maybe not. Do you even know what an algorithm is? Do your customers? Simply put, an algorithm is a set of rules that a software program follows to solve a problem or complete a task. They’re central to how artificial intelligence (AI) marketing tools — […]
