Home //
Insights
Straight answers to the marketing questions you’re really asking.
Short, practical pieces on the decisions SMEs and startups actually face: what to fix before you spend more, when senior marketing leadership earns its keep, and how to tell the difference between a marketing problem and a business problem wearing a marketing costume.
Writing //
Nothing in that subject yet — try another.
What investors actually read: a conversation with Dave Mitchell
Dave Mitchell has led three funding rounds and sat on both sides of the table. A conversation about decks, models, and why raises really fail.
4 min read · Raising a round · Interview
This site was built with AI. The thinking wasn’t.
I build websites with Claude, draft in it daily, and shipped this site with it. Here is the line between what the tools do and what you would be hiring.
3 min read · Opinion · AI in marketing
8.8%: what ChatGPT referrals did for a restaurant
Thirty-four visitors, three bookings, and the best conversion rate of any channel on the site. One number from a Devon restaurant’s analytics, unpacked.
2 min read · Restaurants · Getting found
Restaurant branding: what it is and when it pays
Restaurant branding is the position you hold against the place down the road, carried through everything a guest reads before they taste anything.
5 min read · Restaurants · Brand
Restaurant marketing ideas, ranked by payoff
Ten ideas an independent restaurant can run without an agency: ordered by what they return, with numbers from a restaurant that ran them.
5 min read · Restaurants · Getting found
Restaurant marketing strategies that fill tables
A working strategy for an independent restaurant starts in the booking diary, fixes being found and booked, then builds each season before the searching starts.
6 min read · Restaurants · Strategy
Inside a winning bid: GreenTech Industries joins the UK Government’s Mobilise 2026
A client of mine just won a place on the UK Government’s accelerator for automotive innovators. I was part of the team behind the application: here’s what it had to prove.
5 min read · Bid writing · Strategy
What does a bid writer actually do, and when should you hire one?
Bid writing looks like a writing job from the outside. It isn’t; it’s building the clearest, best-evidenced case for work that deserves to win.
6 min read · Bid writing · Strategy
How small businesses can use AI in marketing, safely
AI can do real work in a small marketing team. But only if you adopt it deliberately, with the guardrails a bigger company would take for granted.
6 min read · AI · Marketing technology · SME marketing
When does a business actually need a fractional CMO?
The honest answer isn’t “always”. It’s a specific window: past the point where founder-led marketing is enough, and short of the point where a full-time CMO makes sense.
6 min read · Fractional CMO · Marketing leadership · SME marketing
What is a fractional CMO?
A plain explanation of what a fractional CMO actually does, how the arrangement works day to day, and who tends to benefit most from one.
5 min read · Fractional CMO · Marketing leadership
SEO vs AEO vs GEO: what’s the difference?
Search, answer and generative engine optimisation are related but distinct disciplines, and confusing them leads to the wrong investment.
6 min read · SEO · AEO · GEO
What is bid writing?
Bid writing is the discipline of building the clearest, best-evidenced case against a set of criteria, not simply writing well.
5 min read · Bid writing
Fractional CMO vs a marketing agency: which do you need?
An agency executes within a channel; a fractional CMO owns the strategy and outcome above it, and often ends up briefing the agency too.
6 min read · Fractional CMO · Agencies
How much should a small business spend on marketing?
The honest answer is that it depends: budget should follow the strategy and the goal, not a percentage-of-revenue rule of thumb picked in advance.
6 min read · SME marketing · Budgeting
Most SME marketing problems aren’t marketing problems
Before you spend more on ads, agencies or a new website, it’s worth checking whether the thing that’s broken is marketing at all.
5 min read · Positioning · SME marketing · Strategy
How to get your business cited by ChatGPT and AI answers
Getting cited by AI answer engines comes down to a handful of practical habits (answering directly, structuring for extraction, being easy to trust) a business can start on this week.
6 min read · AEO · GEO · AI search
What does a fractional CMO cost?
Why fractional CMO pricing varies so much, what actually drives the cost, and how it compares to hiring a full-time marketing director.
5 min read · Fractional CMO · Pricing
What is generative engine optimisation (GEO)?
Generative engine optimisation is the practice of getting a business accurately cited inside AI-written answers, not merely ranked in a list of links.
5 min read · GEO · AI search
How to write a winning bid or tender
A practical, ordered method for turning tender and bid criteria into a response that scores well and reads as credible.
7 min read · Bid writing
Outsourced marketing vs hiring in-house: the real trade-offs
Cost, risk, speed, depth of knowledge and continuity pull in different directions: the right structure depends on which matters most now.
5 min read · Marketing leadership · SME marketing
Fractional, part-time or interim: which marketing leader?
Fractional, interim and part-time marketing leadership solve different problems, and here is how to tell which one actually matches your situation.
6 min read · Fractional CMO · Marketing leadership
Grant funding applications that get backed
What separates grant funding applications that get backed from those that do not, and how to build a case rather than fill in a form.
6 min read · Bid writing · Funding
Go-to-market strategy: a practical guide for founders
A go-to-market strategy is an ordered set of decisions (proposition, audience, channel and timing), not a list of launch tasks.
7 min read · Go-to-market · Startups
Marketing strategy vs a marketing plan: the difference
Strategy is the set of choices about who you are for and where you will win; a plan is the calendar that follows.
5 min read · Strategy
Is PPC worth it for a small business?
PPC can bring in qualified leads fast, but only when the numbers, the intent, and the conversion path are actually in place.
6 min read · PPC · Paid media · SME marketing
What is a marketing audit, and when do you need one?
A marketing audit is a structured review of positioning, channels, spend and data, and it is only worth doing if it ends in decisions.
5 min read · Marketing audit · Strategy
The best AI marketing tools for small teams (how to choose)
Most “AI marketing tools” lists are fiction dressed as advice: here is how to choose based on the bottleneck you actually have.
6 min read · AI · Marketing technology
What is SEO and how does it work?
SEO means helping your website show up when people search on Google, and it rests on three simple things done well over time.
6 min read · SEO · Getting found
Social media marketing for small businesses
Social media can bring in customers, but only if you choose the right platform, post consistently, and track what it actually delivers.
6 min read · Social media · SME marketing
What is brand positioning, and why does it matter?
Brand positioning is the clear reason a specific customer should choose you over every alternative, including doing nothing at all.
6 min read · Brand · Positioning
How to get your business higher up Google
Getting higher up Google is not about tricks: it is about answering customers clearly, building a fast site, and earning genuine mentions elsewhere.
6 min read · SEO · Getting found
Content marketing for small businesses, made simple
Content marketing means being genuinely useful to the people who might buy from you, not shouting about your business until someone listens.
6 min read · Content marketing · SME marketing
Brand, branding and brand identity: the difference
Brand, branding and brand identity get used interchangeably, but they mean different things, and mixing them up can waste your marketing budget.
5 min read · Brand
Local SEO: getting found by nearby customers
Local SEO means making sure nearby customers find you first, through your Google listing, reviews, and consistent details across the web.
5 min read · SEO · Local marketing
Does email marketing still work for small businesses?
Yes, email marketing still works for small businesses, because unlike social media, you own the list and no algorithm decides who sees it.
5 min read · Email marketing · SME marketing
How to stand out when a competitor is cheaper
When a rival undercuts you on price, the answer is not to match them: it is to compete on something they cannot easily offer.
6 min read · Positioning · SME marketing
SEO or Google Ads: which is right for you?
How SEO and Google Ads each earn their keep, what they cost you in time or money, and which to start with.
6 min read · SEO · Paid media
Why isn’t my website getting me any leads?
The handful of reasons small-business websites fail to bring in enquiries, and how to check which one applies to you.
6 min read · Website · Conversion
How to market a startup with little or no budget
Practical, no-cost ways to market a startup: a sharp proposition, one focused channel, real customer conversations, and earned attention over paid.
6 min read · Startups · SME marketing
Google Ads for beginners: a small-business guide
How Google Ads works, what it really costs, and the mistakes that waste beginners’ budgets.
6 min read · Paid media · Google Ads
What makes a good small-business website?
The best small-business websites aren’t the flashiest ones, they’re the clearest: easy to understand, quick to load, and simple to act on.
5 min read · Website
What is product-market fit, and how do you know?
What product-market fit means in practice, the honest signs you have it, and why marketing cannot fake it.
6 min read · Startups · Product-market fit
Video marketing for small businesses: is it worth it?
Why video marketing works for small businesses, how little budget it now needs, and where it earns its place in your plan.
6 min read · Video · SME marketing
How to tell if your marketing is actually working
A short guide to judging your marketing by real business outcomes, such as enquiries and sales, rather than likes or followers.
6 min read · Measurement · SME marketing
How to use ChatGPT for your marketing (with examples)
A practical look at how to use ChatGPT for marketing tasks, from first drafts to research, and where it still needs a human check.
6 min read · AI · Marketing technology
The marketing numbers a small business should watch
The handful of marketing numbers a small business actually needs to track, why vanity metrics mislead, and how to keep measurement simple.
5 min read · Measurement · SME marketing
Will AI replace marketing agencies?
A level-headed answer to whether AI will replace marketing agencies, and what actually changes in how you buy marketing help.
5 min read · AI · Marketing leadership
Newsletter //
Not a Marketing Problem
One honest essay every two weeks for founders and leadership teams — on the decisions underneath the marketing. Real advice, when you need it.
Next //
Strategy with vision. Impact that lasts.
Start with a conversation.
Every engagement begins by understanding where you are and what you need — a clear-headed discussion.
Brighton · London · UK-wide and internationally · LinkedIn