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BLOGNotes from the operating system

What we’re thinking, building and learning.

Long-form writing on systems thinking, growth architecture, funding strategy and the unsexy side of running modern digital businesses properly.

FilterAll growth·3 retention·3 analytics·2 grant·2 paid·2 infrastructure·1 #ecommerce #retention #lifetime value #unit economics #paid acquisition #lifecycle #site speed #funded programmes

paid
#programmatic advertising#programmatic marketing#dsp
Programmatic advertising: when it earns its complexity and when it doesn't.
Programmatic advertising solves a problem most small businesses don't have. Here's when the complexity is worth it, when it isn't, and the three buys that work without a DSP at all.
May 22, 2026

6 min

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Technical SEO audit: what a real one finds that the automated tools miss.

#technical seo#seo audit#ecommerce seo

Technical SEO audit: what a real one finds that the automated tools miss.

Screaming Frog and Ahrefs will dump 4,000 issues on you. About 40 actually matter. A real technical SEO audit is the work of separating the two — here's the shortlist.

May 22, 20268 min

Website maintenance: what stops it being a line item and starts being an operating layer.

#website maintenance#shopify maintenance#website operations

Website maintenance: what stops it being a line item and starts being an operating layer.

Most website maintenance contracts are line items — fix what breaks, patch what's exposed. The operating-layer version treats the site as the surface where revenue happens. Different work, different price.

May 22, 20265 min

Automated reporting: what it means when the dashboards stop being weekly admin.

#automated reporting#dashboards#marketing analytics

Automated reporting: what it means when the dashboards stop being weekly admin.

Automated reporting is one of those phrases that sells software but doesn't change behaviour. The shift that matters is when the dashboards stop being weekly admin and start being the operating layer of the business.

May 22, 20265 min

Grant application: what funders actually read before they read the budget.

#grant application#grant writing#funding

Grant application: what funders actually read before they read the budget.

Most grant applications spend 80% of effort on the budget and 20% on the narrative. Funders read in the opposite order — narrative first, budget last. Here's what they actually look for.

May 22, 20266 min

Grant acquittal: what the operating cycle looks like before the audit lands.

#grant acquittal#grant compliance#funded programmes

Grant acquittal: what the operating cycle looks like before the audit lands.

Grant acquittal is what stops a funded programme being a one-off cash injection. The work happens months before the auditor arrives — here's the operating cycle.

May 22, 20265 min

Email automation: what changes when lifecycle stops being a campaign calendar.

#email automation#klaviyo#lifecycle

Email automation: what changes when lifecycle stops being a campaign calendar.

Most ecommerce email is run as a campaign calendar — every Tuesday, every Thursday, every payday. Automation flips that. The brand sends because the customer did something, not because it's Tuesday.

May 22, 20268 min

Lifetime value: what the number actually changes in a small ecommerce business.

#lifetime value#ltv#ecommerce

Lifetime value: what the number actually changes in a small ecommerce business.

Lifetime value gets quoted in every pitch deck and used in roughly zero operating decisions. Here's the version that actually moves the business — and the four ways it gets calculated wrong.

May 22, 20267 min

Facebook ads management: the four signals that say the channel is being run, not just spent against.

#facebook ads#meta ads#paid social

Facebook ads management: the four signals that say the channel is being run, not just spent against.

Anyone can spend on Facebook ads. The difference between spending and running the channel comes down to four signals — and most agencies fail at least two of them.

May 22, 20266 min

Customer lifecycle: the five points where small ecommerce businesses leak revenue.

#customer lifecycle#lifecycle marketing#retention

Customer lifecycle: the five points where small ecommerce businesses leak revenue.

Every small ecommerce business leaks revenue at the same five points in the customer lifecycle. Here's where they are, what they cost, and the order to fix them.

May 22, 20266 min

Customer retention strategy: start with the audit, not the tactics.

#customer retention#retention strategy#lifecycle

Customer retention strategy: start with the audit, not the tactics.

Most retention strategies start with tactics — abandoned cart flows, loyalty programs, win-back emails. That's the wrong order. The audit comes first, because half the time the leak isn't where you think.

May 22, 20268 min

Ecommerce growth: the three numbers that say whether growth is real or rented.

#ecommerce growth#growth strategy#unit economics

Ecommerce growth: the three numbers that say whether growth is real or rented.

Most ecommerce growth charts go up and to the right. The question is whether that growth is real (compounding) or rented (paid acquisition driving a vanity line). Three numbers tell you the difference.

May 22, 20265 min

$What is a fractional CMO? And the three honest alternatives.$

#fractional cmo#marketing leadership#operating model

What is a fractional CMO? And the three honest alternatives.

Most fractional CMO explainers are written by fractional CMOs. Here's the honest version — what they actually do, what they cost, when they're the right shape, and when an operating layer is what you really need.

May 22, 202611 min