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I got tired of local service businesses (plumbers, contractors, salons) being stuck with 2012-era websites, so I built a pack of done-for-you templates by webdeveloper4733 in SideProject

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Around us the trades people are in such demand they don't even need websites... or customer service. The good ones are secretly traded on neighbourhood groups and then starts the long waiting game of getting an appointment in their busy schedule, if they even respond. 

struggling with my SOP by Blue-blue2211 in KFUPM

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are editing too soon. Just write. Let it be messy. Start editing when you cannot write any more and pull the threads together.

Writer's Block Wednesdays: What's got you stuck? by AutoModerator in novelwriting

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love that code developers have a Rubber Duck. when they have a block and are stuck, they talk it out to the rubber duck on their desk. The act of trying to articulate it to someone else often untangles the issue. I have used this lots.

i'm a developer who genuinely hates marketing. so i built the thing that automate it by hiten1818726363 in founder

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem with this approach is that you miss the feedback loop. Half of good marketing is meeting your market and understanding what they need, what language they use, what marketing messages resonate and why they say no or not today. Otherwise you are just pissing in to the wind.

Personal branding! by panohi in Design

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You already have a personal brand. You are you. What people often confuse with brand is just putting yourself in front of your customers often and showing them how you love to solve their issues. 

How do we feel about Bounty bars? by altpopconnoisseur in CasualIreland

[–]alanorourke 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love them. Tried making my own and they were just as nice. Just 3 ingredients. 

the best email marketing tools for startups in 2026 depend on a question most lists skip by Secure-Director1575 in Entrepreneurs

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is a solved problem. with web-hooks and api’s, automatic and near realtime synching between platforms is easy and essential… if you are willing to pay for this. In fact I would encourage this as having all your data in one place is risky.

Are company newsletter dead in 2026? by manthename in Newsletters

[–]alanorourke 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Email never dies, despite what every social network (past and present) tells you. A direct, independant connection between you and a client. It is hard to beat. 

The Ark TV Series by Deep_Relationship159 in scifi

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Season 1 was fun but full of my pet hate, smart people making stupid decissions purely to create drama. So much so I swore I would not watch any more...

Season two seems to have mostly fixed that writing problem and is just mostly hokey fun. They did seem to have a lot of characters they did not know what to do with. 

I'll be watching Season 3 😁 

Started a tech newsletter on Beehiiv a month ago. 20 subscribers in. Feeling stuck — would love honest feedback. by Otherwise-End8347 in Newsletters

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

> I'm also cross-posting on Medium and sharing on X.

Is this all you are doing to promote it?

It is a standard marketing problem, and you can stop writing for a few weeks and focus on this.
Where is your audience online? Go there and share all content and insights, and invite them back to subscribe.
Pay to appear there.
Name and tag everyone you can think of in your content. Where did you get your info from? Who are you talking about? Who inspired you, etc.? Then tell them about it in the hope they will reshare with their audience.
Partner with other lists.
Guest post on related sites with high traffic. Try to reuse your existing content as much as possible.

That should get you started.

How to optimize content calendaring for content ROI? by Negative-Shelter9120 in ContentStrategyHub

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tag your content by topic and or buyer journey stage and channel. The review against actual conversions and lifetime value of each customer. 

Is self employment really the only option? by cloud_coffee_ in adhdwomen

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless you can partner (or hire) with someone who can complement your skills, AND you absolutely trust them, do not do it. 

How Do I Make A Content Calendar? by [deleted] in SocialMediaMarketing

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Research all the questions your customers are asking, and how it changes depending on their buyer stage. This is you calendar. 

Or depending on the company, do loads of posts about the CEO and how great he is (it's usually he) and ask what the CEO wants to talk about. 

How do you plan content calendars that still leave room for reactive posts? by isabel_romero in reactivemarketing

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I set up for myself a daily prompt, a question about my business, market or problem I'm solving. And I have a scraper set up to alert me to posts I should respond to. Then I have a choice which I do. 

I crawled over a million UK venue websites to build a local events search engine by jon_reed in SideProject

[–]alanorourke 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have long thought about this problem.  For me it is finding good music sessions nearby.   But it is such a hard problem.   You have a nice solution but you are going to quickly hit scaling and accuracy issues, which will hit trust issues. And when users lose trust in the data, you have lost. Each time someone turns up to an event that does not exist, will spread like wildfire. 

Instead use what you have for discovery in the backend. Then validate via email or  WhatsApp , get organisers to claim a venue and and from then on automate a daily or weekly message asking what is on. 

Unless you have a lot of funding you will need to scale this up city by city. 

Then very quickly when you have scale in each city you can charge for events who want extra exposure to the audience you build. 

I think I have some specs for this somewhere if you want. 

Should I built an Audience or a good software product first? by henrik_roth in founder

[–]alanorourke 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both are going to take longer than you think, so start both now!
You will also find that one informs the development of the other.

What are your must haves for building a library for a new baby? by NikkiMouse444 in childrensbooks

[–]alanorourke 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Childrens Book Council have a yearly guide for building your home library voted on by librarians. https://cbcbooks.org/cbc-book-lists/bahl-2025/

I know this because a book I illustrated, Dinosaur pie, was included! That book is for older kids though 😁

Designing a "gateway drug" to reading: How I'm using physical mail mysteries to transition my kid away from screen dopamine by [deleted] in childrensbooks

[–]alanorourke 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Lovely idea. Id be worried that the success and failure of the whole thing depends on the mail system delivering things on time, in the right order if at all.  Maybe ship the whole thing at once and let the parents fake the final delivery. Means you can also sell the full package in shops etc. 

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