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The Slop Dictionary
Shopify's CEO named it the slop grenade. Five more names for the ways unchecked AI output quietly makes work noisier for everyone around you.
No. 133Every second Tuesday
From Dan's Desk
Next editionTuesday 27 October
SydneyWriting, attention and getting it doneEst. 2022
2026
Head Space
I put off writing seven emails for two weeks. Not for lack of time but lack of head space. AI agents add output to review. They don't add capacity to think.
The Magic X
A magician's trick fooled eight adults because the X was already in her palm. The best connections on LinkedIn work the same way, set up long before you ask.
The 9:58 Problem
Trains can't be early, so on time gets no praise. Plenty of jobs work the same way. Notice the people whose work goes unseen and tell them specifically.
Pre-AI Thinking
Friends tell me they need a course before using AI. The course is the search box. AI can teach you anything, including how to use it. Just ask it.
Sticky Floors and a Broken Mic Stand
I saw my favourite band at a half-empty uni bar and I'm still a fan 30 years later. Why LinkedIn now rewards slow accumulation over the first-hour spike.
A Low Bar, Rarely Cleared
My daughter's job hunt showed me why 100 applications look identical. When everyone offers the same thing, being different is the low bar nobody clears.
The Name Nobody Needed
I forgot a name mid-story and nobody noticed but me. Your copy has the same problem. Cut the details your customer doesn't need, even the ones you love.
The Inflection Point
Most work pays you for showing up. Some keeps paying long after you've moved on. Buffett and Picasso found the line between them. Most people never do.
Buffer
Most stress isn't about the work, it's about the timeline. Starting before you have to won't change the work, but it changes everything around it.
When The Pool Gets Crowded
At 16 I won the swimming age title without being the fastest. Being good at lots of things beats specialising when AI makes everyone an expert.
The Small Print Won’t Save You
My new outdoor lights came without globes, and the box told me in tiny print. Small print solves the company's problem, not the customer's. It won't save you.
Don't Make Me Do Your Job
Cold emails that ask for a reply but do none of the work. A look at the worst pitches in my inbox and why lazy outreach shifts the effort onto you.
Patience in Silence
You shipped it and nothing happened. Silence isn't a verdict. People rarely go from discovery to decision in a straight line. Keep showing up with value.
Brad Pitt’s Toothbrush
Brad Pitt's toothbrush isn't better than yours. When the gap feels big, we blame the tools instead of the behaviour. Better gear won't do the work for you.
The Decoy Goal
Instead of fighting yourself to change a habit, commit to a decoy goal. The smoker who starts running stops thinking about cigarettes. The real change follows.
Not Counting Followers
I used to check my follower count every other day. When you track a number closely, it stops measuring progress and starts measuring your mood.
The Last Push
I'm great at starting and enjoy the middle, but I stall near the end. Finishing creates space, on your hard drive and in your head, for new work to begin.
Marketing Is Noticing
Most advertising is built to interrupt. There's another way. Notice what your customers need. You can't buy that kind of attention, you have to earn it.
2025
Side Hustles Matter Long Before They Matter
Side projects start small and forgettable, but that's where many careers begin. The point isn't what your side hustle becomes, it's who you become doing it.
The Next Obvious Move
Getting things done isn't about willpower. Arrange your environment so doing the thing becomes the next obvious move and backing out is the harder option.
Balance Takes Practice
Live in the moment or plan for the future? Both are right and both are wrong at the extremes. You don't need to pick a side. Learn to move between them.
The Toilet Roll Illusion
A toilet roll looks full until it's nearly gone. Our energy and savings work the same way. Rest early and reach out before what looks like half is nearly empty.
FreeGPT
Free ChatGPT gives you ten premium messages every five hours. That limit is a small invitation to draft something. The gift isn't the messages, it's the rhythm.
Creative Debt
The unfinished book. The draft sitting at 80%. Creative debt costs you energy, not dollars. But none of that effort is wasted. It's compost for what's next.
The Problem With Asterisks
Every asterisk on a form is a tollbooth. Required fields add friction before you've given anything. The goal isn't a perfect form. It's permission to start.
Gauntlets For Sale
If you sell gloves, don't call them gauntlets. Words live in people's minds, not dictionaries. The goal isn't to sound smart. It's to be understood.
The Human Stamp of Approval
We'll take a book tip from a stranger but hesitate when ChatGPT suggests it. Content loses value when it loses its human fingerprints.
Connecting Old Skills
My copywriting started in law school. Skills don't retire, they transfer. If you're starting something new, you're not unqualified. You're repurposing.
Unlock The Vault
Hoarding your best ideas doesn't build value, sharing them does. If that's what you give away free, imagine what you charge for. Unlock the vault.
Stop Blaming Your Ideas
Your post flopped, so you blame your ideas. More often readers never got that far. Long sentences, dense paragraphs and weak openings stop people reading.
Zero Marginal Cost
Before the internet, every extra customer cost you something. Now one blog, podcast or course can reach millions for free. Make something worth multiplying.
Never Again
Squeeze too hard in a negotiation and people leave thinking "never again." Winning the deal can cost you the relationship. Only one of them grows over time.
Meaningful Signals
"Game-changing" means nothing when the reviews look fake. People look past the polish for proof. The signals that can't be faked, and how to cultivate them.
The Good Stuff
We save the good wine, the good pen and the fresh notebook for someday. Then the tape dries out and the wine turns. The good stuff is meant to be used.
The Costly Blind Spot of DIY
Mowing your own lawn feels thrifty. But every hour of DIY is time not spent building your business. Is that really the bargain you think it is?
Writing is Rewriting
AI can fill a blank page in seconds, but it all sounds the same. To stand out in a world of AI sameness, you need to learn to rewrite.
The Age of Skepticism
Fake reviews, AI videos, paid studies. We've been burnt too often to trust marketing claims. Proof, honesty and guarantees are how you earn trust now.
Where Projects Go to Die
Starting is exciting and finishing is rewarding. The middle is where projects die, as shiny new ideas pull you away. Half-built bridges go nowhere.
The Em Dash Witch Hunt
The AI police are hunting em dashes, a mark humans have used for centuries. Writers now strip them out to avoid suspicion. Now we must prove we're human.
The Upgrade Trap
More money, status and responsibility sound like progress. Every upgrade has a price in time and freedom. Make sure the next one is worth paying for.
The Tangible Manifestation Of An Idea
You had the billion-dollar idea and someone else built it. The world doesn't reward who thought of it first. It rewards who makes it real.
This is Not What I Signed Up For
At 25 I launched a tech magazine to play with gadgets. It turned out my real job was selling ads. Know what sits below the surface of a passion business.
2024
The Fragility of School Grades
Report cards show results and effort. Results are tidy but fickle. Effort compounds over time. This report card season, celebrate the effort.
What Do You Do?
"So, what do you do?" Most of us answer with a job title. It's safe and dull. Share what you care about instead and small talk becomes real talk.
If I Just Had That
Jill has money, Jack has time, John has neither job nor peace. Each wants what the other has. Happiness comes from valuing what you already have.
Punchlines for Writers
Punchlines matter in writing as much as comedy. They pull readers through. Timing is everything, and if it doesn't land, nor will your message.
Forgetting First
Chasing "the best" is a game you can't win for long. Stop measuring yourself against others and try to be your best instead. That's a game you can keep winning.
Data, the Drunk and the Lamppost
A friend wanted to start a t-shirt business and ignored every warning sign. When plans fail we say we missed something. Usually we saw it and chose not to look.
Subject to Change
Mobile phones turned plans into suggestions. In a world of keeping options open, making a real commitment shows you're serious and ready to follow through.
The Time-Money Trade
"Never trade time for money" makes salaried workers feel like failures. A job that supports your life and goals isn't failure. Trade your time as you wish.
Don’t Be Late
Chasing perfection past the deadline rarely pays. The gap between good and great is often invisible to everyone but you. Late is something everyone sees.
False Economies
Cheap shoes, a skipped car service, a budget desk chair. Short-term savings often lead to long-term costs. You save money now but you always pay in the end.
The Mental Mile
The four-minute mile was impossible until Roger Bannister ran it. Then others followed within weeks. What changed was belief. Know that it can be done.
Sickness and Health
My third bout of COVID narrowed my wants to one thing, to be well. A reminder to check in with yourself. Good health is the ultimate wealth.
Long and Boring
When your work is called "long and boring", fix the boring bit. Length isn't the enemy, disengagement is. Instead of trimming the fat, add substance.
"Gone Fishing"
Dreaming of turning a hobby into a living? Leisure works because it balances work. Before you go fishing permanently, remember that to fishers it's just work.
When Ego Meets A Critic
Criticism shows the difference between ego-driven and humble leaders. Not all feedback is right, but none of it is a verdict on your worth.
Skip The Sprint
Crash diets, all-nighters and daily Herculean workouts lead to burnout. Most goals need sustained effort. Find a pace you can keep and run the marathon.
One Piece of Advice
Experts can see everything a beginner does wrong. Great teachers pick the one piece of advice that matters most. The real skill is knowing what to ignore.
Your Call Is Important
"Your call is important to us" rings hollow after a 15-minute wait. If calls really mattered, you'd answer sooner. Show you care, or don't say it.
"Everyone Agrees With Me"
Truth isn't democratic. One person can be right and everyone else wrong. Stay open to reason and logic, but don't be swayed by the sheer weight of numbers.
Rethinking Best Practices
Best practices can paralyse people starting from zero. Start with a small step up from where you are now. You'll still be way ahead of where you were.
Goal Mastery
Setting goals is the easy part. The hard part is turning them into daily practice. Goals become tangible when you translate them into daily habits.
2023
Birthday Reflections
Ten lessons from 48 trips around the sun, from "always be kind" to never making career decisions on a Monday morning.
Beware The Bulk Discount
"Buy more, save more" sounds like a deal. Unless you planned to buy three in the first place, you're not saving more. You're simply spending more.
Belts And Suspenders
Never wear a belt and suspenders at the same time. Plenty of marketing is the same, two activities doing one job. Cut the decoration and keep what works.
Marketing Isn’t Box Ticking
Instagram page, ads, blog, newsletter. Ticking every marketing box won't make your business grow. Success comes from stepping outside the box.
Where Ideas Strike
Your best ideas rarely arrive at your desk. Walking, swimming or working out often spark them. Notice where ideas strike and put yourself there.
A Formula For Breaking Formulas
School teaches us to follow formulas. Business rewards the people who break them. Why rigid thinking blinds you to better solutions.
Hurry Up and Be Creative
Deadlines crush creativity but they're great at forcing you to start. Use urgency as a motivator, just don't expect it to make your ideas better.
Dumbing It Down
"Dumbing it down" doesn't mean your readers are stupid. It means respecting their time. The easier your words are to understand, the more they'll get read.
Inspired by Paracetamol
Paracetamol doesn't remove pain, it blocks the signal. We can do the same with critics and setbacks by choosing how we respond to them.
Don't Wait For January
If a resolution truly matters, there's no reason to wait for January. You can spend the rest of the year planning, or get a head start right now.
An Average Problem
Averages are neat and easy to share. They also flatten the outliers that matter most. Why you need to look past the average to see what's really happening.
The Mere Suggestion
A coach picking their own child. An advisor holding the stocks they recommend. The mere suggestion of self-interest can taint even the most honest decision.
No One Cares
Afraid to publish your first post? The truth is nobody cares yet. That's bad news for growth but great news for beginners. It's your freedom to experiment.
How It's Always Been Done
Challenging the status quo is exciting, but some practices endure for good reason. Not all foundations are meant to be dismantled. Find the reason first.
In Defense of “Versing”
My kids say "versing" and I used to correct them. Then I surrendered. Language exists to communicate, and some changes are too powerful to oppose.
Breaks Are Always Allowed
It took me years to start this blog because I feared the commitment. Consistency matters, but starting matters more. And breaks are always allowed.
Designing Backwards
We spend months building and minutes on how to sell it. Figure out how you'll sell the thing before you build it. No good reasons to buy? Don't make it.
The Everlasting Charm of Content Marketing
Guinness and Michelin were doing content marketing a century ago. It isn't new, and today anyone can play on a shoestring budget.
The Master of "No"
When you say yes to everyone else's requests, you're saying no to yourself. Guard your time with purpose and master one of life's great skills.
No Offence, But…
"No offence, but" doesn't give you immunity from your words. Say it sincerely and with empathy, or keep it to yourself.
Dump Your Adjectives
When everyone says "innovative" and "top quality", the words stop working. Be specific about what makes you different and dump the generic adjectives.
This Page Is Intentionally Left Blank
Manuals print "this page is intentionally left blank" so readers don't worry. Your website needs the same clarity. Don't leave common questions unanswered.
No Free Billboards
TV, radio and billboards never offered free reach. Social platforms still do, even as it declines. Organic reach is a gift, not a given right.
I Can Hear You Laughing
Laugh tracks, busker hats, queues outside clubs. People feel safer following than going first. How to use social proof to show prospects they won't be first.
The Banana Lessons
Buying bananas is a balance of green and ripe. Three lessons on timing, patience and making the best of a rotten situation.
The Online Art of Reading Minds
Selling door to door, you can read the room. Online you can't. Anticipate every question and objection so your sales page answers them before they're asked.
URGENT!!!
One word in caps can knock you out of focus. Some urgent things really are emergencies. Many are only urgent for someone else. Check before you jump.
Perfect'ish
Perfection eluded me in a recent LinkedIn post. What happened next, and why perfect'ish is usually good enough.
What's it like?
New ideas are hard to explain in an elevator pitch. The shortcut is an analogy. If you want people to understand your business, tell them what it's like.
The Hidden Cost of Doing Nothing
Saying no saves time and money, so it feels safe. But inaction always has a cost. The opportunities you surrender may prove more costly in the long run.
Breaking The Word Limit
You can't trick someone into reading by keeping it short. Interested buyers are hungry for information. Don't lose them by limiting your word count.
Rethinking Free
Hoarding knowledge is a losing game when information is everywhere. Giving it away builds trust and influence, which are worth far more than what you hold back.
The Pure Luck Myth
Harrison Ford's big break looked like luck. Luck is rarely random. Do more, be consistent and expand the surface area for good fortune to find you.
My Annoying Writing Style
I write with lots of line spacing and some people find it annoying. It gives words room to breathe and makes them easier to scan. Readability wins.
Counting Impressions vs Impressions That Count
Impressions tell you how often an ad was shown, not whether anyone saw it. Stop maximising impressions and focus on leaving one.
The Pop-up Paradox
Pop-ups collect emails and annoy almost everyone. If you care about your subscribers, offer something worth the interruption or get out of their way.
The 80-20 of Side Hustles
The 80-20 rule says focus on what pays most. A new side hustle will always feel inefficient next to your day job. Don't let that stop you pursuing it.
Chasing Blue Ticks
A blue tick once cost $15,000 on the black market. Now it's $8. Status symbols only hold the value we give them, unlike the things that really matter.
You Can't Save Time
Businesses promise to save you time but the clock never stops. You can only choose what to do with it. Pick something your future self will thank you for.
Turn “About Us” Into “Why Us?”
"About Us" is one of the most visited pages on any website. Most explain who you are but not why it matters. How to turn it into "Why Us?"
Be Careful What You Measure
Tracking followers won't grow your audience and weighing yourself won't make you fit. If you want to reach a goal, measure your actions instead.
Your Free Consultation Is Not Free
A free consultation still costs prospects their time. Spell out exactly what they'll get from it, or all they'll see is the cost.
Conflicting Words Of Wisdom
"Look before you leap" or "he who hesitates is lost"? Proverbs contradict each other because the right call depends on the situation. Then make it right.
Your Competitors Are Not The Enemy
Competitors prove your idea has value. The real enemy is customer apathy. Stop trying to beat the competition. Customers pay you. Competitors don't.
Run out of things to say?
Out of ideas? There are millions of love songs and we still write new ones. You don't need more things to say. Find more ways to say what you already know.
"Start Tomorrow"
"Start tomorrow" is how we fool ourselves. Try five minutes today instead. Starting is the hardest step, and tomorrow it'll be ten times easier.
362 Opportunities
New Year's resolutions rarely work because you can't remodel your life overnight. January 1st is overhyped. Any day is a good day to start.
2022
The Dangerous Pursuit of Efficiency
Efficiency hacks just make room for more tasks. You'll never finish the to-do list. Forget efficiency, set priorities and make the list shorter.
Deadlines With Teeth
Self-imposed deadlines are easy to ignore. The fix is to give them teeth by telling people who'll care. If that sounds scary, that's how you know it'll work.
Good Enough
Aiming for perfection on everything is impossible. "Good enough" frees you to get more done. Save perfect for the few projects that truly deserve it.
Attention Redirection
A faster way to grow on LinkedIn than chasing viral posts. Find attention focused elsewhere and redirect it to your profile with thoughtful comments.
The Positives of Negative Reviews
A one-star review hurts but it also helps people buy. A perfect five-star average looks fake. Embrace bad reviews. You won't look perfect, but you'll look real.
Neil Armstrong Got It Wrong
Neil Armstrong fluffed the most famous line in history and hardly anyone noticed. Remember that next time you publish a typo or stumble in a presentation.
Create More Time
"I don't have time" usually means "it's not a priority." Once you make your goal a priority, something strange happens. You create more time.
Talent Is An Excuse
Picasso made up to 110,000 pieces of art. He didn't paint because he was great. He became great by painting. Forget talent, focus on daily progress.
I Win, You Win
Life isn't a 100m sprint or a poker game. Someone else winning doesn't mean you're losing. We're not fighting for one ribbon. We can all win together.
The Problem with Success Stories
Canva, Harry Potter and Dyson make persistence sound like the only answer. Sometimes the smart move is knowing when to walk away and try another path.
My Favourite Free Marketing Tools
The free marketing tools I still use to grow and manage a business, from project management to design. No affiliate links, just my favourites.
The Secret Reason Why LinkedIn Comments Grow Your Network
On LinkedIn your comments show up in your connections' feeds, even if they don't follow the original poster. Why commenting grows your network faster.
Why Most Websites Suck (And How To Fix Yours)
Most business websites explain what the company does, not who it helps and how. Make your website about your customer's problem, not about you.
What Happens After You Go Viral
I've had my share of viral LinkedIn posts, starting in 2020 with one about my daughter's prize-giving. What actually happens after you go viral.
The World's Most Famous Logos And What We Can Learn From Them
A great logo makes selling easier. Five of the world's most recognisable logos and the lessons small businesses can take from each.
The Secret To Consistent Content Creation For Social Media
How to build a content creation model you can keep up while running a business. Publishing consistently doesn't mean creating everything from scratch.
Five Beautifully Simple Websites You Can Build in Minutes
Five simple, beautiful websites built in minutes, and the platforms used to make them. Stop planning and build a quick first draft of your idea.
LinkedIn Cheat Codes Revealed
Growing on LinkedIn feels like a game with hidden rules. How the algorithm decides what's good, and the signals that get your posts shown to more people.
6 Free Tools To Help Your Copywriting
Six free tools I use to plan, write and edit, so you can become a better and more consistent writer without spending a cent.
Five Lessons From 21 Million Views on TikTok
I posted a video with zero followers and woke up to 15 million views. Five lessons from going viral on TikTok and how to pick the right platforms.
Copywriting Tips That Will Make You A Better Writer
The techniques I use to write persuasive copy. Know the action you want readers to take, and tell them exactly what they get for taking it.
Write a LinkedIn Headline That Demands Attention
Your LinkedIn headline is your most visible real estate. A step-by-step guide to writing a clear, compelling headline in 220 characters or less.
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