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It's actionable, truthful advice - without the bullshit.

That's what I'd like it to be seen as. Marketing blogs are everywhere, but they all suffer from the same 3 problems:

1. They're high on hype, but low on detail - disingenuously saying they "give back" to the industry
2. They never talk about failures, only success - whereas I think you learn the most when things fuck up
3. They're just dull - like, insufferably dull

Let's unpack that.

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The main reason why other bloggers skimp on the detail is because they don't know what they're talking about. They want to give off the guru vibe, get you to sign up to their consultancy or - heaven forbid - online course, and feed you just enough sizzle for you to keep interested.

That goes a long way to explaining point number 2. These gurus are often talking out their arse - they aren't able to give you a proper account of what works (and what doesn't) because they aren't capable of doing the job. The SEO industry is especially rife for these kind of wankers.

And point 3 - well, you tell me the last time you read 3 digital marketing blog posts back-to-back-to-back and didn't walk away feeling like you've spent the last hour reading community articles on LinkedIn.

​I want it to be fun, irreverent, and informative. You're going to have details coming out of your ears by the time you're done with my guides and blog posts.

And you know why?

It's not to give back to the industry. It's purely selfish reasons.

I want you to hire me to do the same for your business.​

If some of you read these posts and guides and apply it for your own sites by yourselves - good for you and good luck to you. But I know that many of you reading are too busy to implement these things yourselves.

By writing, illustrating, and proving what I've done and how I've made it work, you're going to read this and want me to do the same for you. 

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It's best to be honest, right?

Consultancy, niche sites, and a bunch of fuck-ups

I've been in this digital marketing game since 2006 and during that time I have:

• Sold my soul and worked for 2 of the 'big 4' media agencies
• Launched a successful digital consultancy
• Been hire #7, and Head of Growth, for what is now a FTSE 250, billion pound company

That's only half of it.

The most fun I've had, and the most I've learned, is when trying to build online businesses for myself, by myself.​

There's no hiding place when you're doing that. No salary to prop you up, no intern you can buck the blame to.

And I loved it.

I am fortunate enough to be pretty good at digital marketing, and so I've been able to make a decent living from these websites. The biggest thing I've taken from it, however, is the sheer amount of knowledge and experience gained, as well as the speed of it.

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Whether it's seeing possibly the best prepared Facebook campaign I've ever put together simply fall on its arse, or forget the most basic of things like removing a sitewide noindex tag (we've all been there, right?); by failing fast, and frequently, and having no one but myself to take it apart, put it back together again, and make the thing work - it's given me years' worth of knowledge in months.

That's what I want to share with you. Not this "don't be afraid to fail" stuff - you're an adult, you can work that out yourself. But show you what's gone wrong, how you can fix it, prevent it, and ultimately learn from it like I did.

Not only will you learn more reading that then on any other digital marketing blog, it's an altogether more honest account of things.

Other than my personal brand? Haw-haw-haw...

Alongside the one-on-one consulting, I've also co-founded the agency Yando.

Weird name, right? A running 'joke' (because we're mad ladz like that) that we make in pitches is that its an acronym for what we do, but the acronym changes every time. I'm 80% sure I lost us a pitch by saying it stood for:

"You and...oooooh...baby?".

Not my proudest moment.

The truth is that it just came out in one of those random word generators.

While I'm not bringing that agency to its knees, I'm also running several other websites - primarily in the affiliate space. These utilise SEO, PPC, Paid Social - basically all the things I profess to be pretty good at, and trying to put my money where my mouth is.

I feature these sites quite regularly throughout my guides and blog posts on Raynernomics, so when you see my case studies and examples, more often than not they are my own sites I'm showing off.

You remember that next time you laugh at one of my comical failures. You monster.

Yep

Then a little thing called marriage happened and I became Tom Rayner. You can read up on it here, if you like.

Don't count on it.

I don't have anything inherently against speaking gigs or those who give them - indeed, there are a few people out there who give fresh, exciting talks, backed up with real data and actionable advice. But, unfortunately, they are few and far between.

And the reason why they're so rare is because they take a long fucking time to put together.

I'm trying to make myself, and my clients, more money. I'm not going to do that by swanning off every other week to give the same regurgitated talk 30 times a year, am I?

Bear that in mind next time you see, listen, or read one of those things.

More questions will be added to this section over time and as they reach my inbox. In the mean time...