As we hit the midpoint of the year, we’re reflecting on Quarter 2 and looking ahead to Quarter 3 in our respective businesses. Find out what felt good, what didn’t and what we’ve learned in the process.

We also talk about our words of the year, dig into our plans for the next three months, and discuss what we’re hoping to achieve before the next time we have this chat.

Links and Further Reading

Franky’s Zine Business Card

Our Thoughts on the Analogue Trend

What’s Working on Instagram Right Now?

Spark Social

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This week, inspired by the work she’s doing on her new website, Charlie’s asking Franky to share her top tips for writing a compelling homepage.

We chat about the things you need to know before you start writing, what information goes where, and the things you don’t need to include on your homepage. We also run through some common pitfalls to avoid and touch on topics like niching, SEO, and readability.

With more than decade of experience, Franky shares a lot of website wisdom in this episode. If you’re currently writing your own copy, or plan to in the future, it’s a must-listen.

Links and Further Reading

Building a Portfolio and Sharing Your Work

How to Write an Engaging About Page

How to Name Products and Services

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If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s Instagram shifting and changing. They’re constantly adding new tools and features, and there’s always different styles of content to consume. As a result, what worked this time last year, probably isn’t giving you the same results today.

With this in mind, we’re chatting about current trends and popular types of content on the ‘gram. What’s performing well? What isn’t? And how are tastes changing?

From text carousels and tiny mics to creating your own episodic ‘TV show’ via Reels - our conversation is packed with ideas and inspiration to help you market your business on Instagram.

Links and Further Reading

Gina Slow Going

Cari Williamson

What Happened to Online Etiquette?

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Most people go through some sort of personal crisis at least once in their lives. In the time Franky’s been running her business, she’s experienced a few. Most recently, she’s had to navigate the sudden, unexpected death of her step-father.

In this episode, we’re chatting about what happened and what she learned. Why is preparing for a personal crisis something all business owners need to consider? And where do we start?

We cover building a strong foundation before disaster hits, what to do during a personal crisis, and what to do next. It’s advice we hope you never need to use, but we think you’ll be grateful for it if you do.

Links and Further Reading

What I’ve Learned From Running My Business During a Personal Crisis

How I Run My Copywriting Business with a Chronic Illness

Some Thoughts on Dropping Balls

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We’re back following an unplanned, emergency hiatus. Find out what happened and listen as we belatedly reflect on Quarter 1 and look ahead to what’s left of Quarter 2 in our respective businesses. We share what felt good, what didn’t, and what we’ve learned in the process.

We also talk about our words of the year and how they’ve been showing up for us since we last spoke. Spoiler alert: Charlie didn’t choose one for 2026!

Finally, we share a few sources of creative inspiration and dig into our plans for the next three months.

Links and Further Reading

Carolyn Yoo

See You

Xanthe Appleyard

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Larking About

Content Creatives with Charlie Swift

It’s been two years since we last chatted about how we’re using Substack in our respective businesses. A lot has changed for both of us since then, so we decided it was time to share an update.

Listen as we discuss moving the podcast to Substack, growing our mailing lists, turning on paid subscriptions, and in Charlie’s case, turning them off again. As well as sharing what has and hasn’t been working for us on the platform, we chat about our plans for 2026 and what we hope to achieve through our publications.

Links and Further Reading

Are You Going to Start a Substack?

How Are We Showing Up on Substack this Year?

Glennon Doyle, Mean Girls, and the Evolution of Substack

Should I Start a Substack for My Small Business?

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We’ve been noticing a rise of some poor manners online of late. Copy-cat content, big brands using photos without permission or giving proper credit, people presenting other creators ideas as their own. SO, in this episode we’re wondering ‘what happened to the Online Etiquette of the early internet’?

Listen to hear us share some examples of the types of poor etiquette we’ve noticed recently, chat through the difference between being inspired and copying, consider the role the rise of AI is playing and rant about Pinterest being sited as an image source.

Links and Further Reading

Siece Campbell

Shana Blakley

Our Thoughts on the Analogue Trend

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How do you currently showcase and share your work with prospective clients? Do you have a portfolio or gallery on your website? Maybe you treat Instagram like a portfolio or have some kind of PDF you send out?

In today’s episode, we’re exploring all these options and more. We cover the purpose of a portfolio, where it should live, and share a range of creative ideas to help you present your work to the world. Alongside digital options, we discuss some unique analogue concepts.

As well as chatting about our own portfolios, Franky shares insights from working with clients, offering copywriting tips and pointing out a few pitfalls to avoid.

Links and Further Reading

Grace Yencer

Design By Emilia

Becky Lord Design

Cyber Areej

Carolyn Yoo

Chaotic Creatives - Curating Your Creative Work Like a Pro

Our Thoughts on the Analogue Trend

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2026 has officially been deemed ‘the year of analogue living’. The internet is going crazy for pen and paper, crafty hobbies, and physical media.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the rapid rise of this trend, explore how it’s being interpreted online, and what this might mean for us as small business owners.

We also chat about our own analogue habits and hobbies, and ponder why GenZ seem to love poor quality, ‘vintage’ digital cameras so much!

Links and Further Reading

Are You ‘Team Analogue’ or ‘Team Digital’?

Wildflower Illustration Co.

The Sunday Letter Project

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We’re kicking off the new year with our annual cosy conversation filled with reflections and intentions.

Find out what went well for us last year and what we learned from the things that didn’t. We also chat about our words of the year, share a few goals for 2026, and make some solid(ish) plans for Q1.

Links and Further Reading

Get Wildly Free

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