HubSpot: trust isn't an optional feature
HubSpot's July 2026 opt-out data default told customers about a decision after it was already made. A HubSpot partner and shareholder walks through the Contact Discovery controversy, the 652-day paper trail behind it, and what every HubSpot customer should do with their CRM data now.
July 8, 2026 · 8 min readThe cost of a vibe‑coded automation
A workflow generated in twenty minutes by a confident LLM and a marketer in a hurry will eventually meet a quarterly review. The cleanup is almost always more expensive than the original build would have been.
April 15, 2026 · 4 min readWhen to trust AI in your marketing ops, and when not to
There is no single right answer for whether to put AI inside a marketing operation. The right answer depends on whether the work is reversible, observable, and bounded.
March 25, 2026 · 5 min readWhat “AI‑native” actually means in a marketing ops stack
Most stacks calling themselves “AI‑native” are the same stacks they were eighteen months ago with a chat box bolted on. The label is doing more work than the architecture is.
March 11, 2026 · 4 min readThe audit we run before recommending any new tool
Before we recommend buying anything, we run the same short audit on what the team already owns. More often than not the new tool is not the answer, and the audit pays for itself before the renewal.
March 4, 2026 · 4 min readWhy your CRM is your real product
Whatever the company sells, the CRM is the system the company actually runs on. Treating it like a long‑lived product instead of a back‑office tool is the difference between a marketing operation that compounds and one that resets every two years.
February 18, 2026 · 5 min readBitly’s “Big Game” Email: A Play-by-Play Breakdown of Marketing Brilliance
This month, one great piece of marketing truly stood out. Shortly before the “big game,” I received an email from Bitly with a subject line that read: “Why we decided not to run a SB ad this year”…
February 13, 2025 · 5 min readDid I invent it, or did AI?
Did I invent it, or did AI? I love AI – plain and simple. It is a common practice for me to put ChatGPT into “Conversation” mode on my drives home from work. For those who don’t know, this mode…
May 22, 2024 · 2 min readHope: The Fuel that Drives the Buyer’s Journey
Hope: The Fuel that Drives the Buyer’s Journey In the data-driven, analytical world of B2B marketing, it is easy to overlook the fundamental emotional drivers that underpin decision-making processes.…
April 19, 2024 · 3 min readThe Broken Promise of Content Marketing
The Broken Promise of Content Marketing In the complicated world of digital marketing, content marketing has been hailed as the golden strategy to connect with customers and drive engagement. Praised…
April 18, 2024 · 4 min readThe personalized marketing automation methodology
A practical guide to building marketing automation that fits the customer you actually have, not the one your platform vendor wishes you had.
April 5, 2024 · 1 min readHow do you read a DMARC report?
What is DMARC for – why is this so complicated? DMARC tells mailbox providers (like Google and Yahoo) what you want them to do with messages that don’t pass authentication checks. Unless you’re me,…
February 21, 2024 · 5 min readAI and Human Ingenuity (Enhancing Creativity and Efficiency)
AI and Human Ingenuity (Enhancing Creativity and Efficiency) AI is revolutionizing human productivity, creativity, and efficiency. It streamlines tasks and generates new ideas; these tools offer…
January 26, 2024 · 4 min readWhat is DMARC and How Do I set It Up?
DMARC just stopped being a “Best Practice” Now it’s “Do it or else.” Download Now: Tactical MA DMARC Setup step-by-step guide. By February 2024, Google and Yahoo will be implementing strict email…
October 20, 2023 · 4 min readAct-On Tracking Beacon: Technical Audit
Act-On Tracking Beacon: Technical Audit Download a PDF of all the information in this article here. What exactly is the Act-On Beacon? What does it do? The Act-On Beacon is the primary retargeting…
September 3, 2020 · 3 min readDark Mode, A Dark Hole?
Dark Mode, A Dark Hole? *(data-ogsc) (data-ogsb) only partially works for Outlook.com If you are building emails, I am sure that you’re well versed in designing for various clients. I am also fairly…
August 24, 2020 · 3 min readThe Art of Process Analysis: Seeing is Not Believing
The Art of Process Analysis: Seeing is Not Believing “This is amazing. It’s so obvious now that you’ve pointed it out. We’ve been struggling with this for months, and now it just makes sense.” These…
August 12, 2020 · 5 min readCookies & Chrome: Google's Third-Party Restrictions
Cookies & Chrome: Google’s Third-Party Restrictions Google makes updates to Chrome’s policies on third-party cookies. What’s the Hype? Google has announced its intent to phase out support for…
March 2, 2020 · 1 min readOptimizing Lead Nurture: The Marriage of Automation, Segmentation, and Personalization
Optimizing Lead Nurture: The Marriage of Automation, Segmentation, and Personaliation Most marketers agree that segmenting audiences is an intuitive practice that yields undeniable results. Commonly…
February 28, 2020 · 4 min readYour Buttons Are Broken: How to Fix Default Act-On Buttons for Outlook
Your Buttons Are Broken: How to Fix Default Act-On Buttons for Outlook Email development can be one of the most frustrating parts of a marketer’s day-to-day life. Let me make it easier by solving one…
October 23, 2019 · 4 min read3 Keys to Align Marketing to Your Business
3 Keys to Align Marketing to Your Business It’s been 7 years since the Fournaise Group published a survey stating that “80% of CEOS admit they do not really trust and are not very impressed by the…
May 22, 2019 · 3 min read3 Act-On Automated Programs You Didn’t Know You Needed
3 Act-On Automated Programs You Didn’t Know You Needed From time to time I like to geek out on tactical marketing topics, and this is an uber-nerd topic relating to my favorite Marketing Automation…
May 1, 2019 · 4 min readChoosing the Right Charts for Your Custom Marketing Reporting
Choosing the Right Charts for Your Custom Marketing Reporting Data Visualization is the creative side of reporting. It’s the pretty charts and graphs that your colleagues “ooo” and “aww” over in team…
October 1, 2018 · 2 min read6 Simple (Yet Powerful) Everyday Marketing Tools
6 Simple (Yet Powerful) Everyday Marketing Tools Marketing as a field is made up of about 85 different disciplines all rolled up under one title. Other departments think of marketers as wizards…
September 28, 2018 · 3 min read3 Things Act-On Support Can’t Help With (But an Agency Can)
3 Things Act-On Support Can’t Help With (But an Agency Can) As a former Technical Solutions Engineer at Act-On, I loved how much our customers loved us. It was normal for a TSE to help 20 customers…
March 7, 2018 · 5 min readThe Top 3 Technical Problems I Saw as an Act-On TSE and How to Solve Them
The Top 3 Technical Problems I Saw as an Act-On TSE and How to Solve Them Before starting at Tactical, I worked as a Technical Solutions Engineer at Act-On. When I worked there, the TSEs were the…
February 12, 2018 · 6 min read
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