BETWEEN USFRESH OFF THE DESK
Between Us, Most Retainers Are Rent
Between us, a lot of monthly fees buy a standing meeting, not standing work. Here’s how to tell which one you’re paying for.
NELSON ANSAH · JUL 22, 2026 · 4 MIN READ
THE TOG BLOG · WRITTEN BY HANDESSAYS, TEARDOWNS & FULL REPORTS · PUBLISHED WHEN IT’S WORTH YOUR TIME
Content, marketing, and all the icky bits between.
Everything here is written by the two of us, by hand, about work we’ve done. The newsletter is a different beast: everything we’re learning as we build this agency, sent while it’s still warm.
What AI Search Cites (We Checked 200 Answers)
We asked ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode the questions your buyers ask, then traced every citation. The pattern is uncomfortable for most content teams.
Did You Notice What Stripe Hides in Its 404 Page?
A dead end most teams ignore, turned into the most charming page on the site. We break down why it works and what everyone else leaves on the table.
Good Writing Was Always This Much Work
AI didn’t change the rules. It just made it impossible to pretend we were following them.
AI Didn’t Kill Good Writing Because There Wasn’t Much to Kill
AI made it really obvious how much of our “content marketing” was already a zombie shambling around, moaning “10 tips... must... rank...”
The Unsexy SEO Fixes That Paid for Themselves in a Quarter
No hacks, no schemes. Internal links, titles rewritten for the click, and pruning the pages nobody asked for. The boring stuff, ranked by payback.
Write for the Person Who Signs, and the One Who Doesn’t
Your champion forwards the post. Their CFO reads two paragraphs. Both need to find what they came for.
What We Do When a Client Hires Us
A peek into those first 30 days here at The Other Guys. And a breakdown of our favorite client onboarding question.
It’s January. Please Don’t Publish Anything Yet.
Give this a read. It’ll make your January(s) so much better.
The Content Cyborg + AI Musings
You tried going full human. Then you tried going full robot. Here’s the one thing left that truly wins content for your biz.
AEO Is Just SEO With Better Manners
Answer engines reward the things good editors always did. Clear claims, named sources, actual expertise. The checklist is shorter than the acronym suggests.
The Other Way: Our Content Strategy
Six months ago, Tim and I made a bet that would either validate everything we believed about content marketing or prove us spectacularly wrong.
Between Us, Here’s the Case Against The Other Guys
We’re going to make a strong case for why you shouldn’t hire us.
The One Content Marketing Tweak That Can Drive 1,000+ Users (By Breaking a Sacred Rule)
Most content advice tells you to “write for your audience.” Here’s why that mindset quietly kills pipeline, and how writing for buyers instead can turn a single blog post into a revenue-generating asset.
Why The &#!$ Are We Here?
Up until a week ago, we weren’t an agency. Nine sprint sessions and sleepless nights later, we launched The Other Guys.
Or start with a pillar.
SIX FOLDERS. NO WADDLING THROUGH THE ARCHIVE.PILLAR 01
SEO
Technical fixes, on-page work, and the fundamentals that still drive organic traffic.
PILLAR 02AI Search
How brands show up when a machine does the recommending.
PILLAR 03Content Marketing
Strategy, distribution, and an owned audience that turns writing into pipeline.
PILLAR 04The Craft
Writing, voice, and editing. Good enough that people and machines want to cite it.
PILLAR 05Did You Notice
Small, clever, overlooked details on real websites, noticed out loud.
PILLAR 06Between Us
Candid, opinionated musings on the industry. Every piece opens the same way.
We’re building this agency in public.
The newsletter is what we’re learning as we go. Wins, faceplants, receipts.