field notes · pov · how the work gets made
Notes from the studio. Sharpened on real work.
Essays, opinions, and post-mortems from running the four-phase loop. No SEO bait, no top-ten lists. Only the things we keep telling new clients on the first call — written down, so you can read them before that call.
Why launch isn't the finish line.
Most agencies treat the site like a deliverable and disappear at handover. The retainer is the part where numbers actually compound — and the only part most agencies skip. Here's what we do differently, and what compounded for elumico over four years.
Read the essayWhat a strategy doc actually contains.
Most strategy decks are 40-slide vibe docs. Ours is one page. Positioning, audience, KPI targets, channel mix, conversion architecture. Here's the structure, with redacted examples.
ReadWebflow or Next.js — which and why.
Two tools, two right-fits. Webflow when content frequency and editorial control matter. Next.js when the site is the product. The rule of thumb, in one paragraph.
Readelumico, year four: what compounded.
Four years on the retainer. 2× bookings in Q1 after launch, +47% organic traffic in year two. Here's exactly what we ran, what failed, and what kept compounding.
ReadA/B testing without a research team.
You don't need 100k visitors a month to test. Here's the lean methodology we use on accounts with 4k monthly visits — and the three tests that always run first.
ReadAnalytics before launch, not after.
Most teams wire analytics weeks after the site is live. That's how you lose your day-one data forever. Here's the lightweight setup we ship before the launch checklist starts.
ReadThe first retainer we ended early.
It wasn't a fit. We saw it in month two and pulled the cord in month four. What we got wrong in qualifying, what the exit looked like, and how it sharpened the qualifying questions.
ReadWhy we don't run paid ads (for most clients).
Ads work, but most B2B clients aren't ready for them. Here's the diagnostic we run before recommending paid traffic — and why content/SEO usually wins on payback period.
ReadMary: identity, then site, then channel.
A B2C wellness brand built in 12 weeks. The identity system shipped before the site, the site shipped before paid acquisition. Why the order matters.
ReadQuarterly KPI reviews that actually move things.
Most reviews are status meetings. Ours is one page, three numbers, and a hypothesis for what we'll test next. Template included.
Read