The Overthinker's Guide to Modern Marketing

Modern marketing has more data than ever before. We can track clicks, conversions, engagement, user journeys, attribution models and enough metrics to fill an entire dashboard. So why does marketing still feel suspiciously like guesswork? In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, Sean Makin explores the uncomfortable gap between data and certainty. From analytics dashboards a...

In Episode 11 of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, Sean Makin explores one of the biggest challenges in modern digital marketing: why businesses can attract thousands of website visitors and still struggle to generate leads, enquiries, or sales. This episode breaks down the critical difference between website traffic and conversion-focused marketing, explaining why clicks alone are not...

Innovation isn’t always loud, disruptive, or wrapped in Silicon Valley buzzwords. Sometimes, it’s hidden in overlooked feedback, awkward conversations, or the idea someone almost didn’t share in a meeting. In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, host Sean Makin explores the real meaning of innovation in modern business and marketing. From company culture and customer feedba...

Content Is Still King Or: Why Everyone Is Creating Content, Yet So Little of It Feels Like Anything In a world where everyone is publishing, posting, filming, and sharing, why does so little content actually stick? In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, Sean Makin explores the paradox of modern content: more of it than ever before… and yet less of it that truly resonates....

In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, Sean Makin takes a gently sceptical look at one of modern business’s favourite obsessions: personal branding. “You are not a brand,” he begins, and from there, unpacks how we somehow went from being perfectly functional humans to carefully optimised profiles, complete with polished headlines, scheduled authenticity, and just enough ja...

In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, Sean Makin unpacks a deceptively simple idea: a brand isn’t what people see - it’s what they experience. Moving beyond logos and visual identity, this episode explores how real brands are built from the inside out, shaped by culture, everyday conversations, and the language people use within an organisation. From the quirks of office...

In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, Sean Makin explores a question many marketers are quietly asking: “what exactly is the role of a marketer in the age of artificial intelligence?”. While AI is rapidly transforming marketing by analysing data, automating campaigns, and eliminating much of the spreadsheet-heavy busywork, it hasn’t replaced marketers. Instead, it’s resha...

Why do customers ignore perfectly logical arguments… and buy from the brand that simply “feels right”? In this episode, Sean Makin explores the delicate dance between warmth and competence, the two silent questions every customer is asking: Do I like you? Can I trust you? From chatbot purgatory and cheerful stock-photo nonsense to the quiet power of reliability (think good plumbing, but for brandi...

Why do we trust five-star reviews from strangers, panic-buy when there are “only two left,” and somehow end up emotionally attached to things we never meant to purchase in the first place? In Episode 4, Sean Makin wanders into the delightfully illogical world of behavioural economics, exploring why humans aren’t rational consumers at all — but predictably irrational ones. From mental shortcuts and...

In this episode, Sean Makin ventures into the influencer economy. A place where authenticity is priceless, exposure is not a currency, and everyone insists they’re “data-led” while quietly trusting a hunch. We explore: Why influencer recommendations feel more powerful than traditional ads The difference between influencers and true brand ambassadors Why reach is overrated and engagement actually m...

A Mostly Harmless Guide to Doing the Impossible (Poorly at First) Starting a business is ridiculous. In Episode 2 of The Overthinker’s Guide To Modern Marketing, Sean Makin dives into the messy, absurd, and oddly magnificent reality of building a business and a brand in the modern world. From the unglamorous power of consistency to the necessity of resilience, obsession, weirdness, and simplicity,...

The Thin Line Between Marketing and Propaganda or: How to Sell Socks Without Overthrowing a Small Democracy. In this opening episode, Sean Makin explores an uncomfortable truth: marketing and propaganda are essentially the same thing, except one has better fonts and fewer revolutions. We dig into: • Intent: persuasion vs recruitment • Emotion: joy, fear, rage, and nostalgia for a past that never e...