Stock & Fable
The Journal

Marketing advice, minus the jargon

What we are seeing work for growing businesses across the UK right now, written so you can actually use it. Pick a topic or browse the lot.

Pricing · 12 July 2026

How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide)

Real prices for DIY builders, freelancers and agencies, what drives a quote up, and the traps that make a cheap site expensive.

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Strategy · 9 July 2026

Marketing Manager or Marketing Agency? The £55,000 Question

The true cost of a hire versus a retainer, where each genuinely wins, and the hybrid setup most growing businesses land on.

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SEO · 7 July 2026

Local SEO in Cardiff: How South Wales Businesses Get Found in 2026

What decides the map pack, a review system that compounds, and the local advantages most firms leave on the table.

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Strategy · 4 July 2026

How to Choose a Marketing Agency: 10 Questions That Reveal Everything

The questions that are hard to answer with polish, the answers you should hear, and the red flags that predict a bad year.

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How to · 2 July 2026

How to Write a Small Business Marketing Plan (Without an MBA)

One number to move, three channels done properly, a 90 day calendar and the half-hour monthly review that keeps it honest.

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Pricing · 1 July 2026

How Much Does a Marketing Agency Cost in Wales? (2026 Pricing Guide)

Real numbers on what UK agencies charge, how a retainer compares with hiring in house, and the red flags in a cheap retainer.

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Marketing update · 30 June 2026

UK Marketing in 2026: Five Shifts Small Businesses Should Actually Act On

AI answers, short form video, the email comeback, pricier ads and the trust economy, with one concrete action for each.

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How to · 27 June 2026

Email Marketing for Small Businesses: How to Build a List That Actually Sells

Growing a list without being annoying, what to send, the UK consent rules and the numbers that actually pay the bills.

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How to · 25 June 2026

How to Brand a Small Business on a Budget (and What Not to Skimp On)

The four assets every brand needs, where cheap is fine, where it quietly costs you and the honest triggers for hiring help.

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SEO · 24 June 2026

Google AI Overviews: Why Your Website Traffic Dropped and What To Do About It

How to check if AI Overviews have hit your site, why local businesses are partly insulated and where to move your budget.

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How to · 22 June 2026

How to Get More Google Reviews (Without Begging or Breaking the Rules)

A simple ask-at-the-right-moment system, exact scripts, replying well and the rules that get profiles suspended.

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Paid ads · 18 June 2026

Facebook Ads or Google Ads? How UK Small Businesses Should Choose in 2026

Demand capture versus demand creation, honest UK costs, and the blend most small businesses end up with.

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Paid ads · 12 June 2026

Google Ads Keeps Getting More Expensive. Here Is How Small Businesses Still Win in 2026

Where small businesses burn ad budget, when DIY stops making sense and the blended strategy that still pays.

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How to · 8 June 2026

Why Is Your Website Not Getting Enquiries? Nine Fixable Reasons

A nine point diagnostic for sites that look fine but stay silent, and the 20 minute audit that finds the leak.

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Social media · 5 June 2026

30 Social Media Content Ideas Your Business Can Steal

Thirty proven post ideas in five groups, plus the batching routine that makes a month of content take an afternoon.

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AI · 29 May 2026

AI Marketing for Small Businesses: What to Automate and What Still Needs a Human

What AI genuinely does well, the generic content trap to avoid, and a sensible starter stack under £100 a month.

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Pricing · 22 May 2026

How Much Should a UK Small Business Spend on Marketing?

The 5 to 10 percent benchmark explained, the customer-value method that beats it, and where budgets actually leak.

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Social media · 15 May 2026

Social Media for Local Businesses in 2026: Short Form Video, WhatsApp and Why Email Is Back

Where attention has gone in 2026 and how to win it with a 60 second video series and an email list you own.

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Strategy · 8 May 2026

What Is a Marketing Retainer? (And How to Tell a Good One from a Bad One)

What a retainer includes, how pricing works, and the contract terms that separate good from bad.

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