Blog
Ideas worth stealing.
Thinking on creative work, AI, and the swipe file method.
Creative Work
How to Build a Marketing Swipe File in 2026
What to capture, how to organize it, and how to use it — including how to connect it to your AI tools so your swipe file actually improves your output.
AI Writing
How to Write a Prompt That Actually Sounds Like Your Brand
Adjective-based brand voice prompts produce copy that matches the description without capturing what makes your voice specific. Here's a structure that works better.
AI Writing
How Do You Give AI Your Brand Voice? (5 Methods, Ranked)
From adjective descriptions to persistent context: five approaches to brand voice in AI writing, ranked by how well they actually work.
AI Writing
How to Give Claude Your Brand Voice (Using a Swipe File Instead of a System Prompt)
Describing your brand voice in a system prompt produces output that follows the description without sounding like you. Here's why examples work better than instructions.
Creative Work
James Webb Young's 1939 Creative Technique Is the Missing Piece in Your AI Workflow
In A Technique for Producing Ideas, Young argued that every new idea is a new combination of existing elements. He was also, without knowing it, describing exactly what AI needs to produce work worth reading.
AI Writing
Why AI Copy Sounds Generic (It's Not a Prompt Problem)
You've tried longer prompts, more specific instructions, better examples. The output is still fine and still forgettable. The problem isn't the prompt — it's the raw material.
Creative Work
What Is a Swipe File (And Why Every Marketer Using AI Needs One)
A swipe file is a collection of things worth keeping — headlines, copy, campaigns, anything that made you stop. The practice is older than digital marketing. It's more useful now than it's ever been.