The Swell blog · Notes from the dock
Marketing talk that makes sense dockside.
No jargon, no fluff — just plain-spoken ideas for filling seats, booking charters, and getting found, written for the businesses of Alaska’s harbor towns.
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New Bits on the Dock.
Short reads on getting your business seen and booked — from someone who’s done it for the big leagues and now does it for the coast.
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Read the post →Big-company marketing on a corner-pub budget
The gap between what enterprise marketing can do and what a small business can afford has always been enormous. AI finally closes it.
Read the post →Your email list is the cheapest deckhand you’ll ever hire
Social media is rented land. An email list is something you actually own — and it quietly out-earns everything else.
Read the post →Sponsor, don’t advertise: why WalkTheDock runs on coupons
A banner ad shouts at a stranger. A real coupon welcomes a customer who's already at your dock. We built WalkTheDock on the second one.
Read the post →AI without the hype: 4 things it can actually do for a two-boat charter
Forget the buzzwords. Here's the practical, unglamorous work AI can take off a small-business owner's plate today.
Read the post →One photo day, a month of posts
You don't have time to post from the wheelhouse at 10pm. You don't have to. Batch it.
Read the post →Show up first when the ferry docks: local SEO for harbor towns
When a visitor searches 'things to do in [your town],' you want to be the first thing they see. Here's how.
Read the post →The five-star flywheel: more reviews without being annoying
In a town full of visitors, reviews are currency. Here's how to earn more of them without turning into that business.
Read the post →How to book out your shoulder season
July takes care of itself. Here's how to fill May and September — the months that decide whether it was a good year.
Read the post →Why we started Swell
Twenty-five years of enterprise marketing, one boat, and a decision to bring the whole toolbox home to the coast.
Read the post →Let’s catch the swell
Got a slow season you’d like to fix?
Tell us about your business and where it hurts. We’ll point out exactly where marketing can move the needle — no jargon, no pressure.