Who called the client a f*ckwit?

Name the wrong competitor. Lose the sale.

The “small dinner” lie

You’re probably a DIRTbag

We do not dig this Reddit thread

Things that should stay inside your head

Nikita Morell

Nikita in Orange Dress Sitting over DIRT.png

Hi DIRTbag*,
You know when you have a flight, but it's not until the late afternoon, so for the entire day you don&rsquo;t want to start anything because you're like, "What if I accidentally forget to go to the airport in six hours?"
Hi from that extremely productive place!
I&rsquo;ve been in Melbourne the past couple of days checking out the venue for the UNBORING business conference for architecture firms I&rsquo;m co-creating called&nbsp;<a title="" href="https://www.archicon2026.com" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-160="true">Archicon</a>.
The conference has no black dress code which is making some architects deeply uncomfortable. Ha!
Anyways, I&rsquo;ve unearthed a lot of GOLD for you, so you get reading. And I&rsquo;ll keep pacing around my hotel room, checking the time.
Let's dig in!
(*DIRTbag = someone who is allergic to industry jargon.)
<hr>
<h2>Quick + DIRT-y</h2>
<ol>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://buildremy.com/submittal-horror-story/" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-386="true">What a SMART way to get prospective clients to engage with your brand.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://track3d.ai/" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-392="true">One of the best testimonial sliders we&rsquo;ve seen.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://freedaai.com/" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-401="true">Quickest way to say we&rsquo;re international&nbsp;without saying it.</a> (Hint: add a world map like these guys did.)</li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2>DIRT dissects</h2>
Future of what, bro?
"The future" is the most overused word in AEC tech. Everyone's the future of something.
Ditch the big, empty, abstract words and replace with specifics: the problem you solve, how you solve it and what gets faster, cheaper, easier or less risky as a result.
<img class="m_4963205880125195510adapt-img" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/09/04/c622477b-0a01-4419-8df7-937d81c0afb8.png" alt="" width="590" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-577="true">
<hr>
<h2>Small change. Big difference.</h2>
Kill the rotating headline.
You know those headlines that cycle through five different audiences, problems or promises (<a title="" href="https://www.kantiv.com/" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-738="true">like this one</a>) while you have a microsleep wait patiently...
Yeah, well they suck.
They make people work too hard to understand what you do.
Worse, they usually mean you haven&rsquo;t decided which audience, problem or promise matters most.
In other words: commitment issues. Positioning commitment issues, to be specific.
Pick ONE headline. Make it specific. Make it sit still.
(The only thing that should rotate is your office chair.)
<hr>
<h2>Fresh DIRT</h2>
BREAKING NEWS:
Hardline, a construction-tech startup has raised $2 million to build a "voice-first" app that records jobsite conversations and phone calls and turns them into project documentation.
DIRT investigated the implications.
<img class="m_4963205880125195510adapt-img" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/09/06/9e2f2bf8-cdd6-4310-bf5b-6ee0720cbdf7.png" alt="" width="520" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-906="true">
<hr>
<h2>DIRT-ified</h2>
The first headline describes the product (blah! boring!). The second headline puts a spotlight on the problem.
A painful truth is WAY more compelling than another AI-powered promise.
💥 Good messaging needs to make the problem you solve harder to ignore.
<img class="m_4963205880125195510adapt-img" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/09/04/f81c69b6-f4e3-4dc4-b3df-2b6b197045e8.png" alt="" width="590" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-1024="true">
<hr>
<h2>Across the ditch on LinkedIn</h2>
Latest issue of DIRT Teardown slings constructive mud at Trunk Tools.
<a title="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strong-positioning-turns-multiple-products-one-clear-story-morell-oecnc" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-1094="true">Check it out here.</a>
<img class="m_4963205880125195510adapt-img" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/09/04/a63b32a9-fc44-4cf5-a1bf-9c0def43f517.png" alt="" width="505" data-67b2f923-0a06-4812-9619-1b8e7df3584a-1101="true">
&nbsp;

Welcome to The DIRT Teardown.
A patch of internet dirt, where I dig through the positioning and messaging of AEC tech, construction and building material brands.
Every edition gets sorted into three piles:
THE GOOD. THE BAD. THE UNBURIED.
I&rsquo;m not here to sling mud. But I am here to pull apart websites, LinkedIn pages, demos and trade booths to see what&rsquo;s working and what's not.
The point is to give you ideas that you can steal...er... I mean borrow, mistakes worth avoiding and a sharper lens to see your own brand.
First onto the slab: <a class="ssfMxrFzDqGJQltVSDtOYRJsBErBHvwCZfW " tabindex="0" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/pinmy/" data-test-app-aware-link="">PinMy</a>
PinMy is a mobile field app for construction: drop a pin on a plan, leave a voice note or a photo, and the site's decisions stop vanishing into WhatsApp.
Pretty neat stuff.
<h2 class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-2">&nbsp;</h2>
<h2 id="ember159" class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-2">THE GOOD</h2>
<h3 id="ember160" class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-3">They named the real enemy</h3>
This is one of the clearest examples I've seen of a brand naming the REAL thing its buyer would use instead: WatsApp.
"Stop losing decisions in WhatsApp".
They position themselves against their competitive alternative in their headline.
A move like this takes guts.
Hint: Your REAL competitor is usually a habit, a spreadsheet, or in this case, a WatsApp thread. Put your name opposite that and you've done more positioning work in six words than most brands manage in a whole deck.
<h3 id="ember166" class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-3">Two CTA (Call to Action) Buttons</h3>
PinMy puts two calls to action side by side:
Try it free &amp; Book a 30-minute demo
So smart.
One buyer is ready to speak to sales and do a demo. Another would rather poke around the product without being hounded by sales emails. Both are legit buyers.
PinMy lets each choose their own level of commitment instead of herding everyone towards the same demo form.
<h3 id="ember172" class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-3">No empty words</h3>
&nbsp;
"Pin them on the plan"
&nbsp;
You know exactly what PinMy does in five words. FIVE! No over-explaining with technical terms.
I love a brand that just says the thing.
&nbsp;
"Voice-first, glove-friendly, tested on dusty sites, in cold weather, with one bar of signal."
&nbsp;
I can see the site. I can feel the cold hands. (When I say "see" I mean metaphorically, of course, in my own mind.)
But more importantly, it tackles the objection that kills plenty of field software before rollout: the crew won&rsquo;t use it.
<div class="reader-image-block reader-image-block--full-width">
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 "><img id="ember179" class="ivm-view-attr__img--centered reader-image-block__img evi-image lazy-image ember-view" src="https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D5612AQGWV_QCdAFVjg/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/B56Z.BrCuVGsAI-/0/1784586972497?e=1792627200&amp;v=beta&amp;t=oS3F_GGPdPPhJP9tXmISR0wS-JCeRW1vj47bn0CEX7o" alt="Article content" loading="lazy"></div>
</div>
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</figure>
</div>
<h2 class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-2">&nbsp;</h2>
<h2 id="ember180" class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-2">THE BAD</h2>
Speak to everyone, land on no one
Count the audiences PinMy refer to on their homepage. Actually, you're busy - I'll count for you. I counted seven: Site Supervisors, Architects, BIM Coordinators, Foremen, Snagging Managers, Project Managers, Telecom Teams.
The "get decisions out of WhatsApp" promise loses its edge the moment it has to stretch across nine different jobs. A message built for everyone fits no one in particular and "in particular" is exactly how buying decisions get made.
What they should do: pick the one person who feels the WhatsApp mess most (i.e. the site supervisor drowning in fourteen group chats) and write the homepage to them. The architect, the telecom crew, the snagging manager can each have their own page.
You want your messaging to resonate with ONE particular buyer... one message sprayed across all will land on no one.
The voice keeps changing 
On one page, PinMy sounds like a foreman leaning across the bar:
&nbsp;
Stop typing &ldquo;see attached.&rdquo; Pin it.
&nbsp;
Then the copy moves into the boardroom:
&nbsp;
The authoring layer. CDE integration. A structured record.
&nbsp;
By the Digital Twins page, the original voice has been replaced by:
&nbsp;
The capture layer. Ground-truth. A standardised, repeatable onboarding process.
&nbsp;
The technical language isn&rsquo;t wrong. A Digital Twins audience may understand every word.
But the problem is that it sounds like a different company wrote it.
PinMy&rsquo;s strongest, most compelling voice is plain, direct and no BS. Keep that voice everywhere. The technical pages can become more detailed without the brand putting on a blazer.
&nbsp;
<h2 id="ember196" class="ember-view reader-text-block__paragraph">THE UNBURIED</h2>
Voice is the X factor (and it's hiding in a list)
The subhead reads:
&nbsp;
Voice notes, photos, videos and text.
&nbsp;
Four capture types.
But photos, videos and text aren&rsquo;t the interesting bit. Every phone already does those.
Voice is where the dirt is.
A supervisor is standing on site with gloves on, hands full and a problem directly in front of them. They can tap once, say what happened and keep moving.
To be clear, WhatsApp can record voice notes. What it can&rsquo;t do is PIN that voice note to the exact spot on a plan, creating a record the whole team can find later.
THAT, my friend, is PinMy&rsquo;s X factor.
Right now, it&rsquo;s buried as item one in a list of four. When it should be leading the whole pitch.
Be honest, bro
I love how refreshingly honest PinMy are in their FAQ section. They openly tell you what it can't do: "Does PinMy replace PlanRadar or BIM 360? No." "Does it work offline? Not yet." "A pin isn't tied to a BIM element."
In a category where every tool swears it does everything, a brand that admits what it isn't is refreshing and builds trust. Plus, you believe the yeses more because you've seen the nos.
A good story
On the Digital Twins page they say, "Our team is Ukrainian, so we understand the reconstruction context directly."
That changes how I see the company.
This is a team building field-documentation software while its own country faces an enormous reconstruction effort. It gives the work weight, context and a human reason to care.
That story deserves a more prominent place in the company narrative.
Move it closer to the surface, but handle it with restraint. Ukraine&rsquo;s reconstruction is CONTEXT, not a hook.
<div class="reader-image-block reader-image-block--full-width">
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<div class="ivm-view-attr__img-wrapper
 
 "><img id="ember216" class="ivm-view-attr__img--centered reader-image-block__img evi-image lazy-image ember-view" src="https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D5612AQG2JIFu76c8hQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/B56Z.Br9CxIoAI-/0/1784587211375?e=1792627200&amp;v=beta&amp;t=g5wUsBHt-WTG7lOEiLUp96akkp19tgkX8x7l_7o-7fI" alt="Article content" loading="lazy"></div>
</div>
<figcaption class="reader-image-block__figure-image-caption display-block full-width text-body-small-open t-sans text-align-center t-black--light"></figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h2 class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-2">&nbsp;</h2>
<h2 id="ember217" class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-2">"BORROW" THIS BEFORE THEY NOTICE</h2>

<ul>
<li>Name the thing your buyer actually uses instead not the competitor YOU think they use. resent.</li>
<li>Build two front doors. A no-card "try it" for the self-server and a "book a demo" for the hand-holder. Let the reader pick their own commitment instead of shoving everyone through one door.</li>
<li>Your best sentence is often already written; it's just filed in the wrong place. Move it up.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h2 id="ember219" class="ember-view reader-text-block__heading-2">DIG RATING : 🪏🪏🪏🪏🪏🪏🪏 (7/10)</h2>
A brand that clearly names the perfect enemy in the category. Kept off an 8 by talking to seven audiences in three different voices. Lead with the X factor, narrow the who, make the brand voice consistent and you've got a 10!
To getting DIRT-y
&nbsp;
Nikita
P.S. If you liked this email, my newsletter (DIRT Dispatch) has more of the same. Except it's 23% funnier.

Hi DIRTbag*,
I&rsquo;ve got a milestone birthday coming up. Not 30. Not 50. The one in the middle.
When my husband, Kieran, asked what I wanted to do to celebrate, I said:
"Something small and casual. Maybe a nice dinner at home with you and the kids."
That was three months ago.
This "small and casual dinner" has now snowballed into an adults-only house party. With a DJ. And disco ball. And miniature beverage vessels (read: shot glasses).
Deep down, I always wanted a party, but &ldquo;small dinner&rdquo; sounded safer.
AEC tech founders do this too.
They say they want a &ldquo;simple rebrand&rdquo;.
To which I say&hellip;
Mate. You don&rsquo;t want a simple rebrand, you want people to take you seriously and so they understand why you&rsquo;re the obvious choice.
And that starts with clear positioning and solid messaging.
Let&rsquo;s&nbsp; <s data-031768b8-0207-466d-bf78-7f1b3ab15ecd-212="true">party</s> dig in.
(*DIRTbag = someone who is forward-thinking, slightly rebellious, and done with generic industry garbage.)
<hr>
<h2>Want a free audit of your AEC tech homepage?</h2>
On July 17th at 8am (AEST), I&rsquo;m teaming up with Niknaz Aftahi, Founder of aec+tech, for a live, hands-on session for AEC tech companies whose value is buried under vague headlines and feature lists.
We&rsquo;ll dig into how clearer positioning can make your product easier to understand.
As part of this session we&rsquo;re doing a LIVE review of THREE homepages.
And we&rsquo;re looking for volunteers.
<a title="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/events/7474482585088258048/" data-031768b8-0207-466d-bf78-7f1b3ab15ecd-481="true">SIGN UP FOR FREE HERE.</a>
If you want to throw your hat into the ring:
Hit reply - with your website URL + a one-sentence description of what your platform does.
<img class="m_-6819952745427883900adapt-img" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/06/28/2d06ec04-8140-465a-ad31-c042b7f27dff.jpeg" alt="" width="590" data-031768b8-0207-466d-bf78-7f1b3ab15ecd-502="true">
<hr>
<h2>Quick + dirty</h2>
<ol>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://www.aphex.co/customers" data-031768b8-0207-466d-bf78-7f1b3ab15ecd-604="true">We&rsquo;re obsessed with these customer stories. Proof. Subheadings. 10/10.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://piper-ai.com/" data-031768b8-0207-466d-bf78-7f1b3ab15ecd-608="true">This AEC tech tool understands the power of positioning.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://www.inspectmind.ai/" data-031768b8-0207-466d-bf78-7f1b3ab15ecd-612="true">A cracking benefit-focused website tagline.</a></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2>DIRT dissects</h2>
<img class="m_-6819952745427883900adapt-img" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/06/28/8f54b815-68d8-46b2-970d-dcd5db065c80.png" alt="" width="590" data-031768b8-0207-466d-bf78-7f1b3ab15ecd-759="true">
<hr>
<h2 data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1262="true">Tiny change. Big difference.</h2>
The "we" to "you" flip.
Stop centering your website messaging around your firm. Center it around your client.
"We automate your procurement process" &rarr; "Your team stops chasing purchase orders."
"We've completed over 200 builds across Australia" &rarr; "200 builds. Yours could be next."
"We are committed to safety on every site" &rarr; "Your crew goes home safe."
<hr>
<h2 data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1262="true">Overheard.</h2>
&hellip; AT FUTUREBUILD (SYDNEY) CONFERENCE
Attendee: "Do you offer BIM integration?" Sales rep: "Yes, absolutely. BIM is a huge part of what we do." Attendee: "Great. How does it work with your platform?" Sales rep: "So BIM - Building Information Management - basically allows you to..."
Ooof.
It&rsquo;s modelling bro. Not management.
This is not a dig at the sales rep. But rather, a dig at every company that sends people to conferences without a clear, consistent story to tell.
When your team can't agree on what your own acronyms stand for (LOL!) you've got a positioning problem.
DIRT exists for exactly this moment&hellip; before the conference.
We nail your positioning, distil it into a story that your whole team can carry and then make sure that when someone asks what you do, every person in your company says the same thing. Clearly. Correctly. Convincingly.

Hi DIRTbag*,
Two big, scary things I did this week:
<ol data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-160="true">
<li data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-162="true">
Hit publish on the DIRT website. Half expected confetti to fall from the sky or at least the internet to freeze up for a few seconds. Neither happened. But I did get a flood of generous connections and supportive messages.
</li>
<li data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-170="true">
Restarted my soccer career after a 20-year hiatus. I say &ldquo;career&rdquo; loosely. My &ldquo;career&rdquo; stats: Seven seasons. Zero goals. If you&rsquo;re thinking that I played in defence. You are wrong.
</li>
</ol>
Funny how in sport and business&hellip; you can do a lot of work and still not get on the scoreboard. It's easy to overthink or put off taking action. Might be time to look at your own positioning and messaging game?!&hellip; or not. Your move.
Let&rsquo;s dig in.
(*DIRTbag = someone who is forward-thinking, slightly rebellious, and done with generic industry garbage.)
<hr>
<h2>Quick + DIRT-y</h2>
<ol>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://skrap.co.uk/home" data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-384="true">A masterclass in the art of scrolling.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://www.planradar.com/au/" data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-388="true">An above-the-fold demo that feels oddly calming.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://www.bechtel.com/" data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-392="true">This is how you&nbsp;show scale without saying &ldquo;global leader&rdquo; 14 times.</a></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2>Rolling around in the DIRT</h2>
We gave CORE a personality facelift. They used to sound like every other facade management company.Now they don&rsquo;t.
We dug in, got clear on their positioning, and pulled apart how they were explaining themselves. Then rewrote it so it sounds like them.
We then built a bright, bold website to match. Very playful with cute illustrations. Still professional. Just a lot harder to ignore.
<a title="" href="https://www.corefdm.com.au/" data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-567="true">&nbsp;Check it out here.</a>
<hr>
<h2>Caption this</h2>
<img class="m_3867570285026117284adapt-img" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/04/24/b3603af7-544f-4eea-af9c-6fa59de64c41.png" alt="" width="590" data-f9b8d531-50cd-43ca-8c14-5b03d4a43097-711="true">
MARKETING MANAGER ADVISED TO WEAR HARD HAT BEFORE TELLING CEO THE WEBSITE NEEDS A FULL REBUILD.
<a title="" href="mailto:hello@thedirtagency.com" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-780="true">Hit &lsquo;reply&rsquo; with your best caption</a> for your chance at a MYSTERY PRIZE (Hint: It&rsquo;s dirty!).
<hr>
<h2>A word we should retire</h2>
&gt;&gt; Implement
What we should say instead&hellip;
&gt;&gt; Do
Shorter word. Faster buy-in.
<hr>
<h2 data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1262="true">Tiny change. Big difference.</h2>
On your website, swap &ldquo;clients&rdquo; or "customers" for &ldquo;you.&rdquo;
It pulls your ideal clients in. Makes it feel like you&rsquo;re talking directly to them, not about them.&nbsp;

Hi DIRTbag*,
Apparently networking IRL is back.
(Technically, it never left. Don&rsquo;t pretend you didn&rsquo;t feel relieved when &ldquo;industry mixers&rdquo; were illegal back in 2020!)
This week I was invited to OpenAsset&rsquo;s Happy Hour.
If I&rsquo;m being honest, I didn&rsquo;t want to go. Not because of OpenAsset. They&rsquo;re lovely. But because finding a babysitter willing to take on four kids under eight is tricky.
Also: the small talk.
Pretending to care about someone&rsquo;s &ldquo;exciting growth trajectory&rdquo; and repeating my name; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Nikita with an &lsquo;N&rsquo; not Makita like the power tool&rdquo;.
I expected to hate it. But, annoyingly, I had fun.
I know. Disgusting.
I met some really cool people and learnt a lot about what&rsquo;s changing in the AEC industry and how hard it is to explain what you do in one normal, non-cringey sentence while holding a drink.
Which is exactly where DIRT comes in: sharper positioning for construction and AEC software brands.
Onward!
(*DIRTbag = someone who is forward-thinking, slightly rebellious, and done with generic industry garbage.)
<hr>
<h2>Quick + DIRT-y</h2>
<ol>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://visibuild.com/" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-403="true">A great example of brand voice.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://geopogo.com" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-408="true">Specificity is the golden rule of copywriting. This company nails it</a>.</li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);"><a title="" href="https://www.adcoconstruct.com.au/who-we-are/?section_id=do-it-once-do-it-right" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-413="true">Name your approach and suddenly you OWN it.</a></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2>We've been diggin'</h2>
This week we went full archaeologist and unearthed this thread from the depths of the Reddit.
<img class="m_8327825602769175967adapt-img" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/05/15/a7946ad2-7229-470a-8e2f-b78363480db1.png" alt="" width="590" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-567="true">
We don&rsquo;t dig it.
The argument was basically: &ldquo;Your work should speak for itself. If you&rsquo;re good, word of mouth will do the rest.&rdquo;
Hmmm&hellip; this is risky af.
Word of mouth is not a strategy.
It means your pipeline lives entirely inside someone else's head and whether they mention your name at a BBQ.
It&rsquo;s completely out of your hands. You're not positioning yourself, you're being positioned by whoever happens to be talking about you that week. And also, you have NO idea what they're saying about you.
Eeek.
<hr>
<h2>Caption this</h2>
<img class="m_8327825602769175967adapt-img" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/05/15/130925de-58a5-4eca-ab58-05855422bf82.png" alt="" width="590" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-762="true">
AEC SOFTWARE FOUNDER CELEBRATES AFTER PROSPECT DESCRIBES PRODUCT BACK TO THEM WITH 40% ACCURACY.
<a title="" href="mailto:hello@thedirtagency.com" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-780="true">Hit &lsquo;reply&rsquo; with your best caption</a> for your chance at a MYSTERY PRIZE (Hint: It&rsquo;s dirty!).
<hr>
<h2>Good humans we dig</h2>
Three bloody generous humans:
<a title="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhraganparamanantham/" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-934="true">Bhragan Paramanantham</a> Follow Bhragan if you want ConTech roundup: tech news that you can understand without Googling 14 acronyms and pretending you know what "interoperability&rdquo; means.
<a title="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-cor/" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-945="true">Jonathon Cor</a> Jonathan is the guy to follow if your construction company&rsquo;s LinkedIn presence currently has the audience engagement of a soggy site notice.
&nbsp;
<a title="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisterlewis/?originalSubdomain=uk" data-57f8972d-d22c-4005-ba75-aa67f5b7c9fa-956="true">Allister Lewis</a> In my opinion, Allister is the GOAT of helping AEC teams figure out which tech is worth their time and money. From AEC Tech Jobs to his AEC tech takes, Allister sorts the gold from the sludge.
<hr>
<h2 data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1262="true">Tiny change. Big difference.</h2>
Get specific.
Example 1:
"Unwavering commitment to quality."
Becomes&hellip;
"We've had three defect disputes in 30 years. All three were resolved before practical completion."
Example 2:
"Replaces your existing tools."&nbsp;
Becomes&hellip;
&nbsp;"Finally retire the Excel spreadsheet nobody built and everyone is too scared to touch."
Your competitors are all saying the same VAGUE thing. Get specific and suddenly your message gets out of the mud.
HOMEWORK: Pull one line from your website right now. Make it specific. It'll feel uncomfortable. That&rsquo;s a good sign.

Hi DIRTbag*,
I had a boring conversation with my barista this morning.
I say "boring" because rattling off your Garmin data does not constitute good conversation.
(Neither does recounting a dream you had, explaining a TV series I haven&rsquo;t watched, or telling me how tired you are.)
Anyways, I got my oat capp and he got to talk about his resting heart rate.
But somewhere between the milk frother and his Zone 2 training plan, I realised this is how a lot of AEC tech and construction brands sound.
Technically saying things. But not really saying anything anyone else cares about.
Great messaging is not about telling people everything you know. Instead, you need to make them care.
But enough about me.
How are you? Enjoying the winter chill? (Northern Hemisphere-ers, don't be smug). How&rsquo;s your recovery window? Your resting heart rate? Your VO2 max? (HA! I&rsquo;ll stop now.)
Onward.
(*DIRTbag - I say this with love. There is a great need for sarcasm font.)
<hr>
<h2>Quick + DIRT-y</h2>
<ol>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);" data-8f0998ce-3344-4bdd-8835-3c1c2aba45e0-414="true"><a style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);" title="" href="https://nikitamorell.acemlna.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GE3IXOdEK_6_NHKUumeAKIikAPxv-0yZ8c5Vaac5Hz9yEy7xONt1Hyo-RVfjDZo2nfKKYGb5HNA2NEYV.Bx10" data-8f0998ce-3344-4bdd-8835-3c1c2aba45e0-415="true">A headline with zero wasted words.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);" data-8f0998ce-3344-4bdd-8835-3c1c2aba45e0-418="true"><a style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);" title="" href="https://nikitamorell.acemlna.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GE3IXOdEK_6_NHKUumeAKIikAPxv-0yZ8c5Vaac5Hz9yEy7xONt1Hyo-RVfjDZo2nfKKYGb5HNA2NEYV.Bx2U" data-8f0998ce-3344-4bdd-8835-3c1c2aba45e0-419="true">A nice example of segment-specific messaging.</a></li>
<li style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);" data-8f0998ce-3344-4bdd-8835-3c1c2aba45e0-418="true"><a style="color: rgb(254, 92, 2);" title="" href="https://nikitamorell.acemlna.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GE3IXOdEK_6_NHKUumeAKIikAPxv-0yZ8c5Vaac5Hz9yEy7xONt1Hyo-RVfjDZo2nfKKYGb5HNA2NEYV.Bx2E" data-8f0998ce-3344-4bdd-8835-3c1c2aba45e0-423="true">Don&rsquo;t judge a construction firm by their brand. Unless of course it&rsquo;s this one.</a></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2>DIRT dissects</h2>
<img class="m_-2561071409816329120adapt-img" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/06/07/7ce549b7-3933-4a0a-ad7a-9602d0be9392.png" alt="" width="445" data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-571="true">
Your buyer should never have to ask:
&ldquo;But&hellip; what are you actually selling?&rdquo;
↳ Replace vague statements with specific claims.
The more specific your message, the faster your buyer gets it.
And &ldquo;getting it&rdquo; is the first step towards buying it.
++++++
VAGUE: The analytics platform to optimise your firm.
SPECIFIC: Know exactly which projects are bleeding margin before it costs you. &uarr; Now, THAT's a headline with a shovel in its hand. It leads with a clear, SPECIFIC benefit.
<hr>
<h2>Tiny change. Big difference.</h2>
"Construction management software" puts you on a shelf next to 40 other tools with the same tagline, the same screenshot, and the same promise to "centralise your workflows."
My favourite formula for writing &ldquo;features &amp; benefits&rdquo;:
1/ Write down the feature.
2/ Ask, &ldquo;so what?&rdquo; to find the benefit.
3/ Contrast the old way with your new way - the old way is what your client is stuck doing now. The new way is what changes after they use your product/services.
Example:
1/ Automated progress reports that pull together site photos, notes and updates.
2/ So what? You stop losing your weekend to admin and still send clients a clear, polished update on what&rsquo;s happening on site.
3/ Old way vs new way: "The report that writes itself while you watch the footy*" [*insert activity that resonates with your ideal client here]
<hr>
<h2>What the brief probably said.</h2>
Clutch hard hat. Look pensively into the distance. Give me a distant stare that says, &ldquo;our software may be excellent, but our headline could belong to literally any construction tech company.&rdquo;
<img class="m_-2561071409816329120adapt-img" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/06/07/5651cd0b-534a-49f2-8d02-46a2b5d3cf17.png" alt="" width="590" data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-987="true">
<hr>
<h2 data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1262="true">Sent from the DIRT.</h2>
<img class="m_-2561071409816329120adapt-img" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://nikitamorell.activehosted.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,width=650,dpr=2,format=auto,onerror=redirect/content/wRx7Q/2026/06/09/4c8ebae3-2574-47b6-ae63-8aa5c5ea35b7.png" alt="" width="535" data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1129="true">
<hr>
<h2 data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1262="true">Boots on the ground.</h2>
<a title="" href="https://nikitamorell.acemlna.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GE3IXOdEK_6_NHKUumeAKIikAPxv-0yZ8c5Vaac5Hz9yEy7xONt1Hyo-RVfjDZo2nfKKYGb5HNA2NEYV.By1E" data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1271="true">Futurebuild Sydney</a> - I am MC&rsquo;ing and presenting &lsquo;Win Work with Words&rsquo; this Saturday 13th June at 2pm. Will you be there? Say hello.
<a title="" href="https://nikitamorell.acemlna.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GE3IXOdEK_6_NHKUumeAKIikAPxv-0yZ8c5Vaac5Hz9yEy7xONt1Hyo-RVfjDZo2nfKKYGb5HNA2NEYV.Bx20" data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1279="true">Arcol</a> are coming to Sydney - I&rsquo;ll be there too. Register now.
<a title="" href="https://nikitamorell.acemlna.com/lt.php?x=4lZy~GE3IXOdEK_6_NHKUumeAKIikAPxv-0yZ8c5Vaac5Hz9yEy7xONt1Hyo-RVfjDZo2nfKKYGb5HNA2NEYV.Bx3E" data-244518a5-e4ed-4064-b09c-5edcc7e34294-1289="true">Archicon</a> - I&rsquo;m co-creating the only UNBORING business conference for architects. Want to get your brand in front of 250+ architecture firm owners &amp; decision -makers?

A very strong and catchy nikita-esque title