Resources & Insights

Our Blog

Marketing tips, business insights, and community stories from the Oak Island AI team.

We Built 13 Free Tools for Small Business Owners. Here's What's Inside.

July 10, 2026

·Product

We Built 13 Free Tools for Small Business Owners. Here's What's Inside.

We got tired of ad-cluttered tools that make you sign up for things you don't need. So we built 13 free browser-based tools for small business owners. No ads, no account, no strings.

State of AI for Small Business: June 2026

June 19, 2026

·AI

State of AI for Small Business: June 2026

Every month we round up the AI developments that actually matter for small business owners. This month: Claude for Small Business, the Claude Design update, Salesforce Agentforce, ChatGPT in your spreadsheets, and the numbers worth knowing.

The Difference Between Retail Reporting and Retail Intelligence

May 27, 2026

·Product

The Difference Between Retail Reporting and Retail Intelligence

Most retail CRM platforms tell you what already happened, not what to do about it. Here's what real retail CRM intelligence looks like for small and mid-sized multi-location operators.

May 20, 2026

·Product

Introducing Coast Analytics

The predictive analytics platform we built for multi-property hospitality operators who got tired of waiting for what's next.

We Built an AI Receptionist for Small Businesses. Here is Why.

May 3, 2026

·AI Tools

We Built an AI Receptionist for Small Businesses. Here is Why.

Oak Island AI built Hahny, an AI receptionist that answers texts, calls, and emails for small businesses and books appointments automatically. Here is how it works.

What a Fractional CMO Actually Does (And Why Small Businesses Need One)

March 4, 2026

·Marketing Strategy

What a Fractional CMO Actually Does (And Why Small Businesses Need One)

Most small businesses can't afford a full-time Chief Marketing Officer. A fractional CMO gives you the same strategic leadership at a fraction of the cost. Here's what that actually looks like in practice.

February 10, 2026

·Marketing Strategy

Why Your Marketing Strategy Should Come Before Your Marketing Budget

Most small businesses set a marketing budget before they have a strategy. Here's why that's backwards, and what to do instead.

Edward Bernays, Propaganda, and the Hidden Architecture of Consumer Desire

August 11, 2025

·Marketing Strategy

Edward Bernays, Propaganda, and the Hidden Architecture of Consumer Desire

Long before 'content marketing' was a phrase anyone used, Edward Bernays was engineering mass consumer behavior by appealing to unconscious desires rather than rational self-interest. Understanding his methods — ethically — is essential for any marketer today.

The 7 Most Common Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make (And How to Fix Them)

May 8, 2025

·Marketing Strategy

The 7 Most Common Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make (And How to Fix Them)

Most small business marketing struggles aren't about effort — they're about these seven specific, fixable mistakes. Recognize them early and you can save yourself years of wasted budget and missed growth.