Who writes this
Sam Whitlock
Sam Whitlock is a pen name, and this page says so on purpose. The person writing under it is a digital marketer of fifteen years, based in Wollongong, Australia, who has spent most of that career on the buying side of software. The name is separated from his client-facing work so that no review here can be read as a favour to anyone he does business with.
Background
Fifteen years in digital marketing, working with trade and service businesses on web design, local search and paid campaigns. He holds a certificate in web design. Most of that career has been spent choosing software, paying for it, and living with the consequences, which is the perspective this site is written from.
That matters more than it sounds. Most software reviews are written by people who were given the product. These are written by someone who has been on the invoice.
Why this site exists
The specific frustration was renewal pricing. A tool advertises a low monthly rate, you commit, and the number that lands on the card in year two bears no relation to what convinced you. Almost no review covers it, because covering it requires reading terms rather than opening a box.
Plainly Reviewed is built around the parts of a buying decision that reward reading: what it costs when the discount expires, what people complain about once the novelty wears off, and whether the product is still being built at all.
How he works
Most reviews here are research-led, and those pages carry a badge saying so. Where a tool is one he genuinely runs his own business on, the page carries a different badge and says since when. He never blurs the two, and the distinction is enforced in the site build rather than left to editing. The full method is on the how we review page.
Contact
For corrections, corrections@plainlyreviewed.com. For anything else, hello@plainlyreviewed.com. Both reach him directly.
Common questions
Is Sam Whitlock a real person?
Yes, but it is a pen name rather than a legal name. The writer is a working digital marketer of fifteen years who keeps this site separate from his client-facing business. The experience described is real and consistent across every review here.
Why not use a real name?
He runs a marketing practice with its own clients, some of whom use, resell or compete with products covered here. Separating the two names means a verdict on this site is never quietly doing commercial work elsewhere.
Does he test the products he reviews?
Most of the time, no, and those pages carry a research-led badge. Where he does run a tool in his own business the page says so and says since when. He never claims use of a product he has not used.
Does he accept payment for positive reviews?
No. The site earns affiliate commission on some links, disclosed on every page, and commission never depends on the verdict.
Last reviewed September 2, 2026