coming from the research side, I always see the same bottleneck, when the time a product is ready, you have ingredient specs, brand story, sensory notes, functional benefits, maybe also tester feedback... 10+ things you could say.

then it hits the pack, the PDP, or the first ad creative, and you realistically get one headline and maybe two callouts before it turns into wall of text.

I expect to learn , for those who dont' have a huge brand team, how you make the cut? Is it gut feel, copying what works in category, running cheap meta tests first, or something else?

and what's a claim you guys you thought would be the hero that ended up falling flat?

How much confidence do marketers actually have in last-click reporting these days?

A customer can see a creator, search for the brand, read reviews, click an email and eventually make a purchase. Yet the final click can still get most of the credit.

I just need maybe a different perspective or something.
I’ve had my brand since 2019, when I was a junior in high school. I’ve been building ever since. Hell, I even trademarked my brand. Year after year, I can genuinely see the improvements in my clothing.

In the beginning, I was making pretty decent sales, mostly from family, friends, and people I knew. But now it’s like I’ve reached a point where the same people are seeing everything I drop. They’ve already supported me before, and I don’t expect them to keep buying every time.

I’ll drop something, see people looking at it through my analytics, but can’t even get one sale lol. Man, it’s discouraging.

My brand has a niche. It’s not necessarily a Christian brand, but I believe every brand reflects the person behind it. I’ve genuinely built an identity and message around mine.

I think my biggest problem is that I don’t have an audience outside of the people who already know me, and honestly, I don’t know how to build one.

For anybody who’s been in this position, how did y’all break out of that same circle and start reaching new people? I’m genuinely looking for different perspectives.

I’m in my mid-20s and still building my career. So far, all of my managers have been completely incompetent but experienced, and that experience is the only reason they were managing me. I find it frustrating that years of experience = seniority. People seem to stay in positions of power without having to develop themselves or at least build fresh skills.

I recently got out of a growth-adjacent role, where I built effective systems, owned the strategy, learned automation in a matter of months, and reached record KPIs. But the team still pushed me towards primitive tasks like graphic design, social media, and “going viral”, which made me quit my job.

I got into the industry thinking it would require complex skills or high-level expertise, but I’ve realized the bar is quite low. Most people don’t even know what they’re doing.

Nevertheless, I want to prove myself. I tried posting thought leadership content on LinkedIn, however, it seems like my posts come off as too complex. I find it hard to be light or silly.

I tried aiming for complex roles - but again, it’s all about years of experience… Is there any way to fast-track growth, learn some valuable complex skills, and reach a more advanced level? Should I get into data science perhaps, or get a master’s degree in strategy?

I’m trying to figure out the best way to run LinkedIn outreach for a client.

The client is based in the US, and I’m not able to use his LinkedIn credentials because his account was flagged in the past. He doesn’t want to risk another login or give access to someone else.

The problem is I still need to handle the actual outreach:

1. Send connection requests
2. Message people who connect
3. Reply when they respond
4. Keep the conversation moving

Is there a tool that lets me do this without needing to log into the client’s LinkedIn account directly?

My budget is roughly $40–$50/month, so I’m looking for something affordable rather than one of those expensive sales platforms.

If you’ve solved this for a client before, what setup or tool did you use?

When people on this sub seem optimistic or at least not as pessimistic about AI takeover it sounds like ‘100% of the scientists at Crest recommend Crest!’

Of course people within the industry will have 100 reasons why they’re irreplaceable but the truth is: leadership doesn’t care.

Lots of leaderships want to keep overhead as low as possible. They’d rather invest the money into something more directly.

I think it’s just a matter of time. I want to know where to pivot in. I’m at a loss. I’m not sales driven, not financially literate or great at the corp game.

Should I just go into construction??

Hey everyone,

I’m a 19-year-old male from India who recently learned digital marketing. I have some basic knowledge of digital marketing, but I haven’t worked with any clients yet.

I want to target the US market, and I’m looking for advice from people who have experience in digital marketing and understand its potential in the United States.

Here are a few questions I’d love your help with:

1. Which cities should I target? As a beginner, which US cities would be best for finding potential clients?

2. Which businesses should I target? What types of businesses in the US have a strong need for digital marketing services?

3. How should I find clients? What are the best ways to reach US business owners and convince them to work with me?

4. What specific needs should I focus on? Which digital marketing services are in high demand among US businesses, especially those that a beginner can realistically provide?

5. What is the potential of digital marketing in the US? Is it a good market for someone like me who is just starting out, and what challenges should I expect?

My plan is to offer digital marketing services for free to a few clients initially so I can gain practical experience, build my portfolio, and collect testimonials. I believe this will help me understand how to work with real clients before I start charging for my services.

I also have someone who can help me with the work if I land a client, so I’ll have support with service delivery.

I’d really appreciate advice from experienced digital marketers who have worked with US clients. Please share your recommendations on which cities, industries, and audiences I should focus on, as well as any mistakes I should avoid as a beginner.

Thank you! I look forward to learning from your experience.

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Marketing helps create awareness, generate interest and attract potential customers, while sales converts that interest into paying clients. But for a startup that needs revenue and sustainable growth, how should a founder decide where to invest their time and budget first?

Would you prioritise direct selling to validate demand and generate early revenue, or invest in marketing to build visibility and a consistent pipeline of leads?

I'm particularly interested in the indicators an experienced founder or sales professional would use to decide when to focus on one, when to invest in the other, and how to measure whether each is actually contributing to revenue?.

Hi everyone,

I’m 25, from Italy, and I’m trying to seriously understand what it means to build a career in marketing in 2026.

I have a degree in Marketing and Communication from the University of Naples Federico II, within the Sociology area, and I already have some basic experience and knowledge of digital marketing.

But lately I’ve been asking myself a bigger question:

If a company gave me a brand today and said: “Help us grow this business”, what would a good marketer actually do in 2026?

A few years ago, the picture in my head was relatively clear:

- website

- SEO

- Google Ads

- Meta Ads

- social media

- organic content

- email marketing

- analytics

- funnels and landing pages

But is this still basically the job today?

Or has marketing changed much more radically than I realize, especially because of AI, automation, TikTok, creators, new search behaviour, privacy changes, attribution problems, etc.?

For example:

Are paid ads still one of the main engines of growth, or are they becoming just one piece of a much larger system?

How important is organic content today compared to paid acquisition?

What does SEO mean now that people increasingly use AI search tools?

How much campaign management is still done manually when Google and Meta automate more and more of it?

What skills are becoming more valuable because AI can now handle a lot of execution?

And most importantly:

If you were starting your marketing career from scratch in 2026, what would you study?

I’d especially love to understand:

- Which fundamentals should every marketer know, regardless of specialization?

- Which technical skills would you learn?

- Would you specialize early in something like performance marketing, SEO, analytics, CRM, CRO, content, etc.?

- What tools should a junior actually know how to use?

- What should I build or practice to become employable instead of just collecting certifications?

- Where would you learn today?

- Would you recommend starting in an agency, in-house, or somewhere else?

- How has AI changed your actual day-to-day work?

- What do marketing agencies and marketing teams actually do for clients today?

- Which skills that were important 5–10 years ago matter less now?

- Which skills do you think will matter much more in the next few years?

I’m not looking for a “10 best marketing tools” list or a course to buy.

I’m trying to build an actual mental model of what modern marketing is, how companies grow today, and what I need to become genuinely useful to a business.

I’d particularly love to hear from people who currently work in agencies, performance marketing, growth, paid media, SEO, analytics, brand, or marketing management.

I’m based in Italy, so perspectives on the Italian market would be especially useful — but I’d honestly love to hear from people anywhere in the world and compare how the industry differs between countries.

And if there are other juniors here trying to figure out the same thing, feel free to jump into the discussion. I’d be happy to connect and compare notes.

Thanks to anyone willing to share their experience.

Hi everyone! I’m Emily, an illustrator based in London, and I wanted to share the business I’ve been building and ask for your advice.

It’s called Dear Little Thing. Every month, I send children a written, illustrated letter from Prickly, a shy little hedgehog who lives in a hawthorn hedge. Each letter is wax-sealed and comes with an art print, stickers and a question for the child to think about. Prickly’s world is slowly growing too: there’s Buzzy the bee (his first friend), Hazel the squirrel and Hoo-t the owl.

The idea is that Prickly grows alongside the children reading. He’s shy and a bit nervous about the world, and each letter is a small adventure where he’s brave in a tiny way: making a new friend, trying something new, saying sorry, looking after someone. I want children to feel like they have a real friend writing to them, and to get excited about real post in a world that’s very screen-heavy.

Everything is drawn and painted by me. Alongside the letters, I also sell art prints and, this year, Christmas cards.

Where I’m at:

• Around 15 children are subscribed so far, in the UK, the USA and Australia
• I’ve just passed £1,000 in sales, which honestly felt huge
• I’ve built my own website, and I share the artwork and process on Instagram

This is genuinely my passion. I love drawing Prickly, writing his stories and imagining children opening their letters. I really want to make it work and grow it into something bigger.

I’d love your advice on:

1. How did you find your first real customers beyond friends and family?
2. Is it worth doing in-person art markets, or should I focus on online?
3. Anything you’d do differently if you were starting something like this?

Thank you so much for reading. Any advice, even small, means a lot. I’m happy to share pictures of the letters if anyone’s curious!

AI search engines evaluate factors such as content relevance, accuracy, credibility, topical authority, and how clearly a website answers a user's query. Understanding these factors helps explain why certain websites are selected as trusted sources in AI-generated search results over others.

Hello. I currently work in an apparel manufacturing company, where my responsibilities are quite diverse—ranging from website operations to planning content for the company’s social media channels. With the launch of our own in-house apparel brand this year, I’ve also taken on the management of Meta ads. However, I feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin; while I’m familiar with the technical backend of Meta Ads and basic performance analysis, I lack any real expertise in creative testing or content strategy. I am, however, very keen to learn more about B2C advertising and DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) brand marketing strategies.

My company has now asked me to choose between focusing on B2B advertising or B2C advertising. B2B efforts would primarily center on Google Ads—an area where I have no prior experience or knowledge. I’m concerned that if I go down the Google Ads path, the skills I acquire might not be easily transferable to other companies, and I might also end up inheriting a "mess" that needs fixing. On the other hand, the DTC brand marketing initiative is in its infancy; the direction is undefined, and everything remains uncertain. Yet, if this project proves successful, the experience gained would be far more transferable to other roles.

I’m struggling to decide which path to take.

I know a lot of the reach lately has been focused on social media. My question for those that have had success with it, what has been your angle? I post regular firm approved post, which whatever, not great but it’s what I have to keep a presents. My real friction is framing my message to those I’ve connected with. I tie in the relatability, and really just propose a brief phone call or coffee to get to learn more and see if there is value in us connecting. Has anyone had success framing up an introduction this way and getting the meeting or phone call. Not as concerned with landing the assets at the moment, but really just want to break the barrier to an introduction

Everyone is an influencer now. Do you still trust product recommendations, or has it become one big advertisement?

Hi you all! I wanted to get advice from anybody who is in the marketing analytics/ research space! I have my MS in Marketing however i don’t have any corporate experience. I took a non-traditional job after i graduated for a couple of years, which i did gain a lot of experience with digital marketing analytics however, it wasn’t in a corporate space. I’ve been applying to marketing analyst roles requiring between 0-2 years of experience however i’ve had 0 luck even getting an interview. I even had a hiring manager for a marketing analyst/ measurement role only requiring 1+ years of experience tell me I didn’t fit what they were looking for at the moment. I think I’ve done a good job of explaining my digital analytics experience in my resume but if a role requiring only a year of experience told me I didn’t fit the bill, how else can i break into this space!?

I have asked AI this several times on different platforms and get a different answer every place I go. My corporate contractors - I am getting into contracting for the first time after being laid off and am going to have to factor in market benefits. Could you help me understand the following two questions:

1. If I were at 145K + 15% bonus opp + benefits, what would you say is an equivalent contracting rate?

2. How many hours in a year are factored into this formula?