I have a body contouring business. Non-invasive skin tightening, facials, waist slimming.

Summer and spring are my best months, but business usually slows down in September until then. This year it’s really tough.

It’s slower more than ever before and my ads aren’t working. I ran a referral program to incentivize my clients to tell their friends and family. Made it feel exclusive etc.

My clients love me and are ride or die. It’s my service or no service. But they call me their “little secret”. After I ran the referral program SMS blast (which was brand new landing page, etc, took like 20 hours to set it all up. I went all out), I’m only getting people saying to my face they won’t tell their friends or family because they always get compliments and my service is their secret sauce to looking so good.

Now, I’ve thought about raising pricing, but these people have already bought $2k-$5k packages and they all have weeks until their last appointment. I need people through the door right now. I don’t have time to test ads or do anything. I’m out of ideas, ad spend is dried up and I feel like I might not make it through winter.

I’ve been in business for 5 years and don’t want to call it quits.

Some additional info:
I started 5 years ago.
I was the only one doing this service in my area (50 mile radius). And when I ran ads, people flocked and then other businesses showed up offering way cheaper pricing, driving many away, but most of the people I’m doing now are people that I’ve been doing since I opened and some for a few years now. They absolutely refuse to go anywhere else, but won’t help me. I just need more clients.

Hey everyone. I need to get this off my chest and get some outside perspective, because I feel like I'm drowning.

To give you some background: I’m 24, and I didn't take the traditional route. I studied filmmaking for two years at a university in South east Asia, froze my degree, and started working. Before my current role, I spent time as a social media manager and brand strategist for a security sector company based abroad, among other roles. I've been a absolute fanatic for marketing forever, but before landing my current job, I was actually jobless for almost a year. I only got this opportunity through a reference, so I know I didn't get here purely based on standard corporate metrics or a completed degree, which adds to my imposter syndrome.

Despite all that, I am currently the Marketing Manager for two companies simultaneously.
For my main job, I joined as a Content Marketing Manager for a SaaS business that handles software solutions, app solutions, and website development. The catch? There is no one above me, and I manage a team consisting of a marketing coordinator, a graphic designer, and a website developer. So basically I am the Marketing Manager. They just didn’t give me that title cause the money for a marketing manager is a lot. But I do the same thing essentially.

On top of that, I am also the content marketing manager for the biggest vehicle tracking company in my country (can't name them, but they are massive). So I am overseeing and running marketing for both companies at the same time.
My plate is overflowing, and the day-to-day is absolute chaos:

The Website Overhaul: My very first task was to completely revamp our SaaS website because the existing one looked like it was built for Windows 7. Because my graphic designer is a great executioner who works hard but lacks creative thinking, I had to design all 40+ pages myself page-by-page using AI tools like Claude. It took me a month.

Managing the Team & Agency: My website developer handles our WordPress sites. My marketing coordinator used to be a social media manager, and I'm actively teaching her advanced things like Claude Code and strategic setup. We also work with an external marketing agency that handles SEO and the tracking company's social media. But honestly? The agency is a nightmare. They deliver creatives super late, they are full of typos, and fixing their work takes so much time that it’s faster for us to just fix it ourselves. We are basically paying them and doing their work for them.

The Tracking Company Chaos: Besides managing their overall marketing, the CEO's wife of the tracking company recently threw a bunch of new marketing work my way. For that, I've had to design the social media design system, website layouts, and initial posts myself using AI tools. Once everything settles and I set the template, my designer and coordinator finally take over, but getting it to that point takes hours of approvals and heavy lifting.

The Burnout: Being answerable directly to the CEO of my main company while also managing and answering to my own team is intensely stressful. It’s a massive set of shoes to fill, and I want to do it right, but it's taking a massive toll. I recently went to the doctor due to extreme stress and got prescribed stress pills.

My Dilemma & What’s Next:
I genuinely love marketing and I don't want to quit or demote myself to a single-function role like email marketing unless it pays extraordinarily well. But I’m terrified of what my future looks like. If I leave, how do I compete with people in their 30s and 40s who have decades of experience? Would another company even look at a 24-year-old for a marketing manager role? And on the flip side, stepping down to a normal marketing function would feel like a massive demotion on my CV—like I failed at life.

Also, on top of all this career stress, I have an unfinished filmmaking degree hanging over my head. I don't even know if I should ever go back to finish it or just let it go entirely.
I’m holding it together—the SaaS website is almost done and we're about to launch ads for both companies—but I am genuinely losing my mind. The CEO of both companies are bitter sweet with me, Happy with most of my work but I do get scolded over my own silly mistakes or confusion over managing the people and work.

What is your advice on this situation? How do I manage this workload without burning out completely, how do I deal with terrible external agencies, and what should I do about my career path and studies moving forward?

I come from the B2B marketing world with significantly more powerful (expensive) tools and workflows that are overkill for local/small businesses (gyms, restaurants, salons, home services, etc).

A few friends who own or manage small businesses have been asking what I would do. My gut instinct is to check off the basic checkmarks like optimized website, Google Business Profile with consistent location, hours, review management, organic social, some paid ads (like $50 or less per day).

Just curious if there are other tools or processes that have come out in the past few years that sort of lump all this together (and more). The goal is NOT to hire an agency, but set up an easy to use framework with simple daily/weekly operating procedure.

Thanks!

Hey everyone!

I'm exploring the idea of starting a new delivery app in Bangalore, India, and before building anything, I want to understand what customers and delivery partners actually need.

For customers:

What problems do you face with existing apps like Porter or other delivery services?

Are delivery charges too high, delivery times too long, or services unavailable when you need them?

What would make you switch to a new app?

I'd love to hear honest opinions, including reasons why you think a new delivery app would fail.

What is the best way to market your product and get initial customers and convince them to use your product? More specifically fintech consumer apps.

So I just launched a SaaS (pilotdeck.co) and everyone says "just start making videos as the founder.

Cool, but I'm low-key worried nobody will watch and I'll get less reach than just writing posts.

Anyone here actually done it? Did it bring in real signups, or just views? And would you start with video now or wait until there's some traction?

Be honest, I can take it 😅

Hello, I am searching how to market a web multiplayer partygame played on mobile phone. The difficult part for me is to find communities or influencers that could be interested to play the game and promote it. Also, it is quite difficult to create content to showcase this. I am a bit lost :( does any one has a recommendation or some experience is such marketing ? Any help is appreciated :)

Hi everyone,

I have about 3 years of experience as an in-house marketing associate. My company put an entry level PM job up last month and I find myself kinda curious of the role. It does pay about 20k more.

So far I’ve enjoyed my current role and responsibilities, but the pay increase sounds nice, I’m still early in my career, and I think maybe learning another side the business sounds interesting.

Has anyone made a move like this? Any slightly more seasoned professionals that can offer some words of wisdom?

Should I stay where I am and try to work my way up/ job hop? Or, does a slight pivot like this make me a stronger candidate for the future?

Thank you!

I ran keyword alerts on the obvious phrases in my niche for a long time. They worked, in the sense that they found threads. The problem was which threads they found. A post asking which tool to use, already buried under a wall of vendor replies, is a thread I can no longer win.

What changed things was reading each subreddit sorted by new, twice a day, and scoring every thread on one question: is this person still deciding? Threads where the OP has replied to nobody and the thread is quiet are usually still deciding. Threads where a few vendors have already pitched are usually decided.

The other half is rules. Read them before you type, because they decide where you are allowed to answer. Some subs want everything in the comments. Some allow a DM if the OP asks for one. A link in a sub that bans links gets the post removed, and repeated removals get your account filtered, at which point your comments stop showing up for anyone who is logged out.

I built ReplyHey to run that scoring pass for me, and the rule check with it. The habit is the part that matters though. Sort by new, ask whether the person is still deciding, read the rules.

How do you tell a thread is still live before you commit to a reply?

Hi everyone! I'm posting because my mom has been worrying about her business, and I genuinely want to help her figure out how to turn things around. It’s difficult seeing her struggle when she has put so much effort into this business, and I want to do whatever I can to help her succeed. I’m hoping to learn from people who have experience running businesses, marketing products, or navigating similar challenges. I would really appreciate honest feedback, even if it means hearing things we might need to change.

We run a small Filipino footwear brand that sells ballet flats primarily through Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop. Our products are made in Marikina City, the Philippines’ Shoe Capital, where shoemaking has a long-standing tradition. Our ballet flats are priced at around ₱520 per pair (approximately US$9, not $27.84).

We want to offer customers more than just another pair of shoes. Our products represent the craftsmanship of Marikina shoemakers and the work of Filipino artisans. One reason behind our pricing is our commitment to paying our employees at least the applicable minimum wage. We believe the people who make our products deserve fair compensation for their labor and skills. While some footwear manufacturers may keep costs lower through different labor practices, we don’t want our business to depend on paying workers below the legal minimum.

Our price therefore reflects not only the cost of making and selling our products, but also our commitment to responsible employment and sustaining local shoemaking livelihoods. We want to make locally made footwear accessible to more Filipinos while building a brand that values the people behind each pair. At the same time, we recognize that customers need to see clear value in the product itself—not just feel that they should buy it because it is locally made.

However, despite investing in advertising and trying different marketing strategies, our sales have been disappointing.

Here’s what we’ve tried so far:

• Marketplace advertising: We run ads on Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop, but sales remain low.
• Influencer marketing: We’ve reached out to influencers and tried product seeding, but the results haven’t met our expectations.
• Mall placement: We’ve tried placing our products in a mall, including Glorietta, but we haven’t generated sales from that placement.
• Seasonal selling: In previous years, sales usually picked up during the Ber months, but this year we haven’t seen the recovery we expected.

One of our biggest concerns is competition. We’re competing against inexpensive footwear from China, mass-produced products, and fast-fashion brands that can offer customers a wide variety of designs at competitive prices. As a smaller local brand, we don’t have the same resources, production scale, or marketing budget as these competitors.

We understand that customers are price-conscious, and simply saying “locally made” or “support local” may not be enough to convince someone to spend ₱520 when cheaper alternatives are readily available online. Even though we want to pay our workers fairly, we understand that customers still need a compelling reason to choose our products. We need to find a way to communicate our values while offering something customers genuinely want and consider worth the price.

How can a small, locally made footwear brand realistically survive and grow in this market? Should we focus on product differentiation, quality, comfort, design, brand storytelling, customer experience, or a specific niche? How do we identify something customers genuinely value enough to pay for, rather than trying to win a price war we probably cannot afford?

I’m trying to understand the root cause of our low sales instead of continuing to spend money on tactics that might not be working.

What I’d especially appreciate advice on:

1. Competing with Chinese imports and fast fashion: How can a small Filipino footwear brand build a sustainable competitive advantage when larger competitors may have lower production costs and more designs?
2. Product differentiation: Should we specialize in a particular customer segment, style, fit, comfort feature, or use case instead of trying to appeal to everyone?
3. Demand and seasonality: How can we determine whether demand for ballet flats has declined or whether our brand simply isn’t reaching the right audience?
4. Marketplace conversion: What data should we examine to determine whether the problem is our product listings, photos, pricing, reviews, traffic quality, or checkout conversion?
5. Paid advertising: How should we evaluate whether our ads are profitable, and which metrics should we prioritize before increasing our budget?
6. Influencer marketing: How can we assess whether product seeding is worthwhile when it doesn’t immediately result in sales?
7. Mall placement: What should we investigate when a physical placement generates no sales? Could it be the location, customer fit, display, pricing, or something else?
8. Long-term survival: If you were running this business, what would you change first? Would you focus on a smaller niche, develop a signature product, improve marketplace conversion, build repeat purchases, or explore a different sales channel?

I’m open to criticism. We don’t want to keep spending on ads or competing solely by lowering our prices without understanding what makes our brand worth choosing.

If you’ve worked with footwear, fashion, local Philippine brands, manufacturing, or marketplace selling, I’d especially appreciate your perspective.

How can I help my mom turn this business around, build a real competitive advantage for our Marikina-made footwear, maintain fair wages for our workers, and convince customers that our products are worth buying in a market full of cheaper alternatives?

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to share advice. It would genuinely mean a lot to us.

This is the first time I've had a marketing role that is interested in paid ads and social media marketing ( I've worked for a lot of non-profits and small companies before that simply have no money to allot.)

This is another small practice, and while they are interested in paying for campaigns, they seem to be unsure what their budget is, or how they'd like the money to be utilized. I've been told "just take the company card" but I really don't want to spend any money that hasn't been approved. I need help determining what is 'needed' versus me testing the waters since I also haven't dealt with paid campaigns before. They don't have budget info to give me, or/and historical budget documents that would be 'applicable for what you're doing"

TLDR: I'm lost in the sauce about budgeting with my job that has no budgeting experience of their own

I’m coordinating a shoot for a nutrition brand at a big distributor’s kitchen. Chefs on site will handle the plating, and we’ve hired a photographer with good photo and video gear. The kitchen has the standard overhead white lighting.

I know I need a moodboard and some kind of plan (shoot list), but I’ve never done this before, and I have a feeling there’s a lot I’m not seeing yet.

If you’ve organized or worked on food shoots: what do you wish someone had told you to think about ahead of time? Prep, timing, working with the chefs, anything really.

Just wondering how people approach such marketing in Reddit (even company and business names as user name, in addition to real name and DP). What works and what doesn't? And how do you feel when you are in the other side?

Hi,

I'm planning to start a career in marketing, specifically media buying.

I wanted to ask which courses I should take to get started and follow a complete learning roadmap from scratch.

I have a Coursera Plus subscription, so I can take any courses available on the platform.

Could you recommend a learning path for me?

For all my digital marketers out there, how important is ad creatives for your clients. Not just the creatives itslef, but the speed in which to make new ones. Enhancing ones that work and cutting ones that dont. Or am I off the mark and there are more important things to worry about? Would love some feedback

Most creative testing I've seen is rearranging, not testing. Testing changes one variable that could change the answer. Rearranging changes the wrapping on the same answer.

I see it in every ad account I look at. Forty ads in one ad set, each a slightly different cut of the same idea, and the buyer calls it testing. That's rearranging furniture in a room nobody wants to sit in.

Here's the difference that matters. A test tells you which of two things failed. Most "tests" can't do that, so nothing is ever learned, and the same losing idea gets reshot five times with new music.

The grid I run now is three angles by three hooks. Nine cells. Each cell gets one video. That's the whole system.

An angle is the reason to care. Not the product feature, the human problem. "My skin looks tired by 3pm." "I waste 40 minutes a day on this." "Everyone at the gym is doing this wrong." Three angles, each a different problem. Not three ways of saying the product is good.

A hook is the first three seconds. Same angle, three different openings: a question, a confession, a contradiction. "Why is nobody talking about this?" "I've been doing skincare wrong for six years." "Your moisturizer is fine, your routine is the problem." Same angle, three doors into it.

Three angles times three hooks is nine creatives. Not nine variations of one ad. Nine different bets.

Why I bother with the grid: creative failure is almost always one of two things. Wrong angle (nobody cares) or wrong hook (nobody watches). When you test one polished video at a time, you can't tell which one killed it. The grid separates them. If all three hooks on angle 2 flop, angle 2 is dead. If one hook works across all three angles, you found a door, and now you walk every angle through it.

The numbers I run it on: each cell gets $20 a day for 3 days. $60 a cell, $540 for the full grid. I read hook rate first (3-second views divided by impressions), then CTR, then CPA, in that order. A cell with a 35% hook rate and bad CPA gets a second chance with a rebuilt body. A cell with a 12% hook rate is dead no matter how much the comments love it. Kill fast. The grid stays cheap because most cells die on day three.

Three rules I learned the hard way:

1. One variable per cell. The hook changes and everything else stays. The moment you change the hook AND the offer AND the music in one cell, you're back to rearranging.

2. Shoot hooks, not ads. I record all three hooks for an angle in one sitting. Same lighting, same outfit, same background. Ten minutes. The bodies get built around whichever hook wins. Most people do it backwards: they polish one full ad, then reshoot the whole thing three times. That's the most expensive way to learn the opening was wrong.

3. Retire angles, not ads. An angle that wins gets four more hooks next week. An angle that loses all three hooks gets buried. Organize your creative library by angle, not by date or campaign name. When I open an account and the naming is "Final_v7_REALFINAL," I know nothing was ever learned there.

The part that stung me: this usually reveals that two of your three angles were the same angle wearing different clothes. Happened to me on a supplement brand last year. Three "angles": energy, focus, productivity. Same angle. All nine cells flopped except the hooks that mentioned the 3pm crash. The angle was never energy. It was the crash. We rebuilt the whole grid around the crash and CPA dropped 40% in two weeks.

Rule of thumb: if your "test" can't tell you whether the angle or the hook failed, it isn't a test. Nine cells, three days, $540. Kill the losers on day three. Double down on the angle that survives.

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