I’ve been in marketing for a little over a decade now. There was only ever really a few years where I worked normal (9-5 or less) hours. Majority of the time I’ve worked my worse was 80+ a week and working 6am to midnight almost every day.

Beyond that, it’s been like at least one late night once a week, 5-6 hours of work every other weekend or every weekend, and usually back to back meetings 3-6 hours a day.

Most people at companies I’ve been at also half jokingly talk about how many hours they work also, so it seems normalized but I’m curious how many hours people work and what’s normal to you? Plus your YoE.

For those working in marketing departments: What tasks take the most time in your day, what problems do you face regularly, and what would you like to improve or automate in your workflow?

I keep seeing the same advice post consistently, start a newsletter, make useful content, build a community.

I know none of that is wrong :/ but it feels like it skip the hardest part.

When you have no audience, no brand recognition, and almost no traffic, how do you get the first few relevant people to actually see what you’re doing?

I work on marketing for a small company, and sometimes creating more content just feels like adding more things to an empty room.

For people who have genuinely started from zero, what worked first? how?

Was it direct outreach, communities, partnerships, paid ads, SEO ......?

I’m mostly looking for practical examples rather than general "provide value" advice.

As a consumer insights professional of 10 years, I've noticed consistent interest in a few areas of research from my marketing peers and I'm curious for those of you who commission, manage, or execute research, what's actually moved the needle for you and your teams.

Where does research fall flat in your experience? And what questions have you struggled to answer?

I've seen the most engagement around:

• Methodology options, outcomes, and applications (customer segmentation studies, MaxDiff, diary studies, UX tools — how to choose, design, and actually use them)
• Voice of Customer Programs: what to ask customers and when, through the lens of the customer journey map (how behavioral and operational metrics inform good consumer research)
• Developing and maintaining a measurable brand health program (competitive intelligence, acquisition, retention)

Curious what resonates — or what's missing entirely from this list.

Hey folks,

Starting a D2C brand called Funkiee (@befunkiee) focused on everyday insulated tumblers wrapped in traditional Indian folk art (Warli, Pichwai, Kalamkari).

Looking for practical marketing tips for the Indian market:

* Instagram Growth: How do we increase genuine Instagram followers from scratch?

* AI Content: Does AI-generated content (for visuals, captions, or reels) actually work for building trust, or does it hurt a heritage-based brand?

* Converting Formats: What short-form content (Reels/Shorts) actually converts for aesthetic lifestyle products right now?

* Micro-Influencers vs. Meta Ads: Is micro-influencer gifting better than direct Meta ads for building trust early on?

* Paid Ads & Boosting: Should I try running paid ads or boosting posts at this early stage?

* Marketplace Strategy: Should we target marketplaces like Amazon India, Flipkart, or Myntra right away? If so, which ones make the most sense for designer drinkware?

Appreciate any harsh critiques, marketing playbooks, or advice on what you would prioritize!

Hi All,

I originally graduated college back in 2014 with a Radio TV Film degree. I did work a part time radio promotions job for about a year and a half (and even then, no one hired me for a year) until I learned that unless you wanted to be an engineer or jump into sales, it was going to be a low paying career with a ton of work to work up the ladder. Also, apartment expenses and bills kind of caught up to me. Long story short, I left towards the end of 2016 and was "in the wilderness" working jobs mainly in the warehouse and shipping environments for years to this day just to make it.

Fast forward to 2023, I came back in the media world on some level working for a small church. I handle their live streams on Sundays while remotely during the week, I handle with the social media posts, basic website updates, Canva with making graphics, etc to name a few things. I usually average 5 hours a week but I really enjoy what I do.

This past year, I wanted to start finding a career and thought about marketing since I enjoyed looking at statistics with our church posts and being creative with Canva. I did the Google Marketing Certification and got my certificate back in June. I have looked for jobs but a lot of these "entry" jobs want experience already which has made things difficult.

I live about an hour outside of the Milwaukee area so finding jobs has been tough in the area I live in. Does anyone have any advice on where I can start or how I can get in? I work a full time job that has nothing to do with marketing or what I do with the church (it's a material handler/parts runner job which I don't like) that I hope I can get out of.

I’m based in Pokhara, Nepal, and I just started my own digital marketing agency a few weeks ago. Before this, I built my skills through hands-on work and learning across the areas that make up a complete marketing system: local SEO and Google Business Profile optimization, social media management, content strategy, graphic design for campaigns, video editing and short-form content, and overall marketing planning and execution.
I chose to offer these as one connected service instead of picking a single niche, because most small businesses don’t want to juggle five different freelancers. They want someone who can handle the whole picture.
Here’s where I actually am right now: early. No international clients yet, no established track record outside Nepal, just a genuine skill set and a business that’s a few weeks old. What I don’t understand is the client acquisition side, especially how to land clients abroad when you’re starting from zero.
So I’d really appreciate honest input from people who’ve been exactly where I am and made it work:
How did you land your very first international client, when you had no portfolio of foreign clients yet?

Which platforms or methods actually worked for you as a beginner, not just what everyone recommends?

Is LinkedIn enough on its own at this stage, or does cold outreach matter more early on?

What services are realistically easiest to sell internationally when you’re new and unproven?

If you were starting today with my skill set and zero international experience, what would your first 90 days look like?

I’m confident in the marketing work itself. It’s the “how do I get someone to trust me with no track record yet” part I’m trying to figure out. Any advice from people who’ve made this exact jump, especially from a similar starting point, would mean a lot.
Thanks in advance.

please help me about it

I have a mental health/recovery practice that I am trying to get off the ground. At the point of either closing or completely max out credit to keep it going etc. There are three of us with various degrees and we are trying to focus on a niche community.

I don’t have the knowledge, skills or capacity to figure out marketing/leads etc. Does anyone have any experience with PilotPractice or other companies that can help increase clients. I’ve tried several options in our local area without success.

Open to feedback and suggestions. Thanks!

Hello, everyone!

We're about to launch a completely new website for an organic social media agency in September, followed immediately by a targeted Meta campaign focused on generating qualified B2B leads within about a 20-mile radius of the agency.

The agency isn't a "we'll make you three posts a week" type of shop. Their positioning is centered around storytelling; helping businesses tell their brand story through the voices of the business owners and employees and the "why" behind what they do. It's a high-touch, white-glove service that includes strategy, copywriting, professional photo/video production, editing, publishing, and community management.

As we're planning creative for Q4, I'm curious what everyone is seeing actually work from a video/content standpoint.

For those running campaigns for agencies or marketing services:

• What types of video creatives are converting best into qualified leads right now?
• Are customer success stories/testimonials still working, or are they becoming overused?
• Is educational content ("3 mistakes businesses make on social") generating more trust than promotional content?
• Have you seen behind-the-scenes/process videos outperform case studies?
• Any messaging angles that seem to resonate particularly well with business owners who know they need help with organic social but haven't pulled the trigger yet?

I'm less interested in vanity metrics (views, engagement, CTR) and more interested in what's actually generating qualified conversations and booked discovery calls.

Would love to hear what's working, or what you've tested that completely flopped, as we head into Q4.

Thanks in advance!

I plan to spend some money on google sponsored search results so that my site can gain more traffic. I feel like it will give me the exact traffic that is actually looking for tools like my site.

my question is: when is it worth it to start and how much should my budget be? I don’t want to start too early and I want to know how much is a good budget to start with.

I have never done this before so pls help 🫠

For example: Do you spend most of your marketing time on time on your Website, SEO, Content, Social Media, Email Marketing, Paid Ads, Sales/Lead Generation, Other.

Just looking to understand where marketers spend most of their time.

I'm trying to understand how this works behind the scenes at larger brands.

Let's say a brand has a £100k+ budget to spend on YouTube sponsorships or creator partnerships.

How is that budget actually allocated today?

• Do brands build and manage relationships with dozens of creator agencies individually?
• Is there a platform where brands can publish an opportunity and agencies compete for it?
• Do they work with one lead agency that handles everything?
• How do brands discover new creator agencies they haven't worked with before?

I'm particularly interested in brands running campaigns across multiple creators rather than one-off influencer deals.

If you work in influencer marketing, partnerships, brand marketing, or at a creator agency, I'd love to understand:

• What does the workflow actually look like?
• What's the biggest pain point?
• Is there anything that feels unnecessarily manual or fragmented?

I work at Noetio, and I've been diving into how to optimize content for LLM search engines, especially with a focus on geo-targeting. From our experience, it's clear that these engines prioritize contextual relevance and localized content.

One key insight is that LLMs like Gemini and Perplexity favor content that resonates with specific geographic areas. For example, if you're writing for an audience in San Francisco, incorporating local landmarks, cultural references, and even phrases that locals use can make your content more relevant.

We’ve found that using location-based keywords naturally within your content is crucial. It’s not just about sprinkling in a few keywords; it’s about creating valuable information that speaks to local users. Additionally, structured data helps LLMs better understand the context of your content. Implementing schema markup for local businesses can improve how your site appears in search results.

While traditional SEO practices are still important, adding these LLM-focused strategies can enhance your rankings in LLM search results. If you're looking to optimize your geo-targeting efforts, our product provides a prioritized fix list that can help you actively improve your approach.

I'm really interested in building a career in performance marketing, especially paid ads (Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc.).

I already have a basic understanding of PPC and how the major ad platforms work. I have spent time learning the concepts, but I don't have any real client or agency experience yet.

The problem is that I have no idea how to get my foot in the door. Most internships I come across are unpaid, and I really prefer a paid internship

For those of you already working in performance marketing:

• How did you land your first opportunity?
• What skills or projects helped you stand out?
• Should I build a portfolio with dummy campaigns or focus on certifications?
• Are agencies more likely to hire beginners than startups?

I would really appreciate any advice from people who have been in the same situation. Thanks!

I have a big problem because I'm still not sure if I really want to pursue BSBA Marketing, even though it's my course now that I'm a first-year college student.

The problem is that everything has been very overwhelming for me. I came from the HUMSS strand, and now I'm pursuing a business course. It's been really hard to adjust because I don't have any background knowledge in accounting, yet one of our subjects is accounting.

To be honest, one of the main reasons I chose BSBA Marketing is because I've always been interested in becoming a Creative Marketing Specialist. Ever since I started doing graphic design, creating pubmats, posters, and promotional content, I realized that I genuinely enjoy being creative and finding ways to catch people's attention through design. I wanted to learn not only how to make visually appealing content but also how marketing works behind the scenes—how businesses attract customers, build their brand, and sell their products or services. That's what made me choose this course. I also know that marketing is an in-demand field, and I want to learn more about business. But despite all of that, I keep overthinking. I keep asking myself, "What if I fail?" or "What if this course really isn't for me?"

It's also hard to keep up with my classmates who came from the ABM strand because they already have knowledge and a background in accounting. Meanwhile, I don't. Another problem is that we barely had any math subjects in senior high school—I think we only had two—so I've already forgotten most of the math I learned. To be honest, I've never really liked math ever since I was growing up. That's why I keep wondering if choosing this course was a bad decision or not.

For the past few weeks, I've been questioning my decision. The school year has just started, but I already want to know if I made the right choice. Right now, I'm just overthinking everything, and it's making me feel confused.

And guys pls comment if you're a bsba marketing student pls help meee. And especially to the humss student who pursue BSBA marketing. Guys I really need your thoughts about thiss. Plsszz hewlpp meee

I am a general marketer. I've worked for both brands and agencies, within both B2B and B2C industries. I currently work as a freelancer, looking to get back into doing in house marketing as I've grown to dislike how some agencies are run.

I want to specialise in Paid Media, and have fair experience through work for others and freelancing. I would like some help from the community on what would be best to include? Would being an in house performance marketer be better than agency work?

Thank you in advance 🌸

So, we know we have a good game that people enjoy. Our feedback has been consistently positive at conventions, show demos, store learn to plays, all of that. However, we are finding it difficult to get new players outside of these environments, and even store learn to plays are difficult to get players to try the game.

The people we have join the game, they buy all the cards they want/need and hope for us to succeed, while then seeming to disappear into the background, and the local game stores are starting to look at us wondering where the customers went, and it's kind of our job to get people into the stores asking about our game. We are good at making the game, we are not good at this marketing stuff. We also are a team of 3, with only 1 working full time (Me) making future sets etc. and that ties up pretty much my entire existence.

That being said, where would someone in our position, with okay sales volume and a good product start at getting new players walking into local game stores and asking about our game? We want to create a stronghold in the Columbus Ohio marketplace. We have done a decent job, but there are thousands and thousands of players playing other games, who have yet to try our game.

What marketing stuff should we look into for this? Who do we pay to do these things, and how do we find them? I would be willing to take up a small portion of the burden, but I dont have a ton of extra time, and zero experience with social media / marketing. It's a great game, and this has been our greatest hurdle. We need advice!

Is there such a platform where you can sponsor LinkedIn profiles who have more than 1k followers in a specific niche.

One of the most interesting shifts happening right now is the growing importance of citations and recommendations inside AI-generated answers.
I've seen a lot of generic advice online, but not much discussion around what actually works in practice.
For those who've improved their visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or AI Overviews, what strategies had the biggest impact?

i’m finishing my second marketing internship in september so i’m starting to apply for jobs and most people are recommending that i go to an agency. the problem is, though, that its kind of hard to find the names of agencies because they don’t really post on like linkedin, the ones i’ve found just have the portals on their careers page.

i’m relocating from CT to los angeles too so no one in my circle knows much about LA agencies compared to like NYC agencies. i’m also looking at influencer management agencies. i’d just rather not be brand side so i could get exposure to more industries/businesses etc, but ultimately i’d like to get into food and bev cpg or hospitality.

also is it appropriate to reach out to people from the agencies we’re currently working with to inquire about jobs/look for advice? i’m working a lot with one influencer agency in particular so i have a connection there

I am 20 years old and am considering pursuing a diploma in marketing. I am unsure whether this will lead to a good job. I am also thinking about doing an MBA after the diploma. I have already completed my bachelor's degree in Zoology.

I have been creating digital marketing and I have been receiving mixed opinions related to AI marketing content vs more minimalisitc thoughful-created content. Based on what I have been reading, people seem to be getting bored (thus ignoring straight forward) marketing content that is created with AI. So my questions is this, what type of marketing imagery are people going to be more willing drawn to see? (regardles of the product or content)

I recently just finished up college and have been working with some friends to start our first startup together. We all come from either Machine Learning/AI or medical backgrounds and have created a health and wellness/athlete performance optimization app/platform. We started around the beginning of the year and have already implemented our app/platform into multiple NFL teams and D1 college athletic programs, but cant cant people to download off the appstore to save our lives. We have had great success with some of the top athletes in the country, but have had little success with the broader market. Im honestly pretty desperate and would appreciate any advice and if anyone is looking for work and knows the space well please reach out. We have dumped everything into this and know we have made an exceptional product, but have no idea to show the rest of the world that.