For our next campaign we want to test whether addressing common sales objections earlier could bring in more qualified demo requests but one concern that comes up is how much work setup might involve and pricing is harder to address because sometimes the issue is the cost itself and other times people just aren't seeing enough value.

We're thinking about adding a section to our landing page that addresses one of these concerns while keeping the rest of the campaign the same and our sales team would also track whether the objection still comes up during calls but the only thing we're unsure about is whether bringing it up so early might create doubts that weren't there in the first place.

I want to share this because I remember the feeling clearly, and I’ve seen a lot of people here describe the exact same wall.

I spent 5 months building Targela, a goal-planning app, alongside a full-time job and a master’s degree. No budget, no audience, no connections in the startup world. When the app was finally ready, I launched it and nothing happened. just friends as users.

I spent a few days thinking through every channel. I genuinely thought I had no moves left.

Then I just started posting on Reddit. Not ads. Not “check out my app” posts. Just honest stuff: why I built it, what I was struggling with, what I’d learned, asking people about their goals. I replied to every comment. When someone described a problem Targela was built to solve, I mentioned it once, honestly, and answered their question first.

Less than two months later: 5 users, all free, none of whom I know personally.

I know 5 is nothing. These 5 people found the app because they read something I wrote and it meant something to them. No money spent.

Still a long way to go. But “0 to 5 with no budget” felt worth sharing for anyone else staring at that same wall. So just trust the process.

But how did you get your first users?

Paid ads are getting saturated and expensive, kind of like meta ads a couple of years ago. organic takes forever. and launch spikes die in a week.

So we've been building creator programs and documenting what actually works. A few takeaways:

1. there are 3 ways to work with creators: flat fee, pure commission, or a hybrid. each one breaks in a different way. flat fee = you pay even if nothing converts. pure commission = good creators won't take it.
   
2. the hybrid deal is what's worked best for us: commission + a small minimum guarantee. creators feel safe, you stay aligned on results.
   
3. if you pay per view, cap it. otherwise one viral video can blow your budget.
   
4. always get usage rights. the best creator content often performs better as ads than as organic posts.
   
5. no budget? it's not all about money. early access, visibility, community and product perks get you further than you'd think, especially with smaller creators.
   
6. launching the program is the easy part. what matters is what you do after week one: track every creator, double down on the ones that convert, and build tiers so the best ones grow with you.

My cofounder recorded a full walkthrough (24 min) going step by step, from picking your first creators to scaling. disclosure: it's our own content.

timestamps:

0:00 intro
1:15 why creator programs are about to explode
3:14 3 ways to work with creators
6:18 always get usage rights
7:18 no budget? it's not all about money
9:40 who should join your program
11:13 the creator map
14:19 how to pick the right creators
16:22 what to do after week one
20:45 how to measure every creator
22:22 how to scale it

https://x.com/imlocha/status/2115067238416011340

Curious how others here structure creator deals. Any feedback or ideas are welcome, happy to learn from your experience too.

Ngl most people are still out here optimizing for long tail keywords like it's 2018 while our high intent pipeline literally shifted to AI search engines... chatgpt and perplexity aren't just looking at the same SEO signals we've been optimizing for since 2018... content structure still matters, but so do entity relationships, credible citations, and how consistently your product is described across sources

we spent the last 60 days treating llm visibility as a major focus for our b2b saas... it was highkey a gamble, but it paid off... here's the playbook:

1. Entity relations > keywords: we nuked the generic "sales automation" slop from our copy... instead, we built comparison pages like "product x is a lightweight alternative to hubspot, built specifically for bootstrapped agency founders." It gave AI search systems a much clearer way to understand what our product does, who it's for, and how it compares to established alternatives
2. Tables over marketing fluff: we stripped the corporate fluff from our landing pages and replaced it with structured markdown tables and explicit schema... giving parsers clear feature-to-price breakdowns seemed to make AI-generated descriptions of our tool more accurate in our tests
3. Objective forum seeding: llms are chronically online on reddit... we didn't spam links... we found high-intent threads, wrote exhaustive breakdowns of the top 3 tools in our niche, and objectively listed our tool next to two massive incumbents... within 18 days, we started seeing ChatGPT cite some of those exact threads in relevant answers

the results: our generic blog traffic dropped significantly, while high intent inbound conversions increased. we're still working out how much of that lift came directly from AI search... we're catching users exactly when they ask an AI "what is the best tool for x that does y"

is anyone else actually mapping out a geo strategy rn, or are we still pretending seo isn't cooked ??? also, how are yall tracking attribution when perplexity drops a lead into your crm ???

we are kinda flying blind here lol

We do growth for local businesses and clients churn the moment results dip for a month..

Thinking of adding a white-label whatsapp inbox under our brand since that’s where most of their leads end up anyway..for those who added a resold product to their services..did clients stay longer or just cancel both together?

I built an AI SDR for Instagram that finds your ideal prospects, sends personalised DMs, follows up, qualifies interested leads, and books calls straight onto your calendar.
Basically, an AI appointment setter that works for you without having to hire a human setter.
Bit of context so this doesn’t sound like another AI tool pitch.
I used to work as an appointment setter for businesses on Instagram, so I know how much time goes into finding leads, writing messages, following up, and getting people to actually book a call.
That’s why I built Magnet Engine.
Here’s what it does:
• Finds people who match your target audience

• Analyses their profiles and generates personalised DMs

• Follows up to keep conversations going

• Qualifies prospects based on your offer

• Books interested prospects directly onto your calendar

You tell me what you sell, who you want to reach, and send me your calendar link.
Magnet Engine handles the outreach and follow-up so you can focus on closing deals.

$200/month. No need to hire an appointment setter or spend hours in Instagram DMs yourself.
I’m looking for 5 businesses to test this with before opening it up properly.

It’s best suited for agencies, coaches, consultants, and other businesses selling services through sales calls.
If you're interested, drop your website and I’ll hand pick the lucky 5.

just closed our series b and suddenly everyone wants to scale spend fast. one of our senior people keeps bringing up ctv in every meeting. all our data lives in paid social so of course im the one getting asked if tv can be held to the same standard. i’m not worried about reach, i’m sure it gets seen. i’m worried about sitting in front of the board at the end of the quarter and not being able to say what it actually did

we use northbeam already and i saw vibe plugs into it, plus they work with haus for incrementality tests, so thats where im leaning. would love to hear from anyone who scaled into ctv around this stage, whether it held up to the same scrutiny as your paid channels or ended up being a “brand” budget nobody really check