If you're building a brand, pitch deck, or social presence on a startup budget, Ideogram (ideogram.ai) deserves a spot in your toolkit. It's an AI image generator that stands out for one specific reason most founders care about: it actually renders readable text inside images logos, posters, signage, social graphics something tools like Midjourney and DALL-E still struggle with. Key Points: - Free tier available no credit card required to start generating - Best-in-class text rendering great for quick logo concepts, event posters, merch mockups, or social graphics with your brand name baked right in - Commercial use allowed Ideogram doesn't claim ownership of what you generate, so outputs are usable in your business (always double-check current Terms of Service before publishing) - Editing tools included background removal, upscaling, prompt-based editing, and "remix" to iterate on a concept without starting over - Three ways to use it the web app for hands-on creation, an API for product integration, and MCP support for plugging it into agent workflows What tools are you currently using or challenges are you having generating image assets? 🔗 Try it: https://ideogram.ai

I've been running my MSP for about 8 months now, got 6 clients mostly from referrals, and I'm trying to figure out if putting $500-800/month into Google Ads is going to do anything or just burn cash. The problem is most of my competitors are bigger shops with way bigger budgets, and I keep going back and forth on whether I should even bother competing there or just double down on LinkedIn outreach and local networking. I honestly have no idea what a realistic cost-per-lead looks like for IT services in a mid-size city, and I can't find anyone who's actually run these campaigns for a small shop and is willing to talk numbers.

I'm about to launch an online therapy practice in LA and I keep going back and forth on whether to start with Google Ads or just try Instagram first. I have maybe $300-400 a month to spend on ads and honestly have no idea which one is more likely to get someone to actually book a session. I set up a Google Ads account last week and got completely lost trying to figure out what keywords to even bid on, like do people search 'online therapist Los Angeles' or something more specific? I'm not sure if I'm thinking about this completely wrong and should be doing something else entirely before touching paid ads.

I've been running my own IT services business for about 8 months now, got 4 clients paying monthly retainers, but I'm basically at zero on the inbound side. Someone told me to try Google Ads targeting local small businesses, but I'm spending maybe $400/month max on marketing right now and I honestly don't know if that's enough to see real results or if I'd just be burning it. Most of my clients came from LinkedIn or referrals so I keep going back and forth on whether paid search actually converts for IT services or if the buying cycle is just too long for it to make sense at this budget. Anyone run ads for a service business like this and actually gotten a decent cost per lead?

I've been posting on linkedin maybe 2-3 times a week for the past month, stuff about network security tips, some light case study type posts about work I've done, and I'm getting decent impressions but zero inbound leads from it. Most of my clients right now came from referrals or me just cold calling local businesses directly, so I'm trying to figure out if linkedin is even the right channel for selling IT support contracts to small businesses in my area or if I should just put that time into something else. Honestly not sure if my content is wrong, my audience targeting is off, or if linkedin just isn't where a 10-person accounting firm goes when they need managed IT. Anyone here actually closed a client through linkedin content, not ads, just organic posting?