Digital Ads for Startups

 Why didn't you do digital ads for The Children's Post? - A friend last week.

I thought about that question for some time. And the answer, I think, will make sense to other founders sailing in the same boat.

Digital ads are meant to increase brand recall. But the very nature of digital marketing reduced my brand to a set of keywords. People remember the keywords, not the brand.

The digital world is not attention economy. It is distraction economy. I did not need distracted scrollers. I needed people looking for children's news. Engaged parents. Different TG.

So, in retrospect, I think our decision to skip digital ads and focus on building relationships with readers and schools was very... unorthodox, but right for our work.

Surprisingly, entrepreneurship continues to teach long after the stint is over.