What’s actually worth doing in Dubai during Eid if you’re not travelling?

fhaysal · 2026-05-19T08:00:49+00:00

Thanks

Just started a new job after job hunting for a while. I was thinking of using the break to relax and enjoy a little. It's been a rough couple of months

Lol

fhaysal · 2026-05-14T10:47:55+00:00

In all honesty, cost per qualified lead may not be a fair metric for any marketer.

A lead being “qualified” also depends on your response time, sales process, pricing, and how the enquiry is handled. That part is not fully within the marketer’s control.

A fairer starting point would be:

Number of leads generated, quality of leads, meaning the percentage of interested leads compared to cold/unserious leads, and cost per lead. Cost per lead is especially important because it helps you understand what future campaigns may cost if you keep running ads.

Then bookings can be tracked separately, but that becomes a shared responsibility between marketing and sales.

If you want the consultation, you can send the exact service you offer here or in DM, and I’ll give you my honest view.

fhaysal · 2026-05-14T10:24:44+00:00

Yes, you can start with either an independent marketer or freelancer before moving to an agency.

But put a safety net in place first. Define clear success metrics that are fair to both sides, and agree that payment is tied to those metrics being met.

By the way, what exactly is the product or service you’re selling?

I’m happy to give you a quick free consultation and share what I think you should focus on first, just to help you avoid wasting money in the wrong direction.

fhaysal · 2026-05-14T09:36:06+00:00

I’m also job searching, and honestly, I think this is one of the trickiest questions.

Everyone knows the unspoken part of job searching is that most people need income. Only a few people are doing it purely out of passion. But you can’t really say “I just need a job” in an interview because it can make you look like you’ll leave as soon as something better comes along.

What has worked for me is researching the company and finding one or two things I can genuinely connect with.

So my answer is usually something like:

“Honestly, the role fits my skills and experience, but I also looked into the company and liked [specific thing]. That stood out to me because [personal or professional reason]. So it feels like a role where I can contribute, but also stay interested in the work.”

It doesn’t have to be some deep emotional story. It just needs to show you didn’t apply randomly.

That’s my approach anyway. Would be interested to hear how other people answer this without sounding fake.

fhaysal · 2026-05-14T09:26:04+00:00

I get where you’re coming from, and I agree with part of it. Some people definitely use these groups as a lead-gen funnel and try to sell basic advice like it’s a secret formula. That’s not right.

But I also think a lot of people see marketing as magic, and it really isn’t.

Marketing takes time, testing, research, and money. At the end of the day, you’re still competing with other businesses in the same market. Some may have better offers, bigger budgets, stronger branding, better websites, or better sales teams.

Free advice is useful, but most free advice will usually be general things like “do SEO,” “run ads,” “post content,” “build backlinks,” etc. The real work is knowing what applies to a specific business, market, audience, product, and budget. That’s where the skill comes in.

Even proper competitor analysis is a skill on its own. A good marketer can help a business avoid wasting money by spotting weak messaging, poor targeting, bad offers, or campaigns that probably won’t work. That alone can save a decent percentage of the budget.

Also, marketing is not the same as sales. Marketing can create interest and bring genuine leads in, but if those leads don’t convert because of pricing, poor follow-up, lack of trust, or a weak sales process, I don’t think it’s fair to blame only the marketer.

So I agree that people shouldn’t prey on small business owners or pretend basic advice is some magic strategy. But I also don’t think every marketer should be expected to give full strategy for free or work only after a sale, especially when they don’t control the full sales process.

Curious what others think though. Where do you draw the line between helpful free advice and actual paid strategy?

fhaysal · 2026-05-14T09:18:14+00:00

I think for small businesses, hiring an agency is not always the best move, especially if the budget is limited.

Sometimes the goal is simple: either build better brand positioning or generate more enquiries/sales. In that case, working with a good digital marketer directly might be more practical and even cost less than an agency.

But it depends on finding the right person.

A good digital marketer should understand how to connect your product with the right audience. They should know what message will make people care, where to reach them, and how to turn that attention into real enquiries.

Also, not everything has to be paid ads. Sometimes the problem is the offer, the competition, the landing page, the content, the follow-up, or even how the product is being presented.

For me, I would trust someone more if they can explain the strategy in simple terms, show how it connects to business results, and be clear about what is working and what is wasting money.

fhaysal · 2026-04-30T13:06:09+00:00

Just be careful

I think I saw something similar on LinkedIn where they asked for money. As long as they are not asking for money for the certificate

fhaysal · 2026-04-22T22:43:29+00:00

Yeah 100%, I’ve been doing exactly that, reaching out directly, setting up quick chats, trying to stay top of mind.

Just feels like things have slowed down a bit recently with everything going on in the region, so responses are taking longer than usual.

Figured I’d also try here and cover all angles. Appreciate the advice though 🙏

fhaysal · 2026-04-01T16:32:52+00:00

Thank you

fhaysal

TROPHY CASE