We all hate ads, primarily because it is an unethical usage of our data for profits. So, if a person does not want to pay companies like Google, Meta and Microsoft, what alternatives are there to advertise or promote a product or service?
Sure, there are options like posting on online forums, groups and email marketing, but the results do not come anywhere close when compared to paid ads. Are there privacy respecting companies that provides ad placement services? DuckDuckGo uses Microsoft ads, Mojeek didn’t reply and Qwant isn’t available in my country.
Say, I provide a service to a specific type/group of people, what is the most efficient and ethical, and least annoying way to reach them? Say, I own a restaurant or something. How do I attract more customers? I am willing to pay, but to not data-hungry companies.
It might be product specific
If it’s a local restaurant (or local anything) I usually don’t mind ads for it. A flyer for a promotion on a community board would make me think of that palace later. An ad online would also work, but ethics gets more questionable there. Making the ad generic for anyone in that area would be fine I think. If you were making different ads for different age groups, targetting based on income or interest, etc., then that would feel unethical