Not an answer to your question, but it's ironic to me that I hate ads but wonder how to promote my product (if I ever have one) or services if I do not use ads.

When there are entire multi-billion dollar industries built on trying to solve the problem you are facing, you can safely assume that the solution is likely more complex than you or I are capable of figuring out effectively. If you're spending +$10k a year on ads, then it might be worth investing a portion of that into a consultation with a small, independent performance marketing agency.

Oh, and I forgot to mention. I tried to get ads both on X and Facebook, but on both platforms the payment or creating the ad failed in various ways. Searching online, I noticed many people had the same issues. I can't understand how those big companies simply don't care that customers want to give them money but can't