Should you hire a marketing agency or do it yourself?

At some point every owner looks at the marketing list, the posts, the emails, the website updates, the reviews, and wonders whether to keep doing it all at night or pay someone to take it. Agencies say hire us. Online courses say do it yourself. Neither has much reason to be honest with you.

Here is a straight way to decide whether to hire a marketing agency, what to keep in house, and what a fair arrangement looks like if you do hand it off.

When should a small business hire a marketing agency?

A small business should hire a marketing agency when the marketing is not getting done consistently, when the hours it takes are worth more spent on paying work, or when a specific job needs skills you do not have, such as running ads or building a website. If none of those are true, doing it yourself is usually the right call.

The trap is judging on cost alone. Doing it yourself looks free, but if three evenings a week of social posts and emails cost you a weekend job or two a month, it is the most expensive option you have.

What can you realistically do yourself?

Most owners can handle the jobs that need their knowledge more than technical skill. In our experience these are the ones worth keeping:

• Asking for reviews. Nobody can do this better than you at the end of a good job.
• Your Google Business Profile. Adding photos, answering questions and posting updates takes about 15 minutes a week.
• Photos and short videos of real work. You are on site and an agency is not.
• A simple monthly email. One useful note to past customers, written in your own voice.

The jobs that usually go better handed off are the technical ones where mistakes cost money: building or rebuilding a website, setting up ad accounts and tracking, technical SEO, and anything you would have to learn from scratch to do once.

How much does a marketing agency cost for a small business?

Marketing agencies typically charge small businesses between 1,000 and 5,000 dollars a month for ongoing work, with freelancers often charging 50 to 150 dollars an hour and one off projects such as websites priced separately. Ad spend is almost always on top of the management fee, so check whether a quote includes it.

What moves the price is how many channels are covered, how often the work happens, and how much reporting you get. A fair rule of thumb, used by many small business advisers, is that total marketing spend including agency fees sits somewhere around 5 to 10 percent of revenue. Our post on how much a small business should spend on marketing goes through that number in detail.

What should a good agency arrangement include?

A good agency arrangement spells out exactly what gets done each month, who owns the accounts, and how results are reported. If you cannot tell from the agreement what you are getting, you will not be able to tell later whether you got it.

Before you sign anything, check four things:

• You own everything. Your website, domain, ad accounts, email list and social pages should be in your name, with the agency given access, never the other way round.
• The deliverables are specific. “Social media management” is vague. “Twelve posts a month on Facebook and Instagram” is clear.
• Reporting ties to money. Calls, forms, bookings and sales, not just likes and impressions.
• You can leave. Look for no long term commitment, or a short notice period, so the agency keeps earning your business.

Is there a middle ground between agency and doing it yourself?

Yes, and for many small businesses it is the best option: hand off the technical setup and the time heavy routine work, and keep the parts that need you. A common split is an agency handling the website, ads and scheduled posts while the owner handles reviews, photos and customer emails.

You can also start with a one off plan and do the work yourself. A single strategy session that leaves you with a clear list of priorities is often worth more than months of guessing.

Target Marketeer builds and runs marketing for small businesses nationwide, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and plenty of our clients do part of the work themselves. If you want a plan before deciding anything, our strategy session runs $249 and leaves you with a clear list of what to do yourself and what is worth handing off. Our full service marketing plans page shows what ongoing help looks like.

Quick answers

Is it worth hiring a marketing agency for a small business?

It is worth it when the marketing is not getting done, when your time is worth more on paying work, or when you need skills you do not have. If you have the time and the work is simple, doing it yourself is reasonable.

How much should I pay a marketing agency?

Small businesses commonly pay 1,000 to 5,000 dollars a month for ongoing agency work, plus any ad spend. The right figure depends on how many channels are covered and how often the work happens.

What marketing should a small business owner do themselves?

Asking for reviews, updating your Google Business Profile, taking photos of real work and sending a simple monthly email. These need your knowledge and voice more than technical skill.

How do I know if my agency is doing a good job?

Ask what changed in calls, forms, bookings and sales, not just reach and likes. A good agency can show the link between its work and your revenue, or explain honestly why it cannot yet.

Whichever way you go, decide how you will measure it first. Our guide to telling whether your marketing is working shows the simplest way to do that.