Quick Links
Quick Links
In today’s competitive business climate, it’s more challenging than ever to improve your marketing strategy without breaking the bank. The average business spends between 7% and 8% of its revenue on marketing. Again, that’s revenue, not budget!
Unfortunately, marketing costs are only continuing to rise. Fortunately, with the right help and expertise, you can save on marketing and build a lasting strategy for the lowest price point. Here’s a helpful freelance marketing guide to help you find the right professional for your marketing campaign!
Hiring an in-house marketing team is a common goal for small business owners. While there are benefits to having an in-house marketing professional or team, this is typically the most expensive option.
Marketing professionals come with high salaries. The average base salary of a qualified marketing professional is over $75,000 a year. Of course, that’s on top of liability costs, benefits, and more for full-time employees.
Conversely, a marketing freelancer will usually set an hourly rate, and that’s all you’re responsible for paying for. These rates can vary widely depending on qualifications and services, but you could expect to pay anywhere from $30 to $100 an hour.
Still, this will often work out in your favor. You can control how much work you need to be done and only pay for that.
On top of that, there are also digital marketing agencies, which is another way to outsource your marketing services. These agencies will either charge more than freelancer rates or charge a monthly flat fee, usually between $1,500 for basic services and up to $5,000 or more for more in-depth services. For larger businesses with greater needs, the costs can go much higher.
Freelancers are independent contractors, not employees. This allows you to easily set the terms of the arrangement between you and the freelancer. Even if there’s a “middleman”, it’s nothing like working with a temp agency.
For example, you can set deadlines, let them know about your branding preferences, discuss rates, and more. The terms of your arrangement are between you and the freelancer, regardless of any platform or “middleman”.
Freelancers love their careers because of the flexibility that it offers them. Therefore, you don’t have to stretch your imagination to understand that they’re flexible people as a whole.
While no large group is a true monolith, freelancers tend to be quite flexible people. This will translate into flexibility over deadlines, work capacities, and more.
Also, there’s more room for flexibility on your end when you hire a freelancer. For example, if somebody isn’t the right fit for you, there are always other qualified freelance marketers available. This allows you to easily shop around until you find the right fit for your needs.
Again, while freelancers will typically charge more per hour than an in-house marketer, there’s often a lot of wasted time with full-time employees. Conversely, a freelance marketing professional will only charge you for the amount of work they produce or the time it takes them to finish that work.
You can agree to these terms ahead of time, which will almost always work out in your favor. Either way, you’ll know what you’re paying before going into a project, so you can decide if it’s worth it before committing!
Also, freelancers and remote workers tend to be happier and more productive than traditional employees on average. Believe it or not, people who work remotely are 13% more productive than those working in an office.
Not only that, but freelancers have other clients to serve and overhead responsibilities to manage. Therefore, they aren’t incentivized to waste time, especially compared to an hourly or salaried employee. This is especially true when they charge on a per-project basis.
If you need somebody with more expertise in a particular field of marketing, freelancers are the best choice.
For example, you can search online for freelancers who specialize in SEO, Google Ads, or Amazon listings. Regardless of your needs, there are plenty of freelancers out there specializing in these fields.
Therefore, if you need the expertise of a specialist, you can hire freelancers with the knowledge and skills needed. Otherwise, you’ll simply be choosing between generalized marketing employees with a bachelor’s degree in the field. While the latter may be the right fit for some businesses, there is no substitute for a specialist.
Freelancers are essentially business owners. Consequently, they’re incentivized to keep their knowledge and skills updated with the latest trends in their respective fields. In turn, this translates well to your business.
Fields like SEO, social media, and digital advertising change all the time. Unless you plan to pay your marketing employees to read up on new material, a freelancer is a way to go, as they are responsible for staying updated as part of their overhead responsibilities.
When you have a simple problem, there’s no point in overpaying for long-term services. Instead, you may only need to hire a freelance marketing consultant for temporary assistance or to simply point your team in the right direction.
If that’s all you need, why hire a long-term employee or an expensive marketing firm? Hiring a qualified freelancer is a much easier and more affordable process.
Freelancer arrangements are simple, and freelancers don’t come with any intense labor restrictions. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.
This will dramatically limit your risks when choosing a candidate. You won’t have to go through lengthy onboarding processes or worry about legal issues when terminating an arrangement.
Specialists in any marketing niche tend to work as freelancers. In part, this is because there aren’t as many full-time jobs available for specialized marketing services like social media marketing or SEO.
Therefore, if you have a limited campaign or a specific service you need, hiring a freelancer is the best option. This way, you won’t simply have to hire someone with a generalized marketing background for a more niche service.
Most freelancing platforms are ripe with SEO specialists, Google Ads specialists, and plenty of other niche marketing professionals. This will not only save you money on your campaign but get you the expert assistance you need.
Freelancers don’t come with the same baggage as employees. They require much less paperwork, overhead expenses, and liability coverage.
With a freelancer, all you have to do is agree to the terms set before your arrangement. From there, you’ll only have to pay them the agreed-upon fee once the work is complete, and you’ll only have to give them as much work as you need to be completed. This means there’s no need for employee-related operations like staff evaluations, complicated tax forms, or payroll services.
Also, limiting your number of employees can directly save you money, help you qualify for certain loans, and more. Many business classifications depend on your number of employees, not subcontractors or freelancers.
If you choose the right freelancer platform, you won’t have to worry about a long vetting and onboarding process. You can choose between pre-vetted professionals who can start on your marketing campaign within days or even hours after interviewing them and determining the right fit!
On platforms like FreeUp, only the best of the best freelance professionals are available in any given niche. If they find a gig that suits them, they’ll have to apply, explain their qualifications, and reach out to you to make their pitch. From there, you can choose who’s best suited for the role you need to fill with no other vetting necessary.
We vet our freelancers for days before allowing them on our platform, ensuring they have the skills, qualifications, and availability necessary to offer the best services to our clients. You can check out our previous customer reviews to learn more!
Clearly, there are some important benefits of hiring freelance marketing services. If you want to take your business to the next level, hiring qualified professionals on the scale you need is the best way to get started. It limits your risks, saves you money, and helps promote your brand as soon as possible.
Stay up to date with our latest tips for your business, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or for help finding qualified freelancers!
No minimums. Fast access to top US and international talent.
Start Hiring