The MARKETING You Need
For much less.
The marketing department you want can easily cost $500k a year even with AI. Hiring Notice U gets the same results for much less money. We make expert level marketing services accessible to every business regardless of budget.
- Goals
- Business’s internal bandwidth
- Pressure to strategize and execute
How much DOES AN IN-HOUSE TEAM Cost?
Salaries vary by market and experience but here are some ballpark figures.
Strategy, planning and intelligence
A Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) will run $175k a year. A Media Director ($90k/yr) and a Creative Director ($110k/yr) give you experience, direction, and decision making that can’t be replaced by ChatGPT.
Branding and creative
Creative Directors ($120k/yr), Videographers (90k/yr), Graphic Artists (80k/yr), Copywriters (75k/yr), combine to a department that will make you look way better than your competition.
Website and content
Building a website can cost $30k but managing your website is only $100k/yr for a good Web Developer.
SEarch marketing and SEO
Getting you found when customers are looking can cost you $120k a year for a Paid Media Specialist and $110k a year for a seasoned SEO professional. A Conversion Rate Specialist, a seasoned genius at reading data and writing landing pages will cost $120k/yr.
Advertising strategy & Placement
Media directors cost $80k/yr. Digital Paid Media Specialists are $120/yr. This is the hard cost BEFORE you buy any media.
Social media management
Social media managers ($70k/yr) and Content Creation Specialist (50k/yr) make you look good while engaging your customer base.
Email marketing and automation
A top shelf sales nurturing Growth Marketing Manager ($120k/yr) will squeeze hundreds of thousands of dollar in new sales from existing databases.
Analytics and reporting
A Data Scientist at $80k a year will masterfully increase your ROAS while reducing your CPA by driving optimization efforts. Better yet, YOU know what works and why.
All told your marketing department can consist of 14 experts dedicated to growing your business. Any fewer and you will be using marketing agencies and freelancers to fill in gaps.
AGencY PRICING:
Agencies like Notice U provide all of the marketing services you need (every thing listed on the right side of this page) for a reasonable monthly retainer fee. That fee is based on the level of recurring work required to hit your goals. It can be as low as $2,000 a month.
- By service type (monthly retainer)
- By project (a quote)
- By the hour (emergencies and rescues)
- Concierge package (everything on call)
Almost every Notice U client came to us trying to fill one or two service gaps. A new website and SEO, for example.
In every case our involvement grew dramatically. Once a company has a provider they trust, the requests usually come fast and furious.
Most Owners Don’t Have A Marketing Problem. It’s A Clarity Problem. They usually just want leads and more sales. We typically start with a fact finding audit to stop financial bleeding, find immediate ways to boost ROI.
ROLE + SALARY ranges are:
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Chief Marketing Officer / Marketing Director
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$175,000 |
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Digital Marketing Manager / Conversion Rate Optimization Director |
$90,000 |
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Google Ads / Paid Media Specialist |
$85,000 |
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SEO Specialist |
$80,000 |
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Content Strategist / Creative Director |
$95,000 |
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Social Media Manager |
$65,000 |
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Graphic Designer |
$65,000 |
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Web Developer |
$110,000 |
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Media Director / Advertising Manager |
$110,000 |
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CRM / Marketing Automation Specialist |
$90,000 |
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Videographer / Photographer / Editor |
$85,000 |
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Marketing Data Analyst / Reporting Specialist |
$85,000 |
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TOTAL ANNUAL EXPENSE |
$1,135,000 |
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Freelancers - Hidden costs?
about $1,000 to $5,000 per month for smaller businesses, with many established agencies charging $8,000 to $75,000+ per month for more robust support.
AI Tools - Don't Count on it.
Low Stress
No sick days, personal problems or office politics to deal with when using an agency.
Paid ad management
Price conscious businesses or those seeking the cheapest path usually opt for a narrow scope of work with very few services. Businesses that want strategic and comprehensive work know services cost more.
The price tag is not key, but rather what the price includes. And whether it matches the goals you want accomplished.
What’s usually included?
A good agency clearly spells out deliverables, timelines, and reporting. Depending on the package, you get:
- Auditing of your market position, the competitors’, and everyone’s websites, including yours.
- Discovery meetings and strategy sessions.
- Campaign planning and implementation.
- Copywriting, design, and ad creative.
- Landing page recommendations or builds.
- SEO improvements and technical fixes.
- Social media calendars and content creation.
- Ad account setup and optimization.
- Monthly reporting and performance reviews.
When is the investment worth it?
- Need expertise you don’t have in-house.
- Have a team already stretched too thin.
- Keep repeating marketing mistakes and suffering money setbacks.
- Don’t know where you’re at and where you’re going.
- Want faster execution.
- Lack trust in the media and vendor partners you have been using.
- Want consistent messaging and content.
- Have run out of ideas that work.
- Need affordable access to tools and specialists too expensive to get individually.
- Are tired of wasting more money on the way you have been doing it.
- Want a simpler solution.
- Want to conquer obstacles.
Agency investment is justified when the agency helps
- Generate more qualified leads.
- Improve conversion rates.
- Reduce wasted ad spending.
- Strengthens your brand.
- Outperforms your competitors.
- Saves your personal time so you have a life or focus on operations and sales.
Unique Answers for Your Situation
A simple way to think about ROI is this
If you spend $3,000 a month on an agency and it produces even one or two profitable or lifetime customers, the service may pay for itself.
That said, agencies are not magicians with bags full of magic bullets. The ones who told you that in the past had bags full of beans, right?
When your differentiators are weak, poorly expressed, priced out of whack, published in dark corners, unconverted on a poorly performing website, and good advice is ignored, even the best agency will have limits.
When do I keep marketing in-house?
An agency is not be the best fit when your business is embryonic with an extremely tight budget and in need of only occasional help. If you already have someone on your team who manages marketing well, you may get better value by investing in tools, training, and a few targeted campaigns instead of hiring an agency.
You might stay in-house when your needs are simple, such as occasional social posts or basic email updates. In those cases, a freelancer or part-time consultant might make sense.
How to judge value?
Before signing any agreement, ask what the agency will measure and how often they report results. Get clarity on leads, traffic, calls, conversions, cost per lead, and return on ad spend where applicable. A good agency will explain what they do and why it matters.
Use this checklist before hiring an agency:
- What services exactly are included?
- What results should I expect in 3, 6, and 12 months?
- Who will manage my account?
- How often will I receive updates?
- What does success look like?
- Are there setup fees, minimum spending thresholds, or long-term commitments?
If they give vague answers, the costs they quote may be unjustified.
The pragmatic answer.
For most businesses, the question is not whether agencies are useful. Rather the answer is “Do it when your business is at a point where outside expertise creates more value for you.”
To find out for sure, contact us and see what the hometown firm with world-wide reach could be doing for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
A business owner should hire a marketing agency when they need expertise, stronger strategy, faster execution, or more consistent marketing than they can handle in-house. An agency helps when the business is stretched thin, wasting money on ineffective tactics, or the owner wants more qualified leads and better brand visibility.
Marketing agencies provide strategy and planning, branding and creative, website and content development, SEO and local search, paid advertising, social media management, email marketing, and analytics/reporting. Some agencies are full-service, while others specialize in one area such as PPC, SEO, traditional media, or social media.
Pricing varies based on scope, experience, and market size. Common ranges include hourly consulting at about $75 to $250+ per hour, monthly retainers from $1,000 to $5,000 for smaller businesses and $5,000 to $15,000+ for more robust support. One-time projects run from $2,500 to $25,000+. Paid ad management is $500 to $2,500+ per month or 10% to 20% of placement fees.
A good agency agreement outlines deliverables, timelines, and reporting. It may include market audits, discovery sessions, campaign planning, copywriting, design, landing page development, SEO fixes, social media content, ad account setup, optimization, and monthly reporting and performance reviews.
An agency is worth it when it generates more qualified leads, improves conversion rates, reduces wasted money on ad spending, strengthens the brand, and saves time. If the agency’s work produces enough value to outweigh the monthly cost, the investment pays for itself.