Good content Marketing requires a substantial investment in a good content marketing Agency and their strategy suggestions. There is simply no way around the costs associated with valuable content that drives results and successfully builds your brand. So before you begin exploring your agency options, you first need to understand that cost is inevitable, but that it’s also a worthwhile investment to making strides toward your marketing goals.

What’s the Minimum

One of the first financial questions you should ask agencies is what their minimum retainer will cost and how many months will be included at that price. Agencies that quote below $4,000 a month for 6-12 months will have difficulty producing any return on your investments.

While it’s important to find the most cost-effective agency, you should also be spending your money wisely. An agency that costs $5,000 and can produce tangible returns and monthly measurements will be more effective than an agency that costs $3,000 without any results. The minimum for a monthly retainer should sit somewhere above $4,000 for valuable content that should include a range of types, i.e. blog posts, white papers, eBooks, resource pages, landing pages, etc., as well as buyer persona development.

Each agency will have different offers on what will be included in your monthly price. Search for an agency that offers what you need at a price that you can afford.

Where to Invest

What should you do if your company is unable to make a large investment in a content marketing agency? You should look for different opportunities to invest the money you can spend.

Good content marketing agencies understand that full packages aren’t always in the price range for some clients. If you have a smaller budget, consider asking a content agency to develop ideas on where you can and should invest. Worthy content marketing agencies will have more than money on their minds; they will genuinely want to help you develop plans to reach your marketing goals.

Interns

Hiring an in-house intern to write blog posts, manage your social media accounts and develop website content can be a great way to give your marketing strategies manpower that can point your content in the right direction. Ask an agency to suggest a general roadmap for your intern to follow to help create traction from an internal (and budget-friendly) source.

Online Optimization

Whether it’s search results or conversion, optimizing is a great place to invest your budget. Any agency worth your time and money can tell you if your user experience is optimized or not, and if not point you in the right direction for better online optimization. Enhancing your search results and/or conversion helps you turn viewers into leads with content you have already produced.

Content marketing costs money. Whether your budget is big or small, a good agency should be able to provide good insight on how to improve your marketing strategy. Search for agencies that have a solid minimum retainer and explore what that cost will cover in terms of output and measurable returns on investment. If minimum retainers are too expensive for your company needs, find an agency that has your best interests in mind and ask them for a few investment suggestions.

Need help finding an agency? Download our free guide to choosing the right content marketing agency. It includes sample questions to ask along every step of the way and even a scorecard for you to utilize to compare agencies.

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