If you’re a business who wants to become more marketing-savvy, you may be thinking about hiring a marketing freelancer, as opposed to an agency. While marketing freelancers are well-trained and work well, they tend to be more costly than hiring an agency. All businesses need a good marketing program, but you shouldn’t have to break the bank in order to have a successful marketing campaign and improve your sales. In this article, we will tell you five different ways that a marketing freelancer can be costly.
#1: Freelancers add to the headcount.
A freelancer usually costs more to hire than a full-time paid employee because the freelancer is contracting with your business, adding on expenses to you. While hiring a marketing agency will also cost money, the dynamics are different, and that is something you should be aware of.
#2: A freelancer has more work to do by themselves.
A freelancer is just one person. While they may be available for short-term work and immediate marketing jobs, they also have a longer list of clientele that they personally have to help. If you’re a business who is going to need a lot of assistance in the future, consistently and in large volumes, this is something you should note. Freelancers’ schedules and responsibilities differ from large marketing agencies because freelancers are working by themselves and their workload is heavier.
#3: Lack of resources.
While many freelancers are well-suited for big jobs, the more technological resources they have at hand, the more costly their services are going to be for you. Freelancers aren’t always able to have the same resources that a large marketing agency has, simply because they are not a large operation and aren’t set up for that. Therefore, if you’re working with a freelancer who is also contracting with another freelancer or business to supply the tech support that you need, that is going to be more expensive.
#4: Freelancers charge more because there is more risk to them.
A major problem many freelancers face is the risk of a no-payment situation. Often, you’ll hear horror stories of freelancers who have done all of this work for a client and ended up without them paying a dime, whether because of a fraudulent situation or something similar. Because of this, freelancers’ costs tend to be higher because they are preparing for incidentals and other potential risks to them. While it is understandable, it is something to be aware of.
#5: Capacity is more limited.
Much the same as the other points on this list, a freelancer’s clientele capacity is limited because he or she is on their own and working without the assistance of a large firm or agency. Their capacity for clients is limited, and you may find that in order to retain their services over long periods of time, you need to shell out more money. Because of the nature of freelance work versus that of a large marketing agency, there is a likely chance that marketing freelancers will cost you more depending on what you’re asking for.
Marketing freelancers versus marketing agencies is a question that has been hotly debated by both sides. While freelancers are good at what they do, and they are very professional, there are costs to hiring an individual that you won’t face with a large marketing agency. Agencies have a higher clientele capacity, more ability to take on a lot of work at one time, and are more capable to handle a high volume of work for a longer duration of time. These are all things to consider when picking between an agency and a freelancer.
