#FreelancersVsAgencies #GoogleAds #EcommerceSuccess
Hey everyone, it’s M here 🙋♂️! So, let’s talk about the age-old debate: Freelancers vs. Agencies. I’ve been through the wringer with nine different marketing agencies for my Google Ads campaigns, and let me tell you, it was a rollercoaster of disappointment. But then, enter the freelancer 🌟. Here’s my take on why freelancers might just have the upper hand over agencies:
– 🎯 Tailored Approach: Freelancers can provide a more personalized and focused strategy for your specific needs.
– 💸 Cost-Effective: Generally, freelancers are more budget-friendly than big agency retainers.
– 🥇 Proven Results: In my case, the freelancer delivered a 10x ROAS, blowing the agencies out of the water!
So, what do you think? Have you had better experiences with freelancers or agencies? Let’s share our insights and tips to help each other succeed in the e-commerce game! 🚀 #FreelancersRock #EcommerceGrowth
Freelancers have their own skin in the game as their work will directly affect how their business goes.
The downside of course being that you have to personally vet freelancers much more carefully as anyone can become a freelancer. With a large agency you often have some responsibility to provide good employees.
> Freelancers for the win when it comes to Google Ads, no doubt about it.
Several doubts about it.
This could just be proof that you’re just not good ad choosing an agency.
Maybe you got lucky with this one freelancer, maybe you should try 9 different freelancers.
> when chosen wisely, can outperform the big players in a huge way.
This is the only true thing. It can be but doesn’t have to be and is not always (or by any significant margin) the case.
On the contrary you have the more likely problems: freelancer has vacation, is ill, has different client and is no longer available which makes your business dependent on one single person. Now you have to find a new own, go through the whole onboarding process again and hope for the best. With an agency you usually don’t have this problems (you have different ones).
So the real answer is: It depends. Sometimes you’re lucky/unlucky with a freelancer and sometimes with an agency. It all depends on your specific circumstances what may work better for you.
That’s my experience too. I’m 10 years deep into e-commerce and every agency I’ve worked with was a disappointment. Big words, big promises and fees but no returns. I consistently had a lot better results than any of them. My perception is that they are very good with selling their product but the people managing the campaigns for clients are not experienced enough.
I’ve seen this post like 4 times. This guy is the freelancer just promoting himself.
I’ve been down that agency rabbit hole too and it’s wild how they talk such a big game but can’t deliver.
This is typically always the case, especially if you end up working with solid freelancers in my generation (40 -50 or so ). Many of us have been execs, sold agencies, and pretty much invented digital and integrated marketing.
If you find a freelancer / independent / consultant that works on a performance + model, they are invested in the success just like you. You’ll likely end up with much stronger results than an agency.
With agencies, you’re paying for time to cover expenses and headcount. It’s a pure numbers game and there is some value with good ones in certain scenarios, but in my experience, you don’t realize those benefits until you’re spending something north of $25k/mo.
I’ve noticed this with developers as well. I tend to have much better luck with freelance devs than hiring agencies. With agencies you’re paying a big markup for the owners and their overhead (especially if they have fancy offices).
Bypassing the middle man to get straight to the talent can work, although you have to do more leg work on qualifying and managing them.
This is why I became a Google Ads specialist.
I tried a few agencies, but every one of them was an amateur.
Would it be possible to get his details please. Thanks
This is true because freelancers don’t delegate. However, you still can achieve 5-6x ROAS if you try and set proper systems in place. If course, if you, the agency owner jump in to work, it would go higher for sure.
what’re your products?
Hook it up with your free lancer ftw bro
You’re right about your experience with agencies…
But that doesn’t mean freelancers always deliver.
The digital marketing industry is a mess because anyone can call themselves an expert and pretty much everything can be faked.
About 80% of our clients have had at least one bad experience with either an agency or a freelancer.
When I was a freelancer, I was an advertiser, not a marketer. I focused on specific tasks like managing ad campaigns.
That’s good for specific needs, but I found I could deliver way more value as an agency.
Freelancers are great, especially on a smaller budget.
But you need to have well-defined goals and tasks.
Agencies shine when there is a larger budget, more experience is needed, and more services and channels are at play.
The comprehensive strategies and integrated efforts often lead to better, more consistent results.
There are a couple of different agency models:
• Massive Outreach Agencies:
These agencies scale to ~$10k, do massive, consistent outreach, and offer “great value for money,” often with a guarantee.
They churn through clients quickly, with an average client lifetime of around 3 months.
• Premium Branded Agencies:
These agencies have strong branding and marketing, making big claims about working with huge brands.
They charge premium rates but often have one senior managing a team of juniors/interns, or outsourcing the work to cheap-labor overseas.
They focus on high profit margins and often lock clients into long-term retainers.
Results vary, and they are good at hiding bad results with good ones.
• High-Quality Agencies:
These agencies provide top-notch service and are not cheap but affordable compared to agencies that don’t get results.
This is what I’m doing myself.
The challenges include not being able to compete on price and having limited marketing resources compared to premium brands.
Attracting top talent is tough because the best can earn more freelancing or running their own businesses. Employee costs are huge, and every account needs a senior expert, often costing over $100 an hour plus benefits.
We’ve gotten most of our experts through acquisitions and partnerships.
If you take this model, 90% of potential clients disappear (they wouldn’t be a good fit anyway).
The overhead is so large it’s difficult to start and scale profitably.
That’s why many choose one of the other models. I had those thoughts myself.
It would be easier to lower value/costs and increase profit margins.
But I believe in a value-first approach.
This model has a higher ceiling if done correctly because your retainers are bigger and clients stay longer.
It’s incredibly difficult to figure out who or what the right fit for your business is because pretty much everything can be faked.
There are two questions I always recommend asking whoever you are interviewing:
– “What is your customer lifetime?”
– “How are you applying your own services to your own business?”
Those are the two ways we differentiate ourselves.
Clients stay because they see results, and getting results with “practice what you preach” is a huge flex in the digital marketing industry.
Just sharing my thoughts and experiences from both sides of the fence.
P.S. This is a general overview, and in reality, there are many more models with all sorts of differences, nuances, and services.
Each business and situation is unique, making it important to thoroughly evaluate every potential partner.
Do you create products yourself? Or are you just the middleman? Dropshipping/ecom in a nutshell
I feel like agencies try to upsell you on something that isn’t that worth it but I’m sure not all are like this.
Depends on the freelancer. The amount of people suggesting web dev as a career path after a month of training is certainly concerning
Never thought about this, but it kind of makes sense now the feedback that I receive from some of my clients. I am an SEO freelancer and get some one-off comments about my work vs. agencies, and most of the time, they are way happier working with me than with agencies.