Marketing Retainer FAQ: What Clients Usually Ask Before Starting a Marketing Retainer
If you’re not even sure what a marketing retainer is…you’re not alone! A retainer is simply an upfront, agreed-upon fee that secures you a predetermined scope of services from me each month. Retainers are ideal for businesses and organizations who want consistent, professional marketing without the desire or ability to manage it all in-house.
My retainers come in three different flavors: Content (E-news, blog & website), Social Media & Combo.
Here are some answers I’ve put together to help you decide if a retainer is right for you:
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CONTENT RETAINER:
✓ Monthly E-newsletter
✓ Monthly SEO-backed Blog
✓ Website Management & Updates
✓ Monthly Strategy Sessions & Quarterly Analytics Reports
✓ 12-month Content Planning
SOCIAL MEDIA RETAINER:
✓ Monthly content planning for Instagram & Facebook (number of posts varies by retainer level)
✓ Branded posts, reels & stories
✓ Caption writing
✓ Scheduling
✓ Quarterly analytics review
✓ Organic profile growth strategy
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Content: $800/month
Social Media Lite: $750/month
Social Media Pro: $1,000/month
Combo of Content & Social: Save $200/month
And yes! All retainer services cost less than if you purchased everything from me separately, plus retainer clients can enjoy 15% off all the rest of my services.
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Marketing ROI isn’t as straightforward as plugging numbers into a spreadsheet, especially when you’re investing in long-term channels like social media, email, blogs, and website management. These aren’t direct-response ads designed to convert someone in a single click. They’re visibility, trust, and credibility channels.
Here’s what can be measured:
Website traffic
Email list growth, open rates, and click-throughs
Social reach, engagement, saves, shares, and profile visits
Inquiries, bookings, and leads that reference “finding you online”
Here’s what’s harder to quantify, but just as real:
People feeling confident enough to contact you
Repeat exposure that builds familiarity and trust
Referrals that happen because someone “kept seeing you everywhere”
A stronger first impression when someone lands on your site or social pages
Most people don’t turn into customers the first time they encounter a brand. They follow, they watch, they read, they open emails, and then they reach out when the timing is right. Retainer work supports that entire journey.
So while I can’t promise a specific dollar-for-dollar return in a set timeframe, I can promise consistent visibility, stronger positioning, and marketing systems that make it easier for the right people to find you, trust you, and take the next step.
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Short answer: Yes, but not in the way you might expect!
Long Answer: Like most everyone else, I’ve experimented with ways to use AI to help make things easier/faster/better in my business.
But here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: Now that everyone is exposed to it on a regular basis, AI content can be spotted from a mile away. Familiar rhythms, common buzzwords and themes, the once-beloved-but-now-dreaded em dash. Just like I don’t want to be grouped together with everyone else who’s using AI to slam out content, I don’t want my clients to either.
So, I’m very selective in the ways I utilize AI in my retainer work, and it’s usually to help with organizing ideas or auditing myself.
You will never receive content from me that you could have had ChatGPT spit out for you.
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I’m looking to partner with businesses/orgs who are ready to commit to 12 consecutive months of services. It takes about 3 months to get into a good groove, and then the benefits of a long-term partnership really start to show.
That being said, things do happen (life be life-in’) and for that reason, I have a very straightforward early cancellation policy that simply asks for one additional month of payment.
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My retainer contracts are designed to take several time-consuming marketing tasks off your plate so you can focus on your actual business, but that doesn’t mean I take your logo files and never hear from you again (and yes, that has happened to me before.)
After our initial onboarding, I will communicate with you throughout the month to gather content and feedback as needed. I will also occasionally need you to send me those pesky six-digit login codes or answer a question every once in awhile, but once we get in a groove our communication will mostly be predictable.
You get the final approval on everything, so I’ll need you (or your point person) to be available to do that in a timely manner to keep us on schedule.
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Yes, happy to help with anything you need! Retainer clients get 15% off all the rest of my services, as well as priority communication and turnaround times.
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Yes! For every client you refer to me who signs up for an annual retainer contract, I’ll deduct $500 from your next bill. There’s no limit!
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My advertised retainer pricing does not include photography/videography content, but I’m open to offering iPhone content for an additional monthly fee on a case-by-case basis. I do provide plenty of guidance and ideas to help you capture content yourself.
Otherwise, I highly recommend reaching out to Kayla Nicole Studio for all your brand photography and videography needs. She’s the absolute best!
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Yes! Since you always have access to the upcoming months post schedule, you can see where to fit in additional posts and make sure were not duplicating content. I also encourage my clients to post in their stories since I can’t film those fun behind-the-scenes moments.
If you still have questions or are ready to chat with me in real time, please reach out! Let’s get a meeting on the calendar so you can start reclaiming hours of your time every month.
