How We Work

Over the years, it has become very clear how unfamiliar new clients are with how we work or how we charge.  This is not surprising given how many different business models there are in our industry.

Let’s try to clear this up …

We work with clients in several ways:

• Solo Project
• Monthly Program
• Modified Monthly Program

Let’s explore these a little further.

Solo Project – just as the name suggests, this is a one-time assignment that includes all relevant services – including strategic planning, creative direction, copy and design, project supervision and production costs.  We handle the entire project (or just the pieces you need).  We give you an estimate in advance and bill you progressively through the project.

Monthly Program – this is a monthly commitment of 6 months during which we can provide our services for one or more marketing activities.  (After 6 months, it is month to month.) We usually work on a variety of projects but that’s entirely up to you.  For our fee, we provide strategic planning, creative direction, copywriting and project supervision.  Graphic design services are extra, but we can include graphic design for a higher fee.  All out-of-pocket production costs are billed separately.

Modified Monthly Program – this a a combination of the two programs above.  We charge a monthly fee for strategic planning and project management, and then we charge on a project basis for creative services (creative direction, copywriting and graphic design). All out-of-pocket production costs are also billed separately. 

Working Arrangements by Services

Direct Mail
Most direct mail assignments start out as a Solo Project – a test campaign. If the results go as expected or hoped, they can become repeat projects.  At that point, instead of a Solo Project, we can restructure to create a Monthly Program or a Modified Monthly Program

Email Campaigns
Email is best handled as a Modified Monthly Program.  We can set up and manage your email account on a month-to-month basis, and then bill you separately on a project basis for each email we create.

Online Marketing
Online Marketing is best handled as a Monthly Program.  We charge a monthly fee to manage your account on a third-party platform (like Google).  That fee increases (modestly) as you add more programs to your account. We do charge separately for ad creation and landing page creation if needed.

Lead Surveys
Lead Surveys most often start as Solo Projects but can quickly become a Monthly Program or Modified Monthly Program if results meet expectations. Lead Surveys can be developed for direct mail or email.

Content Marketing
Content creation on its own could be one Solo Project at a time.  Just creating content is a good idea, but it is much better to develop content around a Content Marketing strategy.  In that case, a Modified Monthly Program makes more sense.  This would include a monthly fee to identify the goals of the program, decide on the specific types of content, develop a strategy, to distribute the content and to supervise the distribution. The content itself would be handled on a project basis.

Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix is by definition a Monthly Program but could also be a Modified Monthly Program.  We set up a monthly relationship to work on whatever projects are most important to you at any given time.