Draft estimate for a six-month marketing retainer in Seattle, WA.
Assumptions: three channels, monthly content calendar, quarterly strategy reviews, ad spend billed separately.
| Strategy & setupAudit, positioning, channel plan | $2,000–$4,000 |
| Content production (monthly)Copy, design & scheduling | $1,500–$3,500/mo |
| Campaign management & reportingOptimization, dashboards, reviews | $1,000–$2,500/mo |
✓ Invoice INV-10071 created for Mike Smith: strategy, content creation, and social media management.
| Marketing strategy sprintAudit, positioning, channel plan | $2,400.00 |
| Content production (8 pieces)Copy, design, scheduling | $1,600.00 |
| Social media managementMonthly retainer, three channels | $1,200.00 |
Here’s an example pricing breakdown for marketing services. Use these numbers as a starting point, then adjust them based on your rates, project scope, number of channels, and level of ongoing support.
Assumptions: One-month marketing engagement, one business, standard campaign setup, content support, reporting, and no large ad spend or major website development.
| Marketing strategy & planningCampaign planning, audience research, and channel recommendations | $300–$600 |
| Content creationSocial posts, basic graphics, and campaign copy | $400–$800 |
| Social media managementScheduling, publishing, and account management | $500–$1,000 |
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Deposits. Charge a deposit upfront before starting work. Percent (%) or dollar ($) based. Multiple deposits.
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A good marketing estimate should give the client a quick picture of what you plan to do and what they can expect to pay. That might include strategy, campaign setup, content, SEO, social media, consulting, ad spend, reporting, and any other services included in the project. With Invoicer.ai, you can organize those costs in one place, send the estimate for approval, and convert it into an invoice when the work is ready to bill.
Create marketing estimates that are easy for clients to review. Break out strategy, campaign management, content creation, ad spend, consulting, reporting, and the total estimated cost so clients can see what’s included before approving the project.
A social media marketing estimate can include content planning, post creation, scheduling, community management, reporting, and the number of platforms being managed. You may also want to include design work, video editing, paid promotion, or additional content separately.
For ongoing social media management, the estimate can show the monthly fee, expected number of posts, reporting schedule, and any services that fall outside the regular package.
An SEO estimate can cover keyword research, technical audits, on-page optimization, content updates, link building, local SEO, and monthly reporting. The final cost will depend on the size of the website, competition, and how much work is needed.
For ongoing SEO, you can also include a monthly retainer, content creation, technical fixes, or additional consulting as separate items.
A paid advertising estimate can include campaign strategy, account setup, keyword or audience research, ad creation, campaign management, testing, optimization, and reporting.Keep your management fees separate from the client’s advertising budget so they can easily see what they are paying you and how much is being allocated to ad spend.
The project scope explains what marketing work is included in the estimate and what falls outside of the agreed services. For a marketing project, this can include strategy, campaign setup, content creation, SEO, social media management, paid ads, email marketing, reporting, consulting, design work, ad spend, and any other deliverables.
It's also worth noting what is not included, such as extra content, additional campaign revisions, new platforms, extra consulting hours, increased ad spend, or work added after the original scope was approved.
For marketing, deposits are most useful when you’re committing time or resources before the client sees the finished work. That could be a campaign launch, branding project, paid ads setup, or a larger retainer where part of the work is completed over several weeks.
You can use the estimate to show how the total will be split, whether that means an upfront deposit, milestone payments, or a final balance at the end of the project. This gives the client a better idea of the payment schedule before they approve the work.
A marketing estimate and a quote serve similar purposes, but they're not always used the same way. An estimate is useful when some project details are still flexible and the final price could change as the work develops. A quote works better when the scope and price are already settled.
For example, you might send a quote for a fixed social media package with a set number of posts each month. An estimate may make more sense for a larger campaign where ad spend, content needs, consulting hours, or additional services could change along the way.
Before sending a marketing estimate, make sure the client can quickly see what work is included, how the pricing is broken down, and what they need to do next. Cover the project scope, services, any extra costs, payment terms, and the total estimated price.
Your marketing estimate checklist can include:
A marketing estimate template is a good choice when you only need to put together the occasional estimate and want a simple file you can edit, download, and send. However, if you create marketing estimates often, an Estimate Maker is the faster and more practical choice.
Instead of reworking the same file for every client, you can create marketing estimates online, save client details, reuse services you offer regularly, and keep previous estimates organized in one place. The AI Assistant can also help build line items and add project details without as much manual editing.
With a marketing estimate generator, you can include strategy, campaign management, content creation, SEO, social media, consulting, reporting, ad spend, taxes, discounts, deposits, and payment terms while totals update automatically. This is especially useful when you manage several clients, recurring retainers, or projects with multiple services.
A marketing estimate is helpful when you still don't know exactly what the final project will involve. Maybe the ad budget could change, the client may want more content, or the campaign could need extra revisions or consulting along the way. In those cases, an estimate gives everyone a realistic starting point without treating the price as completely fixed.
If you're offering a set package with a fixed price, a quote may make more sense. And if the work is already done and it's time to get paid, that's when you should send an invoice. For bigger or ongoing projects, like retainers, rebrands, or multi-channel campaigns, it's also a good idea to use a contract alongside the estimate. That can cover deadlines, revisions, payment schedules, cancellations, ownership of the work, and how extra requests will be handled.
Invoicer is great for marketers because it is an easy-to-use, super fast, and affordable AI-powered invoicing and estimate solution with unlimited clients, invoices, and estimates.
Invoicer saves you time thanks to the intuitive editor, fast interface, easy filtering, search and sorting, estimate automation, and gets you paid faster through online payments and payment reminders.
