Most businesses buying content marketing have been burned at least once. They paid a retainer, got a handful of articles, saw nothing measurable, and quietly stopped.
That usually is not because content does not work. It is because the buying decision was made on price and vibes rather than on what actually determines whether a program produces anything. This guide covers the four ways to buy, what each really costs, and the questions worth asking.
Every option is genuinely right for someone. The failures are predictable once you know where each one strains.
Agency retainers commonly run from around two thousand to ten thousand a month, typically buying somewhere between two and six articles — which works out to several hundred dollars per published piece once strategy and reporting are billed on top. Freelance rates commonly land between one hundred fifty and six hundred per article, plus whatever your own time is worth doing everything around the writing.
These are general market ranges rather than survey figures, and they vary widely by market, niche and scope. Ask any provider for their own current numbers.
The number that actually matters is not price per article. It is cost per published, structured, interlinked article that is part of a coherent plan — because an unstructured article is close to worthless regardless of what it cost.
Ask these before signing anything. The answers are more revealing than any portfolio.
That last question matters most. A provider who cannot describe compounding is selling you individual articles, not a program.
Do it yourself if you have someone who can genuinely commit four to six hours a week indefinitely, and who will still be doing it in month nine. That person exists in some businesses, and when they do, in-house beats everything.
Buy it if content is going to be the fifth priority of someone already doing four other jobs — which describes most small and mid-sized businesses. The failure mode of DIY is not bad articles, it is a blog that stops in March.
Agency retainers commonly run two to ten thousand a month for roughly two to six articles; freelance rates commonly run one hundred fifty to six hundred per article plus your own time managing everything around the writing. These are general market ranges, not survey data — ask any provider for their current numbers.
An agency bundles strategy and production but bills hours; a freelancer is cheaper per piece but leaves you as the strategist doing research, briefs, editing, publishing and internal linking. The right answer depends on whether you have time to run the system yourself.
How many articles publish per month and what happens if they miss, who chooses topics and how, whether pieces are interlinked, whether you own the content if you cancel, whether they publish consistently on their own domain, and what happens in month six that did not happen in month one.
Tell us your industry and city. We will send back a short snapshot of the questions buyers in your market are typing, and who is currently answering them.
We deploy for one business per niche, per metro. Thirty minutes tells you whether yours is open.
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