9 Crucial Boundaries to Set in Your Digital Marketing Services Agreement to Protect Your Freedom

Are you a digital marketer? I'm telling you what boundaries you must have in your digital marketing services agreement to protect your time, energy and money.

Having the freedom to work where you want how you want as a digital marketer is a dream career, but if you're anything like me, you want to ensure that you set boundaries with your clients to protect that freedom. As a lawyer myself who creates contract templates for digital marketers like you, I am giving you all the critical boundaries you need in your digital marketing services agreement.

You will learn about the key boundaries you must set in your digital marketing services agreement, even if you're just using a marketing services agreement sample you found online or got a digital marketing contract template free of charge from a friend.

After learning all about the important boundaries you need in your digital marketing services agreement, you will protect your freedom!

This post is all about the fundamental boundaries every digital marketing services agreement must have for digital marketers to protect their freedom.

Fundamental Digital Marketing Services Agreement

Key boundaries for your Digital marketing services agreement template word for word

1. Set boundaries on the digital marketing services

Digital marketing comes in many forms. You could be any of the following:

• Organic social media campaigns

• Paid social media advertising campaigns

• Advertising on Google (Google Ads)

• Search engine optimisation (SEO)

• Email campaigns

• Mobile marketing campaigns

• Landing pages

• Affiliate marketing campaigns

That's just to name a few. However, you need to be very specific about the digital marketing services you provide.

Even if it's super clear on your website that you only do Google Ads, your client could think that includes all kinds of other (pay-per-click) advertising. 

Therefore, your digital marketing services agreement must include the following: 

• a list of exactly what type of digital marketing services you provide, and

• a list of digital marketing services you do NOT provide.

That way, you set boundaries on exactly what you will and will not do for your client, and those boundaries are clear to your client.

2. Set boundaries on platforms/website

The next thing you want to do is set boundaries on platforms in your digital marketing services agreement.

For example, you may do social media advertising, but on what platform? Is it only Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, or several different platforms?

Or are you providing SEO services? Then, for what website? The client may have multiple websites.

You need to be very specific about which platform or website you provide digital marketing services on in your digital marketing services agreement. 

Otherwise, the client might think you provide your marketing services on all the platforms the client is active on or all of the client's websites.

You do not want the client to expect or even demand that you provide your services for multiple platforms when you are not properly compensated for it. Or, maybe the client will ask you to repost something you posted on their Instagram on their TikTok. That is why you need to set these boundaries.

3. Set boundaries on accounts

Even if you have specified the platform on which you provide your service, you must specify the account of the client.

If it's the client's website for which you provide SEO or blogging services, you don't have to deal with accounts. But if you provide (paid or organic) marketing services on social media or Google Ads, you need to be specific about the accounts for which you will provide the services.

Just like with the platforms, the client may have multiple accounts on one platform and expect you to provide your services for all of those accounts. 

4. Set boundaries on reporting

Your digital marketing services agreement must also set boundaries on your reporting.

Even if you know what metrics are relevant to report on and over what period of time, the client does not have that knowledge.

Your client may want to see interim reports every week. Or, your client may want you to report on different metrics (that do not even matter).

Therefore, you need to set boundaries upfront with your client. 

Your digital marketing services agreement should include at least the following boundaries on reporting:

• When you provide reports to the client (once a month or every quarter? Within how many days after the end of each month/quarter?)

• On which metrics you will report to the client

• The flexibility to change the metrics at your sole discretion

5. Set boundaries to protect your creativity

You are the professional. You know exactly what will convert and what will not. 

But, your client may think that the client can direct you and believe the client knows best. And, of course, you want to take the client's feedback into account but not have the client demand that you:

• change the marketing materials you create, 

• change the text of your marketing content, or

• produce more marketing materials.

Therefore, your digital marketing services agreement must include the proper boundaries to give you:

• full creative freedom to create whatever you think is best for the client, as you know what's best 

• the flexibility to change anything at your sole discretion.

Of course, you want the client to be happy with the marketing materials you create and have them be on brand. However, this digital marketing game is about creating conversions or more attention for your client. And you know best how to achieve that.

6. Set boundaries on your (flexibility in) strategy

Another thing you want to set boundaries on is your marketing strategy.

For most digital marketing strategies, it takes time to see results. But some clients get anxious when their sales are not booming yet after two weeks. 

You also need to have the flexibility to change your marketing strategy (fast) in the ever-changing digital landscape. 

Thus, you need to set boundaries in your digital marketing services agreement so that your client can't ask you to:

• change your strategy after two weeks, 

• keep the same marketing strategy (even if it won't work tomorrow), or

• even create a completely different campaign.

7. Set boundaries on what you will do marketing for

The next thing you want to set boundaries for in your digital marketing services agreement is what you will do marketing for.

You want to be on the same page with the client on whether you are providing your marketing services for:

• one specific product or service from your client, or

• the overall brand of the client.

You do not want your client to demand that you create new marketing materials and do a completely different marketing campaign for a new product the client brings out 3 weeks later. At least, not without an extra fee.

8. Set boundaries on consultations

You also want to set boundaries on the number of consultations you will have with your client.

Of course, you may like your client, but you may not want to be on the phone with your client every single week when there's nothing to report. You also do not want a scheduled 45-minute call to turn into a 2-hour meeting.

Therefore, your digital marketing services agreement should include boundaries on:

• when you will have consultations with your client,

• through which medium those consultations will take place (like Zoom or Google Meet, not physically at the client's office), and

• how long each consultation will take at maximum.

9. Set boundaries on work outside of scope

Another thing you want to do is set proper boundaries in your digital marketing services agreement for work outside of your scope.

Sure, you might do work outside of scope if your client pays you an extra fee, but you don't want your client demanding that you do extra work. 

You may not be able to provide the additional marketing services your client asks for. You may not have the time to do additional work for this client. Or, maybe you simply don't want to do the extra work.

Therefore, it should be carefully worded in your digital marketing services agreement that you:

• may agree with the client to do work outside of scope, but only if you agree to,

• are at all times entitled to say 'no' to work outside of scope,

• may charge an extra fee and what your applicable fees are for each service, and

• may change your fees at any time.

This way, you have full control over your time and energy.

These are all the crucial boundaries you need to have in your digital marketing services agreement to protect your freedom.

Do you need a digital marketing contract template free of fluff?

Are you looking for a digital marketing contract template free of fluff that contains all the boundaries you need? I am selling a reusable digital marketing services agreement for digital marketers! My digital marketing services agreement template includes all the crucial boundaries you need to set with your clients (as discussed in the blog post) and all the protections you need as a digital marketer.

It has specific clauses for every type of digital marketing, from (paid) social media or Google ads to SEO. 

If you are a digital marketer, you need to get your marketer-friendly template on this page of my contract shop!

Are you using a digital marketing contract template free of charge?

Are you using a marketing services agreement sample you found online? Or have you got a digital marketing contract template free of charge from a friend?

Use this list as a checklist of all the boundaries you must include in your digital marketing services agreement. 

Remember, this is the bare minimum you need to protect your freedom and keep from turning your dream career into a nightmare!

This post was all about the crucial boundaries you must set in your digital marketing services agreement to protect your freedom and keep doing what you love with love.

Avoid the most common mistakes made by digital marketers and learn how to avoid them in this blog post on the 7 Major Mistakes to AVOID in Your Digital Marketing Agreement Template.

Are you a social media marketer? Read this blog post on the 7 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Marketing Contract Template.

Get your digital marketing services agreement on this page of my contract shop!