every founder running paid media hits the same question eventually. either the ads are working and you want more, or they aren’t and you want someone to fix them. both lead to the same decision: hire an agency or hire a consultant?
most people default to an agency because more people feels safer. i spent years agency-side before going independent, and the size of the team was rarely what decided whether an account worked.
01how agencies actually work
agencies are built to handle volume. accounts get assigned to strategists, processes get standardized, and each person carries as many accounts as the margins require.
even at a good agency, that shapes the work:
- the person who pitched you usually isn’t the person running your account
- your strategist is running several other accounts. when i was agency-side, i was lucky if i only had five.
- scope is fixed. work outside the agreed channels and deliverables means a change request, another fee, or another team.
- creative sits with a separate team, on its own timeline
- reporting is templated
- turnover is high, so your account can change hands more than once in a year
good people work inside that system. it still limits how much attention any one account gets.
02how consultants actually work
a good independent consultant keeps a small client list and does the work themselves. i take on three clients at a time, max.
- you work directly with the person doing the work, from strategy through execution and reporting
- changes don’t wait on account managers or specialists
- if the ads point to a problem with the creative, offer, landing page, tracking, or funnel, that’s in scope
- performance insights go straight into briefs, copy, and concepts
- if something’s off in the account, you hear about it that week
the tradeoff is capacity. one person can’t run a large creative production team or cover every channel in every market at once. if you need that, a consultant will struggle to keep up.
03side by side
| working with an agency | working with a consultant | |
|---|---|---|
| scope | the work stays inside the agreed channels and deliverables. anything else usually means a change request, another fee, or another team. | if the ads point to a problem with the creative, offer, landing page, tracking, or funnel, i work on that too. |
| attention | strategists run several accounts at once. when i was agency-side, i was lucky if i only had five. | three clients max, so there’s time to think past the next optimization. |
| who does the work | strategy, execution, creative, and communication are often split across several people. | you work with me directly, from strategy through execution and reporting. |
| how fast things move | changes pass through account managers, specialists, and production timelines. | fewer handoffs, so decisions and changes happen quickly. |
| creative | a separate team handles it, with its own scope and timeline. | i turn performance insights into briefs, copy, concepts, and feedback for your team. |
| best fit | established companies with mature paid programs, multiple markets, and enough volume to need a larger specialist team. | teams that want to test quickly, learn what works, and grow paid into a stronger channel without taking on a full agency team. |
04when an agency actually makes sense
agencies are the right fit in specific situations.
if you’re spending $100k+ a month across several channels and markets, and you need a coordinated team handling creative production, media buying, and analytics at the same time, an agency is probably the right call.
they also make sense when you have no internal marketing function and need a large team to build everything at once, or when you’re running brand and performance together and need a specialist on each.
05when a consultant makes more sense
most B2B SaaS companies and growth-stage e-commerce brands get more from one experienced person paying close attention than from a larger team spread across many accounts.
a consultant is usually the better fit when:
- you’re spending $10k to $80k a month and want someone senior doing the work
- you’ve worked with an agency and felt like your account was one of many
- you have an internal team and want someone who plugs into it
- paid media is tied to pipeline or revenue, and you want reporting that shows it
- you want to test quickly, learn what works, and grow paid into a stronger channel without committing to a full agency team
if that’s you, here’s how i work with b2b saas teams and e-commerce brands.
06the real question to ask
whichever model you’re leaning toward, get specific answers to these before you sign:
- who will run my account day to day?
- how many other accounts do they manage?
- were they part of the conversation when the strategy was pitched?
- what’s in scope if the problem turns out to be the landing page, the offer, or the tracking?
if an agency can’t answer those clearly before you sign, expect the same gaps once the work starts.
07honest take
i’m a consultant, so weigh this accordingly. i went independent after watching good brands get mediocre results from setups where nobody had time to look closely, and then get blamed for the results.
the accounts that perform best have someone running them who cares whether it works and has the time to act on what they see. that comes down to incentives, attention, and accountability. pick the structure that gives you all three.
08common questions
is a paid media consultant cheaper than an agency?
usually, for the same level of seniority. an agency fee also covers account management, project management, and margin. a consultant’s fee covers the person doing the work.
can a consultant handle creative?
it depends on the consultant. i turn performance data into briefs, copy, and concepts, and give feedback on design, so the creative and the media strategy stay connected.
what happens if i outgrow a consultant?
if you’re heading toward multiple markets and six figures a month in spend, a consultant can set up the account structure, tracking, and testing so the handoff to an agency or in-house team goes smoothly.
how many clients does a paid media consultant take on?
it varies. i work with three clients at a time, max. ask any consultant you’re considering for their number, and whether they subcontract any of the work.
trying to figure out which model fits where you’re at? let’s chat.